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Submitted: Tuesday, Aug 02, 2005 at 19:24

Wayne (NSW)

What a trip.

4days to get to Ayres Rock where we started the trip. A 100 series, 2x 4.2 and a 3lt Nissan, all turbo, made up the convey and of course the Troopie.
We all had at least 320lt of diesel, in hind site too much fuel, 100lt of water food for 4 weeks and spares.
All the vehicles had two spare tyres which weren't required. They all had BFG, 1set of A/T and 3sets of M/T, I was running Coopers STT M/T. Tyre pressure was let down on the way into Calvert Range, which had some of the hardest sand dunes to cross on the trip. Calvert Range was burnt out recently and the whole area looked like a moon scape, with a heard of camels (6) were found dead next to the track. The Aboriginal rock art in this area is very good and plenty of it, well worth the trip in.

Durba Springs was another surprise with green grass White Gums and water pools, a great place to spend a rest day.

So far we have only come across other travelers every 2 to 3 days so the track was not busy at all. At well 23, where got our fuel drop we come across a convey that had not seen anyone for 9 days. We had 5 drums of diesel waiting for us but we had to leave about 120lts in one drum. A note was left on the drum saying it was for emergency use only. In future any fuel we can't fit in the fuel tanks I will take extra empty jerry cans and fill them. Either side of well 23 there were empty drums left every where, not a pretty site.

At well 33 fuel is available from the Community but only at certain times and days, with a $10 call out fee per vehicle for service outside the trading hours. Fuel was $2.20 per litre.

We were able to get to every well with only one wet day,with the track drying out very quick. Most days were warm with the nights cool with some moisture on the vehicles in the morning. One morning there was ice on the tents but this didn't last long after the sun came up.

The sand dunes were different to the Simpson in as much as that to cross them a sharpe turn at the base of the dune had to be done before the drive across. This slowed the run up which meant most dunes were crossed in 1st gear high range. On some approaches another run up has been put in to get a straight run at the dune.

More later

Wayne
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AnswerID: 123432   Submitted: Tuesday, Aug 02, 2005 at 20:31

Willem replied:

Sounds like you had a good time,Wayne.

I have done the full run once and recently Well 33 to Well 22. The track was hard and we crossed the dunes in 2nd and 3rd High Range.

I also found that I carried too much fuel as fuel is becoming available in lots of places. I feel that 170lts should be my minimum and 200lts the maximum. On our last trip the longest haul was 1086km Cocklebiddy to Warakurna and the GQ used 155 lts. Some stretches we were in High Range 4x4 but drove mainly in 2wd.

Hoping to do Calvert Range next year.
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Willem

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FollowupID: 378484   Submitted: Tuesday, Aug 02, 2005 at 21:42

Wayne (NSW) posted:

Willem,

Next year I will spend 2 days at Calvert range and 2 days at Durba Springs.

The thing that I and the others in the convey liked about the trip is that it was not rushed. About a 100klm a day or 3 wells.

Did you see the old Land Rover on the Talawana Track, 9klm from Georgia Bore?

Wayne
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FollowupID: 378529   Submitted: Wednesday, Aug 03, 2005 at 09:06

Willem posted:

Yes Wayne

It is good not to rush it. This year we did not rush but kept moving. Next year I am planning on stopping longer at camp spots.

We were most likely the first vehicles to pass by the "Death scene Landrover" at the end of April. I was totally unimpressed that the 'authorities who attended the scene' did not clean up the personal belongings left behind by those who perished. You could see where the bodies decomposed. On top of that 'the authorities' left all their surgical gloves and other stiuff behind in the bush as well. I agree it must have been a grisly find but their actions were totally irresponsible. I hope it had been cleaned up byt the time you passed by.
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Willem

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AnswerID: 123433   Submitted: Tuesday, Aug 02, 2005 at 20:34

Crackles replied:

Sounds like you had a great trip & agree that the Calvert is one of the best highlights along the route. 320 litres of fuel would have weighed you down, probably 100 litres too much from memory. What was your longest stage and how much fuel did you need for it?
Cheers Craig.......
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FollowupID: 378480   Submitted: Tuesday, Aug 02, 2005 at 21:32

Wayne (NSW) posted:

Craig,

Yes 320lt to go from Wiluna to well 23 is a bit much but I reckon it is better to have too much than not enough. I did a rough calculation and it works out to be 764klm from Wiluna to well 23. That will leave about 1000klm to the Tanami. How much fuel did we use? I don't really know but it was about 200lt.

We also topped up at Billiluna, but at $2.20 a litre we didn't take on much. Again the shop and fuel supply are only open for a few hours a day, half day Saturday and not at all on Sunday. To get the servo open after hours it is $15 per vehicle. They aslo don't take any form of cards, Eftpos or Credit, cash only.

Rabbit Flat was our next fuel stop ($190 per lt) after a night at Wolfe Creek Crater.

Wayne
Canning Stock Route 2009
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Never Let It Rest
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