Mundaring Power Lines and Surrounding Tracks
17th October 2026
Participants:
Roger Speldewinde (trip leader) - LC 76
Conor Degroot - LC 80
Simon Dash - Landrover Perentie
Wayne Woods and Joey (visitor) - Patrol
Don and Jane Speldewinde - Patrol
Sandra and George Fleisher - Patrol
Josh White (visitor) - Everest
Alan Elshaw - Patrol
Saturday was a great day for a drive, the weather was delightful with a 9.00am start at the Gorrie Road entrance to the Powerlines track which promised to be a good start and an early finish or so I thought, anyway everyone turned up on time and we had a driver’s meeting and dropped tyre pressures. The group comprised of 8 vehicles, 2 Toyotas, 1 Land Rover, a 1 Ford and 4 Nissans and included 9 members, and 2 visitors Joey a young cousin of Wayne, and Josh White a visitor who has now done his 2nd trip with the club.
We started at the Gorrie Road entry for a change because this area is quite different from the Flynn Road entry that we normally use, the Gorrie section of the powerline track has seen far less use over the years and has not deteriorated significantly. As a result, no one had any issues on the route and it was a good opportunity to test our vehicles over some of the smaller ruts and steps before we would come to the more serious stuff on the Powerline track.
We all crossed Flynn Road without incident and everyone had a go at the offset obstacle course which does really test your wheel travel and wheel lift, I have got use to the 76 now and have just accepted that it will lift wheels so as they say “embrace it”. Moving along the powerlines everyone took turns at various obstacles and we provided assistance where necessary.
Arriving at the white clay down-hill section some of us opted for the challenging centre line track which has significant drop offs and side angles to contend with requiring accurate wheel placement. Despite the early summer weather there were significant water crossings to navigate and some were quite deep and soft as Wayne was to find out later in the trip.
Moving up the hill we continued along the powerline before taking a detour which was to prove to be quite a challenge to most with some big drop offs, deep ruts and steep lean angles. Following this track brought us back to the Powerline and to the base of flat rock.
The normal Powerline track around the flat rock has become difficult due to erosion and use over the years however there is a significantly harder entry for the bold looking for a challenge, it is a narrow track into the rock face with very few options to manoeuvre and you really need a twin locked vehicle to get up the big step. Continuing along the Powerline brought us to some beautiful areas worth visiting for future camping after winter.
Arriving at Yarra Road we all reinflated our tyres had a chat about the days event and moved on. Sometime later Conor and I received a call from Jane saying Wayne had suffered a catastrophic wheel failure and required a high-lift jack that I carry, so Conor and I turned around and returned to meet the group at Yarra Road.
Wayne has lost a front left-hand wheel at a 100km/h on Yarra Road with wheel hub shearing through the aluminium rim and parting company with the vehicle, a common problem with Patrols. He thankfully was able to guide the vehicle onto the verge safely. Using Conor’s mechanical expertise as a Mechanic a repair of the hub was completed and a new tyre was fitted, Wayne tested the vehicle and it performed ok although with a significant steering wobble and then we all preceded home slowly.
By the time I got home I found I had been out for nearly 12 hours, a long day but it had been a good trip.
Overall we had a great day and plenty of good photos of things such as Simon trying to get his Land Rover to do a handstand, Wayne getting us all nervous and Conor showing great control over a difficult section. As per usual we all made sure we gave each other an “encouraging” comment or two when things didn’t go according to plan.
Trip report by Roger
Check out the videos of some of the day's activities below.
