Heading Home

Heading Home

As indicated in the last blog, due to mechanical damage we were obliged to stay on the bitumen for the rest of the journey. As it turns out this is okay because we are ready to go home. Whilst we had the time to see the Flinders Ranges I doubt we could have done them justice. We have decided that a return trip to this part of the world is a must in the future. We would probably incorporate some of the tracks we could not do this time due to wet conditions.

The drive to Port Augusta is quite spectacular. The Flinders Ranges in the distance provides a changing backdrop to some unique and interesting features closer to the road. A couple of large lakes and mud-flats caught our attention. Leaving Port Augusta we travelled via Quorn and followed a road that runs parallel to the main drag from Port Augusta to Port Pirie on the eastern side of the mountains. The countryside is green and lush at this time of the year and makes for pleasant travelling. We found the best off-road camp site for our entire three months away just south of Wilmington. It was beautiful! The site was level, quiet and there was an abundant supply of wood for a fire. The weather fined up for us and apart from a few minor showers we enjoyed a great night under the stars. The next morning a mist rolled in off the hills and created a whole new experience – fantastic!

We stopped at a little roadside winery in Clare and bought half a dozen bottles to add to our collection. The only problem was where in the car to put them! I finally made space by juggling and re-packing much of the back seat.

Our last night on the road was spent at a roadside camp just outside West Wyalong. We wanted to avoid a caravan park and achieved it with another great spot. You know, level and plenty of firewood. Unfortunately this one was not so quiet because despite being well off the road the trucks continued to roar past. This however did not spoil the enjoyment of this last campsite.

The drive through Mildura, Hay, West Wyalong, Grenfell, Cowra, Bathurst and finally home was interesting if not remarkable. The countryside is just so green at the moment. All the dams are full and there is water lying around everywhere.

We are technically not home quite yet as I write this blog. We decided to spend a night in Katoomba at the Carrington to spoil ourselves before facing unpacking and cleaning.

Well, this is the last blog from the road. We hope you have enjoyed reading it and viewing the pictures. It has been an amazing three months and we plan to write a final blog when we get home reflecting on the journey. This may not be for a little while however as I suspect the backlog of jobs to do and the task of kick-starting our new lives will occupy front and centre of our attention for a little while.

Whilst I may have been the primary motivator for this adventure, Tia would readily agree now that the adventure has been worth it. Whilst we did not get to see everything we planned to see, we saw much more than we expected. We therefore strongly encourage anyone who may be thinking about doing this type of adventure to do what you have to do to turn it into reality!

Farewell and love to all,

Alan and Tia

Alice to Lake Eyre

Alice to Lake Eyre

After getting bogged we made for Stuart’s Well. Camping was free and we were able to get a meal at the pub/roadhouse. As we ventured into the pub we could see a person holding court with all the patrons intently listening. We were not sure if this was a local meeting by invitation only so we asked the kitchen staff. It turned out that Jim Cottrill was giving a talk and Dinky was going to play the piano and sing a little later on and we were most welcome to join. This sounded great! A talk by a true bushy and then some local bush piano playing and singing by Dinky.

Sitting down we quickly caught on that Dinky was a singing Dingo and Jim was his owner. Jim’s story was fairly mundane but the legend of Dinky was amazing. It seems that Dinky is known world-wide for his singing and piano playing. We duly heard Dinky perform. It was interesting and engaging rather than musical. All in all we had a great night and wondered at the serendipity of being at the pub at the right time. If the car had not got bogged we would have missed Dinky!

As we departed the next morning Tia noticed that there was a camel farm next door to the roadhouse offering camel rides. We had to do it! So for the modest sum of $25 each we went on a 30min ride through the local hills around the farm. Tia was stoked and I was mildly amused. I have to say however that a camel is a much more comfortable ride than a horse and the camel is much more obliging for mounting and dismounting.

They also had a dingo pup in the yard and Tia was able to make close contact with it. At one point I wasn’t sure how close the contact was going to be as the dingo seemed to take an un-natural liking to her. Fortunately it all ended well with Tia totally rapt by the camels and dingo.

The turnoff to the Oodnadatta Track is at Marla and the road condition signs indicated that the road was indeed open. The trip to Oodnatatta was uneventful and after the crowded Kimberley was pleasingly isolated. I think we only saw two or three cars all day. Oodnadatta is like stepping back in time. It seems to have been frozen in the 1960’s and gives you the feeling of a true wild frontier.

