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 Our first Rudall expedition - Day 2 and then on to Desert Queen Baths

Submitted: Monday, Jul 14, 2008 at 00:00
Monday 14th July, 2008
Desert Queen Baths, Rudall River
22 27 50.602 S, 122 15 42.800 E

Packing up the ATVs
Packing up the ATV's
I had to get up a couple of times in the night to try and stop the tent from squeaking in the stiff breeze. I managed to get some sleep though and the night remained mild until just before dawn. A couple of distant dingo howls and a donkey braying to welcome the dawn and then up. Gaby was out first and ignoring the cardinal rule of the outback, going for a walk without lighting the fire!!! Wheres my cuppa? It was a nice morning. I must remember to pack the dunny seat next time as I remember now that some things should only ever be done sitting! Managed to deceive Scott due to my entry and exit points from the sandy creek and had to give him fair warning to avoid the dead tree to the left. Certainly seemed like an attractive place to "spend a penny" so to speak, and fully backed up by Scott gravitating towards it later on as well. Fair warning given lest he shovel up a surprise for himself. Now that would have been funny!
Looking north from the days first high vantage point
Looking north from the days first high vantage point


I had beef noodles for breakfast with two cups of tea. We enjoyed the sunrise over the eastern wall of the valley and onto the pinnacle before packing up camp, loading the quads and heading off. We traversed the valley floor and nearby creek and climbed the hill to our south west. The vista it provided was impressive. To the west, we looked over a pound area several kilometers square with high hills in the
Scouting the route ahead
Scouting the route ahead
background. About 1.5 kilometers distant there was an explosive rift or hole forming a large high wall in a hill. Certainly a place to head towards and explore. It was a steep, spinifex covered decent into the pound which I led down a small gully. The floor was a jumble of jagged red ingenuous rock mixed with quartz. There were many rills, wash-aways and gullies to be negotiated often thick with scrub. We picked our way through these and then climbed along the western side of the valley to reach the gorge only to find it empty and barren. Scott and I climbed the nearby hill on foot to gain ground knowledge and plan a route to higher ground. From there we then picked our way higher and higher, often being forced to back track out of gullys that had looked promising from a distance. In the end we reached the high point we sought and were rewarded with a stunning panorama (22 24 20.02 S, 121 57 6.40 E). Tantalizingly close were the ramparts that formed the western wall of the Yandagooge gap. I felt confidant that given time we could have worked our way there but having no supplies we reluctantly opted to return out the way we came.
The view south east from the high turn around
The view south east from the high turn around


Once down in the floor of the pinnacle valley, we moved north opting to go overland rather than enter the creek. We pushed our way through thick scrub and spinifex, crossed narrow but steep sided creeks (I nearly went over the handlebars on one occasion), and tracts of sand cleared by fire. At one point I spied a gap in the eastern wall of the valley so we ducked through it, frightening a solitary bull camel. The opening happened to be a narrow but flat bottomed gorge allowing access into the country behind (22 22 3.29 S, 121 58 51.301 E). This country was far from exciting
At the high point
At the high point
being flat and covered with thick, old growth spinifex. Tough going indeed but we wound our way east and then north around hills, crossing a low range of quartz hills and into the main valley again. Then it was several more kilometers of burnt out sandy country before dropping back into a creek which took us back to the Yandagooge Creek under the point where we had exited to find the first rockhole of yesterday. It was a straight forward run down the creek to the vehicles.

We packed up quickly and I pumped up the four leaking tyres on the Patrol before departing on the 1.5 hour trip into DQB. Once clear of claypan, we headed south along the main Rudall Road and veered south east on the DQB track. The first 5 kilometers went as normal, thick scrub and narrow track before the signs of a bushfire
Negotiating the burnt scrub
Negotiating the burnt scrub
became apparent. The area had been ravaged by fire and I mean totally ravaged! It looked like the earth had been cleansed by nuclear fire. All that remained were the rocks and a few burnt sticks that had once been the impenetrable scrub of 12 months ago! When rounding Miles Hill, we rousted a mob of 12 camels that I reckon have been the same mob weve seen in the area for the past three years. Same belligerent bull and an ever increasing harem. The country right up to and including the camp area had been razed. Whilst completely devastated it still maintains an arid beauty. You can see everything now, including our fellow campers who have set up in the spot we were camped last year. We took the sight nearest the waterhole and set up. The water hole at the leading edge of the gorge is very low and all rockholes in the creek heading north of the main goanna hole into the main valley are dry.
The hills in the back country
The hills in the back country


Showers were great. I laid out a tile floor of flat stones on the floor of the shower tent to saving getting sandy feet. Dinner was snags and potato salad. The moonlight tonight is incredible.

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 All Entries July 2008

17 Jul 2008 - Expedition into Yandagooge Gap - Rudall River NP Day 1
14 Jul 2008 - Our first Rudall expedition - Day 2 and then on to Desert Queen Baths
18 Jul 2008 - Expedition into Yandagooge Gap - Rudall River NP Day 2
11 Jul 2008 - Back in Rudall River Again - Tjingkulatjatjarra (Tjarra) Pool WA
19 Jul 2008 - Expedition into Yandagooge Gap - Rudall River NP Day 3
10 Jul 2008 - On the Puntawarri - "An extremely Isolated & treacherous track" or so the legend says!
20 Jul 2008 - Expedition into Yandagooge Gap - Rudall River NP Day 4
09 Jul 2008 - Savory Creek, 78 km west of the Canning
02 Jul 2008 - Into the unknown - The Gibson Desert & Mount Madley W.A.
08 Jul 2008 - An eventful day at Durba
13 Jul 2008 - Our first Rudall expedition - desperate donkeys, fools gold and unmapped mountains!
07 Jul 2008 - Calvert Range to Durba Springs
25 Jul 2008 - Sandy Blight Junction Road - Sir Frederick Range & on to Mt Ebenezer Station
05 Jul 2008 - Yowyungoo Gorge, Mungulu Hills WA
24 Jul 2008 - Sandy Blight Junction Road - Day of bush welding
04 Jul 2008 - Spinifex Camp Approx 2km north east of Burrabudingu Soak, Little Sandy Desert WA
30 Jul 2008 - Into the Simpson - East on the French Line
03 Jul 2008 - Unnamed Rockhole - Little Sandy Desert WA
21 Jul 2008 - A night at the Rocky Knoll & Clarence's lucky escape - Wapet Track WA
01 Jul 2008 - The cleared line (21 km west of Eagle Highway) WA
12 Jul 2008 - Exploring the northwest edge of the Throssell Ranges (Rudall River) - Turtle Rockhole
29 Jul 2008 - Down the Ghan Heritage Trail to Charlotte Waters.
16 Jul 2008 - Desert Queens Baths - exploring the Broadhurst Ranges, Rudall River WA
26 Jul 2008 - Alice Springs - Saturday 26th July to Monday 28th July.
15 Jul 2008 - Rest day at the Desert Queens Baths - Rudall River WA
23 Jul 2008 - Sandy Blight Junction Track NT
06 Jul 2008 - Constance Headland to the Calverts
22 Jul 2008 - Gary Junction Road to Kiwirrkurra WA
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