Just got back from another fantastic trip out the back of Gembrook in Victoria.  It was a magnificent day as my brother in his Mazda Bravo and me in my Prado got an early start on some of the more famous tracks around Gembrook.

This is now my third trip on the MTR’s, and I must say I am very impressed.

Gembrook is renowned for its mud, but today it is very dry and dusty, with most of the tracks we covered only accessable in the dry, unless you have a full house comp vehicle with 35″ plus tyres.

Anyway, back to the MTR’s, a lot of tracks were rock hard clay with a gravel coating, almost like marbels, and on this surface, even the steepest sections there was absolutely no wheelspin.

The numerous rock ledges presented no problems with the Prado often taking the most challenging sections without ever wheel spinning.  I keep mentioning the silica rubber compound in these tyres, only because I am astounded by the level of grip.  Every rock ledge we attempted, the tyres felt like they were glued to the surface.

The only area I haven’t tried yet is the really wet muddy tracks, remember, here in Victoria we are in the grips of an eleven year drought, so its hard to find a nice wet day to go 4WDing.

Some of the tracks we covered were, Andersons, Westons, Phasmyd and Gentle Annie.  All of these without exception are dry weather only with monster ruts which would be impassable in the wet.  It’s amazing how quickly track conditions can change.

See you out there!

Walking the Crossing When walking your water crossings its best to walk in the intended wheel tracks to find if there are any hidden rocks or potholes, as well as for checking the depth. Potholes at common crossings are often caused by previous 4x4 spinning their wheels after hitting a submerged rock. So if you find a pothole, check for submerged rocks. It's a good idea to place markers at these points so you can avoid them. Its been known for a vehicle attempting a relatively easy crossing to suck in water when a single pothole has caused the hood to momentarily dip below the water level, causing water to enter the air intake, resulting in hydro-lock and a damaged engine.