Awoke to a fine day in Warrnambool got ready and set of to the morning muster.
Set off to breakfast in the park. Pancakes and cream for breakfast yum yum.
Today was our first day to visit to a school.
After quick wash the Snot Rocket looked much cleaner than end of day yesterday.
As part of the red team we attended Warrnambool Public School.
Most of the cars (us included) looked nice and spiff and as instructed we made lots and lots of noise, sirens horns, and assorted noises were blaring from all car as we paraded through the town towards the school.
When we got there the children were all standing and eagerly waiting for us to get there.
The children were let loose and they mixed with all the Scarlatinas and the cars. Some of them seemed interested and admiring the variety of names and special colouring on the cars.
A great quantity of sweets, chips and other giveaways were handed out to the children. I estimate that there were about 200-250 children joined us.
As part of the original Team Afro plan we selected 2 children (1 boy & 1 girl l) to have their hand traced onto the bonnet of the Snot Rocket. The children were thrilled to be able to assist us in this.
After about 35-45 minutes we went into the gym and there the children were treated to the Camp Quality Education Puppets; Kylie, Dean & Melissa.
At the end of the puppet show all Escapadians were invited to the front stage and there the children and puppets presented the Camp Quality 2011 Escarpade theme song—“The WHELLS ON THE CAR GO ROUND AND ROUND”
After the school Rob drove the morning section of the day along both sealed and unsealed road. The road took us trough typical Southland forest and bush. We drove past green (like you can only imagine) farms, pastures and crops with many grazing cattle onto Casterton
At Casterton we had lunch at the Casterton Sports field.
Nice meal. Several cars attended to minor mechanical needs.
After lunch Ross drove the afternoon section of the day.
We drove for a short while on sealed road and hen turned off onto dirt road.
We progressed approx 5 kilometres and then all came to a stop.
One of the cars in the Escarpade became very bogged in sandy mud creek crossing.
A second car attempting to pass them also become stuck, our car was about the 15th or so car in the line.
All of the cars were asked to move over so that one of the Escarpade Mechanic vehicles could pass.
It eventuated that they forged a brand new track around and away from the bogged cars.
After getting past these cars the track the track became very sandy.
The sand had been shifted and moved and dug up by all the previous cars that had gone over it earlier that day.
After a very short space of time one, then two and many of the standard 2 wheel drive cars came to a sand locked stop on the track
We—that is - the Team Afro Recovery vehicle came to their aid.
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| The sticker was put on 12 vehicles to show our participation in their recovery. |
We managed to put one car out and all was ok unfortunately a little while after that more and more cars were becoming stuck in the sand.
In this convoy there were three 4WD vehicles this being the Camp Quality mechanics, the Ambos and of course us.
Due the length and depth and width of the soft shifting deep sand it seemed that every car became lodged in the sand.
For a time the three 4WD were doing a type of leapfrog, pulling one car out moving forward a short distance and then stoping only to pull out yet another victim of “The sand pit”
A section of roadway or should I say track or even go as far as saying path totalling about 15 kilometres took us all over 3 hours to travel.
Regretful along the way some of the drivers who thought they could continue at speed or perhaps lack of skill or whatever ended up in real grief, breaking parts and one poor pair of Escapadians ended up hitting a wall concealed sawn off stump of one of the forest pine trees.
This will cost him plenty and possibly make him pull out of the Escarpade.
As were reached the end of the sand we stopped and waited for serval cars to pass. Boy talk about bad luck, one poor car was almost out of the sand when at a distance of no more than from safety 25 meters became bogged. That was the last tow for the day for us—we were off.
After all the confusion of the Sand Pit we found ourselves on solid ground again moving onto sealed road and eventually stopped for a beer at the Dergholm Hotel.
It was at some pint during the “Sand Pit episode “that we were informed that we had moved from Victoria into South Australia.
Arrived at Naracoorte, a small rural township of some 5700 inhabitants. Oh, I failed to tell you that we actually got there at 8.20pm Victorian time which is 7.50pm South Australian time. Whatever—it was still late.
We all had very quick showers and put on our outfits for the Caveman Cavewoman theme dinner at the Naracoorte Town Hall.
Meal was nice, music sucked and auction did not achieve the expected result.
Needles to say after such a busy and hectic day we were all tired and were in bed early and sort of anxious for yet another day on the road.
So far all of us (Rob, Darren Laurie and myself) all agreed that the whole trip and today had been and immense learning and different but enjoyable experience and very glad that we came on it.
Again more great pics from the day at www.boogermobile.blogspot.com
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