Two Sams TravellingClimies track was a bucket list thing for me (boy Sam). I’d watched just about every video I could find about it and couldn’t wait to tackle it. I would only recommend doing it with at least two vehicles as there is the potential to get really stuck, and a few dangerous sections.
We travelled from Strahan to complete the track, a bit over an hour away from the track.
We went from North to South, starting at Granville Harbor and ending up at Trial Harbor seven hours later. Turning left to head south from the Granville Harbor road we let our tires down to 16 PSI and immediately the track becomes washed out and steep. We spent the first hour or so picking our way through the bog holes, avoiding the nasty ones and picking good lines through the rest.
The first half of the track is very scenic, with mountains and bushland on one side and the ocean on the other. It was 20 degrees and sunny with light winds when we took on the track so it was very nice.
We were in and out of the vehicles a lot, spotting each other through tight rocky sections and muddy holes. We got the Patrol a bit stuck in some black soil while picking our way around a very eroded decline section but we were able to self recover with the recovery boards and a shovel (which I left on the track).
A few hours in we came to the (in)famous granite creek. The Disco went first and with some spotting and one rather tense wheel lift it was across and up the other side. The Patrol went next and unfortunately despite our efforts to build the track, it spat out some rocks and the rear diff became wedged on a large rock. We couldn’t go backwards because the rear of the car had swung around towards the waterfall and sheer drop. One rather hairy recovery later and we were up the other side.
We stopped for lunch to let the heart rates come down then we were off again. I personally found the second half of the track a bit less scenic and more repetitive than the first half. The track goes inland and you lose sight of the ocean for a few hours. There was one particularly hectic hill descent in the second half with a big climb out the other side that needed careful wheel placement but overall we had no major dramas.
We popped out at the other end of the track a bit weary but otherwise stoked to have completed it. The damage report was relatively minor. The Disco copped some damage to the front guard by the bull bar being pushed up a bit. The GU had some scrapes on the rear bumper from a rock and (as I discovered a few weeks later) a blown hub on the front left wheel.
Overall if you are into technical 4wd’ing I would definitely recommend Climies track, however good tires, ground clearance and recovery gear are an absolute must.
