....I think that first of all i need to give you a little background information. I started liking 4WDing when i was about 6, and living in Zaire. My fater had a Lada there for some time, and friends of the family had a Land Rover. Together we went on several trips.
....Then in Ivory Coast more friends had off-road cars and every now and then they would go on 4WD trips, and we would go along, but the frequency was much lower than in Zaire. But that did not matter... the fact that we still got a chance to do these tings every now and then was good enough to keep my love for the sport alive.
....Indonesia was not much different from Ivory Coast. Very infrequently did we go Off-Roading, but again, i kept my hopes up, and already in indonesia i knew that i would have my own four wheel drive here in Australia. I bought many 4WD magazines and read up as much as possible on tracks and tips on 4WD trekking in Aussie.
....My parents then moved to Pakistan and i joined them there for a short while. I heard plenty of rumors about great Off-road trips that people from the German Embassy did, and i was intrigued... Naturally i did not get to go along on one of them. However, i went to Europe for a 2 and half month holiday, and when i got back there was a surprise waiting for me. My dad had arranged it so that both him and I could go along on one of those trips. That was fantastic. It was a 3 day trip during which we did mainly desert driving, and also some mud driving, though that was accidental *grin*.
....The mud driving was not intentional. We were with 4 cars. An older Toyota Landcruiser (short chasis), a new Mitsubishi Pajero (which i was in), a mitsubishi L200 (dual cab), and a Nissan Patrol. We were already on our way back when we came across a dried out lake. We all thought that it was hard enough to just drive part way across it. WRONG. Well, the Landcruiser, and the Pajero got through it without any trouble, then the Mitsubishi L200 got stuck. This one however was quite light and we were able to push it out after about 45 minutes. Then came the fun part. The Nissan Patrol had also attempted what we had already done, but failed hopelessly. About 50 meters into the dried mud puddle the Patrol sank about half a meter into the mud. By the time we got it out, the half meter had become 1 meter, 5 hours had passed, and a truck attempting to help us had also got stuck. But none-the-less it was a good experience.
10 March 1998
....I got myself the Mud Sub. Though she was not yet known as that at this point in time, i have named her such. The Mud Sub is a Deluxe 1982 Toyota Landcruiser HJ60 Wagon. She is of an off-white coat, and a brow striped interior. Fitted with wheels and tires 2 inches wider than standard, she boasts 15R8 tires. Meaning that they are 8 inches wide and 15 tall. She has a bullbar of just the right size, not one of those that sticks way out about the bonnet, nor one that is way too small. Deluxe version just means that she has a couple of differences from the standard version, of which the main one is that she does not have a swing open door on the back, but two parts one of which one opens down and the other up. No big extras have been added to her yet, but in due time with due money i should be able to fit her with a CB-radio, extra headlights, a snorkle, and a new stereo. She has no airconditioner, but the heater works, and that is more important as i can just open the windows if it is too hot. Her condition is excellent. I have only found one area which has a lot of rust, and this is just surface rust anyway.the engine is in tip top condition, the power steering works, and the gearbox goes as new. She is terrific. 
28 and 29 March 1998
....Andrew, Samantha and I went for a trip totalling about 500 kilometers. Starting from Newcastle, Australia (where we are studying) we drove past Hawk's Nest and up through the Myall Lakes reserve. The only way to get all the way through there is over a path which is meant for off-roaders. Or better said, it is not recommendable for sedans. Branching from this Track were several smaller tracks of which we explored some as well. However, when we tried one of the tracks to get to the beach we got stuck. Not stuck as in that the car got bogged, but we just did not want to bother deflating the tires and switching to 4WD low, so we turned back with difficulty in the mull sand, and continued on our way.
....The night of the 28th we had done the track through the Myall Lakes area, and some of the smaller tracks. The Mud Sub had lost her left mirror due to close encounter with a tree, and the thermostat had given up. On our way back southward the engine almost overheated once, but thanks to the decreasing outside temperature she managed to hang in there. That night we camped in a cul-de-sac near the beach. We found some old wooden planks and a cardboard box, and made a camp fire. Nice and warm.
....In the morning of the 29th we all woke up, Andrew and Sam went for a swim, and i went and filled up the Radiator so she would not over heat on the way back to Newcastle. We had some bread for breakfast and broke up camp. We then started heading back, but instead of sticking to the main road we went through patterson. This is a farming area, and it also has some forest left. Inside this forest we found some excellent tracks, and found some mud to dirty the car with. That was some good fun.
