Collie - second look

We returned to Collie to have a second look at the tracks in the same area as the first reckie we did a few moths ago. This was done in preparation for the trip Rob is running next month.
I thought the recent rains would have made some of the spots very boggy but I was wrong. The evidence of the rain was there - wash aways, soggy areas at the side of the tracks, big holes where the water had been flowing over the road etc, but the tracks were generally quite dry and very passable.
We did find a new track which at first glance came to a dead end. Upon inspection, we found that we could easily continue just by driving into the bush a couple of meters, over a few humps and back onto the main road. This looked challenging but was "piece of cake" for the Jimny and the two Sierras having such a short wheel base. Bad luck for the Grand Vitaras - they will have to just watch!
The 215-75 MT (Mud Terrain) tyres make this type of driving quite a lot better - higher clearance and better grip but does appear to impact on the fuel economy. The Jimny took 30 litres to travel 320K+5% (bigger diameter) making 8.3l/100k including the 4x4 section. The fuel used was 98 octane. I am really quite impressed!!
We had a great day and all is ready now for the trip next month.

Day at Dwellingup

Last Sunday was the rerun of our night out at Dwellingup we did a while ago. However, the daylight and lack of rain made a big difference to the level of difficulty experienced this time.
We did have a good time. But two relativly easy climbs and a moderate river crossing made me wonder why I put the mud terrain tyres on. Anyway, the Jimny looks great with them on, and I did not get stuck. And we had a good time exploring a new part of the forest that we had not been to before.
My gearbox is now working OK. My mechanic found two of the gear shift levers inside the gearbox had broken the keeper pins. He managed to take the back of the box off without removing it from the car, drill the old pins out and press new ones in. Smart eh?