Morgan Quarry Riverland – August 2017

Morgan Quarry, Riverland

19-20 August 2017

Well what a great weekend was had at the Morgan Quarry. We arrived Friday afternoon to find that just about everyone that was going to go to the weekend had already arrived and were set up; even the fire pit was adorned with a ring of chairs in anticipation of happy hour. We set up and joined everyone around the much welcomed fire and settled in for the intro’s to everyone and indulged in a few frothies whilst getting a run down on the weekend activities that Mark had in store for the group.

Saturday arrived with cool but clear weather so a leisurely brekkie and off to the meeting point. Unfortunately Mark was unable to join us as his wallet had gone walk about (not a good start to his holiday), so Peter Pyman stepped up to run the show, with help from Harry and Stuart.

When we arrived at the Quarry we had to share the area with another club. Somehow, through no fault of the Overland Club, the quarry had been double booked. So Saturday was spent learning stall-start procedure for uphill and downhill and then back to the river camp for lunch. We returned to the quarry after lunch to tackle the different terrain within the quarry area for a short time before going back over the river (close to the camp area) to find some suitable sand for bogging a vehicle and learning how to do snatch strap recovery; and also finding a much relieved Mark who had found his wallet. This was the completion of Saturday’s training so off to happy hour.  An entertaining night was had by all including a sing along by some of the fire dwellers.

Sunday saw a brilliant sunrise with a crisp fresh start to the day, complete with morning mist on the river (for those who were up early enough to appreciate it). A slightly later start saw us back over the river with Mark leading and in the quarry to hone some skills and tackle new challenges. It was an opportunity for us newbies to discover more about our vehicles and their limitations (both vehicle and driver) and also the pros and cons of short wheel base and long wheelbase vehicles. I, myself, managed to get the Triton stuck in a creek which resulted in all the newbies learning how to road build, the use of a high lift jack and winching. The great thing about that situation is that everybody pitched in to help and through teamwork and the pooled knowledge of the more experienced members, the vehicle was recovered with no damage to it and some good lessons learnt. Due to the time it took for the recovery, this brought the training for the weekend to a close.

A great time was had by all participants and some very important points came out of the training:
 The clutch is not your friend.
 Pick your path carefully.
 If you drive it in, you can always back it out.
 Do I really have to go there?
 Good communication is a must
 Be prepared to listen to the more experienced

“Stop bragging….!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos courtesy of Maria D, who managed to snap these few pics, when she didn’t have her eyes clenched shut, driving around the quarry!

Thanks to everyone who attended. I hope they enjoyed the weekend as much as Elaine and I did.

Elaine & Peter