Factoid: Corrugations make your car sound as if you've stuck the cutlery tray in a tumble drier & loosen your fillings
Abstract: Palm valley with ancient cycads and ferns that exist only there and no other ferns for 1000km; Hermansberg mission for scones and cream; climbed Mount Sonder in the West Macdonald ranges; Roadtrains and eagles feeding on roadkill on the Tanami Track; got soaked letting the tyres down as we turned off the Tanami and onto the Gary Junction Road west of Alice - the first of lots of rain!; saw our first beautiful wild budgies; drove around Papunya Aboriginal Community where it took us a while to find the track out as the kids had changed all the road signs - apparantly the army got lost there too!; got freaked as a lone car stopped by our camp on a deserted track at night........; Beautiful Sandy Blight Junction Track where we got struck by a storm at the top of a mountain and ploughed through long stretches of water to 'escape' the following day; saw so many wild camels at the other end we thought we were driving through a camel station; Crossed the Tropic of Capricorn several times; Saw weather balloon being released at Giles Weather Centre (Australia's most remote weather centre); saw amazing Aboriginal art at Warburton before encountering the worst road corrugations ever on the Heather & Gunbarrel Highways as our journey continued west; More rain as we headed up the Gary Highway which was slow going due to all the water, getting bogged and tall vegetation that in places was over the bonnet; felt very isolated .....; got very excited when we saw several Australia Bustards (birds!); continued west via the Canning Stock Route & Talawana Track (the latter was officially closed due to flooding, but we snuck through)and eventually reached Newman in Western Australia. Phew!
Nitty Gritty: Before leaving Alice we did a few things that we hadn't had the chance to do on our last visit, the first of which was to visit Palm Valley which is home to huge ancient cycads 300-400years old and ancient palms that are the only palms for some 1000km and only survive there as the surrounding sandstone shelters them from heat, wind and allows water to trickle out of the rock to water them. The valley was basically a red rock sandstone gorge with palms in the bottom and the area was pretty lush due to recent rains.
We also hauled ourselves up Mt Sonder in the WestMacdonald ranges which was a bit of a slog (approx 800m of ascent)in the heat but great for firming flabby backsides and the views from the top were spectacular as it is the second highest in the region and was a 2 hour step class on the way up. This was rewarded by cream and jam scones at Hermansberg Mission, now housed within an Aboriginal Community and in the olden days was influencial in protecting the Aboriginals in the area from 'white fellas'. The firm backsides were obviously undone by this but boy were they good!
We finally left the comfort of the Alice area and exchanged it for 3000km of isolated dirt tracks that would take us to western australia, via some of the most beautiful scenery we have experienced and fantastic isolation.
Len Beadell was a top Aussie surveyor who in the 1950s & 60s lead a team to survey and develop a series of tracks through the deserts generally west of Alice to be used in rocket testing. Prior to his exploration no roads existed in these areas. These tracks are now the domain of 4WD enthusiasts and provided a perfect route for us to get to western australia without tarmac.
Our route started on the Tanami which runs from Alice north for some 1400km. The first section is tarmac and for 200km we had to keep pulling off the road as huge roadtrains (trucks pulling 3 or 4 huge trailers linked together) thundered towards us. This section did have it's highlights though - the roadtrains had squashed various animals in the night and there were birds of prey everywhere including many wedge tailed eagles which take some time taking off from the road surface so you have to slow right down to avoid them coming through the windscreen with their talons out.
By the time we turned off onto the Gary Junction Road, it had started to rain and we got soaked as we let the tyre pressures down to avoid punctures on the dirt roads. The rain was set in and continued intermittently during the day which was not a good sign for our desert crossing. We did however see our first group of budgies flying at speed and in a huge group. They are larger than pet budgies and are like small parrots who are amazingly agile and are great fun.
This road which was a graded dirt road took us to Papunya Aboriginal Community where we needed a bit of help finding the track out which we found with the help of a local - the kids swing on the signs so they are either wrong, or not there at all. Aparantly the army got lost there too and instead of asking they drove around the community for ages, finally asking for directions and then saying 'are you sure, the sign points the other way'- scary to think that even they can get lost. We would rather ask for directions as it's rude to drive around the communities and they still get those who just drive in to take snaps of them as if they are zoo animals.
