[arjithin]

Recently we did a 3 day camping & offroading trip to Victorian high country in north east Victoria. The trip was organised as part of our Pajero Sport club and was joined by 4 more Pajero sports. A friend of mine joined in his Landcruiser 79 and a relative of another member joined in his Holden Colorado - so we were 7 vehicles in total.

We did Blue Rag range & Billy Goat bluff tracks, all of the Crooked river track with 25+ river crossings, N Basalt track, Collingwood spur track and few more over three days.

Blue rag range track is considered one of the best & scenic tracks of VHC ( and probably all of australia). Billy goat bluff is (in)famous for its steepness and difficulty, Crooker river track, as the name suggests is known for the number of river crossing and its ever changing waterlevels.

Here is a quick summary of the trip and some photos.


Visit this post (Ownership Review | 2018 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport | Now at 43,000 km) for better photos of Blue Rag track. This is from my last year trip


Day 1: Left Melbourne at 5AM and reached Dargo, Vic around 9 AM. Rest of the gang had already reached Dargo previous night and were ready to go. We topped up fuel and left around 10AM. First was Dargo high plains road, then to Ritchie road to N Basalt track to Blue rag range track. Reached the Blue rag trig point ( the highest altitude point at around 1750m above sea level) around 2.30PM. Returned via same route to Dargo high plains road but lost some time to fix the bash plate of one vehicle which got one of its mounting points ripped because of an underbody hit.

Breakfast break


The Lineup:







N Basalt track









Found a deep mudhole to play with




On Blue Rag track:







Blue Rag range track:











At Blue Rag trig point





Coming down in rain





Camp site for the day:

[arjithin]

Day 2:

We did the Crooked river and Billy goat bluff tracks. We got stuck at just 500m short of the top of the Billy Goat bluff track, and had to turn around. Three cars crossed the point of a heavy washout by winching ( trip leader's, mine and the Landcruiser). But some of the people coming from other side told that the track ahead is in worser condition. Since it was already 5:30PM and we still need to winch out 4 more cars and probably winch the whole group 2 more times, trip leader decided to turn back considering everyones safety. The U turn in the track was one of the scariest points of this trip. It was a 19 point U turn with a 200 feet drop on one side in the middle of a washout !!

We climbed down all the way and finally reached our campsite ( same as previous day) by 10:30PM.

Crooked river track - 25+ river crossings




Playing in water


I dont have a snorkel yet, so chose to play safe


Most of the entry/exits to the river were steep. Rear lockers were enaged at few places








Checking the winches before the climb


Here we come Billy goat bluff track


First major climb to Helipad


Other side of Helipad - near vertical drop and steep climb


Planning the steepest section ahead


Trip captain leaving to check the conditions ahead


This is where we got stuck.
Gives you an idea of the articulation needed. This is after an hour of track building to pack rocks and mud


Winching the first car


Almost finished the U turn. Pictures are with wide angle and give a false sense of slope and width !
Helipad can be seen in the background



lead car turned around


On our way back


This is my favorite photo of the trip. We turned around at the top of the track seen behind

[arjithin]

Some videos of Day 2

River crossings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScCV03Iugzo

https://youtu.be/Ufds5pBp3v8

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6U1NNIDC2no

Night time crossing:

https://youtu.be/bQmVjKQMGcc

https://youtu.be/uL-em2qoWVU

I got towed here due to unknown depth of water and no snorkel. (Since it was night, we didnt want some one to go and check the river depth). When I checked next day morning, I could see wet firewall carpet around 2 inches short of air intake.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=n3o63TyxM3A

Billy goat bluff climb 1

https://youtu.be/d4cBzrqLH08

Billy goat bluff climb 2

https://youtu.be/d8WR7E_8T8Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SocjYobSKNQ

https://youtu.be/JCDOfbhtQfM

[arjithin]

Day 3 - I dont have much photos of Day 3. We had a relaxed start, played some time in the river next to campsite, visited Dargo pub for a good meal and finally reached home by 5PM.

All packed up




Final air up before dispersing


at Dargo, vic


Car performed beautifully during the trip. Most of the sections in low range were done in 2nd or 3rd gear ( manual mode/paddle shift) with rear locker engaged in 5-6 places. There is a slight noise while braking at very low speed from front left suspension after the trip, yet to identify the source. Car is due for 60k service next week.

We covered nearly 300km in offroad and 600km onroad in this trip and overall average fuel economy was 8kmpl.

And finally, here is the elevation / slop profile



Thanks for reading !!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Sheel]

Amazing trip-log this, thanks for the share. Victorian is a pretty popular adventure place, but, it still is a bit difficult.

Australia has this amazing trails, beaches and equally amazing 4WD culture. Please continue to explore and share. Thanks .

[kiku007]

That looks epic. Thanks for sharing.

It is good to see the Pajero in its natural habitat. I appreciate your willingness to test and enjoy the capabilities of the SUV.

Originally Posted by arjithin

Day 2:
The U turn in the track was one of the scariest points of this trip. It was a 19 point U turn with a 200 feet drop on one side in the middle of a washout !!

Respect for your skills.

[benbsb29]

Such an awesome trip and writeup! Victorian high country has to be amongst the most spectacular and challenging offroading tracks in the world. I'm certain I'd chicken out from some of those challenges, and without a doubt vehicle prep is critical for such trips.

How low were the tyre pressures on those rocky sections?

Thanks for sharing, Arijit.

[justwheels]

Thanks for sharing this epic trip of yours. It's lovely to see well prepped 4x4s in their natural habitat. That part of the world is almost a mecca for off-roading and such nicely marked trails that lead to heaven. I just wish we in India could do trails leading to a destination rather than simply off-roading in a patch of land/farm with manmade tracks. Very limited opportunities here.

Kudos to your skills for taking up that trail and having a wonderful time. The Pajero looks smashing.

Keep sharing!

[OffRoadFun]

Looks like a trip full of adventure and fun! A dream come true for lovers of outdoors/offroading!
Thanks for sharing the pictures!

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by kiku007

That looks epic. Thanks for sharing.

It is good to see the Pajero in its natural habitat. I appreciate your willingness to test and enjoy the capabilities of the SUV.

Pajero sport even in its stock form is a very capable vehicle. upgrade to a good set of AT tyres and install bash plates, it can go almost anywhere.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

I'm certain I'd chicken out from some of those challenges, and without a doubt vehicle prep is critical for such trips.
How low were the tyre pressures on those rocky sections?

No you dont. Your Pajero can easily do all of these.
Next time you are in Melb, lets do some of these tracks

22-24 psi is what I kept.

Originally Posted by justwheels

I just wish we in India could do trails leading to a destination rather than simply off-roading in a patch of land/farm with manmade tracks.

Agree. And this is my preference too..go offroad to get to a destination.