Dargo Rally Ramblings

Have just returned from a very enjoyable and interesting Dargo High Plains rally.

We managed to get away late Friday morning, deciding to book a motel room at Dargo, Friday night because of Sally's recent op. Had a great lunch at Yarragon, a couple of quiet ales at Briagalong, its 4.00 pm and only 80 kms to go to Dargo.

As we go past the Den of Nargan turnoff a kerclunk, kerclunk noise from the back of the bike begins.

I've heard that sound before!!!

Bloody Uni joint on the drive shaft about to let go.

Stop in a clearing half way up a hill, and we have mobile phone service! Ring Peter Hill's mobile.

G/Day, where are you?

Having a quiet ale with the KTM agents at Maffra, (which is only about 50 kms as the crow flies from where we are)

Care to pop back to Sale(home) and pull the backend of your K100RS off and bring it up to us?

No problems, be there in 2 hours, see ya!

We figure by the time Pete arrives it will be dark, may as well set up camp and get the fire going, and go into Dargo in the morning.

Pete arrives with the parts, he has decided to visit friends just down the road, so after a couple of Bundy's, Pete heads off and Sally feeling tired goes to bed.

I listen to the footy on the radio, meanwhile the wind begins to freshen. At 11 pm I stoke the fire up a bit so that we will have coals for the morning and I go to bed.

Within 15 minutes, Sally wakes me, she can see the light of the flames from the fire through the tent.

I poke my head out of the tent, Oh Shit!! the bushland in front of us is ablaze.

The wind has carried sparks from the firepit across a clearing and ignited the surrounding bush.

Thankfully our tent and bike are upwind, we are not in danger, the wind is driving the fire away from us.

Thank god for mobile phones, we ring 000 and within a hour the local CFA (Country Fire Authority) are attending. The guys are in good spirits, they don't blame me as we had put the fire in a pit with a 3 metre clearance, the bloody bush is so dry and the wind had gotten so strong that it only took a spark to travel a few extra meters to start the fire.

It takes about an hour to get the fire under control.

The CFA head off, we go back to bed and bugger me if the bloody fire dosen't start up again about 1.00am.

Ring Ring.

Will (the local CFA officer) You had better come back, the fire has taken off again.

No problems, be there soon, (he lives just down the road)

We put the fire out for the 2nd time, however a tall dead tree in falling distance of the sidecar is alight internally. Bugger!!

At 2.00 am we begin to put the back of the outfit back together so that we can roll the outfit out of harms way.

3.00 am we go back to bed again.

About a half hour later, SNAP, CRASH, the dead tree falls over, not where the bike was but it could have easily fallen that way.

And this is only Friday evening we haven't even got to the rally!!

Saturday morning we finish putting the sidecar back, the CFA arrive to check up on the fire, and we eventually make it to Dargo, a quick beer at the pub, top up our supplies of food and grog and we are off to the rally site.

Its been 3 years since we were last here, and it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful a rally site and its approach is.

Having a beer at the heli-pad at 5000ft looking at the snow capped mountains to our north, the 9 km decent down to the valley floor from there, nothing comes close to it.

Arrive and unpack, set up camp for the 2nd time, discussion turns to the clunk clunk noise emanating from the sidecar shock.

Pull the sidecar wheel and general consensus is that the sidecar shock is topping out, no big deal, with a load on the sidecar it is not a problem. Some one puts the wheel back on.

After lunch I volunteer to ride back to Dargo for extra supplies, a mate of mine Dave, from NSW, joins me in the chair.

Now, for those of you who have not been to the rally, as you climb out of the valley, it is a sheer drop off on the left hand side for about 7 kms until you get on a ridge. If you happen to go off here, it is only the trees that will stop you falling down about 5000 ft.

We climb up and as we travel along the ridge, for a fleeting second I see a wheel go past me.

Looks familiar, looks like my sidecar wheel.

Sure is, as the sidecar drops down and the hub ploughs a bloody big furrow into the dirt.

Watch the wheel disappear into the bush, Dave retrieves it, I walk back looking for the wheel nuts, amazingly I find 3 of them.

Jack the bike up, refit the wheel and tighten the 3 nuts and we are off.

Sunday is such a great day weather wise we decide to stay till Monday.

Sunday night the wind gets up, Monday morning it is blowing a gale, we are lucky to get out from the rally site, only a few trees down across the track, nothing major, but it could easily have closed the road.

Head to Sale to to Pete's home to pick up my drive shaft and diff and from there it rained most of the way home.