Need trek notes for Gary highway

Submitted: Monday, Jan 01, 2007 at 22:26
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Hi all you adventures , i would like any information on the Gary highway from Windy corner down to Everard juntion (gun barrel highway) we are planing a trip there in June 2007
Wombat
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Reply By: MickO13 - Tuesday, Jan 02, 2007 at 18:23

Tuesday, Jan 02, 2007 at 18:23
Wombat, I came thru from windy corner in August. Track was in good nick although the spinifex in the centre rut was getting a tad long prompting a regular stop for clearing the chasis underneath. In many places trees have fallen across the track and rather than rem,ove them, vehicles have driven off track around them. We pulled quite a few off on our trip down but there are plenty of them. From my notes;

"The Gary is indeed grown over and often hedged in by plant life in many places. Its lack of use also means that at times the road is in great condition even if it is only two wheel ruts. Erosion and plants have taken their toll in many sections but you can maintain a reasonable rate of knots. Lunchtime saw us on the hilltop marked as on the map. There is a geodetic marker on a small rise providing views of the surrounding plains. We lunched a bit below this in the shade offered by the spindly trees.

From here it was again on at 180 degrees. The road ran in dead straight lines of many kilometres, often the only deviation from true south being the occasional twist or turn around an obstacle or wash away. We spied several camels all of which appeared in excellent condition. One big fellow refused to get off the track giving us a bit of a laugh for a minute or two as he trotted in their ungainly fashion until pulling off to the left. About 79 km south of the Talawana turnoff, we came across the forlorn wreck of a camper trailer, stripped and abandoned by the track. It had been a “Kanga-Camper” brand.(S24.16.32.5 E 125.08.46.3) Another excuse to stretch the legs and exercise the camera skills.

At 2.45 pm and 100 km south of the junction, we reached the shores of Lake Cohen (S24.27.03.0 E125.03.00.8) This impressive stretch of shallow water is nothing more than a clay-lined depression that holds a fair whack of water. It is a haven for migratory birds although we didn’t see anything other than a Willie wagtail and the ubiquitous flying mice of the outback, zebra finches. The surrounding countryside is mulga and acacia woodlands, the spinifex taking a back seat for a change. These conditions continued to our turnoff to McPherson Pillar and the Mulgan Rock Hole. We travelled the 30 kilometres in to find a shallow hole on top of a rocky hill. The surrounding gibber offered little in the way of campsites so we continued on to the pillar where we cleared a little rick and spinifex to provide space for the tent (S24.34.10.8 E 125.19.28.9). Wood was at a premium so we had to take a little drive back along the track finding nothing but ant-ridden mulga. No eucalypt at all and any that did bite the dust was soon eaten by the local termites".

If there's water in lake Cohen, it's also a great sport to camp. Hope this helps.
''We knew from the experience of well-known travelers that the
trip would doubtless be attended with much hardship.''
Richard Maurice - 1903

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