b'CLUB SPOTLIGHTRemember those mostly defunct caf bars withit was incredibly weak and a white pointer was red clickers to dish out your instant coffee andcircling, ready for the kill. The good news is that sugar? Defunct for a good reason I reckon. Probablymost of the rope was cut off, the whale appeared to not that any of you will give a toss, but Graeme and Isay thank you with a slap of its tail and off it went met over one of those caf bars 45 years ago. Oh, thenever to be seen again. memories and flashbacks of a time when we wereNext was a short film about the good yet young, naive and could eat and drink whatever wedangerous work of rangers. In Africa around 150 liked without consequence. rangers lose their lives each year in the line of duty, Then came the necessary but preaching-to-the- protecting animals against poachers. Club members converted safety procedures that Parks Victoria haveall chipped in to the Thin Green Line Foundation to to deliver, before the also mandatory group photosupport the rangers, their families and communities. by Pajero Club photographer Frank Amato who$211.00 raised for the Thin Green Line. was the chief photographer for the event. NothingAs day two dawned, many packed up and headed like putting on a happy face while standing in bitterhome. Understandable given its about a six-hour wind with the rain coming at us sideways. trip back to Melbourne. The rest of us were off to Finished with the formalities and realising theclear the track of the mother of all trees. Really not a weather wasnt going to improve, we headed out14-person job, but nevertheless interesting to watch filled with anticipation to get the job done. I thinkthe mammoth undertaking from the side-lines. We we had a top of 10 degrees, drizzly rain plus windwere fortunate to have a dry although cold day (7 to chill that day. Are we having fun yet?10 degrees.brrrrr) and only one leech that I know We headed down single lane well-formed, yetof after it had had a good feed (eeewwww). It was muddy tracks, past trees that would make a loggeralso a good opportunity for a bit of a walk.salivate, masses of wildflowers and huge tree ferns.Around four hours of chain sawing, chopping, The Errinundra National Park is truly breathtakingcrowbar-ing and carefully rolling of the tonnes of and worth visiting in any weather. The low cloud /wood off the track later, Parks Victoria called it fog gave it an eerie yet peaceful feel.almost done. Wow! I have renewed respect for the With 25 cars in all, divided into four groups, ourwork they do. Its massive. They only have a small (still) somewhat large group meant that only thecrew and a small and ever-diminishing budget. And quick and very enthusiastic helpers up the front ofthey had an even bigger monster tree to clear on the convoy did most of the clearing work. Call me aanother critical fire track. Dont know how they do princess, but I quickly figured that I could sit in theit all. I can certainly appreciate how important our warmth of the car and enjoy the stunning old growthClubs participation is to Parks Victoria efforts in rainforest without anyone noticing I wasnt doingkeeping the tracks open.much. While I did pop out occasionally to take aAnd so the weekend adventure at Errinundra photo and say good job everyone that soon turnedNP came to a close. Graeme and I headed down the to only get out when I really had to because we hadmountain to Orbost then on to Cape Conran where entered leech city! So much blood drawn, the bloodwe enjoyed sun, surf, sand, a fabulous coastal walk bank would have been envious.and more wildlife encounters. A huge tiger snake At the end of the day, we slipped into our partyand red belly black snake plus a monitor casually clothes (not really) for a fabulous BBQ and freshmoved through our site. Crikey!food spread put on by Parks Victoria. The eveningThe trip left me wanting more. More bush, more provided an opportunity to mingle with the otherwilderness and more feeling like I was part of clubs and get to know a bit about some of thesomething bigger than myself. terrific Parks Victoria crew. Peta (Mallacoota turf) shared some of her amazing personal journey. From delivering multi-million-dollar luxury boats up and down the coast as a skipper, to an incredible whaleTrip Participantsrescue.Range Rover Club of Victoria9A humpback was caught in tonnes (yes tonnes)Pajero 4WD Club38of rope and other fishing paraphernalia that it hadLand Rover Owners Club of Vic 4dragged across the globe from the Antarctic on a South American ship. By the time it was found, TRACKWATCH|Summer 2024 19'