We camped in some bushes just off the road some 200km west of Papunya. We had not been passed by any vehicles so were a bit uneasy when we heard a vehicle approach at dusk and stop right by where we were camped. We stayed really quite and G noticed that it was an Aboriginal Police vehicle just as a load of commotion was spilling from the back of it. Of all the places to stop on the road, they had stopped for a pee right by us. We suspect the officer was driving some unruly individuals back to their community some 200km from where we were camped and we heard him speeding past us on his way home some 4 hours later. The first storm we were caught in hit later that night and we were grateful not to have to pack up a wet tent in the morning.
Sandy Blight Junstion Road was a sandy track some 300km long that had been named by Len Beadell after an eye infection he had at the time of making it. All that was visible from the 'main' dirt track were two wheel tracks leading off into the distance. The track initially took us past 2 fantastic mountains that we would have loved to have climbed, but didn't as we were passing through Aboriginal land and were not permitted to venture off the track.
We also saw our first wild Sturt's Desert Pea which is the emblem of South Australia (even though we were in the Northern Territory!) and are a vivid red colour with a black eye and look similar to snap dragons.
You can generally tell you are in Aboriginal land by the number and variety of burnt out cars, vans and buses that are lying beside the road or track and in the case of the SBJ track, on the track itself, so we had to detour around it. Although the track is 4WD only, there were many remains of Ford Falcons and other 2WD vehicles that had been abandoned by their drivers after having got stuck - it is cheaper to abandon them that have them rescued. At one point we came across and old bus - goodness knows how they had managed to get it over the dunes to its final resting place!.
The real highlight of the SBJ track were the desert oaks which lined the track in several places and were glorious, especially at sunset.Oh, and crossing the Tropic of Capricorn!
Further down the SBJ track we came across Mt Frederick in the Frederick range and took a very steep track to its desolate top. Larry had a little trouble as the rocks on the track were really smooth and slippery and it was difficult to grip. There was a Len Beadell trig point at the top and god only knows how they managed to get the grading vehicle up there in the 60s. The top was covered with rocks and stones that were perfectly round and smooth and we were rewarded by 365 degree views of the surrounding desert which was awesome. Even though it was only lunchtime, we decided to spend the night. Big mistake........
As darkness approached we could see lightening on the horizon and spent sometime enjoying it and taking photos. The wind was blowing the storm away from us and it was way off in the distance so we weren't unduly concerned. Big mistake........
At 10pm G decided to move Larry away from a cairn at the top of the mountain as it had a metal pole coming out of the top - just in case. By 11pm the wind had changed direction and thick storm clouds were above us and the wind was picking up. By 11.30pm we were surrounded by the storm and there was lightening in all directions. The wind was strong and gusting and the rain was pelting and the wind buffeting us. I wanted to drive down the mountain, but G insisted it would be more dangerous to do that in the dark with the wind and rain, so we had no choice but to stay put. We got out of bed as the high top of the vehicle was swaying and got dressed just in case we had to evacuate if the wind blew us off the top. The noise was deafening and water was coming in around the window seals. We set up the bed downstairs and tried to get some rest but that was difficult as we were terrified. By 1am the thunder and lightening had passed over, but the rain and wind continued and it was 4am before I fell to sleep.
We awoke to mist on a damp morning, which cleared up as the sun rose on a 'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' day. In fact the only sign that it had rained was a terrific amount of water on the track.
We had met a group at the top of Mt Frederick the day before who had camped further along the track and they were releaved to see us pass by in the morning. We were releaved that they would be behind us for the day in case we got bogged in all the water on the track.
We ploughed through all the puddles which were pretty muddy in places and slippery, and required constant speed and highish revs to prevent stalling in all that water. Finally we emerged at the other end on to another graded dirt road. We saw so many wild camels along the 200km stretch to Warakurna (Giles), that we thought we were passing through a camel station. At one point we had to do an emergency stop as one trotted across the road to join its pals.