There has been a raging debate while we have been on this trip concerning tyre pressure. Certain tyre experts and 4WD enthusiasts will tell you to keep your tyres pumped up to an almost over-inflated level. This I am told will help to protect the side walls and keep the tyre in place if you hit something hard. Others, including the raconteur owner of the Oodnadatta roadhouse, Adam insist that this is bollicks and you should let your tyres down to around 24psi on gravel roads. This gives a better ride in the car and allows the tyre to conform to rocks etc hence preventing punctures. I have been on the side of the hard tyre people for most of this trip but after a lengthy discussion with Adam decided to give it a go. And I would have to say that I am now a convert to the soft tyre school. The difference it makes is amazing. Either way however, soft tyres or hard tyres aren’t going to do you much good when you are up to your axles in mud! Yes, it happened again but this time it was not my fault.

We decided to take a side trip to the Painted Desert. The road out there was challenging but okay. Lots of rain had created large mud holes. The Painted Desert was excellent and most unusual. The planned route would then take us past Arkaringa Station where we could camp for the night and then back to the Oodnadatta Track to William Creek where we intended to have a look at Lake Eyre. We were about 300mtrs from the Station when we encountered a large muddy section of the road. The part we could see was about 50mtrs long. We had heard that others had got through this so despite our trepidation off we went. Things got progressively worse and when we attemted to reach dryer ground on the side of the track the car and trailer sank into very soft and sticky mud. We were stuck well and truly. A group of three 4WD’s were at the other end of the bog assessing the best path to take. After some discussion one of them came through and provided a tow for us to get out. As it turned out we only needed to be pulled 2 – 3 mtrs before the Jeep found its traction and was able to drive the rest of the way. The second part of this bog was about 100mtrs and we followed a Landcruiser through. This was a significantly more difficult bog but sticking to the middle of the track proved to be the saviour. We made it through!

The downside to all of this is that we seem tyo have done damage to our 4WD drive-train. The car makes a sickly clunking noise in 4WD now and I fear we have done some serious and possibly expensive damage. We will be able to get back to Sydney in 2WD however the net result is that our 4WD track days are over for this trip. We were obliged to take the safer route out of Arkaringa via Mt Barry to Coober Pedy and then back to William Creek, a 320km diversion. Whilst the road was in similar condition to the previously disastrous track, someone had cut by-passes around the worst bits. The drive from Arkaringa to Bt Barry was stressful as we were not sure that an impassable bog would not be waiting around the corner. It seems that we are fated to take diversions on this trip. As has happened in the past diversions however, we were fortunate to be able to drive through other unique landscapes that we had not planned to do. In this case it was the Moon Desert which is a desert totally devoid of any life and is littered with mica that shines in the sunlight like glass. The other positive outcome of getting bogged was the splendid evening we spent with our rescuers around the campfire.

When we arrived in Coober Pedy I was losing interest in driving the 320km return trip to William Creek despite desperately wanting to see Lake Eyre in flood. We tried to get a flight out of Coober Pedy but the planes were fully booked for 4 days. My enthusiasm for the whole Lake Eyre thing was waning but Tia was insistent that we do it and I am thankful that she was. We therefore set out late in the day and drove to William Creek. Arriving late we decided to have dinner in the pub. This again was one of those unique experiences that only outback Australia can provide. We befriended a lady who was travelling by herself and shared the evening with her. She was a retired airline pilot flying short-haul routes around Europe for KLM. She had houses in Geneva and London and had had a fascinating life.

Our flight over the lake was for 7.00am the next morning and we both felt that this put a finishing touch to our three month adventure. The flight was fantastic and the views over the lake spectacular. In the hour and a half flight we saw the sun rise over this massive lake that at times covered the horizon in all directions.

We are now wandering home and haven’t yet decided what route we will take. Possibly some wine tasting in the Clare Valley or perhaps a stopover at Cowra. We will let you know in the next blog which will most likely be our last.

Love to all

Alan and Tia

Heading North Again

Heading North Again

Having swept down the Gibb River road with some fantastic experiences behind us, we arrived in Broome via Derby with high expectations. Perhaps this was the problem. Broome, to be polite, was not our cup of tea! The old town may have been quaint once but has now been largely re-developed and carries a prescribed sameness about the streetscape. Each shop is fashioned in the same style and while in keeping with the region (corrugated iron and timber) did not capture the spirit we expected. Broome has obviously gone through major expansion in recent times and the new part with its shopping centres and pristine houses and resorts could have been anywhere in the Gold Coast or Mandurah. As for Cable Beach, we are unable to understand why West Australians would travel that distance to be at a beach that is no better than any of the metropolitan beaches in Perth. Large signs announce the prohibition of almost any activity other than sun-bathing. At the southern end of the beach vehicles are allowed onto the sand to launch their boats. On the day we were there, there must have been over 100 cars – no exaggeration! So, we made a hasty retreat out of Broome early the next morning to head off to the Bungle Bungles (Purnululu NP).

