Jellore State Forest - Near Mittagong NSW

I camped out last night at one of the many clearings we passed in the Jellore state forest.

Today was time for the first real test of my iO with mud tyres on for general play. I've driven some off road tracks with them, and had them for Fraser Island, but today was the first time I aired them down to 16psi and attacked some gnarly hills and tracks. THEY ARE AWESOME! Makes such a big difference in the really rough stuff.

We were less than 15 minutes away from Mittagong by the main road, and there was plenty of awesome trails, lookouts and campsites to see and use.

I can happily report that the iO went everywhere my mate's Disco went - without too much fuss. There was one very steep rock ledge where I needed to use all of the available power in first gear low range to get up. There were 2 occasions on a loose rocky hill climb when a locker would have been great - but with some track building, better line selection, and some right boot, I managed to make it up and over everything without needing any help (snatching).

I'm starting to feel that a lift is more urgent than I thought. I scraped on a lot of small rocks and roots today. Having said that, the new bash plate / transfer case guard performed really well. There was even a time when I ploughed right into a large rock ledge with the bash plate - very little damage done, and it supported and protected the car perfectly.

Here is a selection fo pics from the day. I've got some video too (fairly low res shot on digital camera - I hope my GoPro arrives soon!) which I'll edit and link to once its done.

Our campsite - didn't see any other campers out. Perhaps they had looked at the forecast!

The rain created a few puddles for us to negotiate.

Spectacular view from one of the lookouts.

Some serious rock drop offs. Unfortunately most of these were negotiated by clutch coasting with careful application of the brakes. Need lower range gearing!

My mate about to attack some tricky bits. I'm so stoked I drove mine up here!

Approaching the power line hill. Apparently 4WD action have filmed this one for a DVD. It was a great challenge - we only took one chicken track - a winch would have been a necessity for the little bit that we cut out.

This was the part that we skipped. You either need a winch, or traverse across the loose rocky hill to pick your line. It was also a lot steeper than it appears. Not worth the risk.

Part of the power line hill. Managed to get up, though this was one spot where a locker would have helped.

Some of the carnage I left in my wake... The engine is surprisingly free-revving when you break traction while attempting a steep rock ledge! :P

Almost at the top of the power line hill. This was like driving up a hill on cricket balls - needed to keep momentum and mentally block out the banging and scraping noises! Got a bit stuck on a ledge further up, but made it up after a few attempts.

Made it to the top of the power line hill!

This minor gouge in the bash plate came from a very loud, abrupt impact on a rock ledge. This is the best mod I have made to my car. Well the tyres are awesome too...

You are rewarded with a nice view over the edge at the top of the hill!

This tiny rock was enough to stop me dead here - it was jammed up against the exhaust and the crossmember. Perhaps I need to extend the bash plate back to here? I ended up having to pack rocks behind the wheels and back it off before getting under with a stick to move it!

At the end of the day we discovered that my mate's Disco had a pinhole leak in a radiator hose. While he was fixing that (with a self inflating mat repair kit - if you're ever stuck it seemed to work well with some gaffer tape over the top), I had finished airing up my tyres and I got a little bored... Gotta love being able to select rear wheel drive!

< Is it taboo to put pics like this on forums?? Its the first circle work I've ever done EVER in a car, and it was in a safe place in the bush. I'm not a hoon, I promise! I thought the result was worth sharing though, I was quite proud of my figure 8! >

Anyway, sorry to bombard the post with photos, but hopefully it will encourage people to get out and about - my iO is stock apart from bash plate and tyres and I am continually surprised at how capable it is!

Very happy iO! :P