Tracks to test your FL2

[mikehzz]

A bit of talk about going off road in FL2's lately, so here are a few track suggestions that I have done with ratings.
Near Sydney-
Six foot track from Hampton down to Bowtells Swing Bridge. Easy but worth the effort. An experience walking that bridge :)
Kowmung River fire trail to Dingo Dell. Medium especially if it is wet. Watch the river depth.
Baan Baal Gap the hard way. Great lookouts and an excellent drive through a gorge. Medium one way and hard the other.
Little Bald Hill in Abercrombie River NP. Looks very hard for an FL2 but actually ok if you are experienced.
Powerlines track at ZigZag. Tricky for an FL2 in a few places. There are chicken tracks.
Blackfellows Hand track, ZigZag. Very easy but a nice drive through the gorge.
Lost city ZigZag. Medium due to the rock steps. There are a few spurs you can drive through. There is a very tough but doable track between the 2 main 'Lost Cities'.
Mt Walker/Lidsdale. Mostly fine but I don't believe an FL2 can get to the top of Mt Walker these days, the rock steps are too large. Some good river crossings.
Further afield-
The Brindabellas out of Canberra. Especially Mt Coree to Macintyres Hut through Flea Creek. Some steep stuff there but no worries with clearance. Wet weather can make it hard.
The Watagans. Totally forget some of the tracks there especially if its wet. You will wreck your FL2 trying :) Defenders ARE ok there. I reckon the tracks there are either very easy or impossible for an FL2.
Stockton and Samurai beaches. Easy, the FL2 kicks butt on sand. A pity the big dunes are closed.
Interstate-
Vic High Country. Awesome but only for the experienced because scrapes underneath are guaranteed. I've done Blue Rag and Billy Goats Bluff but was flinching at the top from the pounding the bottom of the car was getting. There are tracks that will pull you up there. The Pinnacles Fire Tower is magnificent.
Border Track/Scorpion Springs mostly easy to medium, but one really tough hill.
Robe. Treacherous is the only way to describe some of the beaches there but the place is fantastic. Ultra soft sand with a slope into the water. If you get stuck big bucks for a rescue.
Flinders Ranges. Some good tracks and excellent scenery. Generally easy to medium. I've done Skytrek, Arkapena, Warraweena, Arkaroola out to Paralana Radioactive Springs and Brachina Gorge. All good for an FL2.
Any of the 'tracks' (Birdsville, Oodnadatta, Strzelecki) Generally very easy depending on the weather but they are remote so not to be taken lightly.
The Simpson Desert. A challenge for any number of reasons but doable.

That's a start. Perhaps others who have taken their FL2 off road can add to the list so that we can all give them a go as well.

[oznut]

Thanks Mike been looking for some easy tracks to do near Syd..great start.. I know I should join a club..8)

[mikehzz]

The Subaru & Recreational 4wd Club are very good. You can go as hard or soft as you like with them. You need a monster truck in some clubs :D For example, there is a trip on the October long weekend to Bendethera down south. It's broken into two possibilities, lifted cars with low range are taking the hard tracks in and those wanting an easier drive are going another way to the same campground. There will be opportunities to 'play' and experiment over the weekend.

[freemander]

Great info Mike. What areas are these tracks in Sydney?? I'd love to test the Freebie on some of the tracks you mentioned, or love meet a few other Freebie drivers on a day out one day.

[mikehzz]

There are a lot of good tracks near Lithgow. Any where I have mentioned ZigZag is near the old ZigZag railway on Bells Line about 10kms before Lithgow. It is a maze of hundreds of tracks and firetrails all the way through to the road to Newnes. Newnes is a great camping spot with a nice river crossing by the way. On the other side of the Newnes road is the Baan Baal gap track. It goes all the way to Ben Bullen on the Mudgee road through Gardens of Stone NP. I didn't mention any tracks around the Turon River NP through to Sofala either. There's some good stuff there starting from Capertee just north of Ben Bullen.
The Six Foot track runs from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves but you can only drive it once it crosses the Cox's river at the swing bridge. The bridge is a wire suspension bridge in a scenic spot over the river and sways like hell when you cross it. Foot traffic only. South of Jenolan along the Kanangra Walls road is the Kowmung River Trail to Dingo Dell. Its pretty steep with a river crossing that can be deep at times.
Abercrombie River NP is south of Oberon on the Goulburn road and is a maze of steep tracks rated high clearance 4wd only but my FL2 has been on all of them with barely any issues. A good weekend camping trip.
You can also go to Yerranderie from Oberon. It's quite easy and crosses a few creeks on the way to the ghost town.
I find it best to do those trips over a whole weekend because there is a lot of driving involved...and I live in the Blue Mtns. :D Even if I do Mt Walker I'll probably swag it at Rydal Showground overnight. It's free.

