The rain stopped and a couple of cloudy cool days with some wind soon dried out the track enough for it to be reoopened. We gave it another day to let it dry out some more before we tried it. Where there were wheel tracks through the soft stuff we could follow along quite comfortably but in many places the wheel tracks were all over the place like tangled spaghetti. Still areas of water across the track and later on the inevitable corrugations.First stop "Plane Henge" which is an area of very imaginative sculptures made from all sorts of , mostly waste, materials. Innovative and quirky. Fun. Tonight we camped at Coward Springs. Rather quiet. Only a few rigs, some having been caught there when the rain came. The four of of us toddled down to the "spring" and climbed down the ladder (uip to Kaye's neck) and had an immersion I guess you would call it. Hardest thing was climbing up the ladder to get out. Another one of Dennis's lovely fires tonight.
We woke to a beautiful morning and were aaway by 9 am. First stop William Creek which doesn't impress. Further on we stopped where the old Ghan Railway is close to the road and picked up a load of broken up sleeper bits for fires. Found a good lunch spot under a windmill about 10kms south of Warrina siding ruins. Next stop Algebuckina Bridge. Arrived Oodnadatta about 3.45. Kaye discovered a minor hassle. She hadn't locked the fridge door so had clean up to do. Also their fridge seems to have moved slightly.
We spent two nights in Oodnadatta because we went out to the Painted Desert the next day. The land forms and colours are so unusual and striking. It really is a must see. Yellows, reds, oranges, purples etc wth sheer cliffs and steep slopes. Did a walk up to the top to look out over the vista but the flies were once again in plague proportions. Spoke to Lynnie Plate (owner of the Pink Roadhouse) about thee road conditions to Dalhousie Springs and Mt. Dare. She said it had been graded 3 weeks ago and was good. And so it was as far as Hamilton Station the next day. Once we turned off towards Pedirka Ruins and Dalhgousie the track became rather on the rocky side. Steady slow driving and we reached dalhousie Ruins where we stopped to inspect the conservation work going on there. Unbelievably, the flies were even worse. The next 12 kms to Dalhousie Springs were extremely corrugated. Real teeth rattling stuff. Once we arrived and set up though it is a good place to be. The spring is a very large pool 36degC and about 150metrres long by 50 metres wide. Deep mostly with areas one can stand up in , with a soft squiddgy bottom. A very popular spot. Dennis still seems to have a bit of a fridge problem.
It is only a fairly short distance across to Mt. Dare (about 70kms) but it took us 3 hours to navigate a badly eroded road which was through a gibber plain and pretty wel down to bedrock. We just crawled over the rocks expecting tyre damage but none eventuated. The original hotel at Mt. Dare has been demolished and a new establishment has been built. Friendly nice people running it. We were the only people there (I wonder why) but later another two rigs arrived. The most remote hotel? in Oz they say. Diesel is $2.25 a litre. I wandered down to the pond behind the hotel late afternoon to see what birdlife was around. 100s Galahs, crested pigeons, zebra finches, a few black faced wood swallows, a whistling kite, white plumed h/eaters.etc. But the crowning glory was a large flock of about 70 (at least) red tailed black cockatoos who screeched their way in and chased the galahs out of their preferred trees.
Talked to Karen, the manager, about the Old Andado Track, which is part of Binns Track, and she gave me a detailed description of the first section out to Old Andado Station. Said her information was pretty recent but boy was she wrong! On the strength of her info and others we decided to do it. After the fi rst few kms the track became rather over grown and we had to take our towing mirrors off,then soft sandyy areas and bulldust. Then the crowning glory a stretch along a river bed in deep soft sand ending in a slope on a curve. Thank goodness we had the 200 Series because it was stretched to the limit. Kaye and Dennis didn't make it quite the first time and had a second go but thankfully got there. Unbelievably, at the top on the flat are cattleyards and a road train and two utes were therre loading cattle. We thought, oh good, surely that means the road will now be better if he got in. Some parts yes but others we dragged our bellies through the soft sand and bulldust. Stopped for morning tea at a bore and the truck ground its way past us. But the road then improved and we made it to Old Andado Station and Molly Clark's home for lunch time. Molly Clark was a wonderful old territory character who lived out here on her own and when she eventually had to go into Alice Springs she just walked out and left everything. So visitors are welcome to walk through her house and look in the cupboards etc to see all her treasures and just how she lived. Even the bed is made up. What a hard hard life. We had intended to camp there but it was 30deg so decided to keep going until it became cooler to find a camp spot. Along the way we drove into the MacClark Reserve to see the very rