{"id":762,"date":"2017-03-25T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-25T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/?p=762"},"modified":"2017-04-07T10:04:51","modified_gmt":"2017-04-07T10:04:51","slug":"meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Meryla State Forest trip – 25th March 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meryla State Forest – Looking for the WW2 plane wreck<\/strong>
\n25th<\/sup> March 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

TRAX Fax version<\/strong>
\nThe occupants of four vehicles met at Pheasants Nest 7eleven and proceeded to Meryla Road. Turned into Meryla Road and stopped at the Quarry where Neil and Shane had a play. The flow at Gunrock Creek was reduced. Morning tea was at the clearing and the group checked out the water views. The next stop, Bundanoon Dam Wall. Liked the creek, there was less water flowing over the spillway. It was only early so we decided to go to the plane wreck but had to turn around as the weather had changed and it was lunchtime. Tried to get from Meryla Road to Fitzroy Falls via the bush. Link Road was a dead end and then proceeded to Gunrock Creek Fire Trail. Had lunch under awnings at top of the rock steps. Turned around at deep bog hole to try another trail, recovered the Nissan and it was time to go home. Looks like we find the plane another day.<\/p>\n

Full Report<\/strong>
\nWeather was fine and partly cloudy no rain as yet.<\/p>\n

I received a few late calls saying we need to pull out. So there were four vehicles left and we met at Pheasants Nest 7eleven. Shane prayed and we headed back onto the Hume Hwy. We turned off at Medway and drove through Moss Vale then onto Meryla Rd.<\/p>\n

Started to proceed through the State Forest came across a damaged discovery vehicle which had rocks thrown onto the windscreen. Our first stop was the quarry, where Shane and Neil drove around the circuit. Shane on leaving the area went through some soft mud nearly buried the front wheel. Play time was over and onto see the dam wall.<\/p>\n

On the way, we stopped at the second bridge over Gunrock Creek to check the water flow. There was less water flowing now than on the recce. Back in the vehicles and on our way again. We crossed the wooden causeway and turned right onto the track, through the puddle and passed the bee hives on the left. We travelled to the clearing and stopped for morning tea. After morning tea I took everyone for a walk down to the water’s edge. We took in the scenery and discussed what would happen if you drove in. Matt had sent around a picture of a vehicle in a puddle only showing the roof rack and the top of the snorkel.<\/p>\n

After taking in the scenery we returned to our vehicles and travelled to the end of the trail. On the way, I showed them where Francois got stuck. At the end of the track we parked and walked to the Bundanoon Creek dam wall. The water was still flowing over the spill way. The volume of water was less than seen on the recce. The water near the wall was bubbling and looks like it was being air rated.<\/p>\n

The day was half over and we had done all that was on the recce. What to do next? Well we did come to see a plane wreck. So back to Meryla Road and turned right and a few kilometres down the road turned right into Patons Road to find the airplane wreck. Our fine day had changed and it started to rain at 12.55pm. We were just into the track and in front was a large water hole. To the left was a few chicken tracks. We were checking out the tracks because there were a lot of puddles and ruts. The hole on the main track was deep but to the left it was shallower. Problem. There was a mound of dirt in front and we found some star pickets in the ground. Neil checked out the chicken tracks and determined a safe one, the left most track. The other was rutted and there was a deepish puddle.<\/p>\n

Karate Kid started through and came to two tree stumps that were a tight squeeze. Glad the vehicle wasn\u2019t any wider. The vehicle started sliding into one and needed guidance and \u00a0a bit of manoeuvring to get through. The rain was coming down and it was lunch time. Fitzroy Falls had shelter. Our convoy of vehicles turned around and come back as heavy rain was setting in. We were heading to Fitzroy Falls for lunch. The question was asked; dirt or tar? The consensus was dirt.<\/p>\n

Upon\u00a0 checking the maps the Link Fire Trail looked like it would get us through. We turned left back onto Meryla Road and then right onto the Link Fire Trail. The road had a letter box at the start and was in good condition. Came across more \u00a0beehives on the side of the track. We turned around. In front of us was a locked gate The property owner had plenty of signs, electric fencing and security cameras. We all thought it looked like he didn\u2019t want any visitors. The tracks to the sides along the fence line were barricaded with tree stumps. So we proceeded back to Meryla Road and onto Gunrock Fire Trail track. Travelled over the wooden causeway and turned right onto Gunrock Fire Trail Track. We soon stopped to check track ahead as there was a lot of rock steps and proceeded up the hill using the track to the right.<\/p>\n

It was 1:50 pm and everyone was hungry. The children had already eaten half a loaf bread. We stopped at the top of the hill. Not expecting any traffic, Karate Kid\u00a0 had blocked the road, keeping his vehicle to the left while the others had parked on the right.\u00a0 Neil and Shane set up their awning and I had to move the Patrol. A little white Suzuki with head lights blazing wanted to come through. He was not the only one; we had a Delicia and a bike with his Hilux Mate. It was like Pitt Street. The thing was they all said we could get through. This all happened while it was still raining and three families cooked sausages on their one burner stoves.\u00a0 Linda had pre-made rolls for us. What a fun way to have lunch. We started moving on about 2.45pm.<\/p>\n

