Beadell, Bombs and Other blasts - An Edjits Tour

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 20

After cleaning up from the previous nights dinner and making the left over veges into patties for breakfast, which was very hard on the fingers with temps just above freezing we headed back out onto the main track and headed off. Around morning tea Shorty radioed that the bodge job we had done on the shocky had not survived and it was decided to removed it. We did this while the billies were boiled for morning tea.

Out you come

From here we pressed on, on what was now an all weather road built over the top of the Vokes hill track and headed towards the lake Dey dey road. We had been denied entry to Oak Valley, in an amendment to our original permit after we inquired whether fuel was available at Oak Valley.

Once past the Lake Dey Dey road the track narrowed and became much less used ( to our delight) At around lunch time we stopped at one of the water reservoirs built for emergency supplies, as this was overflowing

we decided that it could spare some water for us to have a shower. After having lunch we both washed the dust out standing in the sun beside the landy. After averaging a shower every week it was good to be nice and clean again.

In preparation for the trip we had found that a couple of the confluence point in the area ( The degree confluence project ) hadn't been visited so we set out to visit at least one, as the 30deg S 130deg E was only a few km off the track we set out cross country to this one, arriving late in the afternoon for the required photos.

Degree Confluence

http://confluence.or...p?visitid=18561

From here we back tracked back to Vokes Hill track and started looking for a spot to camp, as we were now on the northern edge of the nullarbor we stopped at the next group of trees.

Tree cover becomes scarce

Trip distance - 131km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 21

Travelling south showed the nullarbor is anything but flat there are plenty of ups and downs.

Nullarbor Plain

We saw more wildlife than we had seen on most of the trip with camels, dingos, roos and emus appearing all the time. During the latter part of the trip we had been seeing steel towers which we had assumed were either disused windmills or some form of radio mast, but after investigating one closer to the side of the track we discovered they were actually trig towers.

Trigs across the nullarbor

Heading towards Cook we reached there for morning tea and time for the train from Perth to pull in and block the crossing for 30minutes or so.

1.7km of freight train coming into Cook

Might as well make a cuppa

The train driver advised us we would have around 5-10 minutes to get across after he cleared before the train from the east would close the crossing again. Leaving Cook the road was good but with some exceptionally bad bulldust patches. We headed east off the Cook road to investigate various caves and sinkholes before camping on the Nullarbor about 15km north of the Nullarbor roadhouse, as it turned out it was a very wet night with a very heavy dew making everybody's swags wet but an awesome starry night with only a crescent moon and stars from horizon to horizon in every direction

Nullarbor campsite

Trip distance - 210km

Martyn

[disco_al]

not jealous in the slightest......... :ph34r:

[Fatboy]

Very well written with great photos. Interesting read too! Thank you.

[Guest]

What a great trip report, it looks and sounds like you had great fun, thanks for sharing your experiences.

Jason.

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 22

Awaking to another very heavy dew with water dripping off all our gear we were treated to a beautiful sunrise over the nullarbor plain.

Nullarbor Sunrise

We moved off to further explore some of the caves and sinkholes that dot the area as well as some of the remnants of early settlement. The first stop was the old Nullarbor outstation and well. The well was very deep and had been lined with limestone blocks.

Nullarbor outstation well

We stopped at a number of caves and some of the more adventurous climbed down for a look however most of the caves need more serious gear and experience to do much in them.

Intrepid explorers coming out of Ivy cave

Numptys Landy

Stopping to refuel, air up tyres we grabbed a bite to eat at the Nullarbor Roadhouse before pointing the Landys towards the east and Ceduna. On the way however we were stopping in at the head of the bight to see if we could find any whales, and we certainly weren't to be disappointed. The reserve at the head of bight is well maintained and gets you very close to where the whales come in below the cliffs. On a nice sunny day the waters of the southern ocean looked very inviting until you caught a glimpse of the very large sharks that were chasing the seals in the water just beyond the waves.

Whales at the head of the bight

Head of the Bight

From the head of the bight we headed to Penong and turned south the camp at Cactus Beach for the night.

Trip distance 279km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 23

At Cactus beach we found out we were actually camped somewhere we shouldn't have been, in a salt mining lease, the guys were pretty good about it however and we were moving on that morning anyway. We were told that all the salt for New Zealand came out of this lake that was filled by salt water filtering through the dunes.

