I started the 26th of December with a lot of work to get things out of the shed and into the back of the Landy and the trailer. The destination was Kendalls B Camping ground in the Rubicon State Forest. I had arranged to go up with Alex McPherson in a convoy with me in the Landy and him in his Ferret. Unfortunately, this was not to be with the Ferret burning an exhaust valve and sort of sidelining her with regards to this trip. It was quickly decided that Alex would now come with me in the Landy and I would meet him at his house at around 1 lam. I met with Alex and his lady friend, Golda at 1 lam as planned. Great thing that I brought the trailer with me as it was packed to the brim with kit and then the back of the Landy started to fill up also. All packed, we headed off at around 11:30am and hit the Maroondah Highway for the trip into the campground. After a short drive there, we were sitting in the campground and I quickly recognized Adrian with his jeep already there. Both Alex and I started to sort things out with the pitching of tents and the general setup of our camp for the next few nights. Around halfway through setting up, Lionel appeared in his Landcruiser and promptly setup his camp. With camp setup, both Alex and I donned some webbing belts and decided to explore the area. We went down to the river to find it quite low with not much more than a slow trickle flowing. Seeing this, I decided that we should go and see how the aqueduct was flowing as it is the main feed of water into the river. We hiked up a small incline to the aqueduct canal and started to follow it down to the end (this was to prove a little humorous later on). We walked to the end of the canal and found that it fed into a large containment pondage that then fed a high-pressure water pipe down into the electricity turbines, which then deposited the spent water into the river. There was not much else to do from here so we walked back to camp, had some dinner, and relaxed.
2004 VMVC Christmas Camp - Rubicon Hydro Scheme
.    The next morning, we got up and went into the township of Thornton. While on the main road out of the camp area, we passed Brian Brown, Don Bailey, Graeme Kerslake and Don Kerslake going towards the campsite. A quick flashing of lights and sounding of sirens let them know that we had seen them. When we got to Thornton, we stocked up on some ice and bread and then headed back to the Landy for the trip back into the campsite. When we got back into the campsite, we  discovered that Col Anderson had also arrived and had setup his camp next to Lionel. It was also decided that everyone else would go for a quick walk along the same aqueduct trail that Alex and I had hiked along yesterday. I went with the group and was asked how long it was until the end. "2 kilometers" was my reply. The group set-off and we were walking a fair pace when Brian Brown said to me that the 2 kilometers was a little longer than it should be. I will admit that the first estimation may have been a little short seeing as in actual fact it would have been close to 4-5 kilometers but the guys stuck with me and at the end of the trail, I radioed Alex for a pickup in the Landy and it was all sorted. I have to say sorry to Don and Graeme for being covered in dust on the way back. The Landy just wouldn't have the same character if the door seals worked. I also leant the new name of Ben '2km' Hemmings. Thanks fellas.
         It was now about lunchtime and three of my friends had also come up for the weekend and so they, Alex and myself all headed off up into the mountains and the 4wd tracks around the area. The first sight we stopped to look at was the massive water pipe that runs right over the hillside carrying water for the hydro electricity plants. We then headed through the river water crossing and up the 4wdtrack towards the Rubicon falls. These falls are spectacular to look at as you can see from top to bottom and they are always flowing. We all debussed from the Landy and trekked down through the scrub to the top of the falls. We had a quick photo there and then it was back up through the scrub and into the Landy for the next haul to the old historic tramway bridge and then onto the main road and back to camp. It  was back here that I and my friends all decided that we would do something adventurous and walk the pipeline from the bottom to the top. It was one of those 'sounds smart at the time' moments and we headed off to climb the hill. Climbing a hill straight up for 2.1kms with full webbing gear and soaking wet with rain started to give me a small realization of what our diggers may have experienced on the Kokoda Trail. It was a step, step stop sort of walk all the way up in slippery mud and I was glad to get to the top. It was up here that I met a Southern Hydro employee who was cleaning the water trap. He offered me a ride down the hill in the back of his 4wd and faced with walking back or a lift, I chose the lift. Back in camp and I had some dinner and tried to get warm after the drenching rain during the walk. It wasn't working and so I changed into some fresh clothing and started to feel better. It was a good night spent around Lionel's truck and campfire before we all retired for the day and had a good nights sleep. Day and we had planned the night before that we would go into Eildon for a quick look and a much-needed homemade pie at the local Bakery. For some of us, a quick check of the mobile phone for any messages or calls also occurred. From Eildon, we went up to the construction viewing area as the dam wall is currently  being strengthened and then onto a club members property. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the property and my mobile phone also went dead so I was unable to contact him for more details. Sorry Colin.I had pre-arranged to drop my friends off at the top of Mt Torbreck for a hike up to the memorial for the RAAF Bomber that crashed on it. I turned off the main highway and switched to 4wd high for the trip into the 4wd track and arrived only to find that they had gotten lost and had gone back to camp.
   Ahh well.... The Landy and trailer got to experience a pretty torn up track and the 4wd low range still works! We arrived back at camp and dropped the trailer off to be told that everyone else had headed off up the mountain to look at the historic sights. Alex, Golda and I jumped in the Landy again and headed off up the main road looking for the others. We found them at a campsite with some old car wrecks and our guys examining them. I was asked if I wanted to lead a short trip up to the start of the aqueduct and then back down to camp. Sure, was my answer. Our convoy left the campsite and headed up Royston Rd to the Royston Dam that we then had to walk 400m down to. It was worth the walk as it is a marvel to look at. The thing that we all had to remember was that this was all built in the 1920's and it used to contribute a lot of energy to the grid. From the Dam, we headed back towards camp and turned off onto Old Rubicon Rd, which is a 4wd track that leads down to our campsite. This was the real scenic part of our drive and I wanted to make sure that we spent a lot of time just looking and enjoying ourselves. The first stop on this track was the Royston Power Station. A quick photo and we were off to the next point of interest, the old SEC Saw Mill.
    The sawmill is located on the aqueduct and it was powered from here. It is now unused but still stands as a reminder of the work that used to occur in the area. Another quick group photo and then on to the old timber tramway bridge. The bridge is undergoing the final touches to a total refurbishment so we were unable to walk across it but we still had a quick look and then down the track towards to Rubicon Falls. We stopped many times along the track and had a look at various locations such as the Rubicon Falls, Rubicon Dam, Rubicon Power Station and the water pipeline. At one point, we had to pass another vehicle coming the other way. Everyone made it through OK and for one second, I thought that Don Bailey would have some trouble with his Dodge but it soon worked itself out. Down the bottom of the track and I went through the river crossing again. Brian Brown didn't want to follow but Lionel had a go in his Landcruiser and it just idled through and up the other side. No one else wanted to have a go either so back to camp and a sitdown and relax. I headed into town for dinner and had a nice fish and chips meal by the riverside to end the night. Day 4 and I slept in good. 10:30am and everyone else headed off to Alexandra for a drive as John Chappel had turned up the night before. I had planned to stay for one more day but something came up at home that I had to deal with so I got up, packed up my gear and helped Alex take down the rest of our camp. We were back in the Landy and on the main road by 11:30am and before too long, sitting in the driveway at home. I was impressed by the turnout of members and vehicles and got some positive comments from everyone. I would like to thank everyone who came (including the civvie friends!) and say that I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. Thanks Guys!!
In all , we had the following vehicles:
Land Rover Series 3 + Trailer, 4 Jeeps, Dodge Weapons Carrier Dodge Command Car, 75 Series Landcruiser, Pontiac Ute + Trailer

Trip Report and photos Courtesy: Ben Hemmings.