What if a track is closed while you are on it ?

A recent thread prompted me to finally ask about this.

We've all been told to never drive on a track that is closed. Easy enough to obey this rule, if it is closed when you get to it. But what if its closed while you are already on it?

On 7 June 2008, I was in Lyndhurst and preparing to start up the Strzelecki Track. There had been a little rain in the area for 1-2 days. But not enough to close anything. The Strzelecki Track sign indicated everything was open. So I headed out and drove until around sunset. I don't have an exact location but I made it well past the dog fence. Parked the bushcamper for the night just off the track.

It rained quite a lot overnight, and was rainy in the morning. I wasn't sure what to do, so I took out the sat phone and called ahead to Innamincka. They advised I drive back to Lyndhurst. The track was, of course, now officially closed. But they stated that it would not be illegal for me to drive on it since it was open when I started.

This made sense to me. The alternative would have been to stay where I was (which was probably not a strictly legal campsite :) ). But how many days might I have to sit there until the track dried out and reopened ?

I'm not sure how much rain fell on the Strzelecki Track during the next few days. But after returning to Lyndhurst, I continued south to FRNP and it rained there on 9 June. Ultimately I travelled all the way to Kangaroo Island (11-13 June), where I got more rain.

In light of that, I certainly felt I had made the right choice by leaving the track! Though unfortunately I did make a bit of a mess (see pic below). And it was not a fun drive on that slippery track, in fact it was downright scary at times. I don't remember my speed but I know it took a few hours to reach Lyndhurst.

If you are already out on a track and then it is closed due to rain, what do you think is the proper course of action? Perhaps soon I will try calling the 1300 number to see what they tell me. :)