Not logged On

Back to Trip Journal Index

Perth-Coober Pedy | Coober Pedy - Birdsville | Life Around Birdsville | Birdsville - Kulgera | Kulgera - Perth

This is a 28-day personal trip diary of the recent ExplorOz R & R trip (research and relaxation). One of the interesting things about this trip was that we decided to put the digital trip navigation tools to the test, so rather than take paper maps we relied solely on our GPS unit. We also took a laptop. For more details read on.

This is now our second major outback trip with our young daughter of 19mths and yet again we have some new tips for others contemplating similar trips in our Travelling with Kids section.So sit back, and enjoy your armchair travels from Perth - Birdsville and return via some of the most fantastic desert country in Australia. 

Perth - Coober Pedy
DAYS 1 - 8

Day one	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Monday 3/6/02	Hillarys, Perth 9am	Coolgardie	570.3 km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Max speed
03:29:11 hr	85.7 km/hr	06:39:24 hr	101.5 km/hr

Most of you already know that the physical "packing" stage for a big trip takes a few days. We usually allocate 3 days. Our vehicle only just fits in the garage without the roof rack, so to pack the roof bag we have to have the car out in the open.... and that's meant in the RAIN.

Other than the rain, things have started smoothly. However, we have a full "take off" procedure before we can get rolling that will take some getting used to. There's the satellite phone that needs a fresh battery every day (the other is on charge via the invertor); the GPS needs downloading of trip data and resetting each day before beginning navigation along our "route file"; the laptop needs to be fired-up into moving map mode each day on OziExplorer; water bottles need filling; fruit is to be ready for hungry snackers and the all important stash of child toys is to be refreshed and arranged in easy reach of one impatient child.

Although it was raining, heading out of Perth is extremely easy, taking only a matter of minutes to be in farming country and then less than 40minutes to be heading over the Darling Range. Our plan was to get near Kalgoorlie tonight and be onto the Anne Beadell Highway by late tomorrow.

We only had one stop and that was for lunch and a stretch at the little township of Merriden. But we hadn't even got ourselves more than a metre from the vehicle when a flock of people surrounded us asking if we "...have anything to do with the ExplorOz website?" ...are we going to be recognised everywhere we go now? 

The rain continued as travelled east into the Goldfields, but it is likely to be the only day that we have any chance of rain, so we are thinking of avoiding getting a wet tent and bedding down in a motel room in Coolgardie - and that's what we did.

Dinner for all - reheated leftovers from home (spicy thai meatballs with noodles).

Day two	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Tuesday 4/6/02	Coolgardie	Yemarna Ruins	533.4 km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Max speed
02:50:00 hr	81.6 km/hr	06:32:04 hr	102.2 km/hr

The Coolgardie Motel wasn't too flash, but it beats a wet tent. Leah loved the "little house" and slept for the very first time in a regular bed (again, all the bedding stayed up on the roof in the canvas bag getting thoroughly drenched by rain).

It's roughly 40km from Coolgardie to Kalgoorlie but we stopped in "Kal" to fuel up and calculate our current fuel consumption. The trip across the Anne Beadell is the longest distance of any trek in Australia where no fuel supplies can be arranged. Even on the Canning Stock Route the distances between supply points are closer than on the AB. Our long range fuel tank is extra long range (150L), giving us a total of 260L without jerry cans. The weight of carrying this load plus our 70L of water and fully loaded truck makes the fuel consumption rather poor, although we calculated 14.5L/100km on the bitumen. Our worst consumption has been 15.98L/100km, so for the 1340km distance of Anne Beadell, we anticipated using about 240L. Our tank capacity is a total of 240L but as a safety margin we decided to carry 3 jerry cans providing 300L.

Leonora didn't appeal to us as a stopping point today but we found a lookout with views just out of town, however the rain put a short end to our stop. We stopped again at Laverton to make the final fuel-up and check of supplies etc. Both the Great Central Road and Anne Beadell track start from Laverton so although it is mostly a small aboriginal township, it is well equipped to suit the needs of travellers. In fact, we found it to be quite a friendly town.

The bitumen finally ends...

