Please just start reading while the photos load.
| A few of my comments throughout this journal
are boxed like this, Mike. |
CSR - JOURNAL 2002
Destination: CANNING STOCK ROUTE
Start date of trip: 27/7/2002
SYDNEY TO ALICE SPRINGS - Greg & Lily Reid, Sydney.
ALICE to ALICE: Mike Hofmann - Shirley de Haan, Australia.
Greg & Lily Reid, Australia.
Synja & Hans Meijneken, Netherlands
Cees Broekhuizen, Netherlands, - Chris & James McIntosh, UK.
Eef Brummelmans - Joanna Redder, Netherlands.
Rudolf & Erika Baumann, Switzerland.
Charles & Judy Charters, Australia
| Expedition Leader: Mike Hofmann Previous 4WD experience: Mike, Cees, Charles. All other participants were 4WD novices. All the participants got to know each other over the previous 12 months as members of a forum. |
the most remote 4wd track in Australia, with a detour into the Rudall River Nat. Park and a visit to the Bungle Bungle. .
Location: N.S.W. - S.A. - N.T. - W.A.
| The CSR trip started from
Alice Springs. Bron travelled there from the East Coast with Greg and Lily.
|
Day 1 - 27th July, 2002
My adventure along the Canning began ..
Greg & Lily picked me up in Regentville (Sydney) and we headed for Nyngan via Katoomba and the Blue Mountains, travelling west through Bathurst - Dubbo then Nyngan, our first night.
The country side till then, had been flat, dry with the greenest area around Wellington.
Total Kms 540.
That first night was spent at the Alamo motel in Nyngan.
Lily did the cooking, getting in practice for the "outback', we ate noodles & tuna followed by date pudding. The company was the best and wasn't long before we settled into a nice working friendship.
Just as well `cause we would be sharing the accommodation for the next few nights..!!
Day 2 - 28th July, 2002
Greg, up at 5.30am for his "run" ( he was use to this, being a marathon runner).
Meanwhile Lily & I packed up and we all left Nyngan by 7.30am.
Travelled through Cobar - Wilcannia and arrived at Broken Hill by 4pm. Country side very dry, vast expanses of flat, "saltbush' type growth.
Amazing scenery & the land looks indestructible. Outside the car, it was cool and the smells were of dust and more dust..!!
Lots of road kills. Met up with other 4wders who were heading for the "top End" funny name !! Also heard on the news of an emu breakout and we saw dozens along the roadside for 50 - 60 Kms.
Cobar - Nice and clean town, had breakfast there.
Wilcannia - very dirty but we found a main street shop that sold fantastic take away food, and Greg loves the Big `M'..
Broken Hill - Huge. Town surrounded by the mines, great history, very dusty & flat, very friendly people and good facilities.
We were in bed by 9pm after another " Chinese" meal cooked by our travelling chef, Lily.
Total Kms 610.
Day 3 - 29th July, 2002
Up early and left for Cockburn, wet and overcast day and freezing cold wind. Arrived at Manna Hill for coffee. Country still very flat with just a few minor ranges and the `saltbush" was very close to the ground, too cold to grow any higher!
Decided to bypass the city of Port Augusta, only because we knew about "cities" and were more interested in the smaller country towns/cities.
Turned out to be a good decision, when we arrived at Orrorro we had lunch in a small roadhouse on the highway, they had access to the internet and we could all check and send emails…Oh how
communications have changed…. lovely coffee and sausage rolls served by a very friendly proprietor who willingly spent time with us explaining "how, where, when & why" he and his family had moved
there.
Arrived at Pimba, 6kms from Woomera, stayed at " Spuds Place" a roadhouse/motel/hotel with rooms out the back that looked like they came off a container ship - but were very warm and comfortable.
TV and air conditioner did not work, but who cares when your on an adventure!
Total Kms 595
Day 4 - 30th July, 2002
Left Pimba for Coober Pedy by 7.30am. (Little did we know our leaving times were a training ground for the CSR trip), freezing morning.
Arrived Coober Pedy at 12.30pm and had a beautiful lunch in an underground restaurant.
We decided on a little luxury and stayed at the Opal Inn.
The town is basically a mining town and visions of diggings, underground dwellings and mounds of dirt were everywhere, so was the dust and grime.
Breakaways at Coober Pedy |
Departed early for Alice Springs along the Stuart Highway, morning tea at Cadney Homestead, lunch at Kulgera and an afternoon snack at "Jim's place', we kept our options open to stop another night or
continue to Alice, depending on the driver's stamina. But, being the marathon runner that he is, Greg got us to Alice by 5.30pm that same day.
We met up with Mike, out intrepid leader for our adventure, at the Red Centre Resort and after unpacking the necessary items we had hot showers, coffee and a change of clothing.
CLOTHING: It must now be said that because we knew we were restricted in the amount of things to take on the CSR and elsewhere in the desert areas because of the weight to the vehicles, we made a
concerted effort to travel from Sydney to Alice wearing only one outfit, with two underclothing changes. This meant a shift in thinking from the usual "change whenever you like" to realising that being a little dirty is not going to ruin any friendships or a sudden dislike for `self".
So, on arrival in Alice we knew we had the "dirty look" well under control.
Alice Springs is a wonderful city, very relaxed, friendly community and oodles of shopping choices. Situated in what looks like a crater, the surrounding countryside is greener than one would think
(being in the middle of the Northern Territory) and the mountain ranges form an "outer ring" around the city.
We went with Mike to meet up with Cees, Eef, Gizien and Joanna (all from the Netherlands).
We all went to Bojangles for a late meal and returned to the resort by 11pm.!!
Greg, Lily and I travelled 687 Kms that day and did a total of 2773Kms from Sydney to Alice Springs.
