Well people, I had the opportunity to partake in a self drive catered safari, roaming along the Beadell tracks, through South Australia, Western Australia, & the Nothern territory.
3 states, and 3 deserts.....
Okay, Wednesday 10 th. May, Jim & I left
Adelaide, in Jims Nissan 3.0 litre GU, and headed up to
Woomera, where we were to meet the tour guides, and the other tour self drivers. This trip is all bitumen from
Adelaide, and allowing for some lunch at
Port Augusta, it was a fairly quiet 6 1/2 hour trip.
Upon arrival at the
Woomera Travellers Village, we quickly set up
camp, and mingled with the other crew, along with the tour leaders. Prior to dinner, we were all introduced formally to eachother, along with the tour organiser, tour
cook, and Connie Sue Beadell.
We were assigned a vehicle number, which we were to retain for the whole of the tour, along with other tour rules, which mainly applied to the kitchen area, as this was a catered tour. After the one hour meeting, we all broke away for tea...... and drinks.....
Thursday morning, after our first catered breakfast, we departed
Woomera, and headed up to
Coober Pedy, stopping at
Lake Hart for morning tea, and Glendambo for lunch ( all supplied by the tour ), arriving at the
Coober Pedy caravan park for our second evening together. We all had our first 3 course meal as supplied by the tour, and it was going to be a mighty fine trip!!
Now, I am not going to mention any names here, but I will go as far as to tell you, that there were 7 vehicles in the convoy. 2 Toyota 100 series Landcruisers, operated by the tour company, a Toyota Troopy, with a lift lid camper, a Nissan GU 4.2, our Nissan 3.0 GU, a Mitsubishi Pajero ( latest model ), and a Toyota Hilux, with a canopy on the rear.
Friday 13 th. May ...... what was that we all heard about friday the 13 th? Okay...... we all left
Coober Pedy, and turned left onto the
Coober Pedy -
Mabel Creek Station Road, the fist of our dirt roads, which is all we would see for around the next 6 days. We arrived at the Station, and as Jim & I alighted from the Nissan, we heard air escaping from our rear right tyre..... bugger....
And what was the cause of this punture? A pair of scissors!!! It seems they were coverd up in the dirt, and we drove over them. I told Connie that they were probably her old man’s, like the ones he used to cut hair with....
Moving along the
Anne Beadell Highway, basically a 2 wheel track, complete with lots of corrugations. The Hilux lost it’s UHF antenna, got sheared off by an overhanging tree. Another member of our convoy lent him a handheld radio for the remainder of the trip.
We entered the
Tallaringa Conservation Park, and after crossing through the
dingo fence, we took a small deviation, and arrrived at a claypan, which has a row of stones laid along it, on a true north - south axis, called by Len Beadell, the Misplaced Stones. As of today, there is still no tangible reason as to why, and who laid these stones, in their upright positions along the centre of this claypan.
Still moving, and yet another drama, the Pajero, complete with new OME
suspension, lost the rear right top shock mount, and the shock absorber let go, and pierced the floor of the Paj. We had ro remove the wheel to free the top of the shock, after removing the bottom mount. After the removal of the shock, we then had to snatch the tour leader from soft sand, as his trailer had been too much of a drag, and broke through the soft sandy crust.
So, we finally arrived at our first
bush camp, and started some repairs. I removed our tyre, patched it, and while the glue was going off, I managed to change both rear shcks on the Pajero. Back to my tyre....... no-one had a compressor which had enough wind to seal the bead, we tried every trick in the book. I ended up putting a tube inside the tyre..... job finished.
So, that was Friday 13th........
Saturday 14th. May..... we headed off to the Emu Atomic
test sites, Camera “C”, and Totem 1, and Totem 2, where two tests were released in the late 1950’s. Even though the sites are now nearly 50 years old, and have been cleared up of
infrastructure, there are still remainders of concrete blocks, and steel, to remind you of the devastation these bombs unleashed. There is still a lot of glazed sand to be found, although I don’t think I would like to be souverniering any!
From Emu, we headed south towards the
Maralinga test site, but our permits would only allow us to go down as far as the halfway point, which is clearly marked by a tree with one of Len’s plaques in a blaze. On the way down, the Hilux copped a flat tyre on the front right, it was staked, and the tour leader, copped a staked tyre on the left rear, on a new, yet to be released Cooper STT.