....In the evening of the 29th we got back and all went our way as we were tired. We also realised at this point that none of us had brought a camera and taken pictures. Sorry to dissapoint you guys.
19 to 25 April 1998
....Easter was here and the Easter Bunny was calling from Noosa. Andrew, Adrian, and I went for a 3000 Kilometer trip up to Noosa and surroundings. On the way up and on the way back we had lunch at Andrew's Grand dad's. We left Sunday after noon and in the evening we had done about 500 Kilometers. We decided to camp in the playground of a little town that we passed through. It was good enough. I slept on top of the car, Andrew slept half way underneath it, and Adrian slept inside it. During the night the wind really picked up and my pillow almost got blown away several times.
....In the morning we got up and found that we were very cold... Somehow during the night the temperature had dropped down to 16 degrees... Brrrr. As it was so cold we quickly packed and hit the road with the heater on... By the time we got to Brisbane (where Andrew's Grand Dad lives) it was boiling hot and we were ready for lunch.
....On Wednesday and Thursday we went and did some real mud-driving. not only mud did we find though. We also ran into some really nasty red clay on Wednesday. This is really annoying as it kept us from getting up a hill that we needed to pass to get to our destination. Unfortunately after 5 tries we had to give up and turn back. None the less it was a good trip and we had fun. That night we had a mexican dinner, and had an indepth discussion on something that ran very close to the meaning of life. We watched another movie and went to sleep.
....Lunch was great. Two huge sandwiches prepared by Brenda. Brenda is soon going to marry to Andrew's Grand dad... He is 85 and she is not far off. Isn't that ab fab? Well, i think so. Anyhow, she is a great cook, which was later on proved to us when she made us a stir fry lunch on the way back.
....As we did not have the Noosa apartment until Tuesday we had originally chosen to go part way sleep somewhere between Brisy and Noosa, and then head the rest of the way on Tuesday. however, we ended up going all the way to Noosa on Monday , and so we slept on the beach that night. We were lucky it did not rain, because starting on Tuesday afternoon it rained without end untill we got back to Newcastle. Well, Andrew and I slept on the beach, whereas Adrian chickened out *grin* ans slept inside the car again. Oh well, he does not know what he is missing out on...
....On Tuesday we had time to waste untill about 2 o'clock when we could move into the apartment. So we went and explored the replanted forest a bit north from Noosa. It was okay, but the tracks were too well kept, and it was no challenge. After that we went back and moved into the appartment. We did some grocery shopping, got some videos to watch, had dinner, and crashed. That sleep was well needed.
....On Friday we vacated the apartment, and started on our way back. Again we went through Brisbane, and had lunch there. At first we had planned to drive back in two sections, but we ended up changing our mind and we drove back the whole way in one go. That was insane. But we got back to Newcastle at about 2:30 in the morning. The drive back was really groovy though, especially later at night because there was a lot of mist and fog along the way... really cool. But now we are back in Newcastle, and the Mud Sub deserves a rest.
....Then on Thursday we went and found a national park to cruise around in. The main track was a bit muddy, but we found a little side track that we followed for quite a while. It led us through some pretty groovy mud and water, and even over a lot of grassy plots. At one point we were climbing a slope in such strange mud that the Mud Sub was going all over the place. It was so wild that we even almost got a tree trunk through the windshield. The nature was most definitely worth a look at. At a certain point we stopped, and i thought i was going delirious when i watched and everything in front of us seemed to be moving backwards due to difraction of light in the fog. However, my mind was settled when Andrew said he saw it too.
....We ended up turning back, finishing the tour on the main track, and then having a barbequed steak with wine sauce and mustard... Delicious.
01 May 1998
....The Mud Sub has got new vibes! A new stereo was bought with speakers for the Mud Sub. It is a radio with tape deck, and 2 3-way 200Watt speakers. Vaughan and I installed them with a little difficulty because the previously installed wiring was so short. But hey, it worked. All i have to do now is find a way to make sure the speaker caps dont keep falling off. *grin* It sounds great, so now on long trips we have some reasonable sound to listen too. I should also get an amplifier with this stereo sometime to increase the sound quality.
The Mud Sub got extra drive lights!
17 May 1998
....Yes, i just could not resist. It was raining, and i had some time on my hands. After endless attempts at convincing Mehnaz and Sam to go along (which neither did) Vaughan and i decided to give up and just go. It was 9:15 on Sunday morning (i must have lost my mind waking up that early on a Sunday) and we were set to go to Barrington Tops. We went to the petrol station and got some diesel and a map (we didn't know how to get there).
....All in all it was yet another succesful story of a fun trip with the trusty Mud Sub.
