b"Day 44 January local and official sources made it easier to make saferIn the morning, with the trip now officially finished, we said decisions and keep the trip going.By co-locating with fireour farewells and left camp one by one. Some went via towers I knew that we would hear about and be able to seeMarysville, but I always prefer the more scenic drive down fire dangers before they became a threat. Even though theto Warburton and so followed that route back to Melbourne. fire towers themselves cant see much when surrounded byIt was a day of Total Fire Ban, so our departure from the smoke, they were in radio and telephone communicationbush was timely as all campsites were being closed any- with each other, plus had live Internet updates. Higherway. points also allowed us to get mobile coverage. Prue wasUpon reflection, there were several aspects of this trip also monitoring ABC radio for live fire reports. In planningwhich I believe contributed to its success, given the back- routes I had anticipated that some or even most areas maydrop of fire danger. The over- riding concern was safety for be closed off to us and so I planned for alternate routes,all participants. All decisions were made about each stage including multiple escape routes close to towns dependingwith this as a priority. Communication and discussion within on where fire hazards might come from. No plan canour group was therefore important. We were lucky to have account for every possibility, but I felt as if we had mostsome very experienced and practical people in our group relevant bases covered.which made our meetings easier as they could critically In conclusion, thank you to everyone who came on the tripanalyse the plan and decide if it sounded reasonable or and made it so enjoyable. Special thanks to Prue for beingnot. It was reassuring that everyone was happy to continue a good sounding board, Dali who did a fabulous job asfrom Licola to Jamieson and beyond when they could TEC and to Ellen-Jane Browne, who, whilst not on the trip,easily have withdrawn safely from the trip. Access to timely provided us with daily updates on the fire situation aroundinformation was critical in decision making. In particular, the state when Internet access was hit and miss. Hopefullywe are able to run this trip again soon and finally complete\x033$&.\x03285\x03\x03\x17:'\x03:,7+\x03+8*( the ANP circuit!6$9,1*6\x03)520\x037+(\x035('6+('\x04 This is a brief recollection of trip highlights from Prue:New Years Eve was spent driving to Licola on my much+XVTYDUQD\x03\x17\x16\x18H\x03&+$,16$: anticipated first solo 4WD trip in many years. The fast7 KLV\x03\x17\x13FF\x03FKDLQVDZ\x03FRPHV\x03 %2186\x04 evolving fire situation meant that James needed to haveZLWK\x03\x14\x19\x03LQFK\x03\x0b\x17\x13FP\x0c\x03EDU\x11\x03,W\x03LV\x03 &KDLQVDZ\x03 plans B, Cand through to Z in play throughout the trip.ILWWHG\x03ZLWK\x03\x03D\x03VSHFLDO\x03\x11\x16\x15\x18\x03 &DUU\\\x03&DVH\x0f\x03 With some great 4WD tracks each day, interesting campFKDLQ\x03IRU\x03D\x03EHWWHU\x03FXW\x11 )LOLQJ\x03.LW\x03\x03 sites, clear and hazy views, discussions with fire spotters in&KDLQ their towers, good company and a route well away fromany danger, the High Country trip was a marvellous way tospend part of my Christmas leave.My only complaint wasthe bat I discovered flying in the Trayon camper at 1.00am+XVTYDUQD\x03\x17\x16\x18H\x03ZLWK\x03\x07\x14\x18\x18\x03%RQXV\x04 one morning.After quickly decamping I slept in the cab ofthe Toyota for the rest of the night.Oh and how could I*5($7\x03 HONDA EU22i GENERATOR forget the added danger of Felix and the dreaded giant%8 water pistol (luckily the weather was warm!)Australias No. 1 CAMPINGJames LawsonGENERATOR\x03%8\x0312:\x0f\x036$9(\x03\x07\x14\x18\x13\x03on Hondas EU22i Generator! Trip participantsJames (Trip Leader), Catherine (15) and Felix (9) Lawson +RQGD\x03(8\x15\x15L\x0321/\x03\x07\x14\x1c\x17\x1c Defender 1106$9(\x03\x03\x07\x14\x18\x13 Prue HaslerToyotaMax and Ann RitterDiscovery 4Only Available while STOCKS LAST! David JohnsonDefender 1107R\x03FODLP\x03WKHVH\x0363(&,$/\x032))(56\x03\x039LVLW\x03 Richard BeilharzDiscovery 1RQH\x03RI\x03RXU\x03\x19\x03*5($7\x03/2&$7,216\x1d\x03 Christopher BradburyRange RoverDalibor Bohacik (TEC)Discovery 4'DQGHQRQJ\x03\x10\x030LWFKDP\x03\x10\x03%XQ\\LS\x03\x03\x03%D\\VZDWHU\x03\x10\x03&UDQERXUQH\x03\x10\x033DNHQKDPwww.theredshed.com.auCall 1300 136 572 26 JUNE2021 TRACKWATCH"