Day 6 - 1st August, 2002
Did not get up very early today….
Mike had gone into town to pick up Cees from his motel & with Lily and Greg we four did the sights of Alice Springs. Cees ( a Dutchman) was our sightseeing guide..!!! He had been to Alice a few times before.
The War Memorial on Anzac Hill gave the best view of the whole city and surrounding area. The Anzac Memorial was magnificent in its simplicity and the stark white of the monument contrasted with the
earthy colours of the distant ranges.
Visited the 'School of the Air" , a radio leaning centre that brings education to the children of remote outback stations, some who live 800 kms from Alice Springs. The service is broadcast to radio sets
at each station and the children have set times for their lessons.
They are able to share their written work, via voice, to all the other students and receive feedback from them and their teachers.
The "Flying Doctor Service" is another remote service to the whole of the Northern Territory. This was started by the Rev. John Flynn. Today, with modern aircraft and staff who are trained in methods of rescue, paramedical procedures, the service has expanded possibly beyond what John Flynn could have ever imagined.
With both these services, you get a strong feeling of the sense of community they bring to the whole of the outback and could be called the "lifeblood" of this State.
Mike arrived with his second passenger for the CSR, Shirley de Haan.
It was lovely to finally meet up with Shirley as we two would be sharing space in Mike's escort vehicle, this meant that Mike now had to "contend with, look after and take care of" these two female
passengers who were new to the outback experience.!!
Met Eef, Gizien & Joanna, Charlie & Judy, spend time getting to know each other, did the usual day to day things including one big task. Repacking the 4wds.
This task was essential as the packing of the vehicles for the CSR had to be balanced correctly, things most in use needed to be easy to access, like, spare parts, tools, tents, food and utensils, chairs etc. sounds like just about everything..!!
Radios had to be fitted and tested, GPS systems calibrated, Satellite phones checked, all these items essential to the safety of travellers in the outback desert areas.
This evening we attended the Red Centre Dreaming. One of the highlights of this trip. Tom Crow ( Artist, Musician and Co-ordinator) and Unya ( a young Aboriginal woman from the Pupanya Community), who assisted Tom with the presentation, and also an up and coming artist.
We enjoyed a `bush tucker" 4 course meal, were entertained by the Aboriginal Cultural Dancers, listened to talks by Tom and Unya on the cultural aspects of traditional clans. Were invited to join with others in some cultural dances..Big joke this one, had us dancing like emus, brolgas and hoping like kangaroos.
Tom played the didgeridoo all during the main course and it was very hard to keep eating with the drumming of that haunting music pulsing through your body. I would not have missed this evening for anything.
Red Centre Dreaming
|
| It was Brons Birthday and we decided to
take her out for dinner. |
Day 7 - 2nd August, 2002
Last day in Alice Springs till the end…
Those of us staying at the Red Centre Resort had, on the second day, to move to the Heavy Tree Gap Resort, now we were all together, the other participants for the trip, coming from Holland and
Switzerland, would meet up with us further down the track.
Shared an evening together at the local bistro, eating kangaroo steaks with sweet chilli sauce for the first time..delicious, but needed to keep my mind off where the meat came from…
Chris and James from England arrived (Cees would be their co-driver).
Late shopping for our supplies, you think you hate shopping for the usual family groceries, try deciding what to buy for the CSR. Lucky for us Mike and Cees had done this before and knew things
like Cryovac meats, portions, amounts, and best of all just where along the track we would be able to restock (some things that is).
Packed all the groceries in the 4wd, had a drink to celebrate surviving the day!! And in bed by 11.10pm.
(NOW DAY 1 OF THE ACTUAL CSR TRIP)
DAY 1 - 3rd August, 2002
Shirley and I were up at 5.30am to visit the bakery ( which opens early, must be used to these travellers of the outback), bought fresh bread and then a visit to Coles to get that elusive "butternut" pumpkin for Mike's cooking.
We left the "Gap" to meet and farewell Gizien (Eef's wife, who was flying back home due to work commitments). Joanna was now to accompany Eef as co-driver.
Our convoy lined up for a photo and then we headed toward the West MacDonnell Ranges, with magnificent morning colours.
Everyone ( 5 vehicles) testing the CB radios with lots of funny comments especially from those of us who have never used that medium before, needing to get past the embarrassment of cutting the transmission in "half"..!!
Mike started a routine each morning that continued to the end of the Canning, he would sing "Oh what a
beautiful morning" and "On the road again" pity that was the only words he knew..haha, but, we looked forward to that as the beginning of our day.
Lunch at the Mt. Sonder lookout, then onto the Ochre Pits, this is where the local Aboriginal clans collected their colours for their body painting for ceremonies. Over Tyler Pass with a view of the Gosse Bluff Crater. Did a walk up to the crater, where 142 million years ago a comet landed.
This is a sacred Aboriginal site.
Our first flat tyre on the road to Palm Valley. First camp site at the N.P. and we learnt about putting up tents, getting used to the dust and cooking in a camp oven, Mike provided the meal for all with " stuffed capsicums" one was a full meal. Billy's boiling and we sat around the fire and compared notes.
This became a regular routine, each pair boiling their billy ready for the next morning's "early start cuppa".
Cold night and did not sleep too well, needing more time to assimilate.
Day 2 - 4th August, 2002
8am start to Palm Valley where Lily put her 4wd training to the test on the way into the valley and passed with flying colours.
Greg and Chris had gone running. The valley is situated in the Finke Gorge N.P. the first part of the drive follows the Finke River and included sections of soft sand. The last part of the track leaves the Finke River and heads into Palm Valley with rough and rocky parts and soft sand, high clearance 4wd's are
essential. The Valley is full of palms, cycads and dramatic rock formations. Of course it was hard not to photograph at every turn, and the walk up the valley was very refreshing.