The Aboriginal Community of Warakurna houses the Giles weather station, Australia's remotest, where we watched the morning launch of the daily weather balloon. This balloon transmits details such as pressure, humidity & wind speed back to the weather station which feeds it into a central computer in Melbourne for weather forcasting.
The launch was a bizarre afair with the scientist doing the launching, emerging from the centre in buttoned up white labcoat, white welly boots and white rimmed goggles and as the chap had a moustache and similar manerisms, he reminded us of John Cleese!
Next stop Warburton, another Aboriginal Community, that had a wonderful art gallery with some amazing 'dot' paintings that are typical of the western desert areas and if we could have agreed on a purchase at the gallery shop, we would have bought something to hang on the wall.
It was at Warburton that we checked a 4WD site to find that all of the 3 tracks that would lead us to northern western Australia proper were closed due to rain and that we may have to change our plans. We agreed we would travel the whole of Len Beadell's Gunbarrel Highway (because it's as straight as)instead of a part of it and blast North up the bitumen when we reached civilisation. These plans were however to change.......
In order to reach the Gunbarrel we headed west of Warburton and then north on the Heather Highway where we experienced the worst corrugations we have ever come across.
Corrugations for those who have had the good fortune not to have driven on them are ripples that appear on a dirt track that has not seen a grading vehicle for decades, due to vehicles driving over a damp surface. Imagine driving over sheets of corrugated iron and you'll get the picture. Usually the ripples are fairly close together and if you stick your pedal to the metal the tyres just about ride over them meaning the car doesn't shake and feel as if everything attached to the chasis is about to drop off. However the Heather Highway had the mother of all corrugations that were widely spaced and tall so if you went fast, the car would probably have split in two. There was nothing for it but to ride each ripple at 10-20km/h. It was excruitiatingly painful!
Once on the Gunbarrel things didn't improve and littered along the track were the remains of rusty trailers that hadn't made it and we were not enjoying the trip at all. It was because of these conditions that when we reached the junction with the Gary Highway in the pouring rain, we opted for the Gary Highway and to hell with the rain.....
It didn't look as though anyone had been down this track for at least a few weeks and it was definitely not what you'd call well frequented. Ironically the Gary Highway was more isolated and remote that the Simpson Desert that we had been so concerned about and we were both a bit nervous as we started down it.
It was raining hard and the track was full of water and vegetation and lots of washouts where the track had been washed away over the years and you had to have your whits about you trying to negotiate them. As there was so much water on the track, one of us had to keep getting out to check the depth of the water with a stick and whether the bottom was muddy or rocky. We kept going, even though we probably should have turned back, but going back seemed worse than continuing. Eventually we reached the turn off for McPhearson's Pillar, where we camped - we had only driven 85km that day and we'd been at it since 7am! The Pillar was a large lump of rock that looked like a small mesa in Monument Valley. From the top was a wonderful 365 degree view of the surrounding desert which was great, but further rubbed in the isolation.At least it had stopped raining and we finished the day with glorious sunshine.
The following morning dawned clear and bright so we decided to continue until we reached Lake Cohen some 20km north of where we had turned off the day before. We had heard that it gets boggy around the lake, but neither of us fancied returning the way we'd come especially as the water would have had a chance to soak in and make the track really boggy.
We had reached about 100 yards north of where we rejoined the main track when we came across a long stretch of water which we approched slowly and at the last minute decided to skirt around using some existing tracks - it was too late, we were bogged about 2m off the track. We got the shovel out and dug the mud away from the tyres and put twigs and stones behind the tyres, and let them down to half what they had been. Slowly we managed to inch Larry back on to the track. Phew!
By the time we reached Lake Cohen, the track was dry and stony and it didn't look as if it had rained there at all. What a relief. We kept going. The rest of the track was fantasticly overgrown and wonderful. At times the grass down the centre of the track was so high that it was over the bonnet and the vegetation so close to the side of the track that it scraped Larry's sides and we winced. We saw 2 bustards which are huge birds that stalk around and reluctantly fly off. We loved it!. Each morning before we set off we had to remove great handfuls of dry grass from under the van incase it came in contact with the exhaust and started a fire. The wattles were in bloom and the scenery was green and gold.