Behind Cactus Beach

After breakfast we headed across behind the lake and climbed to the top of the dunes for a view across the southern ocean before heading to Ceduna.

Looking back towards camp

Trekking the dunes

On the way to Ceduna we passed a scene of carnage where a road train had ploughed through a herd of 7 or 8 camels, there were camel carcases strewn across both sides of the road, and the road train was a tow away job as well.

Once into Ceduna we tracked down a place to weld a new pin onto Shortys shock absorber as well as a new side mirror for me. Once this was done we booked into the caravan park, with Amanda and I, and Vince and Jan opting for the luxury cabins and Shorty, Wash and Perry for a camp site. Showers and the washing was done then it was out to grab some lunch a bit of shopping and then to the pub for a beer. Dinner was also at the pub - The Foreshore Hotel, before retiring for a 'late' night after a couple of ports and coffee.

Trip distance - 106km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 24

After recovering our hidden fruit and veges we headed west out of Ceduna for Googs track (it turns out there was no need as we could have carried them through the checkpoint anyway). Heading north along the road towards Loan Oak and the start of the track we could sit on 100kph, this had been the case with most of the SA roads, they were maintained to a high standard, particularly the dirt roads. Crossing the dog fence however had us back to what we were after more off roading and onto Googs track.

Through the dog fence onto Googs track

Heading further north and taking a short detour to Childara rock hole along the way, we reached the Goog Lake turnoff and followed this out for a lunch spot passing the memorials to Goog and Dinger Lunch was taken down on the edge of the salt lake which has obviously been recently wet and still oozed water under foot.

Googs Lake

Lunchtime

Progressing further north the track was badly cut up and scalloped on the approaches to many (nearly all) of the dunes caused in the main by driving with road pressures and using pure momentum to get over, none of the dunes were difficult just rather lumpy, most were able to be done in 2nd high. Taking a leisurely drive over the dunes tended to smooth the approaches out a bit for those that followed.

Waiting for the others

We pulled up to camp at about 4 pm and got a great fire going for a few beers and dinner. At around 1 am the first heavy raindrops were felt causing a bit of activity in camp, but luckily the rain stopped almost as soon as it started.

Trip distance - 148km

Martyn

[Sirocco]

Keep it coming. Following you guys on my HEMA 'Outback Map'

G

[landy andy.]

I am so envious, must get the kit together and go somewhere.

Thanks for all your time and effort detailing this trip, keep it coming.

Andy

[Sirocco]

I am so envious, must get the kit together and go somewhere.

Thanks for all your time and effort detailing this trip, keep it coming.

Andy

Andy, your welcome to come visit us down there when we get ourselves sorted out

G

[landy andy.]

Thanks for the offer G. These big trips look sooooo good.

[landroversforever]

What an amazing trip, thanks for the write-up

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 25

After a lazy pack up of camp we headed off to the north again. We intended to go via Mt Finke. Explorer John McDouall Stuart had named Mt Finke in 1858. In his journal he wrote “Nothing meets the eye save a dense scrub as black and dismal as midnight, a fearful country”. Certainly there is nothing around in the landscape that equals Mt Finke, obviously it has withstood all the past erosion that has levelled the surrounding countryside.

Mt Finke

Driving Googs

The climb up Mt Finke is fairly steep and over broken rock, on the day we climbed it was blowing well and very cool. From the top the view is expansive, however the vista does not change much and is probably much the same as that witnessed by Stuart, the exception being a lone track traverses the area now.

View from Mt Finke - with landys at centre shot

Nearly 50 and on top of the world

After descending from the trig on Mt Finke, we made our way back to the vehicles for lunch before pushing on to the north where the track empties out adjacent to the trans Australian railway at Malbooma. From here we headed east to (hopefully) have a beer at the Tarcoola pub.

Arriving at Tarcoola however we were to be disappointed as the pub had closed down.

As we barrelled east Shorty called over the uhf - "I've got no idea whats ahead but stopping to have a look" - luckily for a mob of sheep we weren't in a road train travelling after dark.

Roadblock

Pressing on with rain threatening we were searching for a place to camp, somewhere that would offer a bit of shelter from the wind, but not seeing anywhere we settled for a camp in a roadside quarry with the quarry wall giving a modicum of relief from the wind, thankfully the only rain

was a couple of light showers just before dark. At least we managed to get plenty of firewood and had a great fire.

