We headed up the Hume Hwy towards Wangaratta where we all chatted over the UHF getting to know each other as we had not all met before given myself & wife were only new to the club and Carl & Di were also new so it meant we had lots to chat about along the way .
On the trip up the Hume Hwy , we came across the public weighbridge were we decided to turn back to weigh our vehicles when It was found that Trevor ’ s Prado was over its GVM ( Hence the fine ) with a weight of 3240kgs . Everyone else was underweight which was a relief too us all .
Later along the Hume Hwy , we stopped for a break and some food where we talked some more .
When we arrived at the dredge , we all lined our cars up for a photo op which was cool and somehow we got it all straight first go . Hahaha
Then we headed to our campsite to set up before some afternoon exploring of the surrounding areas with some interesting hills that for us un-modified , un-lifted Colorado ’ s proved interesting but we got through well until our trip leader got his Prado stuck in the bog hole none of us were game enough to even attempt . Bad news for Trevor was that he sunk that bad we couldn ’ t get to his 2 recovery points and even his winch would not unwind , so it looks like we have to pull him out backwards which we did .
Then after all that effort , we decided to head back to camp for the night , we all cooked dinner , and got to know each other and some of the local wildlife some more as they seemed to not care about us humans being in their space too much , perhaps wanting our food we thought .
Waking up to another glorious day with a warm morning , we all began to make breakfast and pack up after the night when we discussed going via Mt Buffalo for the scenic drive home which we all agreed would be fantastic .
We began our drive home heading through some really scenic country , through what looked like someone ’ s property which I was a little sheepish about , but was assured by Trevor it was a mapped road and the locals didn ’ t seem to mind so onwards we went until I got a call on the radio from Trevor that his Prado decided it wanted to turn off and die ……
After some mucking around and investigation , I realized his alternator was not charging the battery so we swapped batteries to get him home and our trip via Mt Buffalo was off as we needed to make our way home the fastest option as we were unsure of how long the car would run on this battery .
But before we headed home , we had a great lunch at the Beachworth Bakery which I thought unlike the one in Bendigo & Echuca was disappointing for the original but as usual the food was GREAT and so many types available , I didn ’ t want to leave .
Anyways , we made it home to Werribee and the trip was our first and a really relaxing weekend with some new friends who we look forward to travelling again with in the near future .