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Who attended

Gary W & Kelly plus friend - Single Cab Hilux

Gary B - Dual Cab Hilux

Gary L - Hilux

Paul - Sierra

??? - Triton

Jason - GQ Shorty

Darryl - Defender 110

Julie - 80 Series Landcruiser

Col - Baby Troupe

Mick - 80 Series Cruiser

Eddy & Kids - GQ Patrol

Dave and Kerry C - 100 Series Landcruiser

Steve T, Sharee & kids - 100 Series Landcruiser

Report

Freemans Water Holes & the Watagan Mountains are situated at the northern part of the NSW Central Coast / Lake Macquarie Region. It has some of the most scenic parts, which are often overlooked by the tourists who venture to the Central Coast more for the beaches than for this splendid forested area.

Within these areas are some very good quality 4WD tracks, which can be rated as quite easy for those who would rather stick to the main tracks, to almost extreme for those looking for some hard core off road action.

On this journey, we did some medium to difficult trails which would be not recommended for any vehicle which has not had at least a little suspension work and even then, careful driving was needed to save from panel damage which a few of the vehicles suffered in our convoy.

The list of casualties in our trip were a pushed in bull bar from a rock shelf which was higher than the approach angle of one vehicle, a dented sill from a rock shelf attacked with too much right pedal, a rear quarter panel on the same vehicle clipping a tree on the same section track for the same reason and a holed petrol tank in a Suzuki from coming down a rock shelf with too much speed.

Our day started out at a suitable meeting point where we met up with some of the members of the Central Coast 4WD Club. All the crew we had in convoy on the day were a jovial bunch and as most of us had traveled a few trips together previously, introductions was able to be kept to a minimum. We just selected a suitable channel on the UHF Radios so we could all stay in touch, aired down and we were then on our way.

The group headed along the blacktop for only a kilometer or so before we turned off onto our the dirt, where we stayed for the rest of the day. Within a kilometer of that was our first obstacle, a mud hole where a number took the chicken track (including yours truly).

From this obstacle all the vehicles headed to the trig station via a few rutted tracks & another couple of bog holes where a couple of the vehicles needed assistance to be extracted. This was mostly due to ground clearance more than anything as I know my vehicle was extracted when it’s ramp over angle was compromised on the exit to the hole

Once at the trig, we all checked out a very steep optional track, which looked quite tricky & a little loose in parts, but once attempted was actually pretty straightforward.

From this track we headed back onto Sugarloaf Ridge trail where we had a few other sections to try out. This included a climb up to a lookout where quite a few managed to stretch the articulation of their vehicles

The climb up this was well worth it though, as the view towards Swansea and other areas to the south of Newcastle was quite spectacular.

We left this area to find a suitable location for all vehicles to fit so we could have lunch & chat about the trip as it has been top this point.

After lunch we headed along a few more tracks to where there are some larger obstacles. This included a very steep section of track with a few steps & a number of washouts. This is the section where the vehicles sustained their damage & we had one accident where one of our people were hit by part of a vehicle when the vehicle fell into a rut. Luckily for the casualty, the damage was mostly severe bruising. It is an example that even the most careful people can still have accidents on trips & we should all be prepared for just this situation.

After the accident, we managed to get all of the vehicles back to the top of the mountain where we decided to call it a day.

This sort of trip was graded a “B” trip for this club & I would recommend getting involved in a club to get out on trips like this one with a group of people who are very prepared & knowledgeable of the area. 

Many thanks to Gary W for putting on the trip & everyone else who came along & made it a top day out,

Col (BT)