Not the best camp site we've had

One thing that had amazed me during the trip was the number of places where mobile contact was possible, again as we reached the railway my phone went off with sms' that had been sent since we left Ceduna - work messages that were able to be ignored

Trip distance - 186km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 26

After breaking camp we headed out to investigate the old mines that were visible on the hillside just east of camp. Perry and Shorty headed underground to see what they could discover, we believe the mines were gold mine that were possibly thinking about reopening as they showed signs of recent underground surveys.

From here we headed towards Kingoonya where once again the pub had succumbed to economic pressures and had closed.

Bullock cart abandoned beside the road

Heading south towards skull camp water tanks and Lake Gairdner , the area was alive with Kangeroos and emus and we stopped for morning tea a short way down the road.

Skull tanks

Wallumba Tank - Lake gairdner

Heading into the lake Gairdner area we decided to camp the night beside the lake. Heading up to the lookout over the lake it was obvious the weather was again deteriorating, so a hasty retreat downhill had to be made, I went cross country and got back to the car just as it started raining heavily and headed back along the track to pick up Amanda.

Weather closing in again

After sitting in the car for a short time for the rain to stop, the tents were put up and dinner prepared, once camp was set up the clouds cleared and the moon made an appearance, and no further rain occurred.

Trip distance - 225km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 27

Leaving Lake Gairdner we headed towards Port Augusta via Iron knob. Rain squalls were around for most of the morning and it was far from warm. The first stop for the morning was at the old Pondanna ruins. You have to marvel at the tenacity of the early settlers that eeked a living out of some of this country, it would have been great during the good seasons (like 2012) but terrible during the tougher times and they would have been the majority.

Pondanna Ruins

We made our morning tea stop at a junction where there is an another old abandoned bullock cart. Luckily the fire restrictions were not in force, but I felt it made a good photo.

Brew time

From here it was a pleasant drive on very good dirt into Iron Knob stopping at Mt Ive to photograph the submarine at the property entrance.

Mt Ive mailbox

We arrived in Iron Knob and headed to thenpub for lunch toasted ham and cheese sandwich, bowl of chips and a beer. The publican was telling us that they are about to reopen the Iron Monarch mine and were reprocessing the overburden from the old Iron knob mine, they were going to move the Eyre Hwy again and open the Iron Princess mine. (given the recent cuts made by BHP maybe this has been abandoned).

Rain again

Fromhere it was a quick drive to Port Augusta with the first point of call the hospital, to get Vinces broken ribs checked out after a rabbit burrow collapsed under him while he was gathering some additional underground chicken.

And more

I headed off searching for a new pre-cleaner but was unsuccessful so added a 90deg stormwater bend to keep out any further rain. We then booked into the Shoreline caravan park in a couple of cabins, I'm not sure how the receptionist handled it when asked for accomodation for 2 couples and 3 homosexuals.

For dinner we headed off to the west Augusta AFL club after a spot of top up shopping. Shorty won the $50 meat raffle for the night.

Trip distance - 270km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 28

After a bit of a delay to get a slow leak in one of Vinces tyres fixed (tube fitted) we headed off towards Wilmington to pick up Wash's disco and grab another pie or sausage roll at the local cafe, as well as refuel.

Coming out of Port Augusta towards Horrock Pass the climb up through the southern Flinders was greener than when we came down and I'm sure a lot greener than it has been for years.

From Wilmington we headed to Peterborough and the rail museum 'Steamtown' for a look around, and lunch after.

Steamtown

Fat Controllers car

Scales to weigh individual loco wheel loads

Rail art

Coming out of the museum the tyre Vince had, had fixed in Port was flat again - to say he wasn't amused would be an understatement. After changing we headed out of town towards Towarie looking for somewhere to

camp. We ultimately camped in the Pandappa Conservation Park just east of Towarie.

The first task was to fix the tyre, and once removed it was obvious what the problem was - poor workmanship, when they cut the tubeless valve out a small dag of plastic had been allowed to drop into the tyre, eventually rubbing through the new tube. Once patched it was reinflated and just short of pressure punctured again, tube removed again and a second hole was found a couple of inches away from the first, obviously it hadn't quite failed but did under full pressure.

As the evening progressed and showers started we decided to put up tents, the rain continued overnight and it was a very wet and cold packup the next morning.

