VIC HIGH COUNTRY'S TWO BEST TRACKS! INSANE VIEWS! Billy Goat Bluff & Blue Rag Range Track

this does not feel nice i've cut something's happened i've gone on a weird angle you might want to pull the winch out this is definitely the most snow this is the most snow you've ever been in isn't it a country track probably one of the most famous tracks in the high country of not australia this is our moment this is our moment if you choose to go you can't change your mind stay committed no turn around [Music] that was honestly ridiculous i regret regret doing that in these conditions [Applause] had a little bit of rain through the night last night came in about three or four o'clock not a heap though packed up camp this morning and then we just came up this last section up into the actual mayford town site it's a nice big open area in here i don't even know there's any old buildings i haven't seen any as i said yesterday it's probably a better camp spot up along here and dad walked up here this morning there's a couple of beautiful camp spots up here this big open area sort of where it's more open on the river and then we're gonna have a swim in this one here nice fresh morning swim it's a deep hole there no one else down in here seem to have this whole place to ourselves feeling refreshed man that water is so cold running straight off mount hotham make the drive up out of here gonna head up to blue rag [Music] [Music] we've flattened out back up the top here we're in the clouds all the way up and down we're so high up we're coming up out the other sides of the clouds i think in blue rags is going to be horrible today we're about to see anything which still could happen or it could turn out absolutely insane and we're up there up in the clouds in the mountains [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] here we go the infamous blue rag range track there it is it winds its way right up to the top there just absolutely insane iconic higher country track probably one of the most famous tracks in the high country of not australia you ready for it kai you ready to get some epic photos blue rag range track isn't anything that challenging it does get pretty steep in parts but can't see a problem getting any stock full drive up here providing it has low range it's just the views it's just insane the views you get across along a ridge line with nothing but mountains and views out all around you and i think it's about 1700 meters super high in regards to tire pressures for this track and pretty much this whole trip dad and i both running about 18 psi at the moment if we came up to came up against some super challenging stuff we could drop a bit lower down to about 15 16 but 18 is working really well for this i have two eight five seven five r16 tires and dad has two six five seven five r16 tyres we both got the falcon wild peak mud terrains and then we both have a two inch lift keep heading up this ridge line and make our way up to the trick point at the top [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we made it we're up the top how's this for a spot kai last time we're here we got annihilated by monster storm and it was just insane i can't believe this weather we scored so many times you see people come here it's hurricane wind or they just disappeared in the clouds i can't see anything it still has up here hardly any wind just views as far as you can see amazing the only ones up here i think i do hear a vehicle coming now what are you reckoning about this spot up here and on your back and on your birthday too yeah yeah i've hit today's the big birthday up on blue rag yeah can't grizzly about that what an incredible place to have lunch up here so beautiful today [Music] it's been a fair bit of a drive since we left blue rag instead of coming right back out of blue rag we turned right came on to richie road i think it was and then onto south basalt knob track and that's the one we're heading down now all sort of that most that driver just flat on top of the mountain quite a bit of a long drive not much happening it's getting very steep now though coming down this south basalt track and some pretty awesome views of the mountain ranges out in front of us here we're heading down into tabetville and crooked river [Music] puffed from running that camera a couple really steep holes here now first gear low put that rear locker in just to help control it as we head down this descent through these holes and steps the reason for the rear locker being if our rear wheel lifts off when you go in a hole it stops your car spinning and gaining momentum because it keeps things nice and controlled [Music] made it down that south basalt basalt basalt knob track which is super steep down there down the bottom and they're on the crooked river track now which is the one that has a heap of river crossings and then we'll probably try and find camp along it here somewhere in the next half hour how's photo judy going kai walking through all the creeks on the crooked river track they're actually not that cold at least yeah well we've been going for 45 minutes now i swear those camps along this track we haven't seen anything yet it's under way down it is beautiful out here or the creek crossings are it's all simple basic track and they're all shallow at the moment as you can obviously see after heap of rain like any creek track they would go up but generally this is what you're looking at it just constantly criss-crosses the creek so there's only 300 meters between each creek crossing if that