Starting in Wonga Park camp we will be exploring Wyperfeld, Murray Sunset, and Big Desert following (most of) 4WD Victoria's iconic Mallee Drive. This will include visiting some of the highlights of Victoria's deserts including Snow Drift , the Pink Lakes, Mt Crozier, and more. The end point should be in the Rainbow area around lunchtime or early afternoon. There will also be an option of exiting more directly to Nhill on the final day, for those that want to get home a little earlier.

Please carry all food and water for 4 days plus cooking and camping equipment. 

Morning tea and lunches will be in the bush each day – byo simple, “on the move” lunches and morning teas.

There will be drop-toilets at the camps but be prepared for bush-toilet if necessary (toilet roll and a trowel).

Clothing and footwear for sandy, hot, cold and possible wet conditions (depending on forecast).

No camper trailers, pets or firearms

Reference:  Meridian Maps – Victoria’s Deserts Touring Guide 5th Edn.

Accommodation:  We will camp in designated National Parks bush campsites with drop toilets available.

Weather:  Desert environment, potentially cold nights. Spring rains may have sprung and Summer definitely isn’t here yet! Review the Underbool weather forecast leading up to the trip and bring appropriate clothing, footwear and camping gear.

Good off-road tyres (these are essential - mallee roots will damage road tyres), UHF radio (or one borrowed from the club), a well-maintained vehicle with low range (or equivalent), good ground clearance (200mm recommended as a minimum), recovery points, standard recovery gear including dampener, rated snatch strap and shackles.

Ideally drivers should have completed the RRCV club training or equivalent training/experience, however we're open to taking a few less experienced people provided their vehicles are suitable.

Additional Equipment required:  Air compressor and tyre gauge, MaxTrax or similar sand recovery equipment. Bring a lightweight shovel if you have one. Each vehicle ought to bring a bag of firewood or lump charcoal for our nightly group campfire. A toboggan or similar is handy at Snowdrift campsite if you have kids with you. :-)

Trip Standard:  Medium - The majority of the sand tracks are straightforward, but there are a few sandhills and deeper sections of sand that will give you a chance to build your sand-driving skills.

Fuel: Enough fuel from Hopetoun for 300km on mostly sand. There will be a planned fuel stop at Murrayville or Pinnaroo about half way through the trip.  For sand driving multiply your highway fuel usage by 1.3 to estimate fuel usage.

Distance:  Melbourne to Hopetoun 400kms. Hopetoun to Rainbow 450km. Rainbow to Melbourne 420km. 

Duration:  4 days

Convoy limit:  8 vehicles

Passengers & non-member participation: If you wish to bring a passenger that is not a partner or your child visit they must register as Temporary Members to join in. See our website for details.
Temporary (Guest) Membership

Temporary Members are NOT allowed to drive without speaking to the Trip Leader first. This is to ensure that the driver and vehicle are sufficiently prepared for the trip.

Meeting arrangements:  We plan to meet at Wonga Park campground, Wyperfeld National Park, at 9.00am Saturday for our trip briefing (many will be staying there overnight from Friday). We aim to finish about 1:00pm in the Rainbow area on the Tuesday.

Trip Leaders:  Mark Bown & Sherry Mayo, mark.x.bown@gmail.com, 0437 251 645 - NB we will be a bit difficult to contact between 20 and 30 September as we'll be on the Madigan line - during this period we may occasionally be able to access email.

Please get in touch if you have any questions.