Its difficult to really gain a sense of how steep it is until you look outside your drivers window in the video. Now that’s steep! Another brilliant adventure. Thanks Batesy.
G'day Ross, Yeah mate the camera doesn't really show how steep a track is from out in front. Good that the side view does give you some indication of the track grade, they are steep thats for sure. Thanks heaps mate, for your feed back. I greatly appreciate it mate. Cheers Batesy.
Thanks for the great video Tim. The views and tracks are inspiring. I really enjoy your down to earth, no nonsense commentary. I would love to visit the Victorian High Country, but it’s such a long way from North Queensland. I will have to make some plans. All the best Tim.
G'day Steve, Thanks mate, for your reply and feed back. I really appreciate that mate. I hope that some day, you can make the long drive down to the High Country, it will be well worth the drive. Cheers Tim.
I love it when your driving Timbo and you look up through the windscreen almost at the sky haha. Ya know its a steep track when that happens haha. Great work mate. Loving your vids.
G'day mate, It was a great trip that one. Some really steep country in that Dargo area. Thanks a lot for your feedback, i greatly appreciate it. Cheers Tim.
I knew the bloke that put in that bypass track. It was put in around 50+ odd years ago, so the locals could get up country all year round, to check on stock and crops (the bloke I knew leased the old racecourse at Talbotville to grow beans) I’ve been going up there for 44 years.....( I’m now 45😂). Great video Tim!
G'day mate, That bypass track is very handy in times when the Crooked River is flowing hard. I could certainly see why its needed for those farms along that stretch of the river. Some great history from that area, which im sure you would know a fair bit about. Thanks heaps for your reply mate. Cheers Tim.
Yes, that track at Nancy's went in about 1973-4. That first crossing was fairly deep then and had claimed a few vehicles that I knew of around that time.
A hand held uhf is a must carry personally. As for your fire lighting effort HELL YER the ONLY way to light a fire, unless it's winter then a bit of woof juice works wonders lol. Fantastic video as always, thanks for sharing your adventures
G'day Matt, Yeah mate, the hand held is a vital bit of kit to carry. Very handy in a lot of situations. Hahah :-) thats the only way i get my fire going, old habits die hard. Thanks heaps for your reply and feed back mate, i greatly appreciate it. Cheers Tim.
One of your best Batesy !! Gee the grub looked pretty good as well...Rick sends his best and I collect the new Navara STX in a week or so...cannot wait !! Well done mate !! As always!
G'day Craig, Gee mate, thanks heaps for your feed back. I really enjoy what i do. Thats great getting the new rig mate. Just in time for the gates to open. LoL Always good catching up with RickO mate, i'll drop in next time im over that side. Thanks again mate. Cheers Batesy.
G'day mate, Talbotville is a top spot to camp up for a few days. Thats great you are getting some helpful spots to go and check out from the videos. Thanks for your reply mate. Cheers Tim.
G'day Phil, Yeah trying hard to get more longer videos. More of that length video will come as thing go forward. Thanks heaps for your reply mate. Cheers Tim.
Hi thank you for the video. Actually went down on gradys track and boundary track another day, boundary track is now very bushy and car is full of scratches 😂😂
Gday mate. No worries at all mate. Yeah, there’s some fairly tight and over grown tracks that will give your 4wd some nasty scratches. Hopefully your will cut and polish out ok. Thanks for your feedback. Cheers Tim
Hey Tim thanks for the great show really enjoyed it slowly making a diary of the great places to come and visit hopefully early next year. Just waiting for the brothers 4x4 to get out of the workshop then heading straight over for the first time. Obviously theres still a lot of great places to drive on through the closure season i see.. well thanks again keep up the good work, from the Barossa.
Thanks Tim. Great vid. Heading to the VHC in Feb/March 2020 for a couple of weeks and those two campsites look really nice. Might just have to camp there 👍
G'day Keith, You have a great trip when you come down next year and those couple of camp sites are well worth checking out. Quite a few in that area on the river. Thanks for your reply mate. Cheers Tim.
I get the High Country Map out when ever you do a travel video! Great stuff Tim. We've just come back from crossing the Nullarbor and up to Uluru/Kata Juta and back to old Sydney Town. The High Country beckons...maybe early next year!
G'day Mahn, Its always a great time getting the maps out to plan another trip. Exciting times to get back in the bush. I hope you had a great trip travelling throughout central Australia. Thanks heaps for your reply mate. Cheers Tim.
Done Gradys Creek to Maguires quite a few times but not Boundary or Rileys. Always thought there were gates through there. Thanks for the info, just going to have a look at it myself.
G'day Hayden, Yeah mate, that was my last trowel when i finished up my own business about 12 years ago. Just couldn't throw it away mate. Thanks for your reply and feed back, i greatly appreciate it. Cheers Tim.