and then you're back in the creek again and between the creek crossings it's just sort of a dirt basic dirt trail found ourselves a camp just next to the crooked river somewhere just sort of took a road in off took a tracking off the road and then do a spot here enough room for a couple of vehicles starting to cool down we'll get this fire going and relax another big day on the tracks have fun do you get some good photos yeah change your feet [Music] is last night was definitely the coldest night we've had so far seems to be getting colder and colder every night and there's actually snow predicted for tonight above a thousand meters so i think we're gonna go head up billy goats today and then across to mount wellington i've been up billy goats i've never been across to mount wellington which is about 1600 meters camp up there tonight and try and get a good snowfall and camp in the snow which would be cool in regards to mapping for this trip i'm running two gps maps on my phone i've got the hema gps mapping system off the app store i've got the gaia gps which is gaia and then i'm running a heap of paper maps as well just to make sure i don't get lost down here we know where we're going got this high country victoria atlas which has got all maps in it plus some tracks to drive and things to see and do and that then i've got this hema booklet here and then here i've got a heap of different maps so i've got this one which is a bit of an overview of the whole whole high country which has got pretty good detail on it and then here we've actually got these new ones now as well where they've split it up into four and then these have more detail on them and then i've got a couple of state maps as well i've got a victoria one which dad has that's where we came yesterday down that basalt south and then blue rag was all the way back up above there down to here and then we came up this crooked river and that's ever camped up along there then today we'll sort of loop back around where we come down maybe collingwood spur and then we'll head over here um dad's actually heading home today so he's going to head back out here to dargo and then back up kind of head up billy goats and then from billy goats we're going to head over here which i've never been to this area of this morocca range track up into mount wellington and probably camp up there tonight how nice is this out here in these high country rivers we're heading out this and i'll fall over in the creek here heading out this crooked river track now out the rest of it so many creek crossings i'm not filming them all because they all basically look the same anyway and it just takes too long i'm having to park the car up there and then walk down set the camera up drive across and come back came off that crooked river track and then we sort of hooked back up over this range up i'll probably get all these names right here's bull bull town spur track or something like that and then it was i can't remember that first one there was good hope spare track and now we're going down collingwood spur track i think you can actually see i saw it a second ago you can see billy goats bluff heading up out through there and i could see people at the helipad over there just look like look all around you and just see nothing but mountains and tracks going all across them and then that is potentially the start of tonight's snow building it's definitely cold out here today i'm not sure i'm only in a shirt because i've been running up and down hills but i'm freezing standing here all these tracks are reasonably well maintained so they are quite steep but there's nothing that hard in them that just steep up and then stick back down down off that collingwood spur track and then we come back down here on to the warning gutter river there's a few crossings of it now which i think it also makes up part of the crooked river track these ones are a decent amount deeper than the crooked river though and we're heading through to kingswell bridge and then we may stop there have a bit of a rest for a bit and then dad will head off into dargo from there and i will a bit of a next up out this creek here and kind of head up billy goats i reckon just have to be a little bit mindful when you come down off those really steep spurs tracks how hard you wear on your brakes on the way down them and then if you just plunge into these icing cold rivers down the bottom that can cause problems to your brakes i'm in first gear low range i go very gentle on the brakes down those hills i don't use them heaps but yeah it just depends how your vehicle behaves and how much braking you need to do there's so many great camps all through this area here that's one of the things i love about the high country you never have to look too far to find an awesome camp either on top of a mountain or down in the valley somewhere on a creek made it through to the kingsworld bridge on the warning gutter river there's actually really nice campsites here next to it we have camped here in the past we're just going to have some lunch here today though and freshen up in the river have a little swim for the day dad's heading home from here back to dargo and then up target high plains road we carried 20 extra liters of fuel each of us i've still got mine but because dad's going to be going near a fuel station soon i'll grab tears off him and then that'll make sure i have plenty to get me from here all through the mountains over to the cola and i can sort of go the back ways from kingswell bridge is it