Travelling towards Horrocks Pass - Green Flinders (49sec)

Trip distance - 89km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 29

When we awoke it was till wet and cold, breakfast was hurriedly eaten before packing up in light rain. Overall it was a pretty miserable wet morning, raining as we left camp and we were grateful for the heat that was coming out of the Landies heater. It wasn't long however before the rain stopped and we were putting up with just a rather cold wind.

The drive back across into NSW showed just how much rain had fallen across the area with the country looking rather spectacular with all the growth, and some of the creek crossings being definitely the worse for wear. Driving across the Great Ana Branch at Cuthero station it was easy to see how some of the stations could be isolated by floodwaters for months at a time.

On the way across we stopped near Lilydale for our morning cuppa where Shorty called a flock of a dozen or so emus across to him. Inquisitive but stupid birds.

Emu Whisperer

Lunch was on the NSW/SA border where there is a welcome to SA sign but nothing for NSW. Whilst we were having lunch a lone goat kid kept up a continuous bleating, however as soon as we decided it would be good for the pot it vanished.

NSW/SA border - near Loch Lilly

Trip distance 386km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 30

Shortly after leaving our camp Vince grabbed a goat which was quickly cleaned and put for safe keeping in Wash's fridge. Before long we were on the western bank of the Darling river, but not before we came across an old long abandoned 1923 Dodge, Shorty reclaimed the good rear brake assembly to use on the Dodge he is restoring, amazingly for the time it must have been lying in the sand the bearings were OK and the diff still had oil in it.

Abandoned Stuff

Old Dodge

The area around Cuthero Lake was still very wet and detours were the order of the day. When we were planning the trip we had concerns about this area due to the amount of flooding that had taken place, and wondering whether roads would be open by the time we got here. We took a track to the banks of the Darling at Coona Point for a better look at the river.

Darling River

Pressing on we pulled in at the Pooncarie pub in time for lunch. Vince made enquiries as to where he could get some worms for bait, and was given directions to find 'Dingo' just out of town would would supply a large quantity of worms.

After lunch it was down to the river to set up camp and have a well deserved shower with Darling River water before heading back to the pub for afternoon tea. :D

Returning for dinner I was next to the river bank when I saw something on the bank in the darkness, after getting a torch it was a goat and two kids, fashioning a lassoo from old Telecom rope we tried to catch one, Perry headed down onto the river bank and grabbed one of the kids, the other stepped sideways into the rope so we had two. Letting one go the other was quickly dispatched, gutted and hung in a tree for the night.

Trip distance 99km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 31

After a slow start in the morning, we waited for the swags to dry off a bit before rolling them, vacuum packed the goat and then headed south out of Pooncarie for Mungo National Park, and the 'Walls of China'.

Another workout for the Aldi vacuum packer

Of all the National parks I've visited Mungo is probably the most disappointing due to all the restrictions on where you can go. The walls of China were closed to public access, and you could only walk in the area if you were with a 'professional' tour guide, aboriginal elder or NP ranger. We did the self guided tour around the area before heading towards Menindee and looked for a place to camp.

Around the old Zanci Homestead

The welcoming signs at Mungo NP

Much of the area is low scrub and very flat but we eventually found somewhere and set up camp for the evening.

Trip distance - 189km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 32

After another night under a near full moon but particularly cold night in the swag, we headed off. Unfortunately this was the end of the road for Perry who had to head off to go back to work. Perry headed east towards Ivanhoe and we turned west towards Menindee.

Another cold night

Overnight our pillows had become quite damp from the moisture in our breath condensing so I though I would dry them a little in front of the fire - just a little too much and managed to melt one to the inside of the pillow case, something that for some reason didn't amuse Amanda.

Our arrival in Menindee at around lunch time saw us in the pub (The Maidens Hotel) for a pie, chips and beer lunch, before heading for a place to camp. Vince tried to remember where he had camped on his last trip through, and dug out his old trip notes, we headed out of town to camp between Lake Wetherill and Lake Pamamarooon the bank of the Darling, water was being released from the lakes do over the night the river rose around 400mm. Flood levels from the previous flood were easily visible on the trees because of the 'tide' line.

Tides out

Vince cast a line to see what the river might offer but was only rewarded with a few carp, although they were a reasonable size of around 4-5 kg

Trip distance - 136km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 33, 34

Spending a couple of extra days around Menindee saw us heading out to Kinchega NP after a breakfast of pancakes and doing a bit of washing. Much of Kinchega was still closed due to flood damage so we couldn't get to some of the bits we wanted to see, such as the old boiler from the paddlesteamer Providence explosion.