At Laverton, the bitumen finally ends and regardless of what conditions lay ahead we always reduce our tyre pressures when turning onto the dirt. (We have learnt this from the Coopers Tyre importer, who recommends running 4-6psi lower than your bitumen pressure for any dirt roads. This rule has worked for us to the point of not yet having a flat tyre or blowout since adopting this method.

The track began very easily, with a flat, red, firm sand base allowing fast travelling speeds. The track became quite narrow however, and there was lots of scrub growth - spinifex, gidgee and various flowers growing in the track gutters where rain has recently ponded. Options for bush camping in this section are scarce, with claypans surrounding the track on all sides in most places. We noticed faint wheel tracks of only one vehicle and spent most the afternoon trying to work out if the vehicle was ahead of us going the same direction or had driven the other way.

We had hoped to make it to a camp at the crossroads of the Point Sunday track and the AB, on the edge of Yeo Conservation Park, but it was nearing sunset and the sky was dark and stormy when we came across the ruins of the abandoned Yamarna station. We pulled a hasty camp in the driest patch of claypan we could find. We had to search for dry wood but made a good meal before the heavens broke above us just after we had eaten.

Day three	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Wednesday 5/6/02	Yamarna	Yeo Homestead	67.3 km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Max speed
00:10:00 hr	51.5 km/hr	01:18:00 hr	74.7 km/hr

We had a bad night - the rain and wind was so wild that we were constantly getting up to push excess water off the awning and then to find where the "leak" was coming in. We also a feeling that the ground we were camped on wasn't going to cope with so much rain and that we'd wake up in a pool of water. And it was extremely cold. Thermals, minus zero sleeping bags, beanies and gloves - a very unpleasant first bush camp.

However, on daylight we found our concerns about the ground were unwarranted and the sun was making an attempt to come out. Kicking the ground with a toe surprisingly revealed dry sand just 1cm below the surface, which was comforting to know when the weather reports were saying the rain would continue and was currently drenching most of South Australia the direction we were headed.

The sun lasted just long enough to pack down the wet tent before the rain set in again - there is no worse way to start a trip than wet and cold. So when we came across the Yeo Homestead about 60km further on we chose to setup camp there and wait out the rain in "comfort".

Trip Highlight - Yeo Homestead

We had little idea that this quaint homestead (mostly rebuilt/restored by CALM) was so hospitable. We almost feel we shouldn't tell you all about this great little hut because "finding" it for yourself is part of the appeal. However, I will say that if you are doing a trip along the Anne Beadell, plan to stop here.

The main hut pictured above has 2 rooms - a "loungeroom" and "bedroom". It's an elevated construction using basic materials, just tin and timber with a fire place and chimney made from an old drum. We had trouble finding dry wood and resorted to laying wet wood across the top of the fireplace to dry out. 

As you can see in the picture above, there are other "dwellings" alongside the main hut. The two pictured are designed to pitch your tent and park your car undercover. Your car giving protection from the elements on the open side. In summer, the "shower" would be delightful. All you need is a solar shower bag (or similar) and you simply step inside the door of a converted water tank with concrete floor. The "toilet" is also a treat - the shelter is a converted water tank but its a basic pit toilet about 20m down the track from the hut. There's also fresh tank water for drinking and well water for washing. Everything has been thought of and the CALM rangers deserve a thank you for their work. By the way, they ask for visitors to check the rain gauge and note it in the rainfall book. We recorded 9mm.

Because we'd only travelled 60km today, we had a whole day to enjoy the place with no other visitors in sight. By the evidence in the fireplace and a notation in the visitor's book we confirmed that the tracks we are following belong to the person who camped here last night.

It rained for most of the day, so once we had collected and cut firewood we stayed inside sipping cup-a-soups and hot mugs of coffee. 

Camping - not too hard on some!

Dinner: baked jacket potatoes cooked in the fire coals with left over meatball juice in jaffles followed by red wine and chocolate! A very cold night.

Day four	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Thursday 6/6/02	Yeo Homestead	30kms past Aboriginal stone formations	218.1km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Max speed
2:50:52 hrs	52.3km/hr	4:10:20 hrs	84.9km/hr

Awoke fresh and early at 6.30am but there was plenty of sunshine so we took our time to look around until 9am.

Track conditions from Yeo Homestead to the east were initially very dense with trees crowding the straight track. Further on the we crossed spinifex plains and then the tracks became sandy and very winding with lots of broken tree branches overhanding the track. 

