Off the Beaten Path is all about just that, getting off the beaten path. I am based on the border in North East Victoria so many of the trips I'll film will be in the Victorian High Country. In addition to trip video's I'll be doing reviews of products that I purchase and use on my trips.
My videos aren't likely to be the hardcore rock crawling, mud slogging, 5hrs to travel 50m type videos. I try and keep them informative about the area's I visit and give you some of the story and show a bit more rather than just the highlights, without making the video's too long.
You guys made that look easy in the wet. Another informative video guys. Appreciate the update on conditions and watching you explore new areas. Well done
Thanks mate. Appreciate everyone watching and commenting. Keeps the channel growing and keeps us keen to get out there! Burnt Top track was a great find (for me) Luca had driven it before. Well worth the effort.
I like your channel, but watching that winching out the bog hole. Your mate was waayy too close to the winch line, he looked like he was go to even grab it while it was under load. Keep up the good work but take care out there, a winch cable snapping is not something you want to be standing next to.
Thanks David appreciate the feedback, he was clear of the danger area. The camera angle makes it look a lot closer than he was as the camera is on the upper left of the car. Good point though for sure, safety is always important around winches especially under load.
@@OffTheBeatenPathAus Fair enough, I tend to go with the "nowhere in the radius of the rope" rule. A damper blanket is a good idea too. Looking forward to the next video. Cheers mate.
I do recall seeing a large fallen tree of that size when I did it early June. But they may have graded the cut around track. I’ll have to check my footage and get back to u. But yes definitely it has been graded after watching your vid and comparing to my trip a month ago. Love that bluff section and the drive down from there.
Yeah that was absolutely mint. You never know what your going to find driving new tracks. Sounds like even parks looked and that tree and said, "yeah nah, that can stay". It's pretty big. I'll be interested to see the rest of Burnt Top as we turned onto Stockyard.
@@OffTheBeatenPathAus yeah we heard it’s pretty messed up and as we were on our way out heading back to Melbourne we had no plans to start any harder tracks. As we always say ,”there is always next time”. I’ll check out my footage in the next few days and see if the GoPro was on and if that tree is still there. 👍🏻
Great trip, we had some laughs that day that’s what life’s about. After watching on your channel, I had to pause it several times rolling on the floor😂
Tree was there in mid March when my brother and I did this track, weather had been good ( no rain) so we did Wild Horse Gap track, not for the inexperienced and definitely not after rain but a fabulous challenge,hope you get a chance to try it
Thanks for the heads up, its definitely on the list, a few people have recommended it. Been a while since I've done lake cobbler track so might have to come in that way and take wild horse gap down to pineapple flat and camp there.
its geese like you guys is the reason they gate off tracks-- as your making the access impossible--- when we need fire trucks in there the road is 4wdrived to death, you just keep destroying the tracks--- why go in there in that weather dopes
Going to have to disagree with you there. We weren't destroying the tracks, there was a bit of rain that's it and as for the bypass tracks that were cut in we drove them but didn't cut them in.
I'm a subscriber love your content l have a pajero I'm thinking of doing what you did get a 76 not to keen on manual though also I'm worried about the cabin it seems a lot smaller than the pajero what do you think
Hey Mark, these days you've got the option of the 2.8 with auto for the 70 series, so if you're not keen on a manual you can go that way. The feeling of driving the 70 series is completely different, it's a much more upright seating postion, you 'feel' a lot higher and for me the cabin feels bigger. Dimensionally they're very similar, but where you sit is different. I'm a pretty big guy and have plenty of room in the 70 series cabin so I wouldn't be concerned about it. Very different vehicle to drive, probably even in the newer specs but a lot of fun. The body on chassis design means the body sits naturally higher as do a lot of the drive train components. If you're wanting to do tougher tracks, have the option for loading the vehicle up a bit more (GVM upgrades), have options to increase power and the drive train then the 70 is the way to go. Just know it'll be noiser, not as comfortable/easy to drive as the paj as you're making some sacrifices in on road manners. For me was worth it.
Lake William Hovel area is always nice to explore, haven't been over there since 2018, due to do a club trip in November, can't wait and also to check out the wineries too and a visit is not complete without a pot at the Whity pub!
