DESERT WANDERINGS WEEK TWO
WEEK TWO 16th April - 22nd April 2018.
(Photos are taking forever to load. Hereis a taster of week 2)
Roads we travelled. Well they call them Roads and highways but they are red dirt clearings, and sometimes not even that!!
Anne Beadell highway- Point Sandy Road- The Great Central Road- David Carnegie Road- Gunbarrel Highway- Gary Highway-Canning Stock Route- Gary Junction Road -Sandy Blight Junction
Mon 16th April
A week since we left Coober Pedy. The trip is going well. We are still having battery problems but it's been isolated as a battery problem not anything else. Lucky we are in a group of experienced 4WDrivers!
Last day on the Anne Beadell, we turned off at Point Sunday and travelled to the Great Central Road. A wide, gravel highway a main thoroughfare up the centre of Australia. If we stayed on this road it would get us to Uluru. The vegetation and skies continue to give us plenty to look at. We spotted about 5 Emus just off the side of the road today. The Great Central Road also brought a number of abandoned cars . We've stopped at Tjukayirla Roadhouse. Apparently the most isolated roadhouse in Australia, but I suspect that's self proclaimed as the Ilkurla Roadhouse seemed much more isolated! Diesel here is a bargain at $2/L but also had a battery here for us to replace ours! All clean again, bodies and clothes, we were able to get wifi and call home. Nice to speak to Mum and Dad and catch up on news from home. A serious bushfire near home not great news to log into however firefighters did a wonderful job and no lives or homes were lost.
Tuesday 17th April
A new battery and the car started on its own! What a relief!
With access to power we all enjoyed a coffee from the Aldi pod machine.
Back along the The Great Central Road we travelled on the shared air strip (for Royal Flying Doctors Service ) and then onto David Carnegie Road, a 4wd track only.
We stopped to explore the Brendan Buff Aboriginal Caves but didn't have much luck finding them. An interesting place to explore all the same. Very rocky terrain with small red rocks.
Empress Springs was a cool change. Heading down a chain ladder we went down approx 10 m where it was dark and cooler than the 36 deg outside. This Spring was shown to Carnegie and his team of explorers in 1896 by an Aboriginal when they were dangerously in need of water. Josh and Mitch enjoyed exploring the cave and Xavier was very disappointed he was not allowed to climb down the hole .
Along the David Carnegie Road the spinifex were as high as our bonnet (sometimes higher) both on side and in the middle of the road. A slow journey stopping every 30 min or so to remove the spikey spinifex from the radiator and around the car. Finding a campsite proved difficult and after a long day of driving we choose a semi clear area to camp amongst the spinifex.
Wed 18 April
Finishing the long spinifex drive along David Carnegie Road we turned onto Gunbarrel Highway. A long stretch of track that has many ruts, a bumpy track that was fun. Stopping at a bore that the boys enjoyed pumping the water up the 16 m. Previously we would have needed a billy and 16 m of rope to access, upgraded in 2007.
Getting to our turn off was another visitors book. Someone who had traveled the Gary Highway reported tall spinifex. Deciding that would be better suited for a morning drive we found a campsite off the side of the road and set up camp for another night. Josh has been setting up one swag on his own. Timing himself. Today he was down to 4:10 min (starting time 6:11) . How much will he improve?
At camp the kids made a 'mine town ". Working together to make tracks and decorate with different trees, sticks and rocks lying around. Quite a creation and lots of team work.
Thurs 19 April
Turning onto the Gary Highway and back to the super high spinifex. Track was difficult to see at times and regular checks became the norm for the day. A long driving day but not too many km travelled. More time spent clearing spinifex from the car than actually driving. A slow and hot task, Brad has a couple of burns to prove it!
We did find a beautiful inland lake , with plenty of bird life and even some ducks. Shows just how much water they have had, finding so much water in the desert is far from what we expected.
There's a current rain storm off to the south of us. We have been watching it all day but over the radio we have heard a couple of cars are bogged on the Canning Stock Route. A recovery is being planned for these cars. Not the direction we are heading but if the rain comes our way we will need to rethink our direction.
