Hay River Trip
Submitted: Tuesday, Sep 18, 2007 at 21:48
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Wayne (NSW)
This was the first time I ventured north of
Poeppel Corner.
The Desert seems to be cleaner than the other
well used tracks in the
Simpson Desert.
The amount of traffic is also next to nothing. Two vehicles were passed going the other way on
the desert run.
Rubbish is starting to appear in the
camp fire pits along the track. To those who leave it there it will not go away by itself.
The dune are smaller than the East West crossing and are very similar to the dunes on the Canning.
Lyndsay Bookie was in hospital when we arrived at
Batton Hill Camp so Chris, his nephew, showed us around.
Chris had an
Echidna for his dinner that night and we got to sample some of the left overs the next day. Tastes a bit like chicken.
The
camp was very clean and with only one other convey there (they were a day late getting to
Batton Hill Camp) it was very
well maintained. Having to book prior to going, the number of people going there at one time can be controlled.
Wayne
Reply By: Member - John (Vic) - Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 01:37
Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 01:37
Hi Wayne
Good to see you home safe.
Chris is Lyndsay's nephew and I guess the
Echidna is a bit better tucker than the twisties and coke he seemed to live off when we were there last year.
The traffic is limited due to the permits required to access the area and yes the rubbish issue does not go away, those cans don't burn picked up a few last year also :-(
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 08:00
Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 08:00
Gday Wayne,
Welcome back!
Nice run the
Hay. Chris took us around in 2005. From the front
seat of a troopie he spotted some fresh
echidna tracks going into the bush (we had trouble seeing them when they were under our noses). We tracked the
echidna for a while, coming across its diggings. Amazing skills. Hope Lindsay's OK.
Regarding the rubbish - there's always going to be the odd jerks who leave stuff behind.
Education is a slow/frustrating process. The only solution I see is for other travellers like us to pick the stuff up.
Cans are easy because they flatten easy and I just slip them into a canvas bag that goes on the roofrack. Bottles are the frustrating bit - cumbersome, heavy and they break. Couldn't believe how much
toilet paper was strewn all over outback WA during our 6 weeks there this year.
Cheers
phil
AnswerID:
262939
Reply By: Member - Mal J (NSW) - Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 11:42
Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 11:42
Wayne
We were at batton
hill on the 28th August for three days, fantastic place. Up till our arrival Lindsay said there had been 300 vehicles travel the
Hay this season so the track is certainly
well established.
When we were at the Madigan tree I counted 18 vehicles there at once and we passed another five going south the previous hour so you picked it right when you went through.
Chris and Lindsay caught 2
Dingo pups near
camp on our first night which they said they would train up for the tourists.
Do you know why Lindsay was in hospital?
Can anyone shed light on the 4 crosses carved into the tree directly across the track from the madigan tree?
Cheers Mal
AnswerID:
262958
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 14:32
Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 14:32
Mal,
I've not noticed the 4 crosses, and we've passed there 4 times. No mention of anything in Madigan's book.
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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 17:08
Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007 at 17:08
Saw the photo on the other posting.
Interesting...
Nowhere near as grown over as the blaze tree, so maybe it is more recent than 1939?
Actually, in Madigan's book he tells a short story that one of the blokes lost has knife between camps 15 and 16, and went back to find it. After a little while he adjusted his hat and his knife fell in front of him.....................
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