[freemander]

There are a lot of good tracks near Lithgow. Any where I have mentioned ZigZag is near the old ZigZag railway on Bells Line about 10kms before Lithgow. It is a maze of hundreds of tracks and firetrails all the way through to the road to Newnes. Newnes is a great camping spot with a nice river crossing by the way. On the other side of the Newnes road is the Baan Baal gap track. It goes all the way to Ben Bullen on the Mudgee road through Gardens of Stone NP. I didn't mention any tracks around the Turon River NP through to Sofala either. There's some good stuff there starting from Capertee just north of Ben Bullen.
The Six Foot track runs from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves but you can only drive it once it crosses the Cox's river at the swing bridge. The bridge is a wire suspension bridge in a scenic spot over the river and sways like hell when you cross it. Foot traffic only. South of Jenolan along the Kanangra Walls road is the Kowmung River Trail to Dingo Dell. Its pretty steep with a river crossing that can be deep at times.
Abercrombie River NP is south of Oberon on the Goulburn road and is a maze of steep tracks rated high clearance 4wd only but my FL2 has been on all of them with barely any issues. A good weekend camping trip.
You can also go to Yerranderie from Oberon. It's quite easy and crosses a few creeks on the way to the ghost town.
I find it best to do those trips over a whole weekend because there is a lot of driving involved...and I live in the Blue Mtns. :D Even if I do Mt Walker I'll probably swag it at Rydal Showground overnight. It's free.

Great info, thanks Mike. Plan to explore and enjoy the surrounds of Sydney but most of all, see what the Freelander can do. I've done the Mt Walker trip and was impressed how it performed, I would also like to do Stockton Beach one day. Once again, thanks for the great info.

[Crimdog]

Nice to see others utilising the capability off the freelander! Im up in QLD, mine has done, Stradbroke island, noosa to rainbow beach via double island ( as you said, freelander is awesome on sand). Also done mt tamborine, minion falls, some of the boarder ranges and duck creek rd (in 2wd)! Only thing that lets it down is clearance and road tyres, with some thought out lines and some understanding of its limits I have managed to go where some bug trucks have and done it not only in style but with no damage (unlike them) haha

[mikehzz]

That run from Noosa to Rainbow Beach is very enjoyable. I must get up there and do it again. I hear you have to pay now, is that true?

[Crimdog]

Yeah Mike, you have to get a permit if you want to drive on the beach. It's about $17 for a day or you can get weekly or annual ones. On top of that if you want to camp you need another permit! Still if it keeps some of the kooks away, the place open, maintained and unspoiled I am happy to pay :)

[mduffield]

A group of us have been discussing travelling along the Border Track from Pinaroo to Nhill over the Melbourne Cup long weekend. I have heard that part of the track is closed from the end of October. Does anyone know if this is so. Also has anyone recently done this in a FL2 with stock standard tyres?

[mikehzz]

The one way section through Scorpion Springs is closed in summer but I'm not sure of the dates. I've done the whole track in mine and it is mostly sand so tyre type isn't really a problem. There are 2 big dunes where the ruts make clearance an issue but there are chicken tracks used by those pulling trailers. I was on my own and didn't get stuck anywhere.

[oznut]

Hi Mike, the fact that you are posting hopefully means you are safe from the fires that engulfed the Mtns last week. Bet you are relieve too..8)

[mikehzz]

Hi Mike, the fact that you are posting hopefully means you are safe from the fires that engulfed the Mtns last week. Bet you are relieve too..8)

It really went through our street but we survived. Not so lucky for our neighbours. At least there were no human casualties up here which seems a miracle really. Cheers

[Vesko]

Hey Mike, salute mate!
Where to next?

[mikehzz]

I'm going back down to the Vic High Country in the summer break. It's not that far, the scenery is great, the tracks are challenging and the camping is excellent. I'll be taking my Jeep on this one, give the FL2 a rest. :D

[Vesko]

I'm going back down to the Vic High Country in the summer break. :D

Your previous Vic High Country trip looked pretty dangerous, especially the river crossings :o. End of January I'm finally off to Fraser island. I saw below Crimdog and you mentioned Noosa to Rainbow Beach. Can you recommend other places to go there? I'll have a week on my own before the Fraser holiday (my girl will fly there). btw, when do you plan your trip to be?