Back at camp we packed up and headed toward Hermannsburg after lunch.
Visited the Albert Namatjira art exhibition, left there at 2.15 for the long drive to Kings Canyon, passing over the George Gill Range at sunset, beautiful sight. Camped in the Kings Canyon park and in
bed at a reasonable hour.
Palm Valley
|
6am, all up and Mike and Cees cooked pancakes for everyone, big task but we managed to eat them as they came out of the pan.
Did the short Canyon creek walk, our runners did the "rim" walk then ran back to camp (50m minute run).
Left at 11.30m for Uluru (80kms), stopped and collected fire wood as you are not allowed to take wood into national parks because of the possibility of distributing seed that is not usually found there, also small critters.
Saw Mount Connor in the distance and drove through Curtain Springs and then sighted Uluru on the horizon with the Olgas (Kata Tjuta) in the background.
Found a good campsite, drive to "the Rock" in time for sunset viewing, I never get tired of thinking about the emotions that surfaced while looking at Uluru, as the sun set the colours changed in sync.
The air was cool and clear, everyone was quiet, (even though we had consumed crackers / cheese / smoked oysters and champagne in celebration), it was like watching a giant falling to sleep.
Day 3 - 6th August, 2002
We made a very big effort and were up at 4.30am for the sunrise at Uluru. Coffee first, camera gear ready and arrived at Uluru being the fifth car to arrive, within minutes the viewing points were filling up. We were toward the north eastern side of the "rock".
The sunrise was spectacular, appearing as an "inferno" and slowly lightening. The reflection of light on Uluru brought it to life, it was hard to know where to look and photograph.
Like millions of viewers before me, I saw all the colours previously seen in brochures but, none of them prepare you for the magical feeling of seeing this monolith awaken.
Visited the Cultural Centre, then had a short walk to get closer to Uluru, again, there was a feeling of being in the presence of something "alive".
Extremely beautiful.
Day 4 - 7th August, 2002
We left for Docker River ( near the boarder of N.T. and W.A.) by 7am.
Passed by Uluru and Kata Tjuta (Olgas) some photos at a viewing platform of (Kata Tjuta) where I got my first good look at flora specific to the desert areas, mostly small shrubs flowering profusely and with one that only flowered around the bottom of the plant, as if in hiding from the coming heat.
Passed the Peterman Range on the left and paid a visit to Lasseter's Cave on the Hull River ( completely dry). Crossed the Docker River and the Western Australian boarder, passed our first "road train", actually in the distance it looked like a dust storm. On advice from Mike we all pulled to the left as far as possible and reduced our speed, the huge truck cab appeared from the dust and our convoy of cars looked like miniatures.
We came across a broken down car belonging to some Aboriginals, no way they could get the car going so Chris towed them into Giles.
We lunched at Warakurna Roadhouse ( Giles). And visited the Tjulyuru Community Centre a beautiful maintained cultural centre . Travelled west along the Great Central Road toward Warburton. Camp that night at Giles and all the smart participants set up their camps, we noticed a very smelly 44 gal drum full of garbage so we moved away to the edge.
An early nights sleep as we were getting started early again.
Day 5 - 8th August, 2002
Left camp by 7.30am, a feat we tried to continue each morning.
Passed a lot of camel strings and the large bulls would stand their ground while keeping one eye on his family of assorted females and young and the other eye on us. If his string was already on his side of the track, they all just turned and walked slowly away but if some were on the other side from him, his nostrils flared and he became quite agitated and would not leave the area.
We were able to get some good photos of them. They are magnificent beasts.
Another tyre gone, this time one side completely shredded, bad luck but gave us all time to stretch the legs and some to "find a tree or bush".
35 kms along at Steptoe's Corner we turned right, then another 35kms, right again onto the Heather Highway!!
This part of the trip was very slow due to extreme corrugations, it helped when the vehicle got up some speed and I know why I was encouraged by friends to wear "sports bras"..!!
HIGHWAYS: out here you require a lot of imagination. If you have ever travelled along a small country dirt road with the grass touching your wheels you will get the picture of an "outback highway" only generally much rougher.
Very short highway, about 37 kms and we reached the infamous Gunbarrel.
Now, rough is not the right word to describe this "highway", deep washouts, corrugations and bull dust.
Beadell Tree
|
bush', it gets it name because when traditional users of the land set their fires, this tree / shrub burns with a "whoosh" sound and the branches fold inward to join at the top. It looks dead but after the next rainy season it begins to shoot again from the bottom.
It was interesting to find out that when collecting fire wood in these areas its was not a good idea to assume a tree / bush is dead just because the branches snap easily, the majority of them re-shoot in the coming seasons and so regenerate the vegetation.
We found a bush camp for the night, cleared away a lot of Spinifex with the shovels, if you get those spikes in your socks etc, they are murder.
Judy lost her engagement ring at this camp but because of all the soft red sand it was impossible to find it again.
| Many months later when Charlie did some
work on his car he found Judy's lost engagement ring under the floor mat of
his car. |
Day 6 - 9th August, 2002
Left camp by 7.30am again and continued along the Gunbarrel, lots of camels, singles, pairs and some large strings and a young calf about 2 weeks old. Saw a beautiful dingo, rich orange brown, they saunter off into the long grass and turn and watch, its their territory.
Spectacular scenery along both sides of the highway and we cut through the bottom left corner of the Gibson Desert Nature Reserve.
More flowers showing and we had quite a few stops, in particular a white fluffy ground cover thousands of small plants growing all together and then they just stopped till you came across another patch. Another plant that had fine grassy growth in the centre with tendrils flowing out covered in tiny white flowers. This is supposed to be a desert!!
