The Ingeegoodbee trip began on the 10th of November and consisted of David Raeburn & David Rogers in a Ford Maverick, Michael Jacavou in a Toyota Hilux, Christine Clayton in a Daihatsu Rocky and myself, Brad Toohey trip leader in a Nissan Gu Patrol.
Dave, Dave and Michael had left early on the Friday afternoon to secure a campsite and get a fire ready for when the remaining cars would arrive. The original plan was to camp and the Suggan Buggan campsite but was found to be occupied, so travelled on to Willis campsite, just before the NSW border on the side of the Snowy River. The remaining cars arrived at around 6.30pm
The following morning kicked off at around 8.30am, beginning with letting our tyres down and then on to the Ingeegoodbee track. Part way up this track was a helipad with great 360deg views which ended up being our morning tea stop. There was snow off in the distance with we determined was the Mt Kosciusko range.
There were a couple of steep sections on this track, with the tracks being dry posed no problems for any drivers.
Part way along the Ingeegoodbee track we turned left onto McFarlane Flat Track. We noticed a campsite location on our maps so we decided to take a look. It ended up taking around 30 minutes round trip but was work the effort, there was a nice & quiet campsite (with no facilities) on the side of the Suggan Buggan river.
From here we continued along McFarlane Flat Track and crossed the Ingeegoodbee river which was quite low. We had lunch on one of the plains at McFarlane Flat where we saw our first brumbies off in the distance.
The track wasn’t difficult and found the going pretty easy for an hour or so before the track turned into Cobberas Track where we came to the hardest section of track on the trip: steep, rocky and loose dirt. Each of the cars bounced and fought for traction as we all made it up relatively easily, it goes to show that a good set of tyres helps in these types of conditions.
The drive along the Cobberas Track provided incredible views, none more so that driving straight at Mt Cobberas No1 standing at 1836m. we made a quick stop where a couple of us climbed up a rock face to see great views into the valley below.
We arrived at our campsite at around 4pm, on the side of a small stream which provided crystal clean water. We quickly got a fire going as the campsite was at a height of 1340m, it was going to be cold. This was evident the following morning with frozen water in bowls and crispy white swags.
We left the campsite at around 8am and headed to Limestone Hut to take a look, we (the Bairnsdale 4WDrive Club) are fortunate to know the owner, who gave us permission to drive in and take a look. It’s located in an amazing location, beside a small stream, open plain, with plenty of facilities both inside and outside the Hut.
From here we drove up the Limestone Creek Track, this a pretty track, relatively easy in the dry but the scenery makes up for what you miss out in four-wheel driving. We found our next group of brumbies, this time a heard of five who seemed content to watch us from a distance as we drove by.
We turned right at the end of Limetone Creek Track on to McCarthys Track for a short distance until we reached the Poplars camp site and the Murray river, which is the highest public vehicle access to the Murray. This was just a quick stop to take some photos and stretch the legs.
From here we continued back along McCarthys Track where we passed the first cars we saw since Friday afternoon. It was getting close to lunch so we decided to drive into Mt Murphy Historic Area and break there. There were still a lot of remains of what was a major operation back in the day, pictures were taken from the safety of the mine entrance.
From here we drove to the intersection of Mt Hope Rd, where we all aired our tyres up and headed into Omeo for fuel and refreshments. It was a leisurely drive home from Bairnsdale from Omeo.
The trip was enjoyed by all, no major issues occurred but as always, driving in remote areas is always safer with other cars.