John Holland track

Yes Peter. I first visited there in 2010, my first "remote" trip in my own 4wd. It was a great drive through wonderful country with just a few trickly bits to give a newbie something to think about.

I had the opportunity to go back last November and it was chalk and cheese. Diversions around diversions around diversions around mud holes. And plenty of holes that could not be avoided.

It rained a little while we were out there to add to the general lack of enjoyment.

Only consolation was a good wildflower show at the southern end.

Cheers

TBH it annoys the heck out of me that what SHOULD be a drive along a "through route" in reasonably scenic territory gets turned into a bog-hole-fest by a bunch of cowboys (notwithstanding the "stewardship" of the track).

Bit over a week ago my youngest took his 4x4 out to a proper set-up-for-the-purpose mud run. That's where they should go, and leave the traversing to traversers.

Just my 2.2c worth

I personally graded the entire Eastern section of the old Norseman-Hyden Rd (from the Gt Victoria Rocks Rd, Eastwards) around May 1986, with my Cat 14E grader - at my own expense - and took great care to fill in every boghole and depression, and install run-off drains where necessary to divert excessive water flow off the road.

After I'd done that, the road then became a top-class drive that you could sit on 80kmh, for most of that section.

Then in July, the Army decided to do a major "exercise" in the region, with every transport vehicle they could dig up!
The worst part was - the Army decided to do this, right after the area had received substantial rains!!

Those Army Unimogs, in a huge convoy, ploughed straight through all those now-thoroughly-soaked bogholes I'd just carefully filled in - and they promptly returned all those bogholes to the dreadful condition they'd been in, before I graded the road!!!

I was absolutely disgusted with their performance, and vowed to never do anything to upgrade any road or track again, at my personal expense.

Cheers, Ron.

Yep seen the same thing Ron.
Some years back we walked all our camping gear down the last bit of a 4wd track in the Vic High country due to it containing some massive bog holes.
A few days later while camped at the river the Army came through & absolutely wrecked the section we walked past & proceeded to drive past us on the disused section & trashed that as well!
Hopefully this behavior is not repeated these days & they have learned to "tread lightly".

Cheers Stu