There was so much twisting and turning over the sandy track that Leah was car sick - something I hadn't anticipated. David had to slow his driving speed a little and we removed Leah's books from her toy bag in an effort to get her looking out the window rather than looking down.

The twisting track continues all the way to Neale Junction but suddenly stops and becomes as real Len Beadell track - flat, straight and fast easy travelling. 

Neale Junction is the crossroads of the Connie Sue and Anne Beadell "Highways".

There a beautiful grove of gum trees opposite the junction that would make an excellent camp except that it is right on the edge of the track. Many people use this as a fuel drop off point and a "man" has been constructed out of all the empty drums so its not hard to miss.

23.7km east of Neale Junction the track passes right over an old dirt airstrip that would be easy to miss if you weren't aware of it. If you stop you will notice a faint track to the north (left for eastbound travellers). Drive up here for about 20m and you come to a small clearing that is used as a campsite. Pick up a rough walking trail or make your own way back to the west and you'll find the ground is covered with stones that at first appear to be scattered naturally. As you follow these stones and think laterally you start to see the first appearances of purposeful stone placements, similar to a basic track border. 

As you walk further on you will notice large shapes and formations that have been constructed by the stone placements, said to be aboriginal.

There is plenty of firewood along the Anne Beadell so we drove for another 30km along easy a fast section of track to find the next campsite marked on the RHS by a simple barrel.

 

Day five	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Friday 7/6/02	"Barrell" camp	Bush camp - 20km west of border	275.9km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Max Speed
2:09:13 hrs	51.5km/hr	5:21:05 hrs	91.3km/hr

We still haven't encountered any other vehicles in either direction but we can just make out faint wheel tracks of this single vehicle that we guess is still travelling one day ahead of us. We certainly are hoping that we don't catch up - its so nice to be out here alone.

From our camp this morning, we drove for just under one hour before reaching the marked turnoff to the wreck of a light aircraft. The signage is a little comical, and also a little misleading so you may find our trip data of use here. 

According to the GPS data, the trip in took 21 minutes, averaging 18km/hr. The one-way distance is 6.4km.

Turnoff:     28° 19.742 S, 126° 57.029 E
Crash site: 28° 16.406 S, 126° 58.295 E

The track swings away from the main Anne Beadell track roughly to the north for about 6km and so crosses a number of sand dunes. It's a beautiful drive and is a refreshing change of driving style and scenery. We took exactly 66 minutes to drive in and out including a 25minute stop at the site. 

The plane is a Goldfields Air Services flight that crashed around 26th January 1993. The track was made in 1995 by a West Australian who received the lat/long of the crash site from a pilot. Back then the plane was totally intact, less the instruments. Vandals have since taken the engines and by reading the visitors book it seems many other items are slowly "disappearing". Even the visitors book went missing for a few years but it now back in place together with a new book.

By reading this book we found that the mystery vehicle we are travelling behind is a day ahead of us.

Back on  the main track we travelled just 10minutes before came across the first of 4 new bush camps that have been erected between here and the WA/SA border. They are very new and at some the ground is still quite rough from the bulldozer, however most camps have a 4,500L water station (roof runoff into tank) and very clean new toilets.

Note: camp 1 is in the best condition of the 4 but we didn't check if the water tank was full (the others are); camp 2 is on the junction of the Aboriginal Business Road and has no water tank, camp 3 has both water and toilets, camp 4 also has both toilet and tank but the area is left in a mess with construction rubbish laying around.

45km (about  2hrs drive) east of the Aboriginal Business Road is a track on the RHS that tracks down to a large salt lake. It's just a short downhill drive of about 600m and there is a small campsite on the way down. Once at the salt lake the wind may make camping a bit unpleasant but its a sensational sight.

The travelling in this section is over softer dunes but after the salt lake turnoff the conditions vary from twisting dunes through dense and varied vegetation to areas whee the track is very tight and almost overgrown. There are also washouts and ruts that slow travelling speed to around 30km/hr, especially in the last 100km towards the WA/SA border. We were aiming to camp at the 4th of the new camps but had to stop about 20km short of it because Leah was carsick yet again.

Dinner: Roast lamb in camp oven with potatoes and sweet potatoes.

