Heading south from Warwick for about 25Kms brought me to a blaze of light indicating the challenge area in front of The Springs 4WD Park office where three of the stages for the Logan Challenge were being run under lights.
The Logan Challenge is a survival based 4WD event, each team comprises 3 cars and a manager. The Challenge accepted 12 teams equalling 36 competing cars, the competition ran over the Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.
The event has everything from winching, hard drives, GPS runs, mechanical stages and first aid, basically anything 4WD related spread over 20 stages all around the Park.
Spectators had several stages within walking distance of the campground and a food tent helped to make it an enjoyable weekend watching the teams put their vehicles and themselves through their paces.
The competitors did not need their vehicles for the 3 Friday night stages but the freezing cold night air probably made them wish they did so they could use their heaters.
The Friday night stages included a "wheelbarrow" race, "blind obstacle" course and "drag the objects from the ring" race.
After an overnight Frost the sun was out for a cool clear day for the start of the driving stages.
SS5
This stage was the spear the spud stage where competitors had to pick up the coloured spuds with a spear then change driver and navigator before rerunning the course and dropping the correct coloured spuds back into the coloured tyres, with red and orange colours in use there was some confusion getting them back in the correct tyres.
SS9
This stage started with a zigzag across the gully where competitors exited the gully up the steep bank before looping back to the gully and driving back down the gully to the start finish line.
A large loose rock at the base of the climb caused the early runners some grief but it was broken into smaller pieces as the competitors took their toll on it.
SS8
This stage ran through a deep mud pit before the competitors had to build a bridge and drive the cars across then tackle a steep climb up the bank.
They then drove over the hill and back down a gully before turning left into a long series of deep waterholes to get back to the start finish line.
The first team took a lot longer to build the bridge than expected so the organisers changed the crossing position and the position of the logs to speed things up and awarded the first team "average points".
The Mud hole at the start caused most vehicles quite a few dramas and teams had to work hard to shift the logs into position for the bridge building then move them out of the way again after the trucks had crossed to allow a clear passage up through the waterholes, several trucks had water rolling over their roofs as they hit the deep holes hard and fast on their way back to the start.
SS16
competitors started with a long run across the ridge line and a drop down the long steep "beer o'clock hill".
A few of the competitors made it down "not quite in control" and did a graceful slide around the bottom corner.
A drive along the creek bed over some large rocky outcrops preceded a climb up a bank and the long run back to the start.
Most spectators and competitors agreed it was another great event put on by the Logan 4WD club members and volunteers with plenty of action happening at all times and great weather helping make it an enjoyable weekend for all.
Results:
1) Logan Districts.
2) SOC Racing.
3) Thunder Monkeys.
4) Redlands 4WD Centre [aka The Simon Slayers]
5) The Pansies.
6) Gold Coast 4wd Club.
12) DDD - The South East QLD Deaf 4wd Club.
