Montezuma Falls & Ring River Road 4×4 Track with Devonport 4WD Club

G’day all,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_hPxye5WXw

Another day and another anticpated track.  Today the Montezuma Falls and Ring River Road Tracks with the Devonport 4WD Club.  I will start off by thanking Lance and the members of the 4×4 Club for their hospitality and goodwill.

The day started off for most members at Launceston at 7:00am in the morning (committment) and for us meeting up with everyone in Ridgely at 9:00am.  From there it was on the road (after meeting with a few members) to Roseberry where a quick toilet stop, chin wag and morning tea was a welcome breather.

Onto the real stuff and down the road again before meeting up with the start of the Montezuma Falls 4×4 Track.  Not meant to be confused with the general tourist road into the falls.  Most of the crew let down tyres for a more comfortable ride and for some more traction in the mud.  It was raining pretty heavy in places and we expected some parts of the track may be slippery.  Must say there was some tall timber around and I am not meaning the trees.  The guys at the Devonport Club certainly like there high lifted cars and big tyres.  At 6 inches my car was feeling a like a dwarf.

Montezuma Falls track was itself pretty tame which was to the disappointment of all.  Making up for that though was the beautiful rain forest that we were traversing through.  At times it felt like night time due to the overhead canopies.  There were also many little water falls along the way to enjoy.  These experiences made the 20klm trip into the falls a pleasant experience if not a challenging one.

The falls themselves were awesome.  We had recently been at the Columbia Falls and found them quite impressive but not in the same league as the Montezuma Falls.  This probably had a lot to do with the volume of water running over the falls which was thunderous.  In fact from the viewing platform we were getting soaked.  This brings me to the suspension bridge over the gorge which takes you to the viewing platform.  Narrow, slippery (due to rain) and high.  For those who don’t like heights it was an adventure in itself.

After many photos and lunch it was time to hit the Ring River Road track.  Down into the valley we went.  The track was a little more slippery, a little more interesting but no more challenging until we reached the bog hole.  The leading car made it easier for us all after clearing the settled mud from the deepest part of the hole.  Unfortunately this came at a cost with a blown differential.  Most cars made it successfully through the bog hole with engines screaming other than one Patrol getting stuck in the hole.  I think it was the only car with 33inch tyres, so the clearance was a little underdone.  With the mud hole behing us (check out the videos…when I get a chance to load them) we headed towards the Ring River.  We had it on good authority that their was a fairly large tree down near the river…so everyone was hoping that this was not the case.  Great news the tree had vanished and our path was clear.  The Ring River crossing is tackled running up the near bank of the river to the second access point and then straight across through the bonnet high deep water.  Another god place to be equipped with a snorkel.  It was a fun river crossing and easily negotiated by all.

From the other side of the river it was an easy 15 minute drive back to the highway.  We all stopped and watched some awesome bush mechanics take place to remove the crown wheel off the broken differentail to make the trip  home a little more pleasant.  It always amazes me of peoples skills around the car and you never stop learning something watching people do their thing out in the bush.

That signalled the end of the day and we all hit the highway and headed home.  Unfortunately on the way one car pulled over with a damaged alternator and one had to be restarted after a flat battery – probably another alternator damaged courtesy of the water hole.

A good day out, without anything seriously challenging but I knew that the tracks we were heading down were probably easily done with a capable 4WD.  I did happen to have a good chat to a few of the blokes about a place called Wombat Flats so here hoping that trip can be arranged in the near future and an invite comes our way.

Thanks once again to Lance and all the members of the Devonport 4WD Club.  It never amazes me of the goodwill of 4WD Clubs and their members who are only to happy to help out.  It was great to be out with such a knowledgeable club and one that loves its offroad advetures.  Until next time we meet…thanks guys!

Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia

Tags: 4WD, 4WDing, 4x4, Adventure, Bushman, Bushman Bud, Montezuma Falls, Offroad, Ring River, Ring River Road, Tasmania, Track