Friday 20th April
Continuing along Gary highway, with 40 plus deg , stopping again for clearing spinifex we had another long day. Stopping for lunch to decide if we would go to the meteor site that was found in 1975. 4 out of 6 cars carried on as planned and the other 2 going to the metoer site to catch up later. Overall the track improved and we picked up speed, except for a few challenging wash outs. We made it to camp amongst spinifex and grass, minus our camp oven lid. The other 2 cars made it to camp before sunset.
Sat 21 April
With only a short drive to Kunawarriji community we filled up on all the essentials- Diesel, water and shoes for Mitch! Duct tape no more. He wasn't too happy about the colour choice, white and purple, but they will be red and dirty soon !! Paying $4 for a shower, best $4 spent in 5 days! Expensive $3.40/L for diesel - ouch!
Driving along the Canning Stock Route just for a bit to see Well 33. With so much water it was overflowing. Another sign of recent rains.
Back on the Gary Junction Road we made it to Gary Junction, marked by a replica Len Beadell Plaque. Heading towards Jupiter Well the road was well maintained. Wide, gravel road with some sandy parts and other parts corragated, we made good progress reaching 80km/hour for the most part. The landscape changed with bright red dirt against green shrubbery and Sheoak trees. Rocky formations along the side of the road. We spotted 2 camels near the road who were happy for us to observe them. Interesting they would hear a car approaching and turn their head to watch. Jupiters Well provided a nice shady area to camp with an operating well. Plenty of space for the kids to play soccer- Elkin's v Nicholas'.
Today we have had fridge issues again. Changing the freezer section temperature has saved it , for now. 40 deg temp and the battery isn't coping with the workload.
Sunday 22nd April
We are getting into a rhythm for packing up camp . Taking about 1.5 hour each morning at a very leisurely pace. Could easily do it in less time if needed. On the other hand set up is quick, usually have it done in around 10-15 min.
Continuing on the Gary Junction Road much the same as yesterday. We stopped at Kiwirrkurra Community. A well established community with a basketball court and many buildings including a Centrelink office! Being Sunday it was all closed but we were able to view Len Beadell's ration truck that caught fire in November 1960 with their food, water and camping supplies. Would have been absolutely devastating to be stuck out here without provisions.
(Photos are taking forever to load. Hereis a taster of week 2)
Roads we travelled. Well they call them Roads and highways but they are red dirt clearings, and sometimes not even that!!
Anne Beadell highway- Point Sandy Road- The Great Central Road- David Carnegie Road- Gunbarrel Highway- Gary Highway-Canning Stock Route- Gary Junction Road -Sandy Blight Junction
A week since we left Coober Pedy. The trip is going well. We are still having battery problems but it's been isolated as a battery problem not anything else. Lucky we are in a group of experienced 4WDrivers!
Last day on the Anne Beadell, we turned off at Point Sunday and travelled to the Great Central Road. A wide, gravel highway a main thoroughfare up the centre of Australia. If we stayed on this road it would get us to Uluru. The vegetation and skies continue to give us plenty to look at. We spotted about 5 Emus just off the side of the road today. The Great Central Road also brought a number of abandoned cars . We've stopped at Tjukayirla Roadhouse. Apparently the most isolated roadhouse in Australia, but I suspect that's self proclaimed as the Ilkurla Roadhouse seemed much more isolated! Diesel here is a bargain at $2/L but also had a battery here for us to replace ours! All clean again, bodies and clothes, we were able to get wifi and call home. Nice to speak to Mum and Dad and catch up on news from home. A serious bushfire near home not great news to log into however firefighters did a wonderful job and no lives or homes were lost.
Tuesday 17th April
A new battery and the car started on its own! What a relief!
With access to power we all enjoyed a coffee from the Aldi pod machine.
Back along the The Great Central Road we travelled on the shared air strip (for Royal Flying Doctors Service ) and then onto David Carnegie Road, a 4wd track only.
We stopped to explore the Brendan Buff Aboriginal Caves but didn't have much luck finding them. An interesting place to explore all the same. Very rocky terrain with small red rocks.
Empress Springs was a cool change. Heading down a chain ladder we went down approx 10 m where it was dark and cooler than the 36 deg outside. This Spring was shown to Carnegie and his team of explorers in 1896 by an Aboriginal when they were dangerously in need of water. Josh and Mitch enjoyed exploring the cave and Xavier was very disappointed he was not allowed to climb down the hole .