We often listen to the scheduled road and weather broadcasts transmitted on the VKS 737 HF frequencies. Following these scheduled reports the network take voice calls from members. We didn't actually give our position today, having given it yesterday but another member used the network to request a discussion with us as they were concerned about meeting us head-on. It turned out they were just 20km away at the camp site we had planned to stop at tonight but didn't reach.

Day six	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Saturday 8/6/02	Bush Camp	Vokes Hill Corner	207.5km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Max Speed
01:59:56 hrs	40.5 km/hr	5:07 hrs	69.8km/hr

Travelling through central WA there is no central time zone like when you travel across the Nullarbor to assist with the 2hr time change at the WA/SA border. Rather than have to change 2hrs in the same day, we decided to adjust our watches by 1 hour today and then adjust them again when we reached the Simpson Desert.

We came across the party of travellers who made contact with us last night via the Network but heard them chatting constantly on the UHF anyway. We are always scanning all channels so we would have heard them coming anyway. They had camped at the 4th of the new camps. 92m further on is a junction marked on the RHS with a stick in the ground. 

This track leads to the Rockhole and many other camping options, which in my opinion are in a nicer area than the camp out on the main road, but then some people value facilities above location when choosing a campsite. The track continues quite a few kilometres past the rockhole, past some more rocky outcrops and then over some softer dunes to a good vantage point over a salt lake. The track continues downhill to the lake level and there is no trouble turning around to get back up again if you want a closer look.

After backtracking back out to the main Anne Beadell track again and continuing east towards the border we continued to find many other decent bush camp options, all much the same as one another.

We reached the border, marked by one of Len Beadell's markers. It's quite remarkable when you find just how close he was able to find the position using just astronomical observations back in 1962. Len's marker is only out by about 268m using the GPS datum, with the actual border being further west. Our accuracy at the time on the GPS was 4m.

At the border we entered the Unnamed Conservation Park, which was seemed no different to the rest of the region, except for the signage. Then for the first time in over a day's travel we came to a clearing and crossed over the Serpentine Lake (salt lake). The crossing is a solid, defined track about 2km long across the width of the lake. There were some good looking camp sites at the top of the ridge after crossing the lake and then a few metres on there is another suitable camp area.

We met another convoy of club travellers heading towards us and stopped with them for a lunch break.

Just after this we enter the "No Camp" zone that is a stretch of 50km through the Unnamed CP. There is fast travelling in this section and by 2.30pm we had reached the other side so could start thinking about where we would stop. From here on the track becomes much narrower, the trees start to crowd the track again and it becomes very slow going with twisty turny diversions around sections of track that are totally washed out before finally reaching Vokes Hill Corner. This is a great camping location but it is surrounded by dingos. Leah quickly learnt to say "Di-go", which we found rather funny. Only problem was she thought it was a "woof", which is a dog, not a wolf. It's hard to try to tell your toddler that a dingo isn't friendly without instilling some kind of fear, but I think we got the message across. Needless to say I didn't let her out of my sight.

It was a tiring day's drive for both driver and passengers so we ate a deserving meal of Chicken Balti curry topped with yoghurt and fresh coriander served on jasmine rice. Leah had a little left over tuna mornay with fresh broccoli and left over roast potato. Having left-overs to simply reheat in a stainless steal pannikin over some coals works really well for feeding Leah.

 

Day seven	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Sunday 9/6/02	Vokes Hill Corner	20km east of Emu	224.4km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Max Speed
2:16 hr	44.1km/hr	5:05 hr	82.7 km/hr

Just after leaving Vokes Hill Corner we passed through the eastern border of the Unnamed CP and then immediately entered the Maralinga CP and later the Woomera Protected Area.

17km before the junction of the Mt Davies track (Anne's Corner) we found a major track running north that was not only unmarked but was not plotted on the Hema Great Desert Tracks map nor the Auslig CDs. We travelled along for about 5km and guessed it must join up with the Mt Davies track but with the Anne Beadell being a trip that is tight on fuel range we opted to turn back and leave this track for exploring on another trip when we've researched it some more. 

Further on we stopped at Anne's Corner for lunch, which is the southern junction of the Mt Davies track. Leah gobbled up her yoghurt and pears and a few kilometres later was carsick. Resolve never to offer more than dry biscuits to travelling toddlers.