Great drive, beaut tracks Jase. I bet you were praying the hail didn't get too big, I would have been. I had a mate that was up the goldy who got stuck in a big one, so bad, his troopy was written off unfortunately (sorry for the sad tale Krusty, I know how ya love em). There's always the thought in the back of your head when it pours rain...........do I go on, or turn back? It depends on how far you've gone I suppose, and your knowledge of the track. Enjoyed your adventure mate, looking forward to the next one. Cheers, BobbyB.
Thanks mate, was definitely hoping the hail didn't get to big/heavy! We were optimistically hoping the rain would clear and it did eventually :-) Just took a while getting there!
Cracking spot at the end there mate, beautiful spot for a swim, picnic etc. Looks like some fun driving through there but those B Line's mate, Easy to see. Must just be that Landcrusier owner mentality wanting to get in and play in the mud lmfao. I like the way Lucca was driving too, the way he seemed to straddle the ruts and bog holes rather than straight through the guts. Same thing I try to do.
Yeah he runs proper MT's so has decent grip, at this point was still running the road terrains in the crusier so straddling was often problematic. He always finds the B lines, I just didn't see them this trip... clearly not looking hard enough :-)
@@OffTheBeatenPathAus decent tyres sure do help. Honestly though I've been very happy with my ATs on the Paj. Maybe nit as good as MTs in slippery stuff but generally really good, low road noise, plenty of traction on and off road. Much better than the Highways I had on the back originally.
Another great video Jas. Great job! Did you get back the Pheasant creek track? I lost traction going on an off camber little spot back in Jan. Was recovered easily. Was fun
@@blocky2005 when it's dry it's not that difficult. Night would be fun, just I guess you miss out on the view, but we kinda did as well with the weather we had. D22 or D40 or newer nav?
@@Framed1980 wonder why it was shut? The section passed Buckland Spur is generally in pretty good nick must have been some major damage somehow, or it was shut for deer or wild dog shooting.
@OffTheBeatenPathAus we came from upper King and turned left, possibly that highway was being build I haven't been that section. Was heading out. Ended up left o to Buckland looked at razorback hut then to Mansfield. Wanted to get pit as it was predicted that massive storm.
It is. I get it, end of the day it's a fire acess track and they need to be able to get a firetruck up there, but it's a shame for sure, was always a nice little challenge at the start of a trip down that way.
Good drive by the looks of it, bit loose in the wet at times, you’ll be looking fwd to the new tires. Shame to see the exit now concreted but I guess it’s required for emergency services. Loved the lefthand indicator when turning onto Westerns Track? Look Forward to the next one. Nice content by Luca. 👍🏼
Thx mate. Yeah only a couple more trips on these tyres. Really pushed their limit on the Jan trip and I've upgraded to something a lot better. Habit with the indicator lol :-)
Fun trip for you guys and that Landcrusier got a bit loose there a couple of times by the looks of it. I've said for ages especially after we met about Manual being better for engine braking, in saying that though I did notice at Easter that my Brothers 105 Series has better 1st low than the Paj does and both being manual. I still love the good low speed on my Paj though and hardly need to tap the brakes down hill in 1st low. Shame about that river exit being concreated but I guess it saves them fixing it every time it gets chewed up.
Yeah huge difference in engine braking for me going from an auto paj to a manual. The 8 cyl in the 76 help too with the engine braking. Definitely a bit loose at times with those tyres. They're far from ideal off road tyres but wanted to push them as far as I could before replacing them.
Nice little trip Jase. I had a look at your Supercats on line to see what they were like. They look good new, I suppose its how many Kms are on them. Yours go very well. I had Dunlop Grandtrek AT25's (not even a 4x4 tyre and come standard on the Dmax) and went up to the Pinnacles on a wet McDonald Gap track for sh#@s and giggles. They went up ok too, but I wouldn't do it again on them. Just up graded to the Wildpeak AT 3w's (you had them on the Paj), so I'll see how they go. Looking forward to trying them out when it snows a bit closer to home. Thanks for taking us on the adventure. Cheers, BobbyB.