Not a lot to report from Broome to the Bungles. We had a couple of great camps however and met an interesting man at Ellendale. He came from Port Augusta and had considerable knowledge about many things but in particular how to carve Boab nuts. The method was shown to him by local aboriginal people. He showed us and Tia took to the process. Boab nut collecting was now high on the priority. We walked for some distance and collected a small cache of small to medium size nuts. Hubert however collected a number of much larger nuts and in very good condition. He generously gave us the nuts he collected and these were duly added to the growing pile of artefacts and memorabilia resident on the back seat of the car.

Hubert also directed us to the next good free campground on the way to Halls Creek. The next spot of interest on the map was Geike Gorge but after Windjana we could not get excited. Perhaps sensory overload was taking its toll.

As we left Broome the weather was turning decidedly cooler and clouds were gathering in the western sky. By the time we arrived in Fitzroy Crossing it was overcast and getting colder. We camped at Mary Pool (as directed by Hubert) and set up the annexe because it now seemed highly probable that we would get rained on. It did rain, and rain, and rain. The tent held up brilliantly and while we spent a worrying night we were still dry in the morning.

Passing through Halls Creek on the way to the Bungles we checked on the road conditions in the Tanami. The news was all bad! The track was closed in several places and unlikely to re-open for some time. The distance from Halls Creek to Alice Springs on the Tanami road is roughly 1040kms. The only other way to go is to head north to Kununurra, across to Catherine and down to Alice Springs, approx 1700kms. I was not happy! The Tanami was one of the highlights for me and it looked like it was slipping away. We pushed on to the Bungles and decided to check the roads again before we left.

The road into Purnululu (Bungle Bungles) is something to behold. The recommendation is for 4WD vehicles only and honestly I don’t see how you could get a 2WD vehicle into the park (even if one of the PMV drivers from Goroka was driving). It was a picturesque drive with dramatic backdrops and interesting if not challenging creek crossings. The 53km drive took nearly 2hours. The Bungles are worth the effort however. We spent three delightful nights in the park although we had our hearts in our mouth when it started to rain lightly after setting up camp. The next day whilst cloudy remained dry and in fact the light cloud cover made walking easier.

We had previously decided to take a helicopter ride in the park and to ensure we did not miss out we booked it straight away for our last day. Weather remained a topic of discussion however and when we woke on the second morning to a bright sunny day we decided to see if we could bring the flight forward. “Sorry, we are all booked up today” was the answer so it looked like we would have to wait for the next day and take our chances on weather that had become unreliable. On the way out of the airport Tia wanted to check on the best time to take a flight – early morning or later. As luck would have it a tour group who were booked to fly had not turned up so we jumped into their spot and took off straight away. What an experience! Flying over the unique structures of the beehives and following the various gorges was a great way to see the Bungle Bungles. Tia took some amazing photos and the 30mins we had booked went by just too fast. Purnululu is more than just the beehive formations so often seen in brochures. Amazing places like Echidna Chasm and Mini Palm Gorge made this a highlight of our Kimberley experience.

As planned we checked the road conditions on the way out of the park and had confirmation that the Tanami road was closed. We therefore had to take the long way around on bitumen to get to Alice Springs.

We decided to make the most of this enforced diversion and called into Warmun Aboriginal community to view their artwork. They have a well known gallery and the vast majority of the sale proceeds goes to the artist. We bought a small piece and this was added to the previously mentioned collection of artefacts in the back seat of the car (we need a bigger car!).

Despite being forced to travel the Great Northern Highway we were pleasantly surprised to see how beautiful the country was. We didn’t expect the views we were presented with. In fact, we would have to say that in terms of shear spectacle, the drive was worth the diversion. On our previous pass through Kununurra we did not get to Wyndham so we made the short diversion and stayed there overnight. Wyndham is well past its prime and is looking tired. Clearly the development of Kununurra has shifted the tourists and industry away from Wyndham.