Climbed Mount Beadell for some beautiful views of the surrounding desert areas, the desert was awash with flowers.
We had lunch at the bottom of the mountain and had become experts at devising appetising treats to go on 1,2 and then 3 day old bread.
Was not long before we began to bake dampers.
Camp that night was at Mangkili Claypan, clean, crunchy and NO SPINIFEX..
| I decided to just roll out a tarp and sleep
on that, in the middle of the claypan and with a small fire burning beside
me as I often do when travelling on my own. |
It was also a good way to relax whilst looking at the stars and satellites and "falling stars" sometimes it was hard to close the eyes and sleep because of the beauty.
Day 7 - 10th August, 2002
Left the claypan early and headed for Carnegie Station.
Climbed a rocky outcrop along the way where there is a cairn for navigation purposes of building the Gunbarrel. Beadell's vision was to build a road that was as "straight as a gun barrel" or as close to it as possible.
From here the "highway" became a "freeway" possibly due to Carnegie having the road graded.
Entered Carnegie Station with 10 kms to go before the Homestead.
GRASS at last and it was green too. Very restful place, slept on the grass, had hot showers, washed hair, washed clothes, rested before a leisurely lunch. This was easy to get used to after all the dust and dirt of the past few campsites.
Met up with our other participants from overseas. Rudolf & Erica from Switzerland and Synja & Hans from Holland. That evening we all cooked our own meal and came together to eat it.
Greg and Chris ( both used to marathons) went for a run in the twilight, while the rest of us sort of lazed around. Discussed the Canning, and the conditions of that stock route. There was a possibility that Eef
and Joanna may have to withdraw before then due to car problems.
Had a community meal in the camp kitchen and studied the maps etc.
Then bed, very soft underneath that night, nothing like sleeping in the open and on grass.
Carnegie Station is a very restful place, huge white gums and were given a beautiful sunset to retire with.
| Eef's car had been giving problems all
along the Gunbarrel Hwy. Backfiring and using an astronomical amount of
fuel (petrol). It appeared as if only 4 of the 6 cylinders were firing.
After checking for all the obvious problems with petrol engines we could
not identify, let alone repair the fault. |
Carnegie Station to Well 5/6. Up at 5am, though not because we were keen to leave the green grass. But from today we would be very close to the Canning, and that is why we were here.
Breakfast in the station kitchen, packed up the vehicles and said a sad goodbye to Eef and Joanna ( they were pulling out and heading for Wiluna and up the west coast with the possibility of meeting us later again in Halls Creek). Their fuel usage was such that even with the max. of jerry cans it would have been doubtful if they could reach our fuel dump at well 23.
It was a "down" crew for quite a few kms, messages on the CB were without the usual "smart" comments. We had become a very supportive group since leaving Alice and found it hard to part with two members.
Left Carnegie at 7.30am and spirits gradually improved as the day wore on, expressway conditions again along the Gunbarrel. Cuppa at a gibber plain (clean area covered in iron coloured shiny small stones). Saw lots of Roos and Emus along the way.
Lunch was at Sprigg's Pool on Granite Peak Station, a water course for cattle and wild life. Very beautiful spot with huge white gums.
Very close to the Canning now, cut across from the Gunbarrel toward Well 5 on the Canning.
There was a mix up ( on the maps) with Well 5, we found "a" Well 5 but it was on private property and not on the Canning so we continued heading north till we reached Well 6.
Possibly the nicest looking area for a well, white gums again usual soft red dust but we did not care, we had finally reached the Canning Stock Route.
We started at well 5 / 6 to allow those from overseas coming into Perth time to meet us at Carnegie and the reason for travelling from south to north was to follow the direction of the surveying and building of the route instead of the north to south, the cattle driving direction.
Camped at Well 6, our first night on the Canning and we celebrated with a roast dinner cooked in the camp oven washed down with coffee and wine and wine and wine.
"The Wells". there are 51 wells on the Canning Stock Route, the majority, are now non-useable, some caved in, some dry, some with water that is not fit to drink and of course a number that have crystal clear water. In the past, there were a few groups that travelled the Canning to inspect and in some cases re-survey the well situation. In 1929 Snell, who believed the stock route should be positioned about 100 kms to the east where feed was more plentiful, was commissioned by the Government, after pressure from the station owners, to recondition the existing route. Five wells were built and 33 reconditioned. In 2002, most of the wells are numbered, some are hard to find, some are flooded and the ones safe for water consumption are marked on all the Canning maps although encouragement is given to boil this water to be on the safe side.
I started out by photographing every "Well" but gave up when I could not get them all..
Day 9 - 12th August, 2002
Well 6 to Well 12. Did not get away today till 8am, the idea to leave by about 7am each day was to give ourselves a few days in hand in case of emergencies, or because there was a place we wanted to explore more fully. We also had overseas participants who needed to connect with flights that were pre-booked.
So, Mike, Shirley and I (being the last to pack up) decided to pull up our socks and be ready first, second or third.
Passed through the Ingleborg Hills with Mount Davis to the north and Mount Salvado to the south. The Hills were named after Tommy Ingleborg who was the first Aborigine to hold a pastoral licence in
W.A.
The Canning is nothing like I imagined a desert track to be, surrounding country was full of vegetation, low shrubs, medium size trees and land covered with coloured flowers with red sand showing through. This was slow travelling, windy, rocky, thick sand patches (bull dust) and washouts, (why "washouts" I will never know). Lots of detours around impassable areas. Arrived at White Lake (salt) and because I had the front passenger seat I was the navigator, well, we went left instead of right didn't we, reading the information on the map I knew something was wrong but could not concentrate for looking at the scenery, finally admitted I was lost and we all turned around and went the other way, but not before we took some of the best photos of this lake.!!
| Both tracks meet up again at the other
side of the lake, however the left track was little travelled, possible
as a result of the recent floodings in the area. |
along the Canning they were down to 20 ). Rudolf and Erica's vehicle was having trouble locking into 4wd which made it difficult for them to get over the dunes, which led to another very interesting situation of driving on the Canning. "Snatch straps", the name almost describes the situation. If you imagine a very long and durable "elastic band" anchored to the back of the vehicle in front and the other end to the front of the vehicle behind, the first vehicle moves off and takes up the slack, when the "strap"
stretches to its limit, it "snatches" the back vehicle forward, usually the vehicle can then continue over the dune.