kingsworld kingsford i don't know one of the other it's not that far it's only a few k's up the road to start a bill you go it's bluff which we're heading up now this is along with blue rag they're probably a couple of the most famous tracks in the high country this one is very steep and very rough and rocky it's an incredible track sort of steep and narrow and then massive views all out behind you as you come up here but i've just been taking a nice and slow first gear low range try and control that throttle as much as you can so you're not bouncing and jerking up those steps i find i got one of those ultimate nine throttle controllers i find that helps quite a bit on this and i put it on a lower setting and economy setting and it just makes that throttle not as touchy so when you're putting your foot down it's a slow response and then that way it's more controlled on these drives like these steep rocky hills it's quite busy out here as well which makes it hard to film so you got to find a spot to pull out the car over out of the way then you got to set the camera up film it stop out of the way drive back i mean walk back get the camera it makes it hard when there's heaps of people and on a track like this coming up near the top now and this rain's moving and bears like ice definitely feels like a good snow tonight i don't know what view we'll get up here with this rain coming in hopefully we still get a good one another little tip on these sorts of tracks when you're on your own is i just have my uhf radio on scan that way i can pick up the other groups in the area as well because there's a group up there's two groups up in front of me i think there's one back down the other and then i can hear another group over on south but seoul which is ages away but yeah it's just a little tip that then you can hear what's going on around [Music] you this rain's coming down a little bit and this track is actually getting super interesting compared to say something like blue rag which is very simple this has actually got some decent holes and steps and stuff in it so i'm puffing walking up the hill yeah you get a stock full drive up here if you really knew what you were doing a little bit risky though what an unreal track so it's the perfect track i guess with unreal views and a bit of challenge without being anything stressful tomato up the top of billy goats there's the view it kind of disappeared behind the clouds a little bit but you can still see it there's the track down there that you come up oh it'd be hard to sand the camera but yeah there it is there and yeah it's hard to see this is kind of like sleeting like real icy rain at the moment i don't know if we'll be able to hang around here for too long i was gonna try and fly the drone up here but i don't think that'll work very well in this weather what a spot it is so bloody cold we got two singlets shirts two jumpers we've both doubled up on long pants wait i i didn't have two things what no we got a single shirt two jumpers two long pants yeah um after that feeling its track we sort of made our way around moroccan range track grab out of this wind here and then up on to mount wellington it's meant to snow tonight above a thousand or 800 meters and dad decided top of the world so dad decided to go to the top top of the world just be a idiot about it and then we're going to get bloody covered in by snowfall before he gets stuck up here in a snow blizzard luckily we've got lots of food and water to last a week case we can't get over here for a day yeah we figured we'd give ourselves what i figured we'd give ourselves every chance to get a good snowfall overnight so i came to the top we're up up to about 1600 meters and it is so cold just came to the top of mount everest yeah just maybe mount everest uh oh no snow came oh we were above the clouds we went too high we went a moment it's going down there's this fire pit here someone's built that we use we'll make a nice big warm fire here and then cook up a nice warm dinner we're the peaks just up there we're down at the peak we would have literally got blown away off already scanned up on the peak whereas down here slightly protected swinging around here a bit but then you have these little peaceful moments they're gonna need a big warm fire tonight [Music] it is so cold it's about 8 30 cars gone up to bed we managed to cook some dinner i couldn't really do much filming in this wind and cooked dinner as we were eating started snowing um then it kind of went away so i managed to clean everything up packed everything away all in the canopy other than just the rooftop tent set up we're all here ready hopefully we get some good snow during the night sort of coming down a little bit of snow sleety stuff now i've taken the break off i put the windscreen wipers up i don't really have alpine diesel i don't know i got fuel don't be i don't know if they would have alpine diesel this time of year i've done everything i can we'll see how we go in the morning hopefully we wake up covered in snow it's about nine o'clock and it's starting to build now guys up in bed because it's going white how's photo dude it has and then between it's base it's just like all the tracks a lot of these but i've just been taking a nice and slow first ski low range but i've just been taking it nice and slow oh you know amazing [Music] you

Channel: Tyler Thompson

Views: 35,444

Rating: 4.9678717 out of 5

Keywords: 4wd, 4x4, offroad

Id: mRu9CVH_erM

Length: 28min 32sec (1712 seconds)

Published: Sat May 08 2021