Date and time: 9:00am, Tuesday 20 September to 1:00pm Friday 23 September 2022
Description: Please contact your trip leader if you are unsure of any of the following requirements for this trip.
The Deserters know that the high country is still ‘out of bounds’ for a couple more months. This gives us another good excuse to ‘desert’ to Victoria’s desert areas.
The plan for the Deserters this time around is to explore more of the Management Vehicle Only (MVO) and other key tracks in the Wyperfeld/Big Desert area. This is a midweek trip so it will suit those on school holidays.
Starting in Hopetoun we will concentrate our exploration efforts around Wyperfeld and Big Desert. If we get trip details in quickly we should be able to get a permit to explore some of the MVO tracks that the public can’t normally access. I have already been in touch with the Parks Victoria Rangers and they are more than happy for us to use their MVO tracks again as long as we have our permit. The end point should be in the Rainbow area, depending on route, competence of navigator and reliability of trip leader’s vehicle :-).
This trip is also designed to dovetail with Prue and John Hasler’s Grampians trip starting on 23 September. Participants signed up for both trips will be able to depart the deserts on Friday morning so as to be in the correct start point with Prue and John at midday. The remainder of us will continue this trip until lunchtime.
Please carry all food and water for 4 days plus cooking and camping equipment.
Morning tea and lunches will be in the bush each day – byo simple, “on the move” lunches and morning teas.
Clothing and footwear for sandy, cold and possible wet conditions (depending on forecast).
No camper trailers, pets or firearms.
Reference: Meridian Maps – Victoria’s Deserts Touring Guide 5th Edn.
Accommodation: We will bush camp in designated National Parks campsites with drop toilets available.
Weather: Desert environment, potentially cold nights. Spring rains may have sprung and Summer definitely isn’t here yet!
Review the Underbool weather forecast leading up to the trip and bring appropriate clothing, footwear and camping gear.
Equipment: Below are the recommended vehicle requirements. If you are not sure if you vehicle is suitable for a trip, please have a chat with the trip leader.
Good off-road tyres (All Terrain, 60 profile recommended as a minimum), UHF radio (or one borrowed from the club), a well-maintained vehicle with low range (or equivalent), good ground clearance (200mm recommended as a minimum), recovery points, standard recovery gear including dampener, rated snatch strap and shackles, shovel. Drivers must have completed the RRCV club training or equivalent.
Additional Equipment required: Air compressor and tyre gauge, MaxTrax or similar sand recovery equipment. Each vehicle ought to bring a bag of firewood for our nightly group campfire. A toboggan or similar is handy at Snowdrift campsite if you have kids with you. :-)
No camper trailers, pets or firearms
Trip Standard: Medium - The sand tracks are straightforward, but there are a few sandhills and deeper sections of sand that require extra skill to navigate.
Fuel: Enough fuel from Hopetoun for 450km. There are no planned fuel stops so please carry extra fuel as needed. For sand driving multiply your highway fuel usage by 1.3 to estimate fuel usage.
Distance: Melbourne to Hopetoun 400kms. Hopetoun to Rainbow 450km. Rainbow to Melbourne 420km.
Duration: 4 days
Convoy limit: 10 vehicles
Passengers & non-member participation: If you wish to bring a passenger that is not a partner or your child visit they must register as Temporary Members to join in. See our website for details.
Temporary (Guest) Membership
Temporary Members are NOT allowed to drive with out speaking to the Trip Leader first. This is to ensure that the driver and vehicle are sufficiently prepared for the trip.
Meeting arrangements: We plan to meet at the Lake Lascelles foreshore at the Eastern end of Austin Street, Hopetoun at 9.00am for our trip briefing. (What3Words reference https://w3w.co/collections.baffle.distribute). We aim to finish about 1:00pm in Rainbow on the Friday, except for those departing earlier in the day for the Grampians trip.
Trip Leaders: James Lawson, Phone - 0429265550, Email – lawsonj71au@gmail.com
