Sand Driving Day

25 Sep 2016 by Club Administrator

29 November 2016 -

We set off from a meeting point just south of the Gap. 5 vehicles made their way down the highway to the new overpass, then deviated off road to get to Roe Creek.

Sand driving was had, and while many attempted to get bogged, none achieved their goal. One vehicle was even chained to a large tree in order to stop it moving forward, but once the chain was removed, it drove straight out – safe to say there wasn’t much training done.

We decided to move toward the old south road, following the creek bed – this turned out to be an adventurous move, as the creek delta appeared very quickly and all remnants of a creek bed disappeared within a kilometre. We were ‘roughing it’ through untouched country, driving with only our wits, a compass, and a knowledge that the road was not more than a few hundred metres in front of us. Fast forward about 45 minutes, and we made it to the road.

We headed south to the 20km dunes and proceeded to ascend and descend the soft, dry sand, some choosing to avail themselves of the available bogging opportunities and subsequent recovery techniques required to get them moving again.

It was hot. Somewhere between 42-45 degrees at ground level. Fortunately, Matt brought Zooper Doopers, so everyone was well sorted for refreshment when the heat got too much.

The big f250 joined us on the dunes and we continued our dune driving for a while, before heading back to Roe creek (on a track this time) to have another go in the sand before heading home. The 250 showed us how easy it was to get bogged in the sand, all you need is a big heavy truck and two wheel drive and "down she goes”.

The end of the trip meant a few met together at the Gillen Club for a final refreshment before the storm clouds rolled in and we all went home to watch the lightning and listen to the thunder.



Location

Roe Creek, Alice Springs

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