Putty State Forest
After a rainy Saturday the day before, the day of the planned Putty State Forest/Wollemi trip, dawned wet and somewhat miserable. Fortunately the rain did not last long and either by luck (or by some means known only to trip leader Dennis Limbert) returned only as the group headed back to Sydney along Putty Road at the end of the day. 
At this point, I appreciate I am expected to include some witticism about why it was that I ended up writing the trip report, or at least to offer some excuse. Having been an avid reader of ‘Marque’ since joining the club in September/October, one thing that should have been only too clear to me was the need to arrive at the designated meeting spot bright and early.
I had, however, not factored in one small matter (actually two small matters… named Oliver, 6 yrs and Audrey Rose, 4yrs). The kids (bless them) are not yet avid readers of Marque despite my encouragement and had no regard for the anguish they were causing as I tried to hustle them out of the house. (For the record I’m sure this had nothing to do with the fact that their far more organised mother was away for the weekend). As my agitation on the trip report front rose, particular after we somewhat predictably took the wrong turn off the M2, I comforted myself that being a ‘family friendly trip’ I would not be alone in this predicament. This, unfortunately, was not borne out as no doubt the prospect of meeting at McDonalds had been sufficient incentive for the other two young kids on the trip to get up and moving with a minimum of fuss.
Eventually (for the record only about 5 minutes late) we met up with the rest of the group - an interesting combination of Range Rovers (1 Sport, 1 Classic) and Discoveries (1 D1, 2 D3s, 5 D2s). We soon set off for the transit along Putty Road to the turn-off into Putty State Forest, lead by Dennis and our Trivia Quiz Leader, Janette, with Arthur Osborne and Tony Cowan as Tail End Charlie. It was no doubt the weighty responsibility of having to write this report (allocated to yours truly soon after departure), not to mention the occasional clamour emanating from the two in the backseat that prevented us amassing a prodigious score in the Trivia Quiz which took up most of that 90km sector.
Mathematicians could no doubt work out the chances of getting at least one question to which we knew an answer at a time when it was also our vehicle’s turn to answer. To do so may have allowed us to score at least one point (thereby maintaining some credibility with my increasingly skeptical children). However, we knew all was lost when even our resident ‘Simpsons’ (TV show) expert failed to name Principal Skinner as the head of Bart’s school.
Others it seems obviously had prepared much more carefully, or at least arrived at the rendezvous in a much more clear state of mind, as quiz question after quiz question fell to the sharp minds of John and Tracy Deans, and John and Julia Learson (note: latter subject to suspicion of installing Google search facility in snappy looking D3).
During this section the kids on the trip had the excitement of learning some previously unknown words on the UHF from a frustrated truckie trying to get past the convoy on the twist
y Putty Road. Although I’m pleased to note our new best friend soon cheered up once everyone in the group worked to get him past us with a minimum of fuss it didn’t stop the colourful invective!
Soon after turning off and having traveled through some pretty country, we had our most challenging hill of the day – thanks to the earlier rain. An opportunity to engage low range in anger for the first time (other than training days) for newbies like myself and the kids. All proceeded up with no real fuss and we soon had the opportunity to stop for morning tea, a pleasant view (but for the cloud) and the draw of the first raffle – which to Oliver’s delight he won – a bag of Freddo frogs, with which he quickly made some new friends – and which kept his and Audrey’s sugar levels well up for the rest of the trip (needed that!).
The track continued on following roughly the boundary of the Putty State Forest on one side and of Wollemi National Park on the other. UHF conversation now turned to many interesting topics (drowning out the 15th rendition of ‘A Frog Went Walking on a Summer’s Day’ in our vehicle). I now realise that this where the rea
l benefit from joining the club arises, with topics covered including improving the turning circle of D2s, the generally unappreciated importance of handbags and shoes (‘accessories make an outfit’), and the real reason the D3 failed in 4WD Monthly’s recent Cape York test (the computer for some reason didn’t enjoy going fast through a creek with water over the bonnet and no blind). No particularly dramatic moments in this section other than the odd stick stuck under a car and when our D2 decided to flash red ACE and ABS warning lights at me (now there’s something new for a D2…), soon fixed by ‘Have you tried turning it off and on again?’.
Lunch was at ‘Sheepskin Hut’ (see included accurate depiction by Oliver). A very pretty spot made all the more so by the presence of some fine motor cars and their occupants. Dennis soon had the BBQ fired up with Courtney distributing morsels of marinated prawn to all and sundry. The kids (Oliver, Miller and Audrey) tested the nerves of the parents by climbing the nearest granite outcrops and a further raffle draw was held and an enormous tub of M&Ms won by Julia Learson, which was shared with all at every opportunity over the remainder of the trip.
Lunch was over only too soon and there followed a number of hours of patient, deliberate driving over a very rocky trail, with a number of gates to open and close (no doubt felt like more than ‘a number’ to Dennis and Arthur’s passengers responsible for gate duties). The formal afternoon tea stop was inadvertently overlooked as we all sailed past the designated spot (carefully surveyed by Dennis and Arthur on their scoping trip some months before). However, all was not lost as we managed to stop line astern for a group photo with official photographer Ian Amos and several more handfuls of M&Ms. At this stop Leonie and Glen were the lucky winners of very substantial looking box of Tim Tams including branded mugs etc (which we were subsequently – reliably? - informed did not include the number of Tim Tams expected due to exces
s packing material). Then followed a novel means of achieving a comfort stop for the occupants of all 10 vehicles - spaced out along the track with careful UHF comms to ensure no ‘overlap’. The animals had nowhere to run…
It was a relatively short trip from there back to Putty Road during which (miraculously) only the first “When are we there?” chorus arose from the back seat. Not a bad effort eight hours into the day. I’m not sure how Peter fared with Miller but suspect the DVD facility of the Range Rover Sport may have helped out in this regard?
At Putty Road all had an opportunity to say farewell to each other, and then to head off separately on the road back to Sydney, accompanied by heavy rain all the way.
A very enjoyable day was had by all, and a big thank you must be given to Dennis and Arthur for giving up their time and all their efforts in organising the trip and leading (and following) the group.