Yeah look I've been really surprised how well the supercats have done. Only a few more trips and then the 76 will get an upgrade. I was pretty happy with the wildpeaks on the Paj, ran 3 sets of them over 4.5yrs. Decided to try something new for the 76 this time though.
Thx mate, was a great day out, exploring some area's I'd been close to many times but never actually done, Like Mt No3 and Pineapple Flats camp ground.
I camped in that little spot on Evans creek crossing at Buckland Spur track over the Kings birthday. I thought coming down Buckland Spur to the creek was pretty steep...but the next morning a couple of older RAV4s came down there and across the creek... 😮 Mt No 3 tracks look to have just had new rocks dropped on them and are a lot rougher than what you showed in the video. Great tracks and a great video !!
Thx mate, yeah they're doing mainmtenance all the time. Next part of this trip we tackle Burnt Top Track and I've already been told by another subscriber that it's been graded since we did it. The video never does the steepness of tracks justice.
lol good memory.... yes we do actually. It never progressed to being registered as I got the 76 and my wife decided she probably wasn't going to drive on trips afterall.
COuldn't agree more. Probably the only spot in that area I haven't done a video on yet is Top Crossing Hut, will have to get that done it's a great little hut and nice camp ground right on the river.
@OffTheBeatenPathAus not long after that river crossing they've concreted there's a track to the left a bout 1k up it turns into the bushes it takes you to the mouth of the river where it meets the lake. Such a nice spot👌
Yeah haven't been down there in several years. Last time was back in 2021 I think, came up to buckland spur and there was a young bloke standing there with a beer in hand and no vehicle in sight. Turns out he and his mates had driven in the night before and buried the front of their hilux in a bog hole. No winch or other recovery gear they were looking for help. So we headed down and winched them out. They promised beer or money in return for assistance but once it was done. Turns out they were pretty attached to their beer and asked if I wouldn't mind just taking cash instead :-)
Nice vid mate. Just wondering when this trip actually took place? I was up there a week ago and Black Landing Trk was as easy as it gets and fully graded. Could have done it in 2wd. In your vid it looks like it was graded but soft from the rain and also hadn’t set yet. Seeing that Road Closed sign down on the side makes me think old mate who’s tire marks were there before yours was the smarty pants who moved the sign out of the way! Anyway, enjoyed tracing over my steps from last week. Cheers.
@@OffTheBeatenPathAus ah nice I’ll check it out. We headed up Burnt Top to Stockyard to Paradise Falls from Pineapple Flat. Burnt Top was an easy graded track with amazing views. Had been graded recently for burn off access. Stockyard had some bog holes that looked worse than they actually are. Overall was a great drive. I’ll do Buckland next time I’m out that way.
Mostly to have rear doors for the kids. Also wasn't sure about ramp over on some rock steps with the troopy, however as it's my daily and we've 2 kids, access for them to the rear seats was really the main reason. Troopys I think offer unrivalled flexibility for building out and if you want a vehicle you can create an internal living space in they're awesome.
Looks like a great bit of kit. I also am needing to upgrade to a better first aid kit so will definately look into one of these. Thanks for the review. Cheers!
Thanks mate, recent acquistion for me but the build quality of the canvas is great and it's a bit step up over the basic kit I had. Also, don't mind at all that it supports the RFDS.
I really enjoyed this vid. I know you said the camera set-up wasn't your preferred way to film, but I really liked the view. It looked like a drivers' eye view looking over the bonnet. I could kind of "feel" how the vehicle was behaving as the bonnet moved around underneath the track footage y'know? Your commentary is really good too - it adds a bit of colour. Sounds like the group of blokes were great too. No bullshit, no egos, just working together and enjoying the drive regardless of vehicle or speed or gear etc. I don't have a super expensive, super capable 4x4 so it's cool watching regular people with regular mods doing challenging tracks. I'm super keen to do a 4x4 trip to the Vic mountains soon. It looks amazing.
Thx mate. Glad you enjoyed it, we certainly enjoyed the trip and they are a great bunch of guys. Definitely don't stress too much about having the 'perfect' setup. I started in a stock pajero with only an aircompressor and AT tyres as the only mods. If I didn't like the way a track was going and wasn't confident in doing it, I'd turn around. THe high country is amazing and it never gets old. I love that I live right near it feel very lucky that's the case.