Towards the top of the track was a side track to an oil well, so the track improved beyond this and had us refuelling at the Aboriginal Community of Kunawatji by 3pm, but not before we had visited a meteorite crater. It was discovered in 1975 and the small meteorite found in the early 80s. The crater was a perfect circle and it was hard to imagine the force required to have caused it.
After all the isolation and feelings of unease at having been in the middle of no where in bad weather, we were delighted to find Janice & Eddie and her parents refueling at Kunawatji. We had met them at Warakurna and knew they were heading west, but they had taken a different route to get to Kunawatji. They were not aware of the road closures, so Janice made a few phone calls on her satellite phone and discovered that our best bet was for the Talawana which would reopen on Monday - today was Friday. We took this as a definite omen and as they were heading down the Canning Stock Route to join the Talawana track, we decided to go along the same route staying ahead of them in case we got bogged.
The Canning Stock Route is some 1800km long remote track which was used in the pioneering days to drove cattle along. It is not a difficult track, but it's length & isolation make it one of the world's top 4WD tracks and although we were only travelling 300km of it, we were glad to have someone behind us, even though we were not travelling in convoy.
The track was pretty sandy with dunes, but the sand was pretty firm due to all the rain and posed no problem, especially to Simpson desert veterans such as ourselves! I argue that one of the reasons the track is so long is that it snakes between the dunes until a less steep part is reached rather that going straight over and this got to be a little frustrating. There were some beautiful flowers carpeting the sand due to all the rain and it really was an enjoyable trip.
Some of the wells used to water the cattle had been restored which gave a bit of luxury to the trip and we could finally was our hair. It was whilst we were doing this that it started to rain and the following day we stayed put as another phone call had confirmed that the Talawana was closed indefinitely and the CSR south of where we were was very wet and boggy. We were stranded as we didn't have enough fuel to go back the way we had come and fuel at Kunawatji was in short supply as their deliveries were not getting through.
The following morning we all decided to make a run for it and get as far down the Talawana track as possible judging that although it was officially closed, there was an Aboriginal Community close by that they could not leave high and dry (or wet and soggy). It was this morning that we discovered that our battery was flat, undoubtedly through leaving the fridge on when we'd been parked up for the day. Luckily Eddie was at hand and we finally got moving.
We stopped briefly when we came across an abandoned trailer that we all managed to salvage something from - it was really funny, in the middle of no where with spanners and drills, removing handles and bolts that might come in useful at some stage.
Apart from a few boggy patches we got through to where the track became a graded dirt road leading from the aboriginal community towards Newman, our final destination, some 300km away. The road had indeed been washed away in places and the gutters were about 1m deep in places, but where things were really bad they had dug side tracks to take you round the washouts. There were a lot of road maintenance vehicles around, but none of them at work, so we would have been waiting at least another week for the track to officially open.
At the end of the Talawana, our map directed us down a track similar to a farm track which had an Aboriginal community down it and a homestead of a cattle station. We later discovered that a track marked as a lesser track on our map had been graded and that is the way that we should have gone as the Aboriginal communities in the area were now closed to white fellas. The track we took was slow going as it was wet and boggy and we were pleased that it had had the day we had parked up to dry out some. We spent the night behind some trees in a meadow full of herbs, so it had a wonderful smell when trampled.
Our map indicated that Jiggolong community 20km out of our way sold art to tourists and as we hadn't found anything so far that we both liked, we thought we'd stop in on our way past. We got there at about 8.30am and the place had a really nice feel to it and as we sat in the street wondering where we needed to go, several white fellas and Aboriginies came to talk to us. We were told that our best bet was the small college, so we waited for the girl that ran the classes to arrive only to be told that we shouldn't be there as the community was closed to outsiders and we needed a special permit - must let the map people know. We left town with our tails between our legs, but they were all really friendly!
Finally we reached Newman and civilisation! Newman is an iron ore town and there are mines everywhere, slowly removing all the hills in the area. We refuelled, restocked the cupboards and were off again! We were finally in Western Australia proper.
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