The 4WD Training

In preparation for the offroading we were likely to be doing, I decided that a weekend of learning how to use the 4wd features of the wagon would be in order. Based on the recommendation of Keerthi in the office, I chose to go with Mountain Top Experience 4WD Training (see link on the right for more information about this awesome company - free plug done!)

The weekend course was going to be based near Rawson, VIC. The back-end of nowhere. It would be a 2.5 hour drive out of Melbourne and the course was due to start at 9am. I was prepared and ready. After some initial confusion on accommodation - i'd decided that this would be the best time to test out the swag bag i'd been told was at the heart of every outback adventure. This legendary piece of equipment is meant to be the sleeping bag gone extreme.... waterproof, with a mattress, and everything you need rolled into 1. It turns out this is a bit of an oversell - its more like the Bear Grylls of sleeping bags.... over rated and leaves you needing something more for it to fulfill its designed purpose. Its a tent with no poles.... and a foam mattress that comes out of its packaging and expands to 10 times its size so the swag bag fits neatly into a 7 ton lorry. Anyway - i was packed, prepared and ready the night before the course was due to start. It was going to be an early start - getting up at 6.30 to make it out there and I was asleep nice and early in preparation. 6am the alarm clock goes off. The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting and its looking like it will be a good day. 8.20am - A shout through my door "Rob are you still here? I thought you were leaving at 6.30?" - I'd been so relaxed and at peace with the tranquility of hte morning, id fallen right back to sleep and was now nearly 2 hours behind schedule. Great start to the weekend!

When i finally arrive at the location - only 1 hour late! The classroom session had started, and I quickly got into learning all the theoretical aspects of what makes a 4wd car so good. The theory lasted all morning ,and I was brought up to speed on what I'd missed over morning tea (with some amazing home baked cakes!). After lunch, we headed outside to see what vehicles each of us had brought. Every man stood in front of his gleaming hulk of offroading machinery and proudly stated the facts and figures - 8 cylinder this blah blah, fuel injected that blah blah. Ive modified it with this suspension blah blah. All the way down the line til we got to the Wagon.

"Hi Guys, this is a 1988 Mitsubishi Pajero. Urm.... its Beige? And the only modification I've made is to add a tea cup holder out of a drainpipe connecter and some screws - cause its just a tragedy for me to not have somewhere for my teacup while I'm driving"

I'm not sure my introduction was quite what everyone expected, but just highlighted my complete lack of knowledge about the machinery that was going to take me so far round the country. Ron was a star tho, by the end of the weekend, i was more than comfortable with all the terms and technical talk the others had been sprouting from the start and could talk along with the my cars better than yours conversations!

But the real reason was the driving! After show and tell we headed out onto the mud tracks. Haring around the slippery muddy tracks was great fun and a good introduction to the different ranges available in gears. We slid and slithered our way through a course, before heading off to a river crossing. Having been very successful at the previous challenges, i was looking forward to pushing the wagon further. We reached the deepest river crossing in Victoria, and after a quick demo - we were up. Create a bow wave they said - so i gunned the engine and hit it hard, slewing through the water until i spotted it flowing over the bonnet! Slowing down, i heard my CB radio squawk instructions and eventually i was through - steam hissing from the bonnet but everything still ticking along. Note for next time - DO IT SLOWER!. Once the group had made it across and everyone was standing discussing the crossing - Ron pipes up and asks "do you have a number plate still?" Bugger. In the dash across the flimsy tacks the number plate had been held on with had come loose and my number plate was sitting in the middle of the river waving away at me. Quick as a flash, and to the great amusement of the rest of the group, my shoes were off and I waded in to retrieve it. As we discussed the depth of the water and where it would have come to on the cars, I found myself being used as the human measuring stick against all the vehicles, the water line on my thigh helping indicate to everyone how high the water had got up their car.

The next challenge proved the Pajero to be a mighty strong player in the offroading... as it effortlessly tackled every obstacle, going sideways ,driving with 2 wheels off the ground, and taking a very sharp incline with no scraping. What a day. To finish us off, we started to learn how to regain control of a car sliding backwards, and how to do an in gear hill start (in reverse). I'd never have thought these relevant lessons - but 10 minutes later when at the head of the pack i lost it going up a clay hill - i found myself very quickly putting into practice my learning's. When your wheels are spinning and all your doing is sliding down a hill backwards with no control, its amazing how many lessons come flooding back to you.... along with the rest of your life in front of your eyes!

Traction regained, and i was the first of the group to have to be actually recovered. But that's not until tomorrows lesson i thought, hands gripping the steering wheel and onlookers think id died and come back as a ghost. 40 minutes later, and the help of a very experienced Ron - i was sold on how important a snatch strap is while offroading. I don't know how i would have got out without it!

Total tally of damages for the 4wd weekend

1 x missing number plate (temporarily fixed with cable ties)
No brake lights
No windscreen wiper on drivers side.
A burning need to have a snatch strap, tyre pressure gauge, and a guardian angel.

What a brilliant weekend though, and so much learnt. If your ever wanting to learn how to drive safely in tough terrain - there is no better option than MTE.