26/7 - 28/7 Darngnu Gorge - Fitzroy Crossing

GG:

After roughly 180 km from Sturt Creek, we arrived in Halls Creek, where the rodeo was to be held that weekend. Unfortunately, because of the rodeo, no accommodation was available, leaving one option: drive on 289 km to Fitzroy Crossing. Luckily, there were more available sites there and we were accommodated.

That next day we took a guided boat tour of Darngnu Gorge, focused on the crocodiles and rock faces with a few dreamtime stories and a bit about the freshwater mangroves.

It was a great addition to the trip ... hopefully there’ll be more of that type of thing!!

Tanami (N's point of view)

N:The Tanami track

Flat, dusty and corrugations equals The Tanami Track the plains made up of spinifex grasses and the unique termite mound metropolises.

Day 1

There are many words to describe the track, mine from a passenger point of view is boring. The only thing that changed on the first day was the distance between a set of corrugations, the wildlife was little more than a dead cow and a few eagles/falcons. The only thing that was interesting were trashed cars (scarily interesting). We camped on the side of the road; no designated camping site just a small clearing that held our camp. The only worry about the place was that is was a home to thousands of cows that walked along the back of a channel running parallel 10 metres behind our tent. The facilities were a shovel and some toilet wipes, tea was pesto and supper was a delicious damper cooked by moi.

Day 2

Termite mounds became the rave on the rugged landscape that surrounded the narrow corrugated track. Traffic was a 3 dog road train and a few very daring drivers towing several ton caravans, ironically we saw 2 remnants of caravans that had rolled, splattered then had been looted and left as few panels. We got half way to Halls Creek, at Rabbit Flat road house $2.08 for unleaded. Ouch! As we got there a road train we had passed earlier, which later passed our camp was unloading diesel. We drove on 100 kms or so then set up. Camp was a recommended area. A mosquito laden site, several metres from Sturt Creek. Sturt Creek was a beautiful, tree lined waterway with plenty of water still in it. A haven for Tanami travellers, wild horses and brolgas. For dinner I made a fantastic pasta bolognaise and Dad made chocolate cake.

Day 3

50 something clicks from were we stayed was Wolfe Creek crater thousands of years later from impact was a 20 metre deep crater home to surprisingly green vegetation, it was believed to be 120 metres deep but has been filled in by sand. We conquered the Tanami “woo hoo” we stopped at Halls Creek and had some grub then looked for accommodation but because the rodeo was the next day it was all booked, so of we went to Fitzroy Crossing 289 ks from HC, where we stayed in a luxurious grassy powered camp site.

The next day we explored the wonders of Geike gorge national park (traditionally Darngnoo) we walked out to a sandbar and had lunch there, mum, Georgie and I went on a boat trip and spotted heaps of fresh water crocs “crikey!”.

Day 4

“Yee ha” Broome here we come, a boring driving day ended up lucky sneaking in to a camp site at Roebuck Bay, after setting up camp we headed down to Cable Beach and had a dip and a bit of look around, while you’re in a rainy day we’re swimming it up at Broome!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 5

We swapped our cramped camp for a site down near the beach, went for a swim, waves weren’t that good but was alright I went down to the camels and patted one it stunk like ……… a lot of cars go down to the other side of the beach just because they can, weird, we went shopping then had tea. Started writing this, slept.

Day 6

Finished this

24/7 to 26/7 crossing the Tanami

G: How many spare tyres do you need for the Tanami Track? This was a question that plagued me in the middle of several nights. Before we left Alice Springs, I bought one more. So now we had 2 spares for the car and now 2 for the trailer. Not to mention the satellite phone, extra fuel, spare water and food. The expedition set forth with great trepidation and relief.

The Tanami Track is the 1,000km short cut from Alice Springs to Halls Creek. I’ve longed wanted to do it ‘because it was there’. The track is really an outback highway that carries tourists, a few locals and road trains ferrying cattle and supplies to the communities and mines. The track is sealed in part, mostly over floodways to reduce washouts. The majority of the road is dirt, some significant sections well formed but otherwise corrugated to varying degrees. We would all collectively sigh when the juddering of the corrugations was suddenly silenced by bitumen. The sounds of silence would generally only last a few moments before we ploughed back into the machine gun rattle.

The trick with driving on corrugations is to find the sweet spot which is a combination of the best surface and speed to minimize the shuddering. The best bit of road is usually on the opposite side. The Tanami was once considered a horror road however you could now drive it in a two wheel drive vehicle. (I wouldn't recommend it especially towing). The local aboriginal community guys drive around in Commodores but you wouldn’t buy a second hand one off them. The Tanami is littered with abandoned cars, mostly rolled and burnt out. Presumably this is the final resting place for the above cars. The road is also littered with tyres and carcasses. Tyres and rubber fragments and exhaust pipes that highlight that you still need to take the road seriously.

However, like all the roads up here, the real danger is animals. You could almost consider yourself lucky if you hit a kangaroo instead of a whole piece of prime beef, a horse or a camel. There are carcasses and plenty of live ones from all of them here. (We saw some fantastic looking wild horses next to the road). It does make great close up viewing of eagles. Unfortunately, eagles also become victims.

Once the Tanami crossed into WA the road conditions changed from a 6 car wide graded road to a 2 car wide track with nasty corrugations and washouts. A road without rhythm. There was no sweet spots. Fortunately this improved as we got closer to Halls Creek.

The major refueling point along the way is Rabbit Flat, Australia’s most remote road house. Petrol was $2.08/litre.

Our first bush camp was just in off the road out of the shawl of dust was thrown up by passing vehicles. We lit a fire and Noah made a scrumptious apple damper in the camp oven.