In this case the winch also had to be used as well, this is a very strong thick woven wire rope and the "stuck' vehicle is winched over the dune.
| A check revealed that the front wheels
were not driven once a certain amount of torque was needed. Bad news as
it meant that we had to snatch or winch the car over all the more difficult
dunes. |
community meal and we slept on our first "salt flat" ( Yes we did use a tent again, it was so cold).
Day 10 - 13th August, 2002
Well 12 to Well 15: Left camp at 7.30am, lots of dunes of differing size and difficulty. As we topped the dunes it was becoming clear that the desert areas we were travelling on had received good rains earlier, maybe one or two years ago, the vegetation had, over eons, become adapted to surviving in this harsh
environment. Some of the dune valleys had been fired and we did get a look at what a desert scene might be like. Dark red sandy earth, almost copper in colour, with stark black (burnt) leafless shrubs,
trees and bushes. Charlie, our armature botanist, pointed out the tiny green shoots appearing along the burnt branches. All this gave us an appreciation of how precious this earth is.
We had 3 more winches of Rudolf's car, he and Erica were becoming more and more frustrated, also concerned that they may not be able to complete the Canning.
Passed through the Ward Hills with just a short journey to Well 15. Good water here and we filled all the containers, washed off the dirt, wined and dined around the campfire and we three slept on
the tarp again.
Day 11 - 14th August, 2002
Freezing night at Well 15. Now getting low on coffee and restricted ourselves to one cup per day, Mike would have to go scrounging for his second cup.!
| I left a full tin of Coffe
in the Kitchen at Carnegie Station (-: |
Very short kms today to Durba Hills and Durba
Springs.
Stopped at "Rankins Trolley". In 1974, Rankin and two friends left Wiluna to walk to Halls Creek, they took with them a trolley, but found it unsuitable in the soft sand, it is now abandoned under a tree about 38kms south from Durba Hills. Only in the desert would you find a working trolley under a tree.!!!
The track after the "trolley" was the worst, bull dust, boulders that the 4wd's had to slowly roll over. In places it was quicker to walk. I have a photo of Lily moving some of the small boulders before their
vehicle came down the track. And another photo of a sign stating " THIS IS A COMMONWEALTH BICENTENNIAL ROAD PROJECT", some traveller had passed this way with a great sense of humour. In some places the track was 3 feet below the ground level.
Arrived at Durba Hills, we had a 2 hour walk into the gorge, over boulders, with white gums growing out of crevices, long creamy grasses, water holes and the afternoon sun turning the rocky outcrops into visions of pure gold.
Passed Canning's Cairn and lunched at Biella Springs, still part of the Durba Hills.
Turned off the Canning into Durba Springs, what a pleasant surprise.
Wide gorge with lots of pale green soft desert grass.
Water holes (non drinking) and the ever present large white trunk gums.
Selected camp sites and lay down on the grass just absorbing the tranquillity.
Defective 4WD
|
Mike made a Damper last night, added some rolled oats, cooked for ages in the large camp oven and boy did we enjoy that, it also served as our lunch for a few days too, Damper is not like bread, you can eat it for quite a number of days and we added juicy foods to the bread, cucumber, tomato etc.
The gorge is very warm, light breeze blowing, our "runners" disappearing along the track and none of us want to leave here.
Went walking further up the gorge, lots of water holes, huge flat boulders and of course plants and grasses growing out of small gaps and cracks in the rocks. This was the first time I felt I had time
to give my adventure so far, some thought.
Because everything was a new experience, visual as well as physical, there was also an emotional wellspring, (no pun intended). All visual, physical, mental etc senses, can be related to the emotional part of us humans and I found the past 11 days had impacted on me to the extent that I had a few tears..!!
Mike and Cees checked the 4wd hubs on Rudolf's car but not able to say for sure just what the trouble was. After a wind sprung up it was decided not to continue with work on the vehicle because all the sand and dust could cause more problems.
We left Durba Springs late in the morning for Well 22 camp. Passed Well 18 and noticed it was one of those Wells that had been reconstructed, walls were "shored" up and a tin cover on top.
Again the desert was in full flower and we began to drive through stands of Shea Oaks, a beautiful tree growing in amongst the tall wispy grasses. It was just as well we all had tall flag poles attached, as the grass in places, was so high the flags were the only way we could pick out the vehicle ahead.
Crossing Savoury Creek was the next unusual experience, driving across white salt, very wet in places to reach a small running body of water. Greg was stopped in the middle when we arrived, he had gone a little too fast and had to stay there till his motor dried out (Petrol Engine). The water was a strange blue, probably reflection from the sky and with all the white salt you definitely needed sunglasses.
Savoury Creek
|
Arrived at Well 22, set up our bush camp, had an early night as the previous section had been a long one.
BUSH CAMPS: If you live on the coastal areas like I do the impression of a "bush camp" is totally different to the ones on the Canning, there it means, clear away the Spinifex, check the sand
for animal tracks, level the ground, unpack the essentials, shake off all the red dust, cook a slow meal, gather around the camp fire, tell some yarns ( a cross between the truth and imagination), drink some wine, boil the billy, occasionally take your shovel and paper roll go for a walk.