[mikehzz]

I'm going Boxing Day until New Years and then it's back to work so only a week. I seem to recall doing some off roading in the Glasshouse Mountains on the way back from Fraser. It was a fair while ago so I forget the directions. Mt Mee is also mentioned a lot but I've never been there. Maybe someone from Qld can chime in on that one.

[Alan7140]

A couple of worthy overnighters in the south of NSW & Central Vic:

The drive into Bendethra (Dueua NP) from the Braidwood end is a good one to convince you that an FL2 is much more than a soft roader. Steep climbs and decents (you'll smell the brakes after long periods of HDC!), plus river crossings make for an interesting drive, although the FL2 does it easily. Only a few rough sections but none so rocky or rutted as to give clearance problems. Tons of camping space on or near the river at Bendethra, though I believe at peak times it can get a bit busy as the track in from the Moruya/coast end is a lot easier and trafficable by less capable vehicles. Bendethra caves are a decent walk with a short but steep climb to the cave itself, but check first if the rear of the cave is open as it is closed to access during bat breeding season.

Another must-do is the track from Licola via the Howitt road through Bennison to Kelley's Hut, then via King Billy & Bluff track down to Mansfield. Lovick's Hut and Howitt Hut are on the route as possible stopping points (with toilet facilities). Again, only a couple of dodgy areas of track, and a couple where careful vehicle placement is needed to avoid underside contact, but eminently doable in an FL2 provided the weather hasn't been too wet. The track is open Oct-April, but check dates first. Incredible alpine scenery from various lookouts, although the damage from the fires has completely altered the place from what it used to be, with huge swathes of dead snowgum stands both visible and passed through on the track.

[mduffield]

To answer my own questions, the first 23km of the Border Track is closed from 1st November to 30th April each year. The closed section is the technical one-way bit.

Unfortunately the Freelander lost all power on its way there so it had the embarrassment of coming back to Melbourne on the back of the truck – and I had the embarrassment of facing Prado-Boy at Pinnaroo after arranging a rental car. He laughed a lot and kept reminding me how reliable his car was. We ended up doing the accessible parts of the Border Track and the southern and western parts of Ngarkat Park as passengers in his Prado. The Freelander could have easily made it around the parks with the tyres down to 18 psi. There were a couple of steep sand hills and many sections of very soft sand that I am sure would not have posed much of a problem to the car. I am just happy that if the car had to break-down that it happened on the highway just outside Ouyen rather than on a sand hill somewhere out of communication range.

[mikehzz]

That's a pity. I hate giving Toyota drivers anything to gloat about. :) What caused the car to lose all power? And isn't it a pain that it has to be taken so far to get fixed. I lost 4wd near the top of the Birdsville Track due to mud damage and the nearest fix was Adelaide. Luckily I could still drive it....I drove back to Sydney instead. It took 2 weeks to get an ABS sensor from the UK.

[tor ilkley]

The Bridle Track from Hill end to Bathurst is closed, but along the Turon River from the Hill End end there are some great tracks and wonderful campsites. Even better now that bathurst folk can't reach.
Anyone tried putting alternative wheels/tyres on a FL2? Mine came with 19" rims and there ain't any offroaders in that size.

[mduffield]

To answer my own questions, the first 23km of the Border Track is closed from 1st November to 30th April each year. The closed section is the technical one-way bit.

Unfortunately the Freelander lost all power on its way there so it had the embarrassment of coming back to Melbourne on the back of the truck – and I had the embarrassment of facing Prado-Boy at Pinnaroo after arranging a rental car. He laughed a lot and kept reminding me how reliable his car was. We ended up doing the accessible parts of the Border Track and the southern and western parts of Ngarkat Park as passengers in his Prado. The Freelander could have easily made it around the parks with the tyres down to 18 psi. There were a couple of steep sand hills and many sections of very soft sand that I am sure would not have posed much of a problem to the car. I am just happy that if the car had to break-down that it happened on the highway just outside Ouyen rather than on a sand hill somewhere out of communication range.
Got my Freelander back from the repair shop last week. Apparently the fuel pump failed which then caused the mechanical parts of the fuel injectors to fail. An expensive repair if the car had not been under warranty. I will certainly be getting the extended warranty, if I keep the car that long. This is the third time I have had fuel issues. The previous times were due to the fuel gauge saying I had a quarter of a tank when it was actually out of fuel. Must say that the Mondial Roadside Assistance has been great - just a pity I had to use it.