Hi Daniel, Thanks mate for subscribing to my channel, i really appreciate that mate. Regular content is coming through. Thanks for your feed back mate. Cheers Tim.
Tim, don’t want to bother you to much but I’m getting a big touring build done this week. V6 amarok. I’ll tow a caravan and like beach work, high country, cape tracks. I wanted a 285/70 but I need to go a 275 to fit. Was going BF KO2 AT. But considering a quality mud now due to the 275 limit. Will these good years you’re running perform well towing a van on a touring rig? Any feedback would be appreciated. Cheers
@@Daniel-qt1br Mate, know worries at about asking questions. I have been running Good Years for 4yrs now. They have been fantastic in all the conditions i have put them through. The full mud tyre that i have now suits what i do perfectly. If you are looking at a AT tyre. The Duratracs are a wicked aggressive AT tyre. I had a set of Duratracs first up, for a daily driver, they are a great tyre. Let me know mate if you need any further info. Cheers Tim.
Nice Batesy I notice you always mention closures etc you should do a vid on high country basics . What months to go . Generally what tracks are closed and as a rule of thumb etc etc. you mentioned Wonnangatta in this vid as an example . Love your vids mate
G'day John, Yeah i try and throw is as many track closure info as i can mate, to help others out. I have got a video on my channel about best times of year to visit the High Country. But, i will take in your other points mate, and look at building some of those into future trips. Thanks heaps for your reply and feed back mate. Cheers Batesy.
Hey there Tim, Love the videos. Great info and I’ve taken a lot in. By chance is there a part 2 to this video. If there is I’m blind 🤦♂️. I’d like to know where you went after crooked river. Cheers 👍🏼
G'day mate, Yes, there is Ep2 from that trip. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3UaZ_4V1Zq4.html That will show you where we went after leaving Crooked River. Thanks for checking out the videos. Cheers Tim.
Always enjoy your videos. A few years back you did a little series of videos one being the Wonnangatta story. Wondering if now and then you could throw in a video about the history behind some of these places and their stories as for me I found them very interesting and bought the High Country to life. Thanks
G'day Zoe, Wonnangatta is a great place to spend a few days. It is loaded with history from the days when it was a cattle station. Then followed by the unsolved murders of Wonnangatta. I have my theories as to what happened. In not sure if you have watched the Postcards From The Bush series on my channel. We covered Wonnangatta in great detail. I do enjoy the history side of things. I'll look into future videos with more history related topics. Thanks for your feed back, appreciated as always. Cheers Tim.
@@timbates4wdadventures Yes I watched Postcards from the bush and thought they were very good. You have a great ability for that kind of thing because of your closeness to the High Country. Safe travels Tim.
Awesome vid as always mate👌 I remember watching my first 4x4action dvd when you were with Graham in the high country some 7years or so ago and got obssesed with everything high country from that so thanks for your dedication.. Do the reduction gears put any extra strain on the driveline or engine? I know youve had them a while now,just curious as to any extra wear and tear you may have encountered.. cheers mate..
G'day mate, They were great days on the 4wd action trips. Its always great to catch up with those guys at the 4wd shows. The reduction gears dont apply any extra wear on the driveline or engine. It makes things easier, so less stress on those areas. Thanks heaps for your feed back and questions mate. Cheers Tim.
Love the video Tim. I remember you mentioned your cooking set up was made by a blacksmith "out the back of Bright". I'm referring to the two upright poles and the round grills. Is there anywhere to buy a set up like that these days? P.S I love your trowel spatula.
Good stuff tim as usual, Italian flats was a great spot. Hay tim do you think when you do these tracks that you could show a bit more of the views from the top of the ridges for the outer states people it looks amazing but just don't see much of it.. it's ok for you you've been there.. 🙂
G'day John, No worries mate. I will look into that for future videos. I do appreciate feedback for things to add into the videos. Thanks for your reply mate. Cheers Tim.
Awesome work Tim. Big patrol just eats it up. What will your replacement vehicle be when the time comes? My old td42t GU has over 300k on it now but they don't make a werthy replacement anymore.
G'day mate, Not planning on getting rid of the Ol Patrol any time soon. Its so suited to the High Country and touring in general. As you say, whats around that you would replace it with. Mine has done 318000ks now. Thanks for your reply and feed back mate. Cheers Tim.
Gday mate, For me, i wouldn't go any higher than what i have with the size tyres that i run of 33in. The next reduction size up is something like 82%. That for what i do would be way too high. As it now, flat out is about 45kph and revving really hard, i certainly dont' drive like that. Just gives you an idea. If i went to 35in tyres with my current ratio of 42%, i would loose all the benefit of that reduction. In muddy terrain it works really well. Because i can generally select 3rd gear low range and gain max traction. Hope that helps answer your question mate. Thanks for your reply and feed back. Cheers Tim.
