Saunders Gorge Play Day

Saunders Gorge Sanctuary is a ‘Eco Tourism’ area located on the back of the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. To us (and many others), it is the nearest spot to do a bit of proper off road driving. It consists of a 3 hour drive with 4 ‘rough’ options. If you are rocking up in a showroom fresh 4wd or soft roader stick to the main track, anything a bit more serious, take the rough options (not that bad really).

Whereas my heart lies in exploring the outback, I still rate these 4wd parks. It helps you keep your hand in and help beginners learn their skills in a relatively safe environment. Pack the truck, head out for the day, have fun. Simple.

The day started well with breakfast at Cudlee Creek cafe in the Adelaide Hills.

This is a popular spot with local petrolheads, you nearly always see some tasty machinery.

My mates and I often meet here when heading out in the hills in the fast cars.

This day we took three quite different trucks. My 105 series Land Cruiser was first up, driven by my mates The Captain and Marky. Tagging along was The Accountant in his P38 Rangie and Pauly in his Mitsubishi Challenger.

Most of us had been here before, and previously i had played it cool and waited to air down my tyres, this time I knew ‘Rough Option 1’ was coming up straight away so while the boyz sorted out the paperwork I got on with dropping some pressure.

An easy few hundred metres arrived us at Rough Option 1, this is a short sharp climb, with some big holes and a sturdy gum tree waiting to catch the unsuccessful on the way back down.

As usual, with 8 blokes on hand their were 8 different opinions on the best way up the hill. Understandably most people had opted for the right side, well away for the gum, leaving some big holes on that side and a nice smooth line up the left side. I suggested to Marky that this was the was path to righteousness, knowing that with the 105’s live axles you only needed a clear line for one set of wheels. Fortunately Marky agreed.

Mark’s comment at the top “well that was bit of a anticlimax...” Cruiser Life Bro.

The Accountant, as usual, had his own ideas...

Now (below) you can see the Rangie finally runs out of travel and the front wheel is spinning like a top, open diff of course.

The Rangies traction control steps in and saves the day. Electronic aids aren’t my cup of tea, but you can’t deny their effectiveness.

We cracked on with the rest of the trail. I wasn’t driving, just car hopping, taking snaps and enjoying being in the outdoors.

This took us to Rough Option 2, a gnarly descent, threading among some decently sized rocks. Mark actually managed to get the Cruiser hooked up here, but i jumped out and spotted him and we were through, no worries mate.

There is a sharp little hill at the end of Rough Option 2.

Then it was the big Tata’s turn.

Last but not least was Pauly in the Challenger.

Now we were ready to re-join the main trail.

Rough Option 3 is the easiest. After we went through a Mazda BT50 came through on highway terrain tyres. It’s just up and then down a hill, while rocky it’s pretty straightforward.

Up.

Down.

On the way down I snapped some non vehicular stuff.

The line following the ridge to the right of the first photo is a dry stone wall built by craftsmen contracted from Scotland and England. Some of whom liked Australia (and Australian girls) so much they just changed their name and never went home, easy to do in those days.

Saunders Gorge is very windy and not much grows very high here.

After lunch,

we headed back to the trail. Away from the technical stuff it’s still a picturesque drive.

After our scenic drive we turned off to do Rough Option 4. This is probably the hardest climb. Steep, rocky and a few different lines can be taken.

So to prove he was a man, The Accountant blasted up while the rest of us were still having a look and a chat about it.

The Captain took the Cruiser up.

Next up was Pauly. Pauly has some history here. Last time we were here he was still pretty new to the 4wd game and he couldn’t make it up this hill. In the end we joined three snatch straps together and snatched him up. I could see he was keen not to let it beat him this time.

Pauly and Brett having a good look and deciding which route he would follow.

To take the pressure off, like a good bunch of mates, we all stood at the top with camera phones at the ready...

In the end he did it easy. Since he was last here Pauly has got himself out and about and done plenty of trips and trails. Just shows what a year of experience does for you. The best component you can modify is the organic one.

The next weekend we were at it again. Although a different sort of hillclimbing in a different sort of four wheel drive.