Dec
4
Written by:
Southern Trails
4/12/2010 10:20 AM
2010-041 Trailer Test to the Tip
Part 1 - 15 May to 25 June via Nyngan, Mutawintji National Park, White Cliffs, Eulo, Windorah, Winton, Mt Isa, Adeles Grove, Karumba, Miilla Miilla, Musgrave Station, Weipa, Elliot Falls, Punsand Bay, Chili Beach, Atherton, Charters Towers, Emerald, Chinchilla, Ballina, Corrindi Beach
Tommo, Dave, Ian, Peter: Please email webmaster@st4wdc.org with Make, Model and rego number of your trailer!
Saturday 15/5
Five vehicles and four camper trailers met at Hall for an 8am departure. Dave’s family Bec, Josh and Carol followed to this point in the town car, just to be sure Dave left. Just a short drive to Yass to meet up with Ian and Jeanette coming in from Mittagong.
Fuel consumption was a hot topic today and many other days due to the towing of the campers.
On to Nyngan for our first overnight stop. An uneventful day but exciting just to be back on the road. Charlie even spotted emus today – don’t expected that from here on in. Cotton droppings on the roadside, and huge bales of cotton waiting to be transported. The Riverside Van Park by the river on the Cobar road, was a top spot, with fish jumping, a campfire and stars. Totally recommend. Jayne, Mary, Jeanette and David sourced the timber from the other end of the park but let it be known they were not doing it every night.
Nyngan – Day 1 and already we’ve found a great new spot – a pity we weren’t staying longer.
Sunday 16/5
Heaps of Kookaburras provided the wake-up call and as soon as they could see we were all up, they went back to bed. Typical. The Cobar bakery did a good trade for morning tea (as did many others over the following 6 weeks). Someone with idle time had set fire to the disabled toilet facilities and they were pretty well destroyed. Opposite the park was a magnificent old Moreton Bay Fig tree. Well worth a photo opportunity.
At the lunchtime roadside stop Mary did her best to chat a fellow up wanting him to sell his Kimberley Karavan. He still had a bit of travelling to do and wouldn’t be in it. That didn’t put her off. She never missed an opportunity for the remaining 6 weeks each time she saw a suitable camper.
Fuel starts to get pricy at Wilcannia (Shell) $1.69. We should have gone to BP. Obligatory stop for firewood collection this afternoon before heading in to Mutawintji National Park. All the Kimberley Kampers were used to load it on top. Enough for 2 days. Mmmm. In fact that was also a common sight in the weeks to come. Kimberley Kampers with wood on top. Some of this wood ended up seeing quite a bit of the country. Waste not want not, and each morning we were moving on, what wood was not used was reloaded and resecured, and removed again before being able to set up camp. Good exercise if nothing else.
The first of the windscreen damage occurred today with most vehicles copping damage.
Talk about the GPS leading you astray. Ozi can get you into a bit of strife too with roads being re-routed and not matching the map. We knew exactly where we were, just had to follow the fence till we found the road again. It was a good adventure. Our first night of bush camping and we only just managed to set up before dark. Plenty of goats, emus, a dingo, noisy birds wanting to pick the right spot to roost for the night (a bit like humans picking their camping spot, only noisier). Moths, on steroids, you wouldn’t believe how big they were. Bush camping with hot solar showers and good flushing toilets, electric BBQ or a camp fire for $5 - what more could a person want.
Monday 17/5
Light rain overnight – not enough to be a nuisance and Corellas provided the early morning alarm.
A leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs, then most set off to do the Mutawintji Gorge walk. Those who persisted to the end of the Gorge were rewarded with beautiful scenery. The amount of water and force of water that moves in that Gorge was evidenced by the lean of the trees and the skeletal remains of goats and kangaroos.
Some rearranging of where things are packed in the campers has started. Where do you keep this in your Kamper? And that’s when it started. Mary’s fridge is not doing well and looks like the battery feeding it needs replacing.
We repaired windscreens. A road train had showered us with rocks whilst still on the tar between Nyngan and Cobar. Thanks to Mick for the windscreen repair kit. Every vehicle should have one!!!
Peter made excellent bread for dessert tonight and for many more evenings to come. We learned tonight that Jayne was a Whyalla girl. Perhaps that explains her ability to stoke the fire to blast furnace temperatures, not content until all the metal surrounds are glowing red!
Tuesday 18/5
Corella alarm, off to the showers, breakfast and pack up camp, including repacking some of the unburnt wood back on the Kimberleys. Jayne was concerned that we were leaving some behind.