Good video Tim short and sweet 100% putting the victory high country on my bucket list for 2020. Just got to get my bull bar on my dmax and a few more camping things set up and go. What kinda time do you recommend too spend down there I'm coming down from nsw with a few mates so yea any help would be appreciated.
G'day Cameron, Well worth putting the High Country on that 2020 bucket list mate. Hope you get that gear on the DMax soon and its ready to come on down. As far as time goes, its never going to be long enough. Just come for what ever days or weeks you can and make the most of that time. Let me know when you plan to come down, and i'll try help you out with a plan. Thanks heaps for your reply mate. Cheers Tim.
Gday Danny, I had mine fitted by a mechanic years ago on the Mornington Peninsula Contact Marks Adaptors. They will help you out. The gears are unreal Thanks for your reply and feedback mate Cheers Tim.
Hey Tim, really enjoy watching your vids. I’ve lived in Melbourne for over 3 years but have yet to experience the High Country. As a novice 4WDriver are there many places you can bring a small off road caravan, park it up and then do some tracks? Or is it better to do it with a tent/swag? Cheers
Gday Damien, Mate, there’s heaps of places you can get a van into. Base up and go exploring. I have a live chat video I made a few months ago, for beginner 4WDers in the High Country. Maybe check that out and let me know if you need any more info. Thanks for your reply mate. Cheers Tim
@@timbates4wdadventures Thanks Tim, really appreciate the reply and I’ll definitely check out that video! I have an NP300 Navara STX but think I need to invest in some proper off road tyres and rims first, any recommendations? Cheers
@@damiengramola8059 no worries at all mate. I’m running the Goodyear Duratracs. Really good every day driver, Aggressive A/T. Let me know if you need more information. Cheers Tim
A friend of mine that died from cancer this year drowned his Range rover on crooked river track an the auto filled up with water and the range court fire on Billy goats track.
G’day Tim. I have a small convoy heading from Yass down to Craig’s hut this Friday. Where do we camp near there? Next day we want to head to Dargo, Crooked river and Billy goats bluff then pick a camp For Saturday night. We want to head north towards Tom Groggin to get home on Monday. Any suggestions?? Thanks. Mark.
Hi Mark, You cant camp on the grass hill in front of the hut. You can camp in a large area on the left just before the junction where Clearhills Tk comes out. You get a heap of cars in that spot. Going to be a massive day to get to Dargo from Craigs Hut. Mmmm Not sure what your plans are mate. Big area to cover in those days mate. Specially also trying to get to Tom Groggin. Ask more questions if you like mate. Cheers Tim.,
@@timbates4wdadventures G'day Tim. Just a quick recap of the trip we did from Friday 1st Nov. We left Yass at 8am. Had lunch at Mainsfield. Drove up to Craigs Hut. Chucked a few laps around that area and then headed up to Bluff Hut for the night. Saturday morning then headed towards Pinnacles, Billy Goats Bluff chucked a left at Kingswell Bridge and did the crooked river loop. We had no idea that you Victorians take the Monday off so you can have a 4 day weekend with Melbourne cup day. It was quite busy all around Dargo and surrounding areas. We had a convoy of 9 trying to get down Billy Goat Bluff with opposing traffic. Added to the excitement. we made it to Dargo by 3.30ish on Saturday arvo. It was pissing down so instead of heading to Italian Flat for the night we camped behind the pub. Had a huge night at the Pub - Live band and great atmosphere. Struggled up on Sunday morning and packed up camp in the drizzle. We headed on to Omeo via Upper Dargo Rd and Birregun Rd and had lunch at Omeo. The rain stopped and we had clear weather and some challenging driving from Beloka Rd, Mt Hope Rd & then onto Tom Groggin track. We opted to cross the Murray River (water up to the bonnet) and camp on the NSW side of Tom Groggin @ 3.30ish on Sunday afternoon. Set up camp, cooked up a pork roast and enjoyed the fire until the thunder storm hit later in the evening. Luckily we crossed the river the afternoon before because the crossing was impassable on Monday morning. Back home by lunchtime Monday. We covered some ground and had some great but slightly wet camping. Will have to do Randalls Track next trip. Also looks like some great camping on the crooked river if you can spend the time to set up for longer periods. Please keep the tips and must see tracks in the high country coming. Hopefully we can meet one day. Cheers, Mark.
@@markthespark6240 Gday Mark, Great trip you guys did. Looks like you all had a ball. Your trip certainly covered some stunning country mate. Glad you all had a safe trip. Plenty more videos coming mate. Thanks for your reply. Catch up some day in the High Country for sure. Cheers Tim.