Submitted: Tuesday, Jan 06, 2009 at 20:03

If you’ve ever wondered just what it’s like to lead and travel through a desert environment without tracks, these video snippets taken by Gaby of our trek across the Gibson and Little Sandy Deserts might give you an idea. If it’s following impenetrable tracts of mulga until you find an opening, pushing through old growth spinifex (the worst), picking your way through wash-aways and rocky terrain or avoiding, paralleling or traversing sand dunes you should see it here.

It’s countless hours at little better than walking pace in low range or first gear wrestling the steering in the soft sand on a twisting and turning course while constantly on the look-out for stakes, rocks and other obstacles and watching the GPS & computer, monitoring the tyres and the radio. It’s getting out to walk along impassable barriers looking for a way across, cleaning spinifex from the undercarriage and of course changing tyres and mending punctures. All this and you might get between 20 to 30 kilometres for 8 hours of travel if the going is good. 3 km per litre is not unexpected in the fuel economy stakes.

How you dream of reaching a burnt out area because at least then you only have to watch for the stakes. Sounds like a great holiday doesn’t it?

All video’s & commentary by Gaby of Canada. Tojo driven by Scotty (the other Canadian & husband of Gaby). Fearless leader (me) in legendary & unstoppable Patrol out front & taking the punctures for the team! Apologies for the often shakey picture but it’s rough out there and…….she drinks a lot! ;-)

You can find a lot more at our vimeo log.

Tags: 4WD, GPS/Navigation, Vehicle Technical
Views: 1615

Calendar

14 Sep 2008 - Reseating a tubeless tyre using butane gas	28 Oct 2008 - The Hunt Oil Road - Remote area travel at its best - Track condition and trip report
28 Sep 2008 - Murray Sunset National Park - Bogged to the gunnels & a classic outback recovery	30 May 2005 - Bore Track Trek Notes
03 Jan 2009 - How to get your 4x4 out of an eroded gully in the absolute middle of nowhere! - The video.	06 Jan 2009 - Surfing the Spinifex - What it's like to make your own tracks across the desert. - Video
24 Jul 2008 - Sandy Blight Junction Road - A day of outback welding & bush mechanics (vid & photos)	22 Jan 2009 - From the Calvert Ranges to the Canning Stock Route & Durba Springs - VIDEO
24 Oct 2008 - The Spectacular Rudall River National Park - Some history, highlights and places.	01 Aug 2009 - Close encounters with snakes of the Western Deserts -If it wriggles, it isn't a stick!(fotos & Vid)