I camped at then Evans creek river crossing over the Kings Birthday weekend and it was a great campsite for a small group, maybe 1-2 vehicles. Lots of rubbish around (filthy grubs leaving stuff !!) but otherwise a great site. Some interesting vehicles going up or down the steep bit after the river heading away from the lake.. some dude towing a boat UP the hill... some guys in a RAV4 coming DOWN the hill. Not the steepest in the VHC but a challenge none the less.
definitely. Towing a boat up would have been fun. Guess if it's a tinnie it's not too heavy. It's a shame how much rubbish people leave around. I reckon it'd be a good spot to camp hopefully not too much traffic. Thanks for posting!
Hi, enjoyed the video, useful for convincing my wife to allow me to drive these hill, I'm an old geographer, interested in the geology/geomorphology/vegetation and the history of the area. been a long while since I was last there. . Re your Talus/scree question.. in my view it is either both or neither. In my old geomorphology texts from the 1960's talus/scree are interchangeable (maybe depending whether you trained in Britain or North America?) Talus cones form at the base of a cliff. created by rockfalls as the cliff disintegrates due to weathering. The talus/scree deposits build up over time and form a steep slope, approx 35% in a fresh deposit, so steep and loose it is hard/unsafe to walk on (as I experienced on the north slope of Brinkley Bluff in the MacDonnell in the 1980's) Another possibility (more likely by the look of the feature from your video) is a 'felsenmeer', a 'rock sea' a German term... common at altitude or high latitudes, and in basalt rocks especially, the exposed lava flow cracks into large angular blocks. Looks a lot like what your video shows. I would like to get up there to have a better look, but it doesn't appear to me to be a talus/scree slope. Hope this comment is a useful starting point for you. Aasupport.google.com/youtube/answer/1646861?topic=3024170&hl=en. R
thanks so much for the detailed information. Love learning stuff like this from people who know more about it. Very informative. This area's pretty accessible particularly if you come off Howitt Plains Rd by way of Licola.
@@OffTheBeatenPathAus Thanks, I'd love to take my wife to B. Falls, she loves ' tree fern country drives', showed her your video earlier, very impressed... would like to sneak up to The Bluff via your route, easy track for our 100 series non turbo diesel. I don't claim any great expertise on the rocks, just a bit of knowledge picked up from Uni days and over the years. I have some reference books and will see if they can cast more light.
Great review mate but do you have to activate the tracking I’m a dirt bike rider and basically just need it to alert emergency services and a family member in case of an emergency as we have had a few accidents lately and one of these units would have come in handy just don’t need the tracking
The tracking is an optional extra. You can use it just as an emergency sattellite communicator. You can message any mobile number using it. Very handy. Also if you're solo and have an accident and need help it's got the SOS button which works similar to an EPIRB. I've had to use it a couple of times when I've had issues and it's well and truly paid for itself. When you're solo, middle of no where, what would you pay to be able to call for help? If you're taking a break from trips as well you can pause the subscription.
Yes it can. Exactly the feature I've used twice to coordinate recoveries, once on the border track and once in Macallister Gorge at the bottom of burgoynes track.
There was a road closed sign laying on the ground the start of Blacklanding Track , maybe somebody before you got there decided it wasn’t needed… Great trip though.
A mate of mine has a Hilux with a dodgy fuel gauge and he rang me one evening to come and rescue him when it ran out. Grabbed my Jerry Can and a funnel and got some fuel, did the whole priming pump thing and it was still a dog to get going again. Took quite a while and a lot of cranking. I'm pretty wary with mine as it only has a 67 litre tank in it.
King Basin rd to circuit rd would have been a better and quicker choice , Than Black landing track (back the way you came) but looks as if you had a great time through King Hut area Great video!
yeah been that way a while now, it was down that way a year or so ago I buried the Paj in a boghole on my way back from Craig's Hut.... Parks guys were doing a bit of work then. They're stretched pretty thin though, so definitely an area to keep a eye on.
