Canning Stock Route and Talawanna Track

Blog 8

Am now writing whilst travelling on the blacktop! Bliss!

To continue the saga.

We left Jigalong and took the Balfour Downs Road to the Talawana Track. Our revised plan was to travel this Track until the Rudall River National Park, spend a few days there and then move on to the Canning Stock Route, collect our $500 worth of fuel and travel north on the CSR to Balgo. From Newman, I had sent a postcard to the Art Coordinator at Balgo seeking permission from the Community to camp at the nearby bluff where Kevin and I camped a few years back.

Some of this plan was realised and sadly, some not!


We set up a great camp in the RRNP at the base of a range of majestic escarpments about 2kms from the intersection of the Telfer Track and the track to Desert Queen Baths. The colours in the rocks were fabulous and there was plenty of wood for cooking and keeping warm. (Cobb cooking was still our mainstay but we used the fire for boiling water and making toast!). We had three beaut days, visiting DQB, drawing, reading, cooking and exploring.

DQB is truly an oasis in the desert. Some art high up on the rocks inside the gorge had us pondering on its purpose and meaning. Because the area outside the gorge used for camping (no facilities) had about 6 vehicles in it, we were glad we had not camped there. We had made the same decision when we were there about 3 years ago. Three years ago, I didn’t find it very easy to cart art stuff up the gorge so this time I simply took my walking stick and enjoyed visiting about 4 water holes - lined with what I presume were Ghost Gums. All too beautiful!!

On the third day, Frances and Ross decided to explore by car the area to the north along the Telfer Track while I climbed high on the escarpment (Frances, at my request, had already knocked down a silly cairn that had been built way up high and which spoiled the line of the hills) and Kevin greased the car and then joined me. How beautiful it was but windy also. I eventually chose a place to draw and that being done I settled down for a while. That is probably why Frances and Ross had to wait about 3 hours for us to come and see why they had not returned to camp by sometime early in the afternoon. Frances had promised to cook a wonderful French beef dish for dinner so we started to wonder if they had a problem. We headed off, hoping that all was well.

About 15kms up the Telfer track, they responded to our calls on the UHF saying that they had broken down. They certainly had and as would be shown later, the Pajero had boiled, “cooking the motor”. So the towing began. Poor Frances and Ross. They were subsequently towed by us all 450kms to Newman. With no air conditioning working, they needed their windows down and so collected our dust for all those kms.

Our towing them was about the only reasonable choice available. Heaven only knows what a professional tow truck would have cost and there was no guarantee that one would be prepared to travel to such a remote place. Via VKS 737, Ross was able to organise assistance from the NRMA (via the RACWA I think). VKS 737 was superb. Ross even had mechanical advice from a member and his mates who were sitting on a beach somewhere!

Kevin and Ross coordinated their different roles: towing and being towed, pretty well. They used the winch extension strap, which despite being run over by the front wheel a couple of times, lasted all the way. The LC handled the job with ease in 3rd gear at 2000 revs on the good stretches. Once again we traversed the rough track through RRNP, the Talawana Track, the Balfour Downs Road, the Jigalong Road and the Marble Bar Road back to Newman.

The Pajero was put on a truck for the 1200 kms to Perth and Frances and Ross flew there. It is being fixed now.

Our decision at this point was to return via the Talawana to the fuel dump at Well 23 on the Canning and travel south to Wiluna. We did this, and arrived safely and happily in Leonora last night after 10 days driving and camping. They were excellent days.

Transferring fuel from a 44 gallon drum to a car turned out to be straightforward using a jiggler hose. Splashed diesel and red dust make a messy combination! There were about 30 full drums at the site and at $500 each that’s a bit of money for Capricorn Roadhouse! I should mention, that back in Newman, Ross received a call from the Capricorn Roadhouse to say that someone had taken his fuel but that the roadhouse had supplied another. Not sure of the whole story - maybe the person sought the OK via sat phone - could be the case. Whatever, it does show that the fuel is not entirely safe.

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