The “Virgin” Kimberley Kampers, Jill and Peter, were assisted with tips from those with more practise and those with a bit of practice got more ideas. How many more ideas could we have had if it was a Kimberley trip?
On the road to White Cliffs, even at the back of the convoy there was plenty of bird and animal life to be seen. This is only early days – it won’t continue. The road was good, in places there were bypasses where there had obviously been very wet patches from the recent flooding. There were numerous DIP signs however the criteria for the placement of such signs is somewhat of a mystery as there was no consistency with the level of condition or care negotiating them.
There were shopping bags piled up in the rails of cattle grids. Julie had suggested we stop to collect them and dispose of properly but after doing so, discovered the bags were tied to the grids. It was surmised that they were probably a further deterrent to the cattle if they were tempted to cross the grid and perhaps we should leave them there. A good camper that girl, leaving no rubbish – but not this time.
It was White Cliffs for lunch and a couple of local tours in the afternoon. All very different.
Starting with Jock’s mine, an eccentric white cliffs character to say the least. Mad Jock very happily revealed that he and his wife (whom we didn’t meet) met in a lunatic asylum and it just goes on. And that’s the truth he would say. Antiques and heirlooms from days (years) gone by. A bit like that house you wouldn’t want to live next door to.
PJ’s Bed and Breakfast and mine. What a contrast, neat exterior, pleasant garden including a couple of boab trees. Toby took us around a tastefully decorated clean dwelling and then through a door in one of the bedrooms to a working opal mine. He had interesting snippets of history, including the fact that the school children used to walk home from school in summer via the mines because it gets so hot.
Returning to camp where we met up with Bill and Jenny who were to take us on our third and final tour of the day. Some of us piled into the Troopy whilst the rest settled for a clean soft sedan. There’s a lot of history here and well worth a guided tour.
The school currently has only 6 children. A mining claim out on the reserve is 50 X 50 metres - the cost is $60 for the first year and $90 for every year thereafter. A lesson in using the divining rods was really amazing and worth a laugh to onlookers.
White Cliffs - $5 a night for a hot shower, flushing toilet and a great little spot. Could stay here longer too, but perhaps not in the summer.
Wednesday 19/5
The first flat tyre of the trip was bestowed to Icymus. The tyre had to be taken off the car but was repaired with a plug and replaced before leaving. White Cliffs to Wanaaring - The scenery was fantastic - an endless flat panorama. Can’t say the same for the road. The recent floods had played havoc and there were endless water pools that stretched far and wide.
It was Wanaaring for lunch on the banks of the Paroo River. Once again the effects of the floods were evident. The General Store owner had run out of most supplies and was very low on fuel as trucks had not been able to get through. The road had only been open a couple of days. Fuel was being brought in by Jerry cans on the back of a Landcruiser. Those needing it decided to refuel at Hungerford.
Into Queensland now and the roads were noticeably better maintained, although flood damaged. We bush camped by the River just outside Eulo. It had been a long day and on opening the campers most were affected in some way by the fine red dust that we’d been eating that day.
Thursday 20/5
Got into Eulo early – about 7.30 to get fuel but found the shop not yet open and deliveries were sitting waiting at the door. The owner turned up, we refuelled and aired up ready to drive on black top. Found a corrugated iron air raid shelter beside the shop, a relic of WW11. And grass, green grass! A pretty little town with some history to boot and worth more time than we could stay. Getting into boulder opal country, too.
Tonight we camped a bit out of Windorah by the Coopers Creek. There were lovely sandy areas down near the creek and a rock barrage was home to lots of birds including night herons. However the forecast was for rain so we found a large flat area to the right of the bridge to set up camp.
Friday 21/5
Despite everyone waking a little early this morning it took a little longer to pack up the rest of the infrastructure. Wood we have been carting since before Wilcannia to be loaded, the toilet house and the toilet to be packed away.
We went the few kms into Windorah this morning to top up with fuel. An interesting little town with quaint shacks and very clean streets. There were more people staying in the Caravan Park than the town’s entire permanent population. Probably just as well we camped out. The town runs on Solar energy sourced from a solar plant at the eastern entrance to the town consisting of 5 concave mirror disks angled to make best use of the sun. We did wonder how often the bird poo needed to be cleaned off and just how they did it. Tardis was the recipient of a stone in the windscreen on the way into town, now everyone has stone chips or cracks.