Being in the bush (or outback) does include the " bush toilet" this is digging a hole, do what you have to do, burn any paper used in the hole and filling in the hole. The reasoning behind the burning of all paper was dramatically shown to us all while on the Canning. At many bush camps we were confronted with pieces of toilet paper caught in bushes, laying on the ground etc.. these areas were once `pristine' yet it only takes a few forgetful souls who leave more than "footprints" behind, to disfigure the "outback" for all.
Day 14 - 16th August, 2002
Early start today, as we knew Rudolf's car was not working properly and being a supportive group, we all wanted Rudolf and Erica to continue with us, this meant some winching, snatch straps and lots of laughs and photos.
Drove to Georgia Bore to fill up our water supplies, most had a good wash and I even brushed my hair.!! then onto the fuel dump at Well 23 ( this consists of numerous 44 gallon drums of previously ordered fuel that is deposited here by the Capricorn Roadhouse. This is an honesty system and it is assumed that knowing of the danger of isolation in the outback the users of the fuel will only use their own).
Filling the tanks and spare jerry cans took a few hours, extremely windy place, very open to the elements and hot. Not all the fuel was needed and we left the residue there to collect after returning from Rudall River N.P.
Some of our Fuel |
These hills/mountains were of red iron stone and quartz, covered down the sides with pale green desert grass and small light green shrubs, all about the same size, you could be forgiven for thinking they had been planted by man. Confusing time following the maps and we travelled 66 kms to a "T" intersection, turned right and after another ¾ hours drive arrived at "Queens Bath" rock pools in a 2 km gorge.
All selected camp sites, Mike cooked us a kangaroo stew, and around our camp fire it was decided to stay there two nights, this is a bonus when you have been on the move every day.
The beginning of the gorge where we camped was a bit dusty and windy, but who cares about little things like that. Magnificent clear skies and a ¾ moon gave the place an eerie feel.
Good nights sleep there.
RUDALL RIVER N.P. Rudall was a Government Surveyor who led the search party for the lost members of the 1896 Calvert Expedition. ( Calvert Range, about 45 kms off the Canning on the right just after Well 16 which has hundreds of Aboriginal drawings and etchings, we did not visit here), Rudall explored the length of the Rudall River in 1987.
Rudall River
|
Woke to the rising sun on the escarpment that looked like gold plate, usual pure white gums, Mike even had a sleep in and coffee in his sleeping bag.
While most of the men worked on Rudolf's car the others walked the gorge. Lots of fresh water rock pools, boulders to climb over and the exercise was a good contrast to the riding in the vehicles.
There was a suggestion of exploring other parts of the N.P. but the ladies opted for a "community hair wash". We didn't half enjoy ourselves.
The men were still working on the car and by lunch time the decision was made for Rudolf and Erica to withdraw from the rest of the trip and instead, head for Newman ( west coast) and try to get their vehicle repaired or replaced and then continue their holiday on their own.
This was another sad time for all, it was not so much that they would not see the rest of the Canning etc,
but that we would not have their company with us. We also decided not to stay the extra night and said our goodbyes as we returned in the direction of the White Gum Bore.
The Rudall River National Park is huge and would require a separate "exploring" trip to do it justice.
We had a few stops along the track to take photos and standing beside the road, looking into the distance you felt like you were in another land. Will definitely come back here.
Passed an Aboriginal family with broken down car and with our Sat Phone were able to call a local Community for them to be picked up.
We camped at the White Gum Bore along with a large Tag-a-long group, it was a strange feeling to mix again with a lot of other people.
Day 16 - 18th August, 2002
Continued back to Georgia Bore to refill the water containers then on to the fuel dump to use the rest of our supplies. Passed the Talawana Track coming in from the eastern side of the Canning and stopped at Well 26 for a cuppa, this is a fully restored Well.
Reached Well 29 where a few of the drivers tackled the rocky hill called Thring Rock.. good example of 4wding talent, while it did not look too bad from the bottom, it did need a certain amount of courage and expertise to conquer it, they all passed. The most difficult part was the "down" road, this began with a steep drop over loose rocks and unless you kept it on the tracks there was the possibility of slipping sideways or rolling. Synja did her bit for the ladies and drove her 4wd up, over and down without a hitch.
Thring Rock |
flowering ground shrubs.
Wells 28,29,30, 31 & 32 were either in ruins or still flooded after the big wet of 2000.
Along this section of the Canning we were hurrying as we had heard of a group of 18 Chamberlain tractors with 20 support vehicles ( most who were towing trailers) heading down the Canning from the north. Not knowing just how they may have disrupted the track we wanted to reach our camp at the Kunawarritji Community before they did. We kept our CB on "scan" just in case they were to appear over the next dune.
Charlie was leading at the time and just as he was about to take the turnoff to Kunawarritji he spotted a tractor and relayed the info to us via his CB. He was instructed to make haste and to reserve a large enough camping area for us. When we arrived there 5 or 6 tractors had already arrived.
The Community is also a fuel stop and you can imaging how long it would take to fill 18 + 20 vehicles.
The community was a "dust bowl" as far as camping goes, but we made the best of it. All did some washing, showered and set up camp.
Day 17 - 19th August, 2002
With a few cars needing tyre repairs, we enjoyed some "remembered" treats from the store, eg. fizzy drinks and Ice Creams..!!
| To date we had 4 flat tyres. 2 with punctures
and 2 with slow leaks. All were repaired here at a very reasonable cost. |
NEWS FLASH…. Mike Hofmann, our adventure guide got himself
BOGGED!!!!
