Back at last after seven weeks of great travelling. Two mates and I left
Melbourne on July 3 to do a trip around Australia incorporating the
Anne Beadell Highway,
Canning Stock Route,
Gibb River Road and the
Simpson Desert on the way back, with most of our gear in a 4wd trailer being towed by a 1984 series landcruiser. We were in no hurry so took three days to reach
Coober Pedy on the third afternoon.
We had a quick look around town then decided to head out to the start of the Anne beadell to
camp for the night as we had been to
Coober Pedy several times already. We drove out to
Mabel Creek station and met the manager on the road. He asked us to join him for the night and use the shearing quarters to
cook and sleep as he was on his own and needed someone to talk to. He told us how the station was given to the aboriginals when it was making 4 million dollars a year and in two years they had it in debt to 2 million dollars. All
water pumps were broken , fences down and place was in ruin. He was placed as manager to try to get it running again. It was great talking to him till late went to bed after hot showers.
Headed west next morning along the Anne Beadell where the road deteriorated badly with deep corrigations all the way to
Laverton although the WA side was slightly better than the SA end. Late in the afternoon we checked the trailer and found one of the welds on the right hand mudguard had started to break. About to move off and found r/h rear tyre going down so had our first puncture. Next day visited site where scientists viewed the atomic bomb blasts from then across to where they were exploded then camped the night at
Emu Junction.
Next day drove through Annes Corner and our mudguard which had cracked finally fell right off so we had to tow it minus a mudguard. We refuelled at Illkurlka after travelling in misty rain all day but it was only enough to keep the dust down. we camped at awater
tank about 50 kms further on for the night. On setting up
camp we found the right hand spring was broken on the trailer so we were in trouble . We decided to sleep on it before deciding what to do. The road was really terrible across the all the way. On waking up decided to remove the spring and try to weld it using the two batteries. We spent the day welding it up and replacing it. we actually reversed the spring so the break was at the rear and not at the front so it had less weight. We were not the only ones with problems. One car had his bullbar on his roof another lost a front wheel cause his locknut on the wheelhub was nut bent over and another trailer had a broken axle further on. It was a lesson. You shouldn't take trailers on those roads.
On reaching
Laverton decided to pack what we could on the car and leave the trailer in town and pick it up on the way home. We headed for
Carnegie Station first and then up the Canning. We were listening to everyone bogged in on the eastern side of the Stuart Highway with the rain on the radio. Then our HF aerial decided to pack it in. Luckily we also carried a sat phone. Had a great time on the Canning passing several other vehicles. Refuelled at
well 33 on the way up.
Well 40 had flooded into a small lake and there were thousands of birds comming in to drink. They had about 3 inches of rain on the Canning about three weeks earlier and the track was wonderful and green with plenty of flowers in bloom. Many birds were breeding all the way up the track. We camped at
Breaden Pool one night and were surrounded by 6 to 10 dingoes during the night, having to scare them off several times.
After the Canning we called into Wolf Crater and the Bungle Bungles on the way up to Kunnunurra. At Kunnunurra we spent three days and did a river cruise which was great. We then headed down the
Gibb River Road towards
Derby. We drove up to
Mitchell Falls first taking three hours to do the last 80 kms. Walked to the falls and then decided to have a ride in a helicopter next morning. There were four people plus
the pilot inside. No doors on the helicopter. It was great till
the pilot said theres a crocodile down there and he turned it on its side and headed down. But overall we were up for an hour and it was fantastic. Next day headed south and went through Winjana gorge and
Tunnel Creek Gorge. We walked along
Windjana Gorge at night with torches and saw over 150 crocodiles.
It was time to head for home so we headed south going through
Broome, Port Headland ,
Marble Bar ,
Newman and back to
Laverton to pick up our trailer. I'm glad I left it there it would never have made it up the Canning. we then headed for
Melbourne via Kalgoorlie,
Adelaide then home.
on the trip we positively identified 131 birds and saw many more which we could not identify, plenty of lizards, 100's of camels, dingoes, 100's of roos, donkeys, goats, 4 wild cats.
Overall one fantastic trip.
High points were the doing of three great roads the Anne Beadell,
Canning Stock Route and
Gibb River Road. The other high was my first helicopter ride, it was great.
Low points was the faults with my trailer and the biggest downfall of the trip was the disgusting habits of some people on the Canning where at nearly every
camp site people had gone to the
toilet and not even bothered to dig a hole, and the amount of rubbish dug up by the dingoes. Also coming back across the Eyre highway from
Norseman to Cocklebiddy the amount of bottles and cans along the road. There was not 100 metres without rubbish it was disgusting. I thought WA was cleaner than that.
Finally would love to do it again but without a trailer.