We did the wheel changes, and continued.
At
camp that night, I repaired the tyre on the Hilux, and inserted a tube, because I had quickly learnt, that no-one had a weapon compressor..... and it gets worse........ the compressor on the hilux had died, along with the one on the Paj. The vibrations were starting to take their toll! The tour leader simply left his tyre, along with the stake sticking out of it, on the spare carrier, to show Cooper Tyres.......
The corrugations along this stretch of track also played havoc with the rear bumper - tail light assembly on the 4.2 Nissan, as it needed all new screws & nuts, which were inserted during a lunch break.
Sunday 15 th. May ... our trip back up to Volkes
Hill Corner was on the very same road we came down on...... rough. The tour leader lost a swag, it worked loose off the trailer, but was recovered by the following vehicle. We arrived at
camp, after traversing, what could be basically called, a 2 wheel track, running through red sand dunes. Upon arrival into
camp, we discovered another flat tyre on our Nissan..... front left..... side-wall stake.
Monday 16 th. May... woke up this morning....... to see another flat tyre....... front right....... bugger........ We have used both of our available spares until tonight, when we can effect some repairs. The troopy was about to leave this morning....... front right..... flat.......
Called the roadhouse at
Nundroo, on the Nullabor, on the sat phone, to try to organise some more inner tubes to be shipped across to Eucla, by Wednesday.... fingers crossed.
Left
camp, and headed down to our proposed
campsite, halfway between Volkes
Hill Corner, and
Cook. On the way down, our tour
cook extraodinaire, did another Cooper STT..... ruined...... To rub salt in the wound, the 100 series Toyota, along with its
suspension lift, needed 2 trolley jacks, to only raise the vehicle enough to dig the last 3 inches around the front tyre!!! Apparently, because of the lift it’s had, you can’t safely jack up on the IFS arms...... This little operation alone, took over 1/2 an hour, to change a tyre. There were people, blocks of wood, jacks, shovels....... looked like a real comedy of errors.
Upon arrival at
camp, I set out my tarp, and proceeded to repair our two tyres. One got a tube, whilst the other simply got a wick. Missed out on photographing a wicked sunset, because I was all busy like, never mind.
Tuesday 17 th. May... Left our
bush camp, and headed towards
Cook. On the way, we stopped at some shed tanks, and refilled our dwindling water supplies.
We also stocked up on some firewood for our nexy few nights out along the Nullabor. Trailer & vehicles stacked with mulga.....
Arrived at
Cook, which is now only manned by two families. All that happens here now, is the refuelling of railway diesel engines, and the changeover of train crews, who stay in the barracks. The folk at
Cook were kind enough to allow us to
camp within the town confines, and supplied us with plentifull firewood. We invited them over ( all 4 of them ) for dinner & drinks that evening, we had a ball.
Wednesday 18 th. May...
Cook to Eucla. Arrived at Eucla at around 2:30 SA time. We keep SA time for the whole trip. It make for packing up in the mornings progressively darker, but allows us more afternoon light to set up camps. The guy in the Pajero managed to get his pair of replacement shock absorbers shipped over from
Adelaide, and we fitted those. We got our inner tubes, they were simply put on a truck, and the truck dropped them off at the fruit & veg. inspection point. One of the ladies that works there, dropped them up to the caravan park for us, after she had finished her shift.
Learnt something...... the west australians make the crappiest iced coffee! I’ve been away from shops for a week, and then I drink one of their iced coffee’s...... yuk!!!!!
After refuelling, we work out that the 3.0 litre Nissan is still returning around 13 litres / 100 kilometres. About 1/3 rd. of this distance was in 3 rd. gear!!
Thursday 19 th. May... We travel the bitumen along the Nullabor, until we get to Cocklebiddy, then turn north towards
Rawlinna. The country here is very....... flat. We camped on one of these...... flat areas. Thankfully, we had no wind, because if we did, there was nothing, except for our vehicles, to use as a solid wind break.