We were somewhere close to Well 36 - 37, the Canning Track around this area has a few detours and wet areas and because we were trying to have a sighting of every Well, we went exploring, Mike and his
passengers first of course, went too close to the water edge and down we went, it was like black glue, gave the others a good laugh and the comments were very funny. With all the men making the
decisions about the best way to "evacuate" Mike's car, the ladies made themselves comfortable under a shady bush , prepared lunch and watched. ( the title photo of the RED club has a photographic proof
of this event). it did make a change to be able to alight from the vehicle at ground level..!!
Late arrival at camp at Well 38 and we all had an early night.
Mike say's "It happens to the best of
us"
|
Up early today 5.30am, the moon was setting just as the sun was rising which coloured the sky pink and pale blue - beautiful.
Arrived at Well 40 after crossing Tobin Lake, then to Tobin's Grave, Tobin was a well - borer who was speared during Canning's surveying trip…crossed the Guli Lake, a dry lake and arrived at a claypan
called Gravity Lakes. Long kms this day and did 230 kms, which may seem a short distance but with the sand dunes to cross, photographs to take and of course eating and drinking, it seemed a long day.
It was Charlie's turn to find a camp site this day and he did very well with the claypan.
Slept again on the tarp. The nights had ceased to be cold like in the southern parts of the Canning and
sleeping was much more of a pleasure.
| We stopped for a OKA 4WD bus to pass us
on the narrow track. I and the other driver exchanged information and I discovered
that he was Rex Ellis, one of my roll models since my early days in Australia
(mid 60's). He is still at age 70 doing what he did then, taking Birdwatchers
trough the deserts and remote areas. They were here looking for the rare
Princes Parrot but had no luck so far on this trip. |
Day 19 - 21st August, 2002
Wells 46 & 47 were inaccessible due to flooding so we took the
detour route past Mount Ford, where it was cuppa time, the track was slow going and very rough. Crossed the Southesk Tablelands and into Well 48 and the Breaden Hills. This is a beautiful area with
lots of hills/small mountains covered ironstone pebbles, quite hard to walk on. We had a late lunch and found a camp site in a gorge.
Everyone was glad to stop and stretch the legs. Mike, Shirley & I went exploring (by car) and walked the hills for about 2 kms. Views to the horizon showing dense vegetation, and very flat ground.
Aware that we are now close to the end of the Canning, only 4 Wells to go.
( Slight mix up in Well numbers, but will continue on in the hope that none of you will notice…)
Breaden Hills
|
Arrived at Well 49. Crystal clear water in this well so all containers were filled. Continued along the CSR to Well 50 (in ruins) but we went in search of the "covered water hole", this an Aboriginal site "Guldiva Soak".
Walked up the dry sandy gorge and by chance found, on the left, a "body size' crevice, on investigation there was the "covered water hole". Quite a drop into the water hole, lots of spider webs but
James was able to reach the water. This was definitely worth seeing as the rock drawings above the water hole resembled "mud maps"…and made sense in that the water in the hole was easy to find when the sun was up above and shone onto the water from an opening in the rock above…(Make sense?).
| Walking along the creek bed we found feathers
of the elusive Princes Parrot that the Rex Ellis party has been searching
for. |
Well 51 and the last Well on the Canning was a sight for weary travellers. We approached along a ridge of a sand dune. On the left was a large water hole with a windmill standing in the middle (Well 51). Ahead of us and flowing around to the right was a large body of water. This whole area was the southern end of Lake Gregory. This lake, associated bores & lagoons, covers an area between Well 51, Billiluna, Mulan and to the east, Walgo Community and is almost wholly contained in Aboriginal land.
Lake Gregory is full of bird life, we saw Brolgas, Egrets, ducks and a "stalking" Dingo…we spent a few hours soaking up the views while James and Greg went swimming.
Continued to a camp site about 35Km S.W. of Billiluna. As this was to be our goodbye to Lily & Greg
( who needed to be back home within a few days for work commitments) we had a late night sitting around our fire, gave them a card signed by us all and tallied up our "penalty points" for the R.F.D.S. (Royal Flying Doctor Service).
PENALTY POINTS: These were decided ( not necessarily democratically), before we left Alice. For each "perceived" misdemeanour, we would receive a demerit point. These could be for swearing, talking in language other than English (except for one-on-one personal moments) being tooooo late leaving a camp site, bad navigation and occasionally resorting to real serious matters like, wearing of wrong colour socks, being too easy going just to get enough to donate.
Each point would = about $1.
All points added up on our last Well camp would be then paid to the R.F.D.S. on returning to Alice. Loath to say Mike and his two lady passengers received the majority of the points..!!!
All in all $100 was donated to R.F.D.S. and we received a certificate from them. The hardest thing was to get the other vehicle passengers to "dob" on each other whilst Mike and Shirley and I were always in each others company and so heard and saw all the penalties.
Day 21 - 23rd August, 2002
This should actually be 24th August, but I have still lost a day
somewhere along the track.!!
Work this morning to a "red" sun. Travelled to the Tanami Road junction and said our farewells to Lily & Greg while we turned left toward Halls Creek. Visited the Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater, the second largest of its kind in the world. Morning tea here and arrived in Halls Creek by 12.30pm. Expressway conditions compared to the CSR track. We all met for dinner at the hotel and retired by 10pm.
Day 23 - 25th August, 2002
Early to the supermarket to restock, Shirley not continuing to the Bungle Bungles ( Purnululu Reserve). Now travelling on that "black stuff" at 110 kms per hour. Only 60kms to the turnoff to the reserve and back on dirt/sand roads, crossed 4 creeks and had first sight of Purnululu with a huge escarpment made up of ironstone and striations of sandstone, it took another 30 minutes to get a look at the well known "bee hive domes" of these rock formations.