....Rain and dirt combined make a beautiful substance called mud. *grin* Once we got to the forest road turned to gravel, and eventually just a sort of clayish substance that covered a hard surface. This made for some real fun driving. Almost like rally driving in slow motion. As usual i had to try just about any fire trail that i saw. Most of them were easy enough to conquer (even with the steep slippery clay slopes), but some were just too slippery, and i did not have good enough tires for that sort of conditions. (If the pictures turn out right you will love them). In any case, the Mud Sub had a good run and slide (more slide than run) and we even found a little trail to walk along to get to a rather nice looking waterfall. After the waterfal we drove around for a while longer trying to find an exit out of this forest which we eventually got to after a lot of slipping and sliding around.
....I think that we must have picked up some leeches during that walk because as we were driving out of the forest and onto the hard surfaced road i found one stuck between two of my fingers. I had not realised this before so i sort of "jumped" and let go of the wheel, only to catch it again to avoid running the Mud Sub offthe road and through a fence (oops). So we got out of the car and i killed the damned little creature, and we did an extensive search for more of them. We found one more on Vaughan's shoe.
5-6 June 1998
....Another groovy weekend was to be filled, and the diesel tank in the Mud Sub was thristy. Hence Andrew, Vaughan, and I set out for another fun trip. The original idea was to go into Wollemi National park and do a bit of bush bashing there. We set out in the late morning of Friday the 5th.
....We drove in the direction of Rylstone in the hope of finding an opening to the park... however without success... So eventually we went through Rylstone and took a left turn to a little side road. This little side road took us to a bridge which was rather interesting. It was getting a bit late and we thought we better find a camping place... then we noticed we had no matches to light a fire with. Hence we went back to Rylstone, bought matches, beer, and chips. We went back to the bridge and took a right turn onto someones (rather large) paddocks. This led us under the bridge, and then we found a tree to park under. We collected wood, and made a camp fire in which we cooked our beans, which we ate with bread and the chips while drinking the beer. That was nice. Andrew tried playing some stuff on his guitar, and eventually we all went to sleep. Somehow i managed to get 3 holes burnt into my sleeping bag by sitting too close to the fire...
....We woke up very early the next morning and everything was still misty and very cold and damp. We took some photos, packed up and got back on the road... We then kept heading southwards still hoping to find that opening to the park... We saw some beautiful sunrise scenes of which we took several pictures only to realise that we had only one roll of film with us... pitty... i guess we will just have to go back sometime... *grin* Eventually we got to Lithgow and took a left turn through an incredibly beautiful valley. That was one breathtaking ride... Again we found it terribly stupid that we had only one roll of film. Finally we got to Wiseman's ferry. After crossing with the ferry we took a left and drove all the way back to Newcastle.
....Like i said... i think that i will be doing that trip again sometime in the near future. However, i do have some photos, so i will put them up as soon as i get a chance to scan them.
13-22 June 1998
....Yet again time to go up to Noosa. This time however i went up to see my parents who had come down from Pakistan. They are living there now because my dad is working there. In any case, the trip up there was pretty much eventless.
....However, you should have seen my parents faces when they saw the Mud Sub... I think that my mom was delighted, and my father jealous... It was great in any case, and they really do love the car. I think my dad is absolutely crazy about it. But then again, so am I.
....During my first week up there we went diving on Lady Elliot Island, so the Mud Sub was all alone in the Hervey Bay airport. None the less she started fine when we got back...
....The Mud Sub did not encounter any great difficulties with driving in the Sand on Noosa's North Shore. However, we did not do too much of that. Unfortunately we did not really have enough time, so we just spent a couple hours on one afternoon trying it out.
The Mud Sub now has communication with others! As a reward for passing the driving test and getting a license i decided to buy myself a CB-radio!!
27-29 July 1998
....During those 3 days i went to stockton several times just for the hell of finding some tracks. The first time was successful, as i found the track to the beach... As i was alone however i just went to the end of the harder track and turned back. However, the next night (6:30PM) Vaughan and i were feeling adventurous. Bad idea... I suggest that next time we feel that way someone should stop us. *grin* We went the same way that i went the last time, but this time we went all the way and kept going on to the beach. After a while (everything was going good) we decided that it was time to be turning back. As per normal i assumed that the sand by the water would be harder and thus suitable to turn around in. WRONG! WE went, went, and then went no more. The Mud Sub was apparently Stuck... Vaughan immediately set out to find someone else to help us, but seeing as it was late there was no chance at that, so he gave up after a while and started looking for drift wood. During this however i just kept trying and trying different things/methods to get out of the situation. Only ending up to go even closer to the water (and the tide was coming in) and finally getting some harder ground. I was thus able to gain some speed and momentum, and eventually get back into the beaten track on the sand. I then stopped to get Vaughan who had dissapeared into the dark by that time (given up following me on foot). Eventually he got back to the car and from then on back to the tarmac road we did not stop. By the time we got there we switched from 4 to 2WD, and were very relieved that we got out of there. On the way back we stopped at the Stockton grass patch and did a doughnut. Then we went back to the UNI.