The second bush camp was next to the Sturt Creek in WA, a postcard picture of white gums and billabongs. In the night, Robyn and I listened to wild horses galloping by moonlight down the drive river bed next to our camper.

After two and a half days we arrived in Halls Creek with all our spares intact.

11/7 to 23/7 G's comments

G: Summary of go to here. First full day we made it across the border passed Renmark. We pulled off the road into Lyrup Flats NP. A beautiful river wetland area where the locals all seem to camp with their car bonnets up. Huh(?).

Next day was a very long drive via Morgan, Burra, Hawker through to Leigh Creek. We had tried to camp in Parachilla, a scene from a Western movie comprising pub, outdoor fire and collection of old railway workers’ cabins. However, there was no room in the Inn or even for camping as town was completely booked out with 200 American tourists. We drove on to Leigh Creek and stayed in a cabin. Luxury.

The adventure now really begins. The next significant town is Marree, the beginning of the Birdsville and Oodnadatta tracks. Marree was a significant station on the old Ghan train line that the Oodnadatta track follows. It also has the tin shed club rooms of the Lake Eyre Sailing Club! The Oodnadatta track commences with an ominous warning about entering remote country. The relics of the railway and mounds of ancient natural springs make this a fascinating route. We skirted Lake Eyre South, a vast basin with a mirage of real water receding. We stayed at Coward Springs, an oasis right out of an Abbot & Costello movie complete with date palms and camels.

The next day, more diverse country. The vegetation and landforms are constantly changing from green vegetation, red sand and undulating to flat arid and stony. We arrive in Coober Pedy, a fascinating but foolish place. It should have been our answer to Las Vegas.

It’s 750km from Coober Pedy to Uluru. The only saving grace for us was that it was sealed so we were spared dust and corrugation. Interestingly the camp and hotels at Uluru are called Ayers Rock Resort. The resort bit is to soften you up for the financial slug they charge for everything.

The next destination on the Central Australia has to be Kings Canyon. It truly is a wonder. You walk around an ancient eroded sandstone landscape that has created a palace of domes, rock pools and sheer escarpment.

From here we shook and rattled around the Mereenie loop to Glen Helen. About 200 km of dust, sand and corrugation, a warm up for the Tanami. We bush camped and awoke to a very frosty morning with the trailer water pump frozen.

After 3,600 km we have arrived in Alice Springs. Civilisation. Warm showers, no dust, kid’s playground. ‘Aah this is living Kel’. Three days to relax and prepare for the TANAMI. I feel it’s like a pending trial to which all our plans, contingencies, spares and communications may be tested. Not to forget patience over 3 – 4 days of rough road.

11/7 to the 15/7

N: The first few days were pretty good especially the first day because the driving went really quickly, but there was nothing really special about our first night in Lyrup flats national park except for the scenery which was flat and but contained lot of bird life, mum also spotted a fish, carp probably which inspired me to have a bit of dangle unsuccessfully.

It is roughly 600ks from Kyabram to Lyrup flats and is about 90ks out of Morgan where we originally planned to stay on our first night.

The next days drive was shorter but less to get excited about because the landscape got a lot flatter and pretty much consisted of saltbush dirt and a little bit of sand.

Our plan of the day was to stay in Parachilna but on arriving at the town we found that all accommodation was booked out by a group of 200 American tourists which left us annoyed and on a dark road against dad rules (no driving in the dark to avoid a collision with any wildlife mainly Kangaroos) so we went onto our original plan to go on to Leigh Creek 35 Ks on.

We ended up staying in a motel because it was to dark to set up the Camper trailer; it also gave us the advantage to leave earlier in the morning.

We set off the next day to coward springs which was only a short drive compared to the other days but was on a dirt track from Lyndhurst 36 Ks out of Leigh Creek.

The next town on from lyndhurst was Maree the start of the famous Birdsville track and also the Oodnadatta track where we would be heading after a short break, both roads/tracks bore an unnerving Remote areas ahead sign explaining the needs for 4wding requirements.

After setting up the camper trailer we indulged ourselves in a natural spa before having a fire heated dinner and damper.

In the morning we rebuilt the fire and experimented with an old sandwich maker which produced 3 fine toasted sandwiches.

We headed of to Coober Pedy where we are staying now in the oasis caravan park. Where we have explored a opal mine and the local shops, the town is said to be the opal capital of Australia and fair enough because the town is opal crazy and every shop has something to do with opals.

30/6 to 8/7

N:Before the trip to Broome I went to my uncle’s farm (Georgie went to Warburton at a friends holiday house) after mum dropped me of she went to her parents place in the Katamatite Township for the night. She came back the next day and me and my cousin Mat drove the X-trail around and then mum left for her last working week for a term. Russell (my uncle) shot a fox in the top paddock with the .17 calibre rifle he shot it at 144 yards on the run we went around the sheep in the morning and found a carcass of the lamb that the fox had been feeding on. We did some shooting of the slug gun at an empty drum I got my eye in( the night before I had some shots with the .22 and none of them hit the microwave I was shooting at) then we marked lambs I picked them up and put them on a bench where they were drenched, injected, their tail (and if they were a boy then their Balls as well) had a ring put around them to cut the circulation off so they would fall of (painful stuff) then their were branded with a special paint. Taking them back was fun though on the 4 wheeler. We went out spot lighting and got three hares and no foxes, we did see a lot of foxes but didn’t get any. The next day all we did was drive and shoot we went around the sheep in the land cruiser we and mat took turns at driving. We shot with the open sighted .22 for me the first time and the other with the scope and of course the slug guns. We went out spotlighting again; we got a fox it fell in the water and Russell had to walk right up to the channel crossing to get it. We drove to Numurkah to met with my grandparents who would have me for the next few days before we would then finally head off for Broome!!!