Australia Day Marg and I were on the start of a holiday heading to Kangaroo Island and I had been in contact with David Delaney the week prior so as to join in on a trip at South End with the Adelaide Jeep Club.
We were traveling west from Warrnambool in temperatures that were 40 deg +, through the smoke from the fires at the Grampians to arrive at Mt Gambier for lunch. Apart from a number of fire trucks patrolling the pine forest there weren’t to many others on the road. The lake was as a brilliant blue in color and a tour down to the waters edge and the pump house was tempting but we pushed on to South End eager to setup camp and maybe a bit of a drive on the beach. We arrived at the South End mid afternoon and after checking in at the South End caravan park and getting the key to the bush camping area we easily spotted a group of Jeeps amongst the dunes, trees, camper trailers and tents.
Introductions all around and the casual glances to size up each other’s vehicles we were ready for a great time. We setup camp and being a total fire ban day and so hot the afternoon trip was cancelled. Everyone had had enough driving for the day. As cooking outside was not an option a few of us decided to take a short drive (18 km) to Beach Port Hotel for dinner. We were directed to a dinning area out the back that had all the charm of year years gone by. Tall ceilings, chandeliers and the old pictures on the walls set a lovely atmosphere for a great evening, a great meal and a chance to get to know one another.
Beachport was first established back in the 1830’s as a whaling station and now as a busy tourist destination has not lost any of it’s old charm. There is plenty to see and do and a must is the walk to the end of the jetty. Being the second longest jetty in South Australia at 772 meters it’s a good hike.
The next day eager to experience some sand driving for the first time we were ready to go at 9.00 am. I had fitted my sand flag ( A $12 bargain from a bike shop), let some air out of the tires, checked the radios and recovery points and was ready to go. A quick briefing by David and away we went.
Starting from South End and heading southeast to Canunda National park we were quickly in the dunes and a quick stop to let more air out of the tires. 20 lb was the order of the day but I left mine a bit higher so as to see how I would go and I was also having a debate as to what pressures I should be running in my tires. I have a set Cooper ST’s that have a maximum pressure of 80 lb’s and when they were fitted they were set at 60 lb’s, all a bit high for my liking and letting them down to 20 lb’s from there seems a long way. So I tried it at 30 lb’s. The scenery was fantastic changing from bushy dunes to flat sandy areas and punctuated with a hard limestone similar to concrete. It was a novelty to see just the flags moving through the dunes ahead and obvious how important they can be when approaching the crest of any dunes. The driving was relatively easy but quite different to what I have been used to back in the hills around Melbourne. A bit like driving in rutted tracks but a lot softer and with a floating feeling.
We traveled inland at first and then turned onto the beach around Mcintyre Rocks near some Aboriginal shell middens. Then along Geltwood Beach for about 5 km then inland to Oil Rig Scare were there is a picnic and camping area. We picked up a few other vehicles that wanted to tag along as they didn’t have any sand flags as we traveled for another 5 km through the dunes before finding the beach again. The track to the beach had wooden path laid out as it was quite steep and required this for getting traction when climbing off the beach.
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This section of beach was very soft and really had the vehicles swaying around as the sand grabbed the wheels. The vehicle also seemed to go through sections where it slowed right down so you needed to keep the boot into it at times.
A wrong turn by our leader found an impassable track off the beach and provided a timely stop and a chance to enjoy the beach. The extra vehicles that had joined us earlier left us at this point just as the shovels came out. Eventually the snatch strap emerged and Dave was dragged out backwards then we were on our way again.
Onto the Playground where there was a steep sand dune to climb. I watched as most of the group had a go and then it was my turn. Lining up the track on the left Marg noticed an old beer bottle on the track about half way up. I drove up to it , stopped and Marg got out and picked it up to the dismay of all the others as they didn’t know what we were doing. After backing back down we had a go at it. Three quarters of the way up and we couldn’t go ant further so back down I go. It was time to let some more air out of the tires. Down to 20 lb’s this time and it made all the difference. With the extra grip I made it to the top without a hint of trouble. Air pressure dose make a huge difference.
Rubbish collection is something the MJOC does on every trip and we don’t even get a refund on the bottles like in South Australia. I was surprised that this is not an activity taken by the Adelaide Jeep Club. As it is quite then fund raiser for MJOC and what is collected helps out the Flying Doctor Service. A practice I think all 4WD clubs should adopt.
We completed the trip arriving at Carpenter Rocks which was a lovely little fishing harbor and as we aired up some refreshed by getting some ice creams at the local store.
We headed back to camp along Kongorong-Tantanoola Rd, Poon Ada Rd and Lake Bonny Rd where we had a guided tour by Steve Speake of the Wind Farm. Steve had been involved in escorting the trucks that carried the huge wind mills into the area. Some 50 wind mills standing 60 meters tall is quite a site to see.
Nearing the campsite Dave found some more dunes to drive through which proved a little tricky at times with the tires at full pressure. No one got stuck but it did show again what a difference tire pressure can make.
Back at camp the bush showers where tried by some and others took a short trip into the caravan park to freshen up before dinner. It had been a great day and a couple of coldies went down very nicely while dinner was being prepared. After the meal and the dishes done we joined the rest of the group around the campfire.
Did I say campfire?
We ended with us all sitting in a circle around one of those candle bug zappers. (Must be a SA thing) There was also an attempt at a laser show with a number of the group checking out who had the bigger one. (Torch that is) A bit of bat spotting and space ship stories and when the candle finally died we called it a night.
Many Thanks for some great company and a fun couple of days to all that were on the trip.
Marg and I look forward to doing it again some time
Peter Scott.
Melbourne Jeep Owners Club
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