08-09 August 1998
....Last chance to go camping before cramming for the phase started again, and i took it. Lauren, Ed, Kirsten, and Anna were also game so they went along. Basically we did the same trip as the one i had done once before with Andrew and Vaughan (See 5-6 June 1998. Because if you remember i had not taken enough photos. However, once the occasion has passed it does not come again. Of course, i did not get as beautiful shots as i would have had i had more film the first time. Damn... oh well.. the trip was still worth it. However, it was not exactly the same as the last time.......The rest of the trip was basically the same as the trip i did with Andrew and Vaughan. It was nice.
....The reason i say this is that we had to take a detour... This is because the road that i had taken last time was blocked off with a couple of big boulders that even the Mud Sub could not scale. That was good though because it led us into the Goulburne River National Park where we spent the night on the edge of a really tall cliff. It was great... about a 5oo meter walk from the parking place, and endless skies. There was not a could in the sky, except for the smoke that our fire made, and during the night it froze so when we woke up our sleeping bags were covered in a layer of ice. Brrr...
03-05 September 1998
....The next morning we got up at a reasonable time, and headed out to our next destination: the beach. We drove towards the Myall Lakes reserve through Merriwa, and got to the ferry that took us accros one of the smaller parts of the lakes. We then drove down to Hawk's nest and lazed around at the beach for the rest of the day. When we wanted to set up camp and make a camp fire it started raining and so we ended up staying in the car and staying in it for the night. This was the first time i had done that, and i was amazed at how much space and comfort the Mud Sub had to offer.
....The phase being over i had to get out of Newcastle. A three day camping trip was just what i needed, and Sam volunteered to go along. I did not protest. We set out and headed for Gouldburne River, as i told her about it and she really wanted to see it. Of course, this time the conditions were not as great as last time, but none the less it was a good drive. We got there later than expected as we missed the proper turn at first, but managed to find our way back after asking a kind old man driving along with his dogs. In any case, we got there eventually, set up our camp site, and made a fire. We had our meal, and hit the sleeping bags.
....We got up the next morning and took advantage of the public showers available at the beach to freshen up. We then started on our way back to Newcastle. It was once more a successfull trip even without the 4wd aspect.
The Mud Sub has got new Mirrors and
another pair of Xtra Drive Lights! 26 and 27 September 1998
....On Friday the 25 of September Daniel suddenly got the idea... "Let's go camping" he says. I was game... that was it. We left on Saturday at about 11 Am, and headed for the Watagan State Forest. To my surprise it was only about 60 Km from where i live. That was great. Any way, we were following the main track, and as per norm that was just not good enough so we had to try some side tracks... the first few were a bit boring, but then we found one opposite the road to "Boarding House Dam" barbeque area. It went down at a reasonable slop and was muddy as could be. At first i thought: "if i go down that slope i will never get back up", but then again, what the hell right? So we went for it. Chucked her into 4WD, set it into first gear, and headed down the slope. Along this track we found some other great mud patches and went all out... Eventually the Mud Sub finally lived up to its name. Now she looked real. After a while the track that we were on became drier, and ended up on a little tarmac road... we thought that that was no fun so we turned back and went back through all the muck and back to the main track. From there we went and found some more little tracks but none lived up to the one we had just done. Eventually we got tired and headed back to "Boarding House Dam" and camped there for the night.
....The next day we were determined to find some more good tracks. We ended up going down one track and found that it was blocked off by trees that had fallen accros. Then we noticed that someone else had made a short cut to the next closest track and we decided to follow that example... what we had not expected was that it was at an angle of about 45 degrees and that it was mud, clay and rock. The engine was grinding, the wheels churning and fists clenching the "Holy Shit" bar (situated in the front on the passenger side). We ended up getting to the other track and got out of the car to inspect the damage sustained. To my surprise the only noticeable thing was that the rear suspension needed to rest a bit. We found some more track later on, but again, nothing that matched the exitement of this last one. After a while we decided it was time to turn back and go home.
