Rock Station 20^th June

The day started with an icy-cold wet gathering at BP, which was a good indication of things to come. After waiting for the last straggler or two to arrive we were off, with a race to the Start.

Once we arrived at the station we had a quick air down and a brief but thorough debrief of things to come, the usual thing plus a few extra words of caution.

Off we were on a short convoy along the property boundary to the first obstacle of the day. After a couple people had fun on deciding how and were to park, we all got out having a look and walking the path we had to follow. It was a short cross through the steam, up the bank, over the rock (or around if you happen to have a skinny Suzuki) and up the slope to the finish atop the ridge. It all sounds so calm and easy when you say it like that, but it was far from it at the time. Nigel was first to give it a go and in true Nigel fashion he made it all look as easy as it sounds, but even he had to give it a bit of extra pedal to get out of the stream which was not as shallow as expected with a steep little bank to get over which proved to be a tough little climb for most. Next up was Steve Franklin, he started with a roar spitting mud and water all over as he made his way through the water. He then proceeded to bounce his way over the rock and suddenly there was a gunshot, no wait that was Steve’s truck? The sound of a CV coming to the end of its limit, so down came Nigel to tow him the rest of the way up the path. So out came Fleetservices call out unit to the rescue.

So on it went as everyone had a go at getting to the top, Marty being the only one without simex’s to not only drive up unassisted but make it all look fun! For the rest of the field it was more of the same dramatics with wheels spinning and mud flying. Even had to pull the winches out to give a few people a hand up, but most made it up unscathed.

At this point we all gathered to realize that Steve’s truck was worse than expected and had to call it quits for, so he hitched a ride for the rest of the day.

So with the rain starting to come down even heavier than before which promised to make things even more interesting we continued on. Next up was a small washout but no sweat and we were thru.

Ahead of us we could see the track to follow which didn’t look all that daunting at first, with the first couple vehicles getting up hassle free. A short river crossing followed by a steep path to the right and a sharp turn left to the top. The path to the right got very muddy and slippery very quickly and with a steep drop along the right side there was no room for error. Craig made it most of the way up before needing a hand up the last little stretch, followed up Pat who needed to give to give it a couple of attempts as he started sliding towards that drop to the right, but in true Pat style he made as always. Next up was Colin and start of the slope was just a mud mess and he just couldn’t get enough momentum on the start to get up the hill, so after a few attempts out came the winch to give himself a hand. Next was Marty to once again show how good he is showing up all the Simex boys again, closely followed by Graham with his V8 monster roaring its way up.

Next up was Andre so I jumped in the passenger seat buckled up and held on. We flew up the slope almost making it when the truck slide to the right and Andre managed to stop just in time, with the right rear wheel hanging over the edge. So down came Colin’s winch to the rescue, with a short tow to the top to level ground. We made it unhooked and drove the last little piece to the left or so we thought! Just like that we were in trouble, we were meant to be going forward but instead we went careering backward. In a split second we both realized we were going to end up in the river and we braced ourselves for the impact as we crashed down the hill and rolled into the river. The impact came and before we knew it we were safely parked on level ground just before the river? On our way down the hill we had hit a tree and brought it down behind as which was our saving grace as it was what saved us from ending in the river upside down. So after a few jabs and laughs and a pants change out came the winch to get us to the top again. Next was Steve in his sold truck and Wayne who decided that the track was getting to treacherous after our little spectacle! After a quick think they came up along the river and took the track that Andre and I had just created. So a quick winch to the top especially for Wayne in his Suzuki and we all set of again.

We decided to head back to the hay shed at the station entrance for lunch as some of the trucks would continue onto even tougher tracks and some would go home. Even the little trip back along the farm track was tricky with Colin and Graham needing to help lower Steve down a muddy track before we could continue. Next were Des and Nigel helping to tow some vehicles up a small section when Nigel lost traction and slid down the hill and landed gently against Des’s Front bumper. Nigel came away with a smashed tail light and Des well lets face it who can remember back to when it wasn’t dented? The day had come to an end after all the exciting events despite having only done about ten kilometers. So after a quick lunch and chat about the day’s events it was time air the tires and head home. Only a brave few soles decided to continue…

Thanks

Floyd Du Plessis