Later in this trip we will be passing the northern tip of the Mt Davies track but I don't know if we'll ever get the chance to actually travel along the Mt Davies track in its entirety as we hear it is approaching "impassable" status.

We were fast approaching Emu and the atomic test sites and it looked like we'd be tight for time. The sun is now setting quite early and we don't want to camp too close to the radiation affected area.

Emu has very few remaining remnants of the community it once was but you can drive along the airstrip (enormous!) and get a feel for what it may have been like. The airstrip is a little back off the main track and you backtrack a little to pick up the corrugated gravel track towards the test sites. 

It's a strange feeling standing on the exact spot where you know the most toxic weapon known to man has been exploded.

We visited both totems and was fascinated mostly by the "ripples" in the ground. We both remember footage of this during the actual explosion and having seen the ground ripple on film and actually standing on the same place 49 years later almost feels nostalgic.

It was difficult to find a good camp so we keep driving until dusk when we finally chose a spot about 20km east of the test sites. Other than being overun by rabbits it wasn't too bad.

Dinner: (cooked on camp fire). Beef sweet 'n sour stir-fry with fresh snow peas, broccoli, carrot and capsicum served on rice.

Day eight	Start	Stop	Trip Odometer
Monday 8/6/02	20km east of Emu	Coober Pedy	239.9km
Stopped time	Moving average	Moving time	Max Speed
1:03 hrs	56.8km/hr	4:13 hrs	96.4km/hr

This will be our last day on the Anne Beadell, so its been a 7 day trip although we only travelled a short distance on the first 2 days with the late start out of Laverton and the full day stop at Yeo Homestead.

Between our camp and Tallaringa Well we passed a number of marker towers up ontop of sandhills. We found various small markers along the track stamped with the markings O.I.M.N and each had a unique 3 digit number preceded by the letter K. Each marker lined up with the towers up on the nearest sandhill.   David walked up to one and found great views from the highest vantage point in the area. Still not sure exactly what they are other than survey markers. Let us know if you know more than this.

We found the track in this area corrugated but travelling was fast over flat terrain. Arriving at Tallaringa Well was a bit of a mystery with the GPS point for the well in our notes to be incorrect! The correct mark will be put into our trek notes when we update them once this journal is completed, but it is simply by the edge of the road under a grove of trees on the opposite side to the Len Beadell marker. Just behind the marker are some camp sites.

On the final approach towards Mabel Creek station, with the track still corrugated Leah decided our lunch stop with another car sick episode. She was given dry biscuits.

The Anne Beadell track hits the Vermin Fence where there is no opening. The track veers south and you follow the fence line for 3km before passing through a gate and then backtracking the 3km back before swinging east again. This is the entrance to Mabel Creek Station and its all just easy travelling from here. There is no camping allowed on the station so plan to make your way all the way through to Coober Pedy.

It's a distance of 1289km from Laverton to Mabel Creek Station and another 41km to Coober Pedy on hard formed graded gravel road. The final 5km into Coober Pedy is bitumen.

Contrary to what you may have read in other resources about planning an Anne Beadell trip, you are no longer requested to seek permission from Mabel Creek station to pass through their property. In fact, a huge information board has been erected at the station entrance asking people not to phone them.

On entering Coober Pedy we decided Leah needed a good bath and we needed to resort and repack our supplies for the next major leg of this journey across the Simpson Desert to Birdsville. We checked into a very nice cabin at the Caravan Park for $75 and had power, tv, bath, shower, 2 bedrooms, heater and access to a washing machine and dryer. Overnight we did 4 loads of washing (many of our clothes didn't escape from Leah's carsickness).

We ate out at Tony's Pizza and had a few drinks at the local pub. Tomorrow we would be stocking up on food and other supplies before heading out through Oodnadatta and further north up to Dalhousie Springs on the western end of the Simpson Desert.

Final fuel usage figures for the Anne Beadell from Laverton to Coober Pedy was 225.5L (6 cyl diesel). We met another traveller driving the petrol model and he was carrying 385L and expected to use it all, having done the trip on previous occasions.

Another newsletter will be issued to advise when Part 2 of our trip diary is published and also when the Anne Beadell Trek Note file has been updated.