MOA Alpine run November 2017.

[Halfpint]

Hi Mokers.
Another Alpine run completed over the weekend with 10 Mokes attending what has become a fun annual event.
We joined in on Saturday afternoon after getting home from Canberra, transfering the suitcase and fridge from the BV into Guliver and heading straight to Harrietville. All the other Mokers had also traveled a similar distance during the day to get there  and from all accounts had a great run.
Some dinner and catch ups at the pub and Sunday morning rolled up pretty quick   



The run up to Mount Buffalo was terrific, with blue skies and a little wind that carried the tell tale signs that we were in the Alpine regions of Victoria.
First stop was the Chalet that's been closed for a few years.



And then it was the run to The Horn, the highest spot on Mt Buffalo (1723mtrs).



Views are spectacular.


It was then back down to Bright to get some supplies for a BBQ dinner. Great, easy bit done. It was just which way to go 
Studying the maps for a bit, a track from Wandiligong was selected 
Bush tracks out there are great fun, following undulating valley's,





A few creek crossing's  5 actually  .


A few wet dizzies easily fixed, and a steep rocky climb faced us as we made our way ever so close to town.
Terry made 2 forward attempts, coming so close to the top, but not quite. A reversing attempt was also unsuccessful.
Another in our Group made an attempt and was going well untill halfway up when the Moke suddenly speared off to the left and stopped at the edge of the track  .
Something had let go big time, but being on such a steep angle, we couldnt quite see what had happened other than the passenger side wheel had no steering connected.
A bit of manipulating the wheel and careful reversing, we were able to get it back down onto a more level area so we could collectively scratch our heads and figure out what we could do.

What we found surprised us all, none of us had ever seen the half ball end of the connecting rod on the end of the rack pull through the retaining nut before  .
Some more head scratching and one of our party looked at an aluminium can and thought " you know what, we might be able to use this" 
So with the rack cobbled back together, we gingerly turned around, re made 5 more creek crossings  and slowly made our way back to camp  .

An eventful day thats for sure

[DANGER MOKE]

It was a great weekend Halfpint, and great to see you both again. Looking at my list, we had 39 people join us along the way at some stage over the weekend.
The breakdowns all add to the adventure, and we will have to tackle that road again next year.
Looking at the map and planning a camping based trip next year, with more off road tracks.
Big thanks to Alpine Moke for his input and secret spots and your enthusiasm over the weekend.
The 6 of us taking $470 off the Harrietville locals in the Melbourne Cup was a bonus.

[Pete Power]

Great trip thanks for sharing, looks very different without snow.

[Halfpint]

The 6 of us taking $470 off the Harrietville locals in the Melbourne Cup was a bonus.

A good win  , I can get a decent bangers and mash at their expense now .
Not the only thing we won from the locals either 

Was a good weekend Moking up their, still need to add some antics for Monday yet  .

HP

[Halfpint]

Monday started with a few running repairs and Alpine Moke arrived nice and early with some spares for us to rat through.
Replaced an alternator that had seized up and some lower control arm bushes replaced.
Unfortunately the late model steering rack didnt match any of the spares. It stayed parked for the day and a few spare seats were found so we could all head into the Bright Markets for the Morning.

Alpine had organised a visit to his friends property at Lunch time. We took a back road that included a creek crossing. There was rain overnight and we were a bit worried the creek might have swollen during the morning, but it was ok and all the Mokes, Mini and Ute made it through ok. There was one who may have gone in a bit hard though  and needed some WD40 when we were parked at the property.



This bloke has been collecting for many years, and the sheds and containers scattered around the property would be very much at home on one of the Picker shows we see on tellie. Our host was very happy to chat about any of the collection and there was a story attached to each and every item.
Old vintage cars, bikes, and parts, hot rods, old oil and cigarette company signs, old scooters and bikes, kids prams, old tonka toys, etc etc were stacked from floor to ceiling  . There was so much to look at and for the most of us it was awesome to look around.

A few hundred cars also littered were parked around the place. Some I havn't seen around for years like the mighty old Bongo vans and a couple of Zephyrs. There was a few Mini's and Land Crabs.



All up it made for a very interesting couple of hours and we thanked him for opening up his sheds for us to check out.

It was then back to Harrietville to regroup and make our way up to Mount Hotham. Steep climbs, rain, blustery weather and a bit of a "white out" as we made the Village  , was great fun  .
A nice stop at the General for a hot Chocolate.






A bit of snow play for a few, then back down the mountain to get ready for the Calcutta night.
Fashion on the fields saw best dressed Ladies and Gents trophies on our tables  ,
Bidding on Horses and prizes was good fun.


Tuesday was a trip home.
We didnt want to risk a 100klm drive, so S&L's Moke was picked up and delivered back down to my place so we could replace the steering rod, and with Terry's wheel alignment bar, we set it all up. Didnt take us very long at all so after a cuppa and cake, they headed all the way home with no more issues.



Well that's about it for this year, always good to catch up with everyone, and meet some new people.
Bring on the next run 
HP