Our travels took us through puddles or via chicken tracks (after checking water depth). The rain was still constant, when we came across a huge puddle of water. Paul volunteered to check the depth and found that the crossing had a large rut and a few smaller ones on the sides.\u00a0 The problem was you could slip into the large rut. Paul went to get his shovel to try to dig trenches as the water was flowing in from three sides.\u00a0 While doing this he slipped in.\u00a0 It was then we all decided to turn back, as it was a safer option. We decided to try the track we passed on the left which also went to Red Hill Road.<\/p>\n

This meant Karate Kid was Tail end Charlie.\u00a0 Before we arrived at that track, Karate Kid was in trouble on the chicken track at a bog hole. He could not continue to proceed as he was bogged. First, we tried moving the vehicle back and forth, then digging and even the new electric winch with no success. The winch cable had not been pre-tensioned and there was a chance of damaging the cable. Tried rocking the vehicle and driving backwards and forwards still no luck. Placing track recovery tracks under the front wheels and the right back wheel. While this was going on it was found that you could pass through the puddle to one side. Just watch out for that over hanging limb. \u00a0Shane drove through the puddle and successfully pulled the Patrol out.\u00a0 While this was happening, Megan decided to check out the depth of the puddle and slipped in (twice). Don\u2019t worry, the kids were also playing in the water with their gum boots and jackets on. Once I was freed, we proceeded through the puddle with no problems. Using our CB radios, instructions were communicated so we wouldn\u2019t crash into the overhanging tree branch as we were guided through the puddle.<\/p>\n

The consensus were, it was getting too late to try the other track and time to go home.\u00a0 We back tracked to Meryla Road and regrouped at Gunrock Creek bridge. Neil aired up his tyres and we said our goodbyes. Everyone followed Karate Kid as we travelled back through Bowral.<\/p>\n

Looks like we find the WW2 plane wreck another day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meryla State Forest – Looking for the WW2 plane wreck 25th March 2017 TRAX Fax version The occupants of four vehicles met at Pheasants Nest 7eleven and proceeded to Meryla Road. Turned into Meryla Road and stopped at the Quarry … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trip-reports"],"yoast_head":"\nMeryla State Forest trip - 25th March 2017 - TRAX 4WD Fellowship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meryla State Forest trip - 25th March 2017 - TRAX 4WD Fellowship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meryla State Forest – Looking for the WW2 plane wreck 25th March 2017 TRAX Fax version The occupants of four vehicles met at Pheasants Nest 7eleven and proceeded to Meryla Road. Turned into Meryla Road and stopped at the Quarry … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TRAX 4WD Fellowship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/trax4wd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-25T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-07T10:04:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net\/hprofile-ak-xap1\/v\/t1.0-1\/c4.0.160.160\/p160x160\/44637_137975089578075_3843710_n.jpg?oh=d95168c67f67dabb24134db005e4d6c8&%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3boe=54CA060D&%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3b__gda__=1418993979_17a2261e9c0c0b91fef2b41d71832cde\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"webmaster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@trax4wd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@trax4wd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"webmaster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/\",\"name\":\"Meryla State Forest trip - 25th March 2017 - TRAX 4WD Fellowship\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-25T12:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-07T10:04:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/0d23ed7fc5b15ba1b445640f42d42c19\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meryla State Forest trip – 25th March 2017\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/\",\"name\":\"TRAX 4WD Fellowship\",\"description\":\"Over the land, under the cross\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/0d23ed7fc5b15ba1b445640f42d42c19\",\"name\":\"webmaster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62b1d9f9bdc13707ab247864820c65d7e595caa87698d7d220e869f7161871c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62b1d9f9bdc13707ab247864820c65d7e595caa87698d7d220e869f7161871c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"webmaster\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/author\/webmaster-2\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meryla State Forest trip - 25th March 2017 - TRAX 4WD Fellowship","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meryla State Forest trip - 25th March 2017 - TRAX 4WD Fellowship","og_description":"Meryla State Forest – Looking for the WW2 plane wreck 25th March 2017 TRAX Fax version The occupants of four vehicles met at Pheasants Nest 7eleven and proceeded to Meryla Road. Turned into Meryla Road and stopped at the Quarry … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/","og_site_name":"TRAX 4WD Fellowship","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/trax4wd","article_published_time":"2017-03-25T12:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-04-07T10:04:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net\/hprofile-ak-xap1\/v\/t1.0-1\/c4.0.160.160\/p160x160\/44637_137975089578075_3843710_n.jpg?oh=d95168c67f67dabb24134db005e4d6c8&%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3boe=54CA060D&%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3bamp%3b__gda__=1418993979_17a2261e9c0c0b91fef2b41d71832cde"}],"author":"webmaster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@trax4wd","twitter_site":"@trax4wd","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"webmaster","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/","url":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/","name":"Meryla State Forest trip - 25th March 2017 - TRAX 4WD Fellowship","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-03-25T12:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-07T10:04:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/0d23ed7fc5b15ba1b445640f42d42c19"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/meryla-state-forest-trip-25th-march-2017\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meryla State Forest trip – 25th March 2017"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/#website","url":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/","name":"TRAX 4WD Fellowship","description":"Over the land, under the cross","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/0d23ed7fc5b15ba1b445640f42d42c19","name":"webmaster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62b1d9f9bdc13707ab247864820c65d7e595caa87698d7d220e869f7161871c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c62b1d9f9bdc13707ab247864820c65d7e595caa87698d7d220e869f7161871c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"webmaster"},"url":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/author\/webmaster-2\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=762"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":767,"href":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762\/revisions\/767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trax.org.au\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}