After leaving Wyndham, we accepted that it was going to be a few days of long haul travelling; not what we had planned or hoped for on this trip but you do what you have to do. The only points of interest in the drive from Wyndham to Alice Springs were a flat tyre (totally destroyed unfortunately), a broken side window (jury rigged with the help of PVC tape) and a couple of excellent campsites. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I got us bogged! The story goes like this. We wanted to get an off road campsite and the surrounding countryside looked promising except that they have had a bucket full of rain in the last month. I took off to what looked like stable ground and everything was okay for about 10metres. Then we had that sinking feeling as the wheels dug into quite soft mud. Tia was not happy! All through this trip I have been careful to test water crossings and any dubious ground by getting out and walking the suspect territory. Not this time however and we payed for it. Darkness was descending on us rapidly and we needed to get back on the road. We unhitched the trailer and dug out the wheels of the Jeep; placed dry branches under the wheels and the Jeep did the rest. No problem! I was always confident that we would get out – not! The trailer required some pushing and shoving to turn it around and we backed the Jeep up, hooked it up and took off much to both our relief.

Part of the reason we were travelling late in the afternoon was that when we arrived in Alice Springs we found the place to be packed and accommodation was either not available of over-priced. We had planned to spend a few days in Alice but decided to move on as we had already seen Alice on a previous trip.

Next adventure on this sojourn will be the Oodnadatta Track. Hopefully this will be open and okay.

Until then,

So-long for now.

Alan and Tia

The Kimberley

The Kimberley

The drive into Kununurra included the usual quarantine check at the WA boarder. We expected to lose our fresh fruit but honey! A new jar of honey purchased in a supermarket in Katherine could not make it across the border yet the very same brand was on the shelf at the local store in Kununurra – go figure that! As we were not particularly interested in the Argyle diamond mine or Lake Argyle itself, we only spent a short time in Kununurra doing some of the local sights – not overly spectacular. We perhaps could have spent time at Keep River NP and Mirima NP but we were keen to get moving. The drive out of Kununurra to El Questro was amazing! The first real sight of the East Kimberley’s was breath-taking and the wow’s, ooh’s and aar’s did not cease for some time.

El Questro is interesting. It was not what we had imagined. Whereas the marketing promotes it as an up-market el-richo place, it was in fact quite down to earth. The camping area was huge and there were plenty of good camp-sites. They do have private camp sites but you can’t book them and they are taken on a first come first serve basis – we missed out. The only concern is the prevalence of generators. These are supposed to be used only between 9am and 5pm but some people couldn’t tell the time apparently. Tia soon set them straight.

The gorges and attractions around El Questro are not the best in the Kimberley but they make the best of what they have. Some of the walking tracks are difficult and somewhat unpleasant. In one case (Moonshine Gorge) the walk was not worth it. We saw people horse-riding and as this is Tia’s love we just had to do it. How could I refuse after the Extreme Rafting? We booked an early morning ride and spent three hours wandering around the backblocks of El Questro. Due to a problem with Tia’s horse she swapped with the guide. Needless to say the guide’s horse was fantastic and Tia had the time of her life.

Leaving El Questro the Gibb River Road steadily deteriorated. Corrugations were the main problem and remained so for the next day or so. We had had enough by mid afternoon and stopped at Ellenbrae Station. Like so many unplanned things it was great. The people were really friendly and the camping was quiet (only 4 cars). Ellenbrae is a working station and is owned by one of the Grollo brothers (of Grollo Constructions fame). On the way into the station there were lids of 200ltr drums every km or so hanging up enticing us to sample home-made scones and telling us that we were almost there (note: photo above is out of sequence). We had to sample the scones so sat down in the garden to one scone each and a self serve tea bag cup of tea - $16 please! I guess I have to thank them for charging $4 for each cup of tea otherwise what would I have to write about in this blog!

I have commented before on quaint ablutions (Leichardt Lagoon) but these took first prize for originality and quaintness! The building was a stone structure that housed the camp kitchen, shower/bath and toilet. The toilet door comprised of a shadecloth curtain as did the shower. Not particularly private! The hot water system stood in the middle of the camp kitchen and was a wood fired donkey. Despite what sounds like a primitive set-up (and it was) it was really fantastic! We met a young couple from Busselton and spent a great evening in the camp kitchen just talking. We were almost tempted to stay a day or two but the lack of things to do and the call of the Mitchell Plateau made our decision to move on.

The Gibb continued to pound the car despite the grader having gone through much of it. After travelling 5kms up the Kalumburu Road which is the access road for the Mitchell Plateau and the famous Mitchell Falls we agreed that by comparison the Gibb was very smooth. The Kalumburu road had not been graded since the wet and the corrugations were more like culverts. I have never experienced a road like this. Forget driving at 80km/hr to run across the top. These ruts were 300mm apart and up to 75mm deep. We looked at some Landcruisers coming towards us and the undercarriage was taking real punishment. This was car wrecking stuff and not what we came to the Kimberly for. We turned around and headed for Manning Gorge.

