Once we arrived at Julimar, we aired down just as the sun was starting to set. As soon as everyone was ready to go we attempted our first challenge for the night; a rather deep water crossing, with a hard gravel bottom, and steep entry and exit points. Everyone made it through easily, but soon after Dave started having technical issues with his Jeep, and had to turn around and head home for the night.
After the Jeeps’ early departure, there was another water crossing, which unfortunately was mostly dry due to a lack of rain. 
Next was a long, steep, rocky hill with excellent views over the valley. Followed by an easy drive to our first rest stop. There was some excitement as Steve Patrol slid into a deep set of ruts as he was attempting to drive around it. The rut was so deep that the Patrol bottomed out on both the front and rear diff with the right wheels firmly planted in the mud, while the wheels on the left-hand side were spinning effortlessly in the air. Nothing that a quick snatch backwards out of the rut couldn’t fix though.
With everyone rested and fed, we carried on to the second, and most challenging part of the night run. First was an unavoidable set of deep ruts, with the last one needing some track clearing to remove multiple sticks and logs. Everyone made it through, except Pams Prado, which needed a gently pull to help it out of the bog.
When we were done with the bog holes, it was time for some steep, rutted, and challenging hill climbs. The track climbed up hill with some short steep sections, which proved easy enough for the whole convoy to navigate. Until we got to the first serious hill. Almost everyone took the hard option, with only a few people choosing to take easier track (which was still quite challenging). Jim had some trouble towards the top of the hard track where the ruts were quite deep and his 33” wheels weren’t quite up to the challenge. Fortunately, Tony was on hand to give Jim a snatch up the hill with his new Bubba rope and Gator Jaw joiner (which replaces a shackle, but is a lot safer in an event of a failure).
Hill climb over and done with, we headed to the last big hill of the night. I tried the hill (it was an optional down, and back drive). And, thanks to gravity, I made it all the way down. But, as I had to turn around at the bottom and come back up again, gravity was against me, and the ruts were too deep. I ended up stuck half way up the hill (after a couple of tries) on both my front and rear diffs. And, once again thanks to Tony and his winch for the rescue.
When I was safely at the top, and the excitement over, the convoy headed for home. Just before hitting the bitumen, we stopped over at a clearing to air up and have some food. The drive home went smoothly. Mainly thanks to a heap of sugary snack.
Thanks to everyone who attended.