Salt Lake Driving??!!
Submitted: Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 13:15
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Member - Hughesy (SA)
Here's why you don't drive on a
salt lake......(look at photos in my profile)
Got a phone call yesterday morning from a
young bloke (who's father I know
well) who was using a passerbys sat phone. He said he's bogged 70km south of
Pimba. I replied "Bogged...where the hell did you find
water to get bogged in??" Answer "I tried to do a Peter Brock solute on a
salt lake.......did'nt know they were soft underneath"
So I packed the Mrs and kids and drove 160km to find him
well and truely in the sh*t. I had 2 snatch straps and a 20m ext strap plus the winch cable but that didn't even get me close. Luckily one of guys from the station came past and pulled in to offer assistance. He didn't have anything but went back to the
homestead to get some cable. He returned with 2 another guys and another cruiser from the station. Anyway with a lot of effort we finally managed to get him back on terra firma. Not before doing some damage to the Maloo's brakes , rear spoiler and front spoiler (it acted like a dozer blade!!)
Old mate learnt his lesson...
well and truely. But its amazing the number of people that don't know that driving on a
salt lake is a recipe for disaster. I lot of people who aren't from this area say "ohh I didn't know that".
Anyway if your heading up from
Port Augusta to
Pimba and beyond keep an eye on the RHS of the road about 70km south of
Pimba. The marks will be there for years to come.
I'm still laughing....at his expense!!
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 13:27
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 13:27
Hughsey,
I reckon I pulled a Troopie out of the same lake 2 years ago. Guy had his wife and 2 kids with him and he'd already spent an hour digging.
It was a Govt Troopie, so I guess it was made to be trashed :-)))
cheers
phil
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - Davoe (Nullagine) - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 13:36
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 13:36
he he. the surveyor at work gort bogged on the lake then the geo went out to help him and got bogged too. we ended up using 100m of poly pipe atached to a snatch strap to get them out. Been bogged a few times on lakes as we used to use the edges as thoroughfares through thick bush when there was no beach on the edge. but always right on the edge and were able to winch out or use the highlift and bog boards
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Moose - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 13:58
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 13:58
G'day Davoe.
OK - how does one use poly pipe in a rescue? Never heard of this before and am intrigued.
Cheers from the Moose.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Nullagine) - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 14:08
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 14:08
No trick to it - it was 63mm poly and basically you just use it as a long tow rope - sort of thing that is long and available on a minesite
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Kevin H (WA) - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 18:29
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 18:29
The Surveyor would have been a
young bloke as all us old Surveyors know how things can turn bad anywhere near salt lakes
Kev
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Nick R - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 19:20
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 19:20
poly pipe, interesting, I once heard about a demo for poly fittings where some 2 inch ones were used with 2 inch poly to lift a falcon off the ground, maybe it was just the back of it........
1 1/2 isn't that strong, maybe class 12 would be
NickR
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Wazza - (Vic) - Tuesday, Sep 26, 2006 at 20:12
Tuesday, Sep 26, 2006 at 20:12
Hey Kev old mate ... good to see another Surveyor on the
forum ... not many of us around.
Cheerio,
Wazza.
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Follow Up By: Member - Kevin H (WA) - Friday, Sep 29, 2006 at 19:20
Friday, Sep 29, 2006 at 19:20
Hey wazza
your dead right there are not many of us around, should catch up online and discuss old stories
Kev
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Reply By: F4Phantom - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 16:39
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 16:39
I once walked onto one of those
places somewhere inbetween kal and
esperance. I sank while walking but the worst thing is the STENCH OF ETERNAL BOG, man does that mud stink, made me want to throw up!
AnswerID:
196432
Reply By: Member - John - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 16:52
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 16:52
Hughesy, the number plates on the ute should have been "WTF" rather than "WOF" LOL...........:-)
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Reply By: Barnesy - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 17:49
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 17:49
Was walking up at lake eyre south a few months ago and saw some car tracks like that, then a big square hole the size of a car obviously where they dug it out.
The funny thing is there was about 10 of these types of tracks within 30 metres. Surely if you're driving and see deep muddy tyre tracks then it would hit you that it's soft underneath. But 9 others tried the same thing afterwards!
Some people complain about 4wds in the city, but how about city slickers out bush!
Barnesy
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Follow Up By: Member - Hughesy (SA) - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 18:00
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 18:00
This bloke grew up in western NSW and has only been working over here for about 6 months. He said he'd been thinking about doing it for a while...every time he drove past a
salt lake he thought about getting out there and doing some circle work. Atleast he's learnt a lesson....abliet an expensive and publicly shaming one.
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Follow Up By: Barnesy - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 18:24
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 18:24
I'm sure he feels like an idiot. I wasn't referring to him but the 10 different people driving the cars that i saw. Then i thought i would have a cheap shot at some city slickers.
Barnesy
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Follow Up By: Member - Hughesy (SA) - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 20:41
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 20:41
That's alright Barnesy, I wasn't trying to defend him - just making the comment that unless you've been around them before or read/told about them then you probably wouldn't know their real danger. He told my Mrs that he felt the smallest he has since he was born.......while we had all those people stopping to look and the ones helping.
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Reply By: Willem - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 20:18
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 20:18
Once upon a time we were driving across the Simpson from the north to the south and after aboiut 6 days of mid boggling conditions we came to Lake Mirranponga Pongunna just north of the NT/
SA border. We started to skirt the lake just drivng along the edhes.
Yes, I knew all about salt lakes and had been told to keep off them by Station owners and others and I was adhering to this policy. BUT the lake was so hard!!! So slipped it back into 2wd and just cut across one little corner of the Lake which was about 2km wide at that point. Reached 100clicks no worries AND THEN IT HAPPENED!!. From a rock hard surface we broke the crust and started sinking into the ooze. I slammed the Suzi into 4wd and then low range and did a U turn whilst keeping the revs up to 6000rpm and we screamed out of there in 2nd Low back on to the hard stuff. My mate behind me managed to pull up in time and avoided the dreaded ooze. Never again! Even crossing the tracks of some of the Lakes on the French Line I stick to the middle and the hardest track.
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Follow Up By: Member - Hughesy (SA) - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 20:38
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 20:38
I nearly had that feeling a couple of years ago. I was finishing a week long trip around the bottom of Lake Eyre and coming back to Roxby via the track from
Farina to
Andamooka. I was talking to the station owner and asked about having a look at the top of
lake Torrens. He said that he had just driven across it 3 days earlier. Anyway to cut a long story short I headed off on his directions (marked on the bonnet :)) and got to the edge. I could see his tracks heading off into the
oasis. The lake was a lot wider than I thought and travelling on my own I hesitated for a minute to going across. Anyway off I went happily cruising along at about 60kmh in 2wd when all of a sudden the motor started to loose revs and labour. I quickly thru the stubby lever back, dropped into third and planted the accelerator....like my life depended on it. I didn't drop into soft mud but it was enough of a scare to get the old heart pumping. Can never be sure of that stuff!! That's why I'm more than wary of the things now a days.
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Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 21:56
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 21:56
Hi Ya Willem
I took a copy of the 4 ute photo's to send to a friend,
Well I got my Engine Saver low
water alarm fitted and it probably works ok , won't know until it gets low on
water, but it gives the short beep at ignition on .
Doug
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Reply By: Exploder - Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 21:49
Monday, Sep 25, 2006 at 21:49
Gee doesn’t he know anything, only a falcon Ute can drive on a
salt lake.
Silly man, I suspect his Ute is introducing him to the wonderful world of corrosion right about now
AnswerID:
196523
Reply By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Wednesday, Sep 27, 2006 at 11:41