Friday 20 th. May... We arrived at
Rawlinna at around lunchtime. All that is here now is a small
limestone mine, which is the only source of income for the few that live here. The railway station closed long ago, along with everything else. We managed to
camp at the
Rawlinna Showgrounds, which is on the outskirts of town, and had the use of the huge shed, to set up for our kitchen & eating area. We had the afternoon to ourselves, and did what we pleased. We managed to get a donkey lit, and get some water pumped across from town, to an overhead tank, so those that wished, could shower. Most of us just simply took the time to veg out & relax.
Saturday 21 st. May... Leave
Rawlinna, and head off up to
Warburton. Country changes from boring flat....... to red sandhills & mulga. The 4.2 Nissan received a stake in the rear lefthand tyre upon arriving into
camp for the evening. I plugged it with a wick...... all is good.
Sunday 22 nd. May... Leave our
bush camp, and head up to
Neale Junction. The second 100 series Landcruiser loses a Koni rear shock, and costs us around an hour of repair time.
Monday 23 rd. May... We have entered into aboriginal lands, and part of our permit conditions require that we do not consume any alcohol whilst in transit of these lands, which will be for the next three days. We arrive at the
Warburton Service Station / Caravan Park & Refuel & re-water, before moving on for our evening
bush camp. We also pick up our liaison person for the remainder of our trip. Without this person, who has lived & worked in these areas for the last 41 years, our permits would have not have been forthcoming.
Tuesday 24 th. May... Leave our
bush camp, and head off to Warakurna, where we are staying for the night. Reasonably uneventful trip, especially through aboriginal lands, as the roads are in far better condition, and mechanical failures are not as prevalent. We arrive at Warakurna late afternoon, and set up
camp. There are 3 separate burials due for the 1 st. June, and there are 3 separate sorry camps, which has attracted about 1000 extra people. The mood in town is difficult to fathom.
Wednesday 25 th. May...
Camp at Warakurna was waaaay cool!!
Dingo’s yowling, and coming right up to my swag!! I spied another brand of WA iced coffee in the roadhouse, and tried it......... can’t wait till we get to SA!
We went up to the
Giles Weather Station, and had a tour, which included watching the high altitude balloon be launched. After the tour, we head east, to the
SA border, to another community, called Kalka. Upon arrival, we are allowed to
camp in the most wicked creek setting I have ever camped in. The local women then come down to
our camp, and we buy some local art. A truly magnificent place to stay!
Thursday 26 th. May... Left Kalka, and we are heading for Mulga Park Station, in the NT. Tonight we are allowed to drink, once we are in the
station boundary. On the way, we are allowed access into Amata Community, where we visit their
art gallery, and make some more purchases. Upon arrival at Mulga Park Station, myself, and another tour member, we fabricate a
plaque, from a Diet Coke can, and insert it into a blaze on a tree, and photograph it. We call this tree, the Wet & Dry Tree, and the
plaque depicts the border of Non Drinking, and Drinking. The
plaque is a pictogram, so many people from different countries can understand it. Even Connie thought it was funny.....
Oh, we are all drinking now.
Friday 27 th. May... Jim & I leave the tour at this point, as they are heading up to
Alice Springs. We are heading down towards
Coober Pedy, to stay in
the Painted Desert. Upon arrival at
Marla, in SA, I seen the holy grail........ Farmers Union Iced Coffee........ in the fridge......... heaven!!
We leave
Marla after lunch, and head in towards
the Painted Desert, where we come across a couple, towing a standard road caravan, behind a GQ. The caravan lost it’s rear axle assemby, complete..... it was laying beside the caravan. We lent them out sat phone, and they then proceeded to Copper Hills Station for the night. We managed to get our sunset photos, and went back to
our camp.
Saturday 28 th. May... Left
the Painted Desert, and stopped at
the Breakaways, near
Coober Pedy. After lots of photos, we headed for
Woomera, stayed overninight, and arrived back
home in
Adelaide on Sunday afternoon.
Seen some wicked countryside, met some wonderful people, and took some great photographs. I spent all of my nights in my swag, and was quite cosy. The weather was fine throughout the whole of the trip. The most we ever had to pay for diesel was $1.59. I have recently changed ISP, so when I get some spare time, I will put some photos up on my site, but don’t hold your breath.
Cheers
Wolfie