Because of the battery problem we decided that we would come back to this area some time in the future to visit Eel Pool and other sites around this area. We made it to the
Telfer Road quite early and it was a smooth run all the way to the Punmu Turn-off. It is a good gravel road, with a long stretch of bitumen in between. Once we were on the road to Punmu, we met 8 vehicles in quick succession and never saw another one for days thereafter. We chatted to some youngsters in a BJ 40 with an overhead extended roof rack that looked as if it had 300 kilos of stuff on it. They also had a swag perched on the bonnet in front of the passenger. We also stopped to chat with some South Aussies and they told us that only the Nurse was left at Punmu as the whole community had gone to a funeral at Jiggalong. We took this advice on board and proceeded. This wasn’t good news. I had telephoned Punmu Community some time before, to see if we could buy some fuel off them, as I had planned some excursions off the Kidson Track. I had left a message on the answering service. I would now have to abandon those plans. By the time we got to the community even the Nurse had left. We were met by about 20
camp dogs, which, after seeing our mutt hang its head out of the window, pursued us in a barking frenzy. No human life was seen in our 5-minute scout around the town and we were farewelled off out of the community en masse by the dogs for about 1 kilometre. Later in the afternoon and close to the
Kunawarritji turn off, I found a ‘quarry’ dug into a
sand dune by the side of the road and we made
camp. No one passed by during our stay.
The next morning I helped my mate rig up his batteries in parallel bypassing the solenoid swirch and the GU started after a bit of cranking. After that he had no problemns starting the vehicle but the battery was definitely on the way out. WOn our way to the road
junction e found a Hilux stranded in the middle of the track. By all accounts it had been there a while and various parts had been removed for use elsewhere. We made an excursion on the
Kunawarritji Track to a rocky knoll for a look see and then to windmill nearby to replenish our water containers. This
bore had been rejuvenated in late 2005 and the water was quite sweet.
The Kidson Track/WAPET Road is a reasonable track with capped dune crossings and not that many corrugations. We were able to sit on 80kmh in 5th gear in
places. Unfortunately that could come to an end very quickly when a washout appeared out of nowhere. I was interested to see that some of the dune crossings had been ‘fenced’. This must have been to contain the drift of sand on to the capped tracks. WAPET stands for Western Australia Petroleum but I am not sure where the Kidson name originated. The countryside is covered mainly by Spinifex with thousands of acres of Holly Grevillea trees in flower. This grevillea has a spiky leaf as our dog found out with a yelp. She tends to hang out of the window in typical Blue Heeler fashion, biting at passing foliage. At the end of the day there is a handful or more of shrubbery or tree foliage in the back of the truck.
Our first
camp was at
Razor Blade Bore. This
bore has been reconstructed in May this year and is pumping good water. The tank has been painted a
bright orange colour and the names of the Queensland based windmill
mechanics displayed on the wind vane of the mill. There was some indication of recent campers with a bit of rubbish left behind. The burnt out fire still had warm coals. So they were probably a day ahead of us. It was time to do some washing, laze around in the sun and
cook a roast in the evening. The dingoes howled early the next morning and our pup was on high alert with ears pricked up and whimpering at the mystery. This was the very first time had heard dingoes howl on the entire trip though we saw many dog tracks along the way. A nice surprise in the early morning was to spot a Black Honeyeater in the trees above. A Brown Goshawk kept harassing a Crow and some resident Galahs. The track surface varied to the west going from a state of being almost totally overgrown to open plains once again. Then there were sandy stretches, which required 4x4 mode again, and some washouts, which needed careful negotiating. I saw some trees to the right of the track and decided that it was a good place for lunch. Another fresh track led in there as
well and it was a
campsite for someone. As I walked around the back of my truck I tripped over a brand new shovel, which had been left behind. I gave this one to our travelling companions who brought a podgy shovel with them. They were happy. Later in the day we visited the only rocky knoll along the way and went for a walk. I wanted to make
camp in an open but stony area. The others insisted we push on and I reluctantly agreed. One has these gut feelings sometimes. We drove 70 kilometres before we found an
open space in the Spinifex where we could
camp. We had to go looking for wood and dragged some logs in with the 4x4’s. After starting the fire a small Sand Goanna came out of one of the logs. I caught him after some wild grabbing as he headed back into the fire, and relocated him a distance away. After that, things went wrong when the damper overheated and the tucker burnt. The spirits must;ve been upset with us. But we salvaged it all and drowned our sorrows with some Port. The following morning the goanna log had only been partially burnt and I moved it on to the fire. Soon after I felt a prickly sensation on my leg and here was the little Sand Goanna climbing up my leg. We then removed the log from the fire, doused it with water and then relocated it to a place in a gully away from the
camp and put the little goanna back in its hollow apologising for vandalising its
home. This day was uneventful and we stopped for morning smoko in a newly graded
clearing. Not long after a ute came from nowhere out of the
bush. They were two
young geologists working for a mining company and had been preparing the track in for the drilling rig. We shared a cuppa and chatted for about half an hour. Then they went south into the unknown and we continued on our trek to the west. We had lunch at the
intersection with the Old Telegraph Track and later made
camp at a
Telstra Tower about 12km from the Great Northern Highway. A stiff breeze sprang up during the night and threatened to move the tent until I stabilised it. In the morning the wind subsided again. Our travelling companions took leave of us when we reached the highway the following morning. They were on their way
home in the north via 80 Mile Beach and we were heading for Cape Keraudren.
The Kidson Track was something I had to do. There are some areas off it which I would like to explore at a later date, that is if I can afford the fuel to get there. The 508km from the
Kunawarritji turnoff to the Great Northern Highway was reasonably interesting but I must say I am miffed as to why the region is named the
Great Sandy Desert, as I did not see much sand at all. The Kidson Track still traverses Crown Land but areas to the north and south are now covered by Native Title claims. There is only very overgrown seismic tracks out there apart from one of Len Beadell’s last roads he built, namely the Callawa Track. This track leaves the CSR from
Well 35 and is something to keep in mind for next time.
Cheers