A 'Real' 4WD Weekend
"What's with the Pajero?", they mocked. "This is a 'real' 4WD weekend," they pointed out gesturing to all the well kitted out Landcruisers, Patrols, Hiluxs and Prados that were already assembled amongst the dunes. This was the first time I'd met any of these guys face to face. We'd all got in touch via a popular 4WD forum and that resulted in arranging to meet up for a weekend's 4WDing on Stockton Beach and the Watagan Mountains on NSW Central Coast.
They all seemed to be a good bunch of guys and girls, but they obviously had no time for Pajeros. Boy were they in for a rude awakening over the coming days.
After a quick blast along the beach to the shipwreck of the MV Signa for the obligatory convoy formation photo, we headed deep into the dunes to get serious. The first challenge of the day was a steep sided, deep oval shaped depression in the sand. Infamously known as 'The Bowl' it is no mean feat to tackle the sharp decent to the bottom and then even more so to drive out unassisted. I sat on the top lip taking photos as one after another each of the so-called 'real' 4WDs headed on in then made several unsucessful attempts to get back out.
With most of the group now trapped in the bottom I thought it was time to join the fun. I pitched my NM Pajero over the end and half slide, half drove down the steep dune. At the bottom I did a quick loop around the stranded group before driving back up the dune. Personally I couldn't see what was so hard about it! Why were all those 'real' 4WDs have such trouble??
For the rest of the day we toured up and down Stockton Beach taking in all the scenes and having a sensational time playing in what is essentially a huge sandpit. The only thing that slowed our happy progress was when various vehicles got stuck in the soft sand, needing to be snatched out. By the end of the day I had a new Landcruiser 100, a high modified Patrol, a highly modified Hilux, and a Prado on my score sheet. With every recovery the group began to cheer "Go the Mighty Paj".
That night we camped amongst the dunes, played beach cricket, told stories around the campfire and became great mates under a sky choc-a-bloc full of stars. It was one of those times where you wouldn't be dead for quids.
The next morning there was plenty of anticipation for our trek through the Watagan Mountains. A local with an intimate knowledge of the area joined us to be our guide. What greated us was a steep forest with lots of beautiful views out over the coast. The tracks were well worn, very rutted and pretty damn rough. They ranged from knarly rock to deep, slippery mud. Low-range 4WD all the way.
Most of us managed to get through to the lunch break without to much trouble. In the afternoon we decided to take on a track that would take us down into a valley floor then climb us over a small range on the over side before depositing us down a ridge that would leave us back on the bitumen in easy access of the highway. The climb down into the valley was quite lumpy and in places loose. The valley floor was quite heavily forested and looked like something out of the Amazon Jungle.
Eventually we came upon a large mud hole. After getting out and inspecting it we decided to give it a go. 3hours later we were still trying to get all 14 of our vehicles through. Each driver had to gently drop into the mud hole, then gas-on for they were worth and try to get as close to the other side as possible. Once they were stuck we'd connect a winch cable to them and winch them forward until they could be reached by a snatch strap on the other side. Then we'd snatch them out the other side.
Only three vehicles made it through unassisted. Two highly lifted and modified competition style trucks, and my Pajero!
The climb out the other side proved to be a lot steeper and complex than we originally thought. When we hit a series of very steep ledges it was up to the big modified rigs to assist the others. Again my Pajero climbed up unassisted - like a mountain goat!
As we gathered on the roadside to re-inflate our tyres before going our seperate ways the banter was quite lively. We were all on an incredible high after such a brilliant weekend of 4WDing in such challenging conditions. Most of all we'd all become great friends.
As for me, the one they'd mocked on arrival. We'll I'd made a bunch of new mates who all thought very highly of me . And they all now had a healthy respect for Pajeros. As they'll all tell you, with a good driver behind the wheel, a Pajero can go anywhere!
