4WD day trip to the 'Lost City', NSW, Australia

4WD day trip to the 'Lost City' along part of Ranger Bob Firetrail in our Subaru Outback.
Located near Newnes and Lithgow, NSW, the Lost City is a collection of rock outcrops, and the dirt road in had supposedly been in good condition so we decided to go the more adventurous route in... but we found out a bit of rain and a few visitors to the area can totally change the road conditions.
Fortunately the Outback had the help of some friends who guided it like pros, and had Maxtrax on hand too!
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[@RADAdv346]

Subaru should sponsor you

[@wildwuns]

🤣 I wish

[@richardcamacho3644]

That is the silliest subaru ever, i don’t know what the owner is thinkin🤣🤣

[@fehlbergfamilyfilms]

I know right 😝I was stressed most of the time, but because I made it out I feel it was an adventure worth remembering!

[@kenb3757]

I came across this by accident and can I just say dude, I mean DUDE !!! What the hell are you doing ? Ranger Bob's track is enough to scare most off, even with fully equipped and well set up 4 wheel drives, and yet you're attacking it in a soccer mum car, with NO proper low range, no decent tyres ( you're running road tyres ) with no adequate recovery points and then to make it even better, you've got your spotter out in front of the vehicle on a rather steep decline on wet slippery mud !!! A tragic ending to a great day out and potentially a death just waiting to happen. Got to be way safer if you're out on the trails like that and more importantly, more equipped. I know you said in other comments you were mislead down this rocky slippery garden path but ultimately, it's your car and safety at risk. You've just go to know when to say "no thanks, I'll just watch you". I don't think the "your damaging the trail" comments are quite right, you didn't do any more damage to that trail than most of the weekend warrior cowboy f'wits who purposely go out in the wet with their 4" lifted shit boxes with 35" mud terrain tyres just to rip and shred the land up ... don't start me on them. 😡 Just be careful mate, tread lightly and remember that anything you do that will compromise the tracks for you, also compromise it for all of us. ( more concerning was your mate in the white Colorado in Lake Lyell going flat out through the water with no snorkel ... omg

[@wildwuns]

Thanks for the comment, and yes, I'll definitely be taking better precautions in the future... was full stress mode for a majority of it for me, I had visions of the car down the hill with no way of getting out, but by then it was too little too late once I'd realised my mistake.

[@troymcinnes2782]

Before the bush fires and all the rain, the track was in better condition. Big effort to get it down there and back. 👍🏼

[@petercalabro6395]

impressive guys. I did the same with a jeep grand cheroke to lost city....took a while but got the job done with minimum bar scrapes 👍

[@moy_8256]

Brave man, glad you got out ok 😂

[@TerritoryOffroad]

Nice. Would you say the way you went out would of been the easier way to also come in? Also how long did it take?

[@wildwuns]

Absolutely... if I had of know what my mate's were getting me into I would have gone the other way for sure. I was beginning to think I was going to be stuck down in a valley somewhere! Can't remember how long it took now, much longer than intended, think it was a few hours getting in there and less than half an hour getting out! (unless the memory of it has worsened over time 😂)

[@TerritoryOffroad]

@@wildwuns thanks for the reply. I'm going out that way in a few weeks and will be giving it a go. Not the same track you went in but hopefully the easier way you come out. I'm AWD with very capable suspension just lack the low range.

[@wildwuns]

@@TerritoryOffroad I've heard they have closed the area with plans to 'upgrade' it, or make it more touristy, or something. If you can access the Lost City then you should be ok if the road hasn't changed too much... But even if you can't access the site, there are plenty of other tracks around Newnes plateau that you can explore.

[@TerritoryOffroad]

@@wildwuns Road to Newnes is closed same as the glow-worm tunnel and so on. Seen talk about some tourist attraction at the lost city. Going off google maps the proposed site is on the other side of the valley. I'm going out tomorrow so will let you know.

[@AlloffroadAu]

buy why????? digging up the track to accommodate your Forester is just stupid, the road conditions have also not changed Ranger Bob never was an AWD track

[@fehlbergfamilyfilms]

Only took a bit away so it didn’t damage the front end of the vehicle. Tiny shovels couldn’t move much dirt. It was kind of trust my groups knowledge and a one way route at that point from memory, as getting back out may have proved just as hard unfortunately. I didn’t know what to expect myself.

[@jimmyjimmy951]

Credit for having a go, however you should have researched your rout. Your friends should also take a flogging for not being well prepared. Max trax saves the day..

[@TotallyWildRangerCharlie]

Just came across this. What on earth were you thinking? Why did you chew the track up like this? Then the rest of us 4wders who come prepared and come in the correcr vehicles and don't need to rip up the tracks end up having them closed because of this nonsense. Stay off the track, stay on the black top. Ffs

[@wildwuns]

As mentioned in other comments I went in blind, trusting those taking me there. It was ridiculously stressful. I didn't chew up the track as much as some 'true' 4WDers do when they attack ruts and climbs, as we just scraped off the surface using the tiny shovel rather than the vehicle's bumper. The experience did however show my vehicle's limitations and I do indeed intend to stick to tracks that suit (definitely NOT just black top, but thanks for your advice). Sharing the experience and what the track has to offer for those interested though.

[@TotallyWildRangerCharlie]

@@wildwuns that's still absurd. Your Subaru is about as track ready as a Hyundai excel. Subaru has amazing advertising showing stuff they can't actually do. They're about as ready for anything other than highway driving or MAYBE a dirt road as I am ready to fly. Stay off the tracks in this thing