Breath taking views, paid our camp fees at the Ranger Station and set up our camp. As we still had plenty of daylight left a few of us decided to walk to the Cathedral Gorge. Drove to the car park and
walked from there, this took us winding through these magnificent "bee hive domes", all different colours and sizes, beautiful cool breezes blowing through the canyons. Large smooth flat slabs of rock on the canyon floor and thousands of flies. The gorge slowly narrowed and at the last bend we were led into an
amphitheatre.
None of us needed to be asked to be quiet, it was a natural response, the stillness was such that the only sound was the crunching of our feet on the pure white sand. Ahead lay a pool of water, surrounded by sand and at the far side, where eons ago a large slab of rock had fallen, a natural cavity had formed. With the setting sunlight shining on the 300m eastern walls, leaving the western walls in black shadow we all just stopped..!! Overwhelming feeling of peacefulness. Almost too much to absorb and of course photos do not convey it all.
Just time to catch the final sunset on the surrounding outcrops and then into the sleeping bag.
Bungle Bungle
|
Re-visited the Cathedral Gorge once more in the early morning light, still magnificent to see, threw some different size stones in the pool and the result was beautiful musical notes echoing off the walls.
Back at camp the others were either walking or having helicopter rides. Visited the Echidna Chasm, long walk on rounded stones, very hot with lots of palm trees and one "bower bird nest".
The Chasm had very high walls with approx. 4 meters tapering to 1 meter width for walking. Wonderful colours in the mid day sun and we had to climb boulders to reach higher levels, the chasm eventually closed in to a "dead end".
Back to camp, usual evening campfire but this time with the "chimney" log Mike had been saving. Good nights sleep.
Day 25 - 27th August, 2002
Said our goodbyes to Synja & Hans, Chris & James and Cees who were all flying from Darwin in the following days back to their homelands. They went north towards Darwin while we turned south back to Halls Creek.
We continued back to Halls Creek , stopping at Calico Springs for a cuppa and then met up again in Halls Creek with Shirley, who had decided to save her visit to Purnululu for later in the year.
Our group was now down to Mike, Shirley, Judy, Charlie and me. We continued on toward the junction of the Tanami and Great Northern Road and camped that night along the Tanami about 168 kms south of Halls Creek.
Day 26 - 28th August, 2002
This was a lovely bush campsite, very dark, clear sky full of stars to go to bed with. Left camp at 7.30am and travelled the Tanami toward Tilmouth Station. Charlie had 2 punctures along the Tanami Track and I'm sure he and Judy travelled the 680kms to the Station with their fingers crossed..!!
Very aware that this adventure is coming to an end….
Day 27 - 29th August, 2002
Up at 6.30am. Charlie and Judy were ready early as usual, so went on ahead. We were not in a rush that morning and pulled up at Hamburger Creek !! no explanation for that name, to top up our fuel tank from the Jerry Cans and decided to have "one last" billy boil as a farewell gesture.
Well…. Shirley and I had the fire going and the billy boiling long before Mike had the fuel in, which just goes to show that we learnt a thing or two on this trip.
We arrived into Alice in time for lunch and spent the rest of that day and all of the next unpacking the truck, washing, dusting, repacking etc, etc.
My flight back to home left on the 1st September so I had a few days
checking out Alice again and trying not to forget the CSR.
This all took place 4-5 months ago. Today I can just close my eyes or look at my photos and I am right back along the Canning Stock Route with some wonderful travellers and experiences I will have
forever.
Bronwyn.
Late News: I'm going on the 2004 East-West Expedition, travelling with Shirley in her car!
Close up of the Domes in the Bungle Bungle
|
Mike Hofmann.
News from
Australian Red Centre Adventures.
2007 Cape Yourk 4WD Tag Along Tour.Departing from Cairns on May 30th 2007.
No places available as of Nov. 2006
33 Day Kimberley Tour from Darwin to Perth.
Departing from Darwin on July 3rd 2007.
http://www.redcentre.com.au/2005/33daysperth2darwin.htm
25 day Canning Stock Route Tag Along
Tour.
Departing from Darwin on August 7th or from Alice Springs on
August 9th.
Cancelled due to insufficient interest by closing date.
CSR, Alice Springs to Alice Springs. Join also at Wiluna or Halls Creek.
East-West or West-East Crossing. Start in Sydney or Perth.
Departing from Darwin on August 7th or from Alice Springs on
August 9th.
Cancelled due to insufficient interest by closing date.
2008 Tag Along Tours under consideration:
Cape York, Cairns to Cairns, CSR, Alice Springs to Alice Springs. Join also at Wiluna or Halls Creek.
East-West or West-East Crossing. Start in Sydney or Perth.
Expressions of Interest for 2008 Tag Along Tours without delay please.
As I'm scheduling many custom and private tours I need to prepare for such expeditions very far in advance.
Expressions of Interest less than 8 months in advance also makes it extremly difficult for us to secure well prepared 4WD cars for you from our preferred supplier.
tours@redcentre.com.au
General Tag Along Tour Info:
http://www.redcentre.com.au/4X4/TagAlongFAQ.htm
Route Map of some of those tours:
http://www.redcentre.com.au/4x4/2004ewe10a.jpg
Expressions of interest are accepted now.
Contact me here please .
Private Tours:
I can also plan, organise and lead such 4WD Tag Along Tours for groups of like minded people.
6 Months lead time is necessary and a minimum of 3 Tag Along Vehicles will be required.
Contact me here please .
Red Centre Adventures Web Pages:
http://www.redcentre.com.au/red-centre.html
http://www.redcentre.com.au/Australian-Tours.htm
http://www.redcentre.com.au/Australien-Reisen.htm ( German )
2001 East-West Crossing, http://www.redcentre.com.au/4x4/EWX2001-Journal.htm
Solar Eclipse Tour, http://freedsville.org.uk/aus02/p25.htm