The information centre advised all roads were open so off we headed on the Jundah Rd and turned off at Braidwood about 100km from town onto the Winton road. When we got to the turn it was a bit disconcerting the road closed signs were still displayed however confirmation on Channel 4 advised the road was open. 350 km of dirt. Yes!!!
The scenery was so diverse today and not another vehicle was encountered on this leg until we got to Lark Quarry. Wedge tail eagles were in abundance and there was a huge amount of birdlife. We arrived at Lark Quarry to see the dinosaur footprints at 2.30pm however the last tour of the day was at 2pm. What a shame but for next trip we now know to book and that you can only see them on a guided tour.
Very warm today, Thommo broke out the shorts!!
Beaut bush camp at Long Waterhole, huge area, very clean, no facilities, beaut waterhole and fish jumping. Great sunset, about 4kms south of Winton. One of the locals said we were real lucky to be here that night as the previous night there were about 40 caravans camped here.
All week we’ve seen evidence of flood but so far had not worried us. Kingfisher camp called late yesterday to advise that they don’t expect to have roads open for another 3weeks yet, so revised plans are made for the next few days.
Saturday 22/5
There was a heavy dew overnight so the campers and tents were quite wet. Jeanette and Julie went for an early morning walk and came back quite a few inches taller with the mud they had picked up on their shoes.
Got into Winton around 9am and Peter’s GPS gave us a short tour of Winton until we found the Caravan Park. A sightseeing day, with R&R. No suitable batteries available for Mary. Roast Dinner and entertainment by Bush Poets at the Caravan Park. Melanie Hall and Susie Carcary were terrific and had us in fits of laughter and some tears were shed as well for the “English Rose”. Water smells and tastes of sulphur here. Lucky we had plenty of our own.
Sunday 23/5
All black top today finishing up at Mt Isa. The first part of it seemingly rougher than the best of yesterday’s dirt. Stop offs at the Blue Heeler pub Kynuna and Walkabout Creek the Hotel where some of the filming for Crocodile Dundee was done. In fact it is up for sale now for about $1.5m if you’re interested. On to Mary Kathleen Park, Cloncurry for lunch and arrived at Mt Isa Sunset Tourist Park where we had a small camping area pretty much to ourselves. Dave lost a filling from a tooth today. Hopefully that’s not going to cause trouble.
Monday 24/5
A busy day in town. Tardis had its windscreen replaced. Dave was fortunate enough to find a dentist who could attend to his filling. You wouldn’t find a same day appointment in the city. Mary was finally successful in her quest for a battery. Groceries and liquids all restocked and vehicles refuelled. All in all Mt Isa’s economy benefited well from our visit.
And what of the tourist attractions? They were also on our agenda with visits being made to the underground hospital, a mine, the Mt Isa Outback Centre, and the fossil centre.
Weather is getting a lot warmer now and very humid and sometimes not so conducive to sleep.
Tuesday 25/5
Mt Isa to Adele’s Grove
Another great day a good mix of transit and sightseeing. It turned into an early start with a few drops of rain around 5-ish, then the heavens let loose just before 6. It P SS D down (rained very heavily) torrential rain, for about fifteen minutes. Certain members of our group were spotted stark bollocky naked putting things under cover (no names).
Very important for Kampers to travel with many different tap connections for refilling water tanks. Taps don’t always have the connections you need. We topped up with the BEST water, and were on our way. Some campers are happy to help and some aren’t.
First stop was Moondarra Lake the water supply for Mt Isa. It’s also a recreation area for the locals. What a beautiful spot, pity there’s no camping there.
On the road, a mix of tar and dirt, a lot of it constrained by water from above, then the dust started. We stopped at Riversleigh Station to check out the fossils “in the wild”. It was good to have visited Dr John in Mt Isa. We had turned into budding palaeontologists.
Wildlife highlights included brolgas and a large wedge tail eagle.
Diesel scored a flat tyre which was sorted with a trusty plug. Tardis scored a flat within 100 metres of the campsite at Adeles Grove. This one was a bit harder to deal with but eventually found the leak and sat the tyre back on its bead. TOMORROW we get to play with the now totally trashed tyre. WE ARE DETERMINED TO PERFECT THE “EXPLOSIVE” SUTTON METHOD TO BLOW UP A BEAD, and perhaps the tyre and maybe also Adeles Grove. Stay tuned …
Next time - Part 2 - Adele’s Grove to the Tip of the Cape
1 comment(s) so far...
Re: Cape York - Trailer trip to the Tip - December 2010 - Julie Buttriss
Am really glad Tommo did not break OUT of his shorts
From Richard Brand on
4/12/2010 10:52 AM
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