Birdlife

The birdlife along the Darling was amazing, in the early morning there would be huge flocks of pelicans, darters and shags moving up river and wheeling around before settling on the water to do it all again a short time later.

Old Kinchega machinery

Kinchega shearing shed

Old windmill

We worked our way out to Copi Hollow the Menindee lookout and Sunset Strip. Dinner one night was at the Maiden Hotel and another night was a beef roast, veges and herb damper back at camp. We visited the second pub in Menindee, the 'Albermerle Hotel' but it's a pretty dreary soul less place.

Main Weir

Copi Hollow

Lake Menindee at Sunset Strip

Sydney bound

Trip distance - 141km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 35

Up for a breakfast of leftover beef and vege jaffles, and to pack up camp before heading off towards Wilcannia along the western side of the Darling.

Lunch was just out of Wilcannia along the eastern side of the Darling on the Tilpa road. We investigated camp sites within Darling Paroo NP near Wilga Station, which were officially closed, and then decided to head back towards Wilcannia and camp amongst some sand dune area to the north of the road near Murtee Station. We pulled off the road between it and the old section of road but behind some sanddunes. Jan cooked up a couple of chocolate cakes iced them and stuck some candles in the top for Amandas birthday.

A woman never tells her age

Trip distance - 258km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 36

We headed back to Wilcannia to refuel at the BP depot, before heading north up the Wanaaring road to Tonga, the road had only just opened to light vehicles ‘with caution’.

Dick Lake

Morning tea was at Dick lake, where we had to cross the first lot of water over the road, some 400mm deep but with a firm bottom so was no obstacle, the next submerged area was around 600mm deep but again with a solid bottom there were no problems.

We made it to Lake Peery at around lunch time and after lunch decided to see if we could find the petroglyphs that Shorty had seen some years previous. After a couple of hours looking we concluded they must have been under water as the lake was very full but had been dry during his last visit. The mound springs in the lake were similarly out of reach.

Lake Peery

Hunting Petroglyphs

The old Mandalay station was investigated and Vince found a number of old (blue) insulators amongst the rubbish in the ruins, not much else was left with the old homestead having been removed at some earlier time.

The funny thing was that all the road reports for the area referred to the Mandalay road junction yet few new maps show the Mandalay junction making it hard to locate where they are referring to.

Mandalay Station Ruins

Old rust at the Mandalay junction

After heading off we were seeking a place to camp for the evening and followed an old road towards a creek venturing down into the creek line to cross all vehicles ahead of me made it through OK but we broke through the crust and went down to the diffs. With both diff locks engaged it was still only possible to dig down further, until we got snatched out by Vince.

Camp was made on the edge of a small waterhole watching the budgies and other birds coming in for their evening drink. Dinner was a goat curry with plenty of vegetables washed down with a few ales.

Wilcannia to Wanaaring road

Trip distance - 172km

Martyn

[Bushie]

Beadell, Bombs and other Blasts - Day 37

Packed up and moving off, Vince called that he was going nowhere, with the CDL out he didn't move. A quick bit of checking revealed he had broken the O/S front axle or CV joint. Maybe this had happened when he snatched me out the previous afternoon, maybe it let go when he clawed his way out over the creek bank. Either way it was going to delay us for a bit. Once the broken axle was out we tried to remove the end that was stuck in the diff with a magnet, unsuccessfully, but we did manage to leave the magnet attached to the diff centre. This decided for us what we were going to do. The drive shaft was removed, the opposite axle removed, and then hubs reassembled to allow Vince to drive on the rear wheels only.

Luckily this was close to the end of the trip otherwise we would have had to source parts and remove the diff to clean and refit.

Step 1 - Pull it apart and remove (try) broken bits

Step 2 - Reassemble

Step 3 - Pull other side apart

Step 4 - Put it back together again

Step 5 - Clean up and then drive away

Once we were under way we headed towards Tongo and then turned east to Tilpa, this was another road that had only just opened (after closing in March) and it was pretty rough. We arrived at the pub for a couple of beers paid the donation to the RFDS for the priviledge of signing the wall. From the pub we headed out to the weir ro set up camp for a couple of days before heading up to Louth for the races.

Tongo to Tilpa Road

Apparently there hasn't been this much water out in these areas since the early 70s

Trip distance - 165km

Martyn