Along the David Carnegie Road the spinifex were as high as our bonnet (sometimes higher) both on side and in the middle of the road. A slow journey stopping every 30 min or so to remove the spikey spinifex from the radiator and around the car. Finding a campsite proved difficult and after a long day of driving we choose a semi clear area to camp amongst the spinifex.
Wed 18 April
Finishing the long spinifex drive along David Carnegie Road we turned onto Gunbarrel Highway. A long stretch of track that has many ruts, a bumpy track that was fun. Stopping at a bore that the boys enjoyed pumping the water up the 16 m. Previously we would have needed a billy and 16 m of rope to access, upgraded in 2007.
Getting to our turn off was another visitors book. Someone who had traveled the Gary Highway reported tall spinifex. Deciding that would be better suited for a morning drive we found a campsite off the side of the road and set up camp for another night. Josh has been setting up one swag on his own. Timing himself. Today he was down to 4:10 min (starting time 6:11) . How much will he improve?
At camp the kids made a 'mine town ". Working together to make tracks and decorate with different trees, sticks and rocks lying around. Quite a creation and lots of team work.
Thurs 19 April
Turning onto the Gary Highway and back to the super high spinifex. Track was difficult to see at times and regular checks became the norm for the day. A long driving day but not too many km travelled. More time spent clearing spinifex from the car than actually driving. A slow and hot task, Brad has a couple of burns to prove it!
We did find a beautiful inland lake , with plenty of bird life and even some ducks. Shows just how much water they have had, finding so much water in the desert is far from what we expected.
There's a current rain storm off to the south of us. We have been watching it all day but over the radio we have heard a couple of cars are bogged on the Canning Stock Route. A recovery is being planned for these cars. Not the direction we are heading but if the rain comes our way we will need to rethink our direction.
Friday 20th April
Continuing along Gary highway, with 40 plus deg , stopping again for clearing spinifex we had another long day. Stopping for lunch to decide if we would go to the meteor site that was found in 1975. 4 out of 6 cars carried on as planned and the other 2 going to the metoer site to catch up later. Overall the track improved and we picked up speed, except for a few challenging wash outs. We made it to camp amongst spinifex and grass, minus our camp oven lid. The other 2 cars made it to camp before sunset.
Sat 21 April
With only a short drive to Kunawarriji community we filled up on all the essentials- Diesel, water and shoes for Mitch! Duct tape no more. He wasn't too happy about the colour choice, white and purple, but they will be red and dirty soon !! Paying $4 for a shower, best $4 spent in 5 days! Expensive $3.40/L for diesel - ouch!
Driving along the Canning Stock Route just for a bit to see Well 33. With so much water it was overflowing. Another sign of recent rains.
Back on the Gary Junction Road we made it to Gary Junction, marked by a replica Len Beadell Plaque. Heading towards Jupiter Well the road was well maintained. Wide, gravel road with some sandy parts and other parts corragated, we made good progress reaching 80km/hour for the most part. The landscape changed with bright red dirt against green shrubbery and Sheoak trees. Rocky formations along the side of the road. We spotted 2 camels near the road who were happy for us to observe them. Interesting they would hear a car approaching and turn their head to watch. Jupiters Well provided a nice shady area to camp with an operating well. Plenty of space for the kids to play soccer- Elkin's v Nicholas'.
Today we have had fridge issues again. Changing the freezer section temperature has saved it , for now. 40 deg temp and the battery isn't coping with the workload.
Sunday 22nd April
We are getting into a rhythm for packing up camp . Taking about 1.5 hour each morning at a very leisurely pace. Could easily do it in less time if needed. On the other hand set up is quick, usually have it done in around 10-15 min.
Continuing on the Gary Junction Road much the same as yesterday. We stopped at Kiwirrkurra Community. A well established community with a basketball court and many buildings including a Centrelink office! Being Sunday it was all closed but we were able to view Len Beadell's ration truck that caught fire in November 1960 with their food, water and camping supplies. Would have been absolutely devastating to be stuck out here without provisions.
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