Manning Gorge has a unique track to the main gorge that includes swimming across a river. The park management provide styrene boxes for you to put your gear in and then swim across the Manning River. You get dressed on the other side and continue the walk. The gorge at the end of the walk provides a further opportunity for a swim.

Much of the talk with fellow campers at Manning focused on the road conditions to Mitchell Falls. Some said the grader had now been through and the road had improved while others said that while the main road was okay the turnoff to Mitchell Falls was diabolical. We decided to ask at Mt Barnett Roadhouse and if the feedback was positive we would track back to the Kalumburu road and have another go. The pendulum was swinging that way until we met a couple of drivers that had just completed the trek with vehicle damage. As I said above, this was not what we came to the Kimberley for. Decision made we headed south along the Gibb.

The road gets better south of Mt Barnett and continues to improve as you get closer to Derby. This was a relief. I had read some information about the Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary and the Wilderness Camp so we decided to head for there. From the turnoff you have to travel about two hours to get to the camp. It was worth the drive. The Sanctuary is run by the Aust Wildlife Conservancy and is a private non-profit group dedicated to buying significant properties around Australia and turning them over to nature. Out of the 27 properties they own, Mornington is the only one set up for tourists. The numbers of campers is restricted and you have to radio in from the Gibb turnoff to be sure there is a vacancy.

Again the drive in was amazing offering views of dramatic landscapes. We arrived at the camp to be delighted with the way the camp ground was set up. Each camper found their own space in a bush setting. The campgrounds were not over-crowded and the peace was palpable. There are a number of gorges and waterholes to be explored and they all proved to be beautiful with the King Leopold ranges as a backdrop. One adventure offered included taking a canoe up the Sir John Gorge. You are guaranteed to be the only people in the gorge. We booked the canoe for the next day. Included in the hire fee is a packed lunch and we set out early to take maximum advantage of the experience. The gorge is divided in several long pools. We collected our first canoe after a 30min walk and paddled about 1km up to the next pool. This canoe was left here and after walking over some rocks we picked up our next canoe and paddled the remaining 3kms. Along the way was a side gorge where we made our way up on foot to a small rock pool. We stopped here to have lunch and swim. The shear silence and isolation of the place was a real privilege to experience and one that will remain with us forever. After a day on the water we came back to camp to enjoy dinner in the outdoor restaurant. What a day!

Up to this point in the trip we had not seen a croc in the wild – apart from a distant view of one at Kununurra. We therefore decided to head for Windjana Gorge where we were guaranteed to see some freshies at close range. By now we are getting a bit blasé about gorges. They become a bit like cathedrals on a European trip. What we were not prepared for was Windjana. Incredible dramatic rock formations and an entrance to the gorge through a narrow crack in the wall made this gorge unlike any of the others. To top it off we saw about a dozen fresh water crocodiles either lazing on the bank or floating in the water – very exciting! I would have patted one but Tia’s firm grip on my arm prevented me moving too close.

Next to Windjana is Tunnel Creek. This is a small stream that makes its way underground and the adventurous traveller can follow it through the dark and deep waters until it emerges out into the open again. A very surreal experience. Bats have made their home in one part of the tunnel and this adds to the strangeness of the place. It takes a leap of faith to walk into a stream in the dark. One does not know how deep the water will be other than to trust the park guides that indicate the water is no more than waist deep. In some parts I think the author of the note must have been a 8ft giant.

Over the past week or so the trailer has developed an annoying rattle. We thought it may have been some item that had moved and was causing the offending noise. After much re-packing the noise would not go away. The sinking thought that there was something wrong with the trailer crept up on us and pre-occupied our attention. As expected the noise was particularly bad on rough corrugated roads and we have had plenty of those! Everything held together however until we reached Derby and a quick trip to a local mechanic confirmed that the pin in the front right hand bush on the spring was deformed and moving within its housing. We tracked down a trailer specialist who agreed straight away to repair the offending bush. He also repaired the other bush with a thoroughness that is rarely found. We can now be confident that the springs will not shake off their bushes for the rest of the trip and the offending rattle has disappeared.

We are hopefully off to Broome and Cape Levique tomorrow so I will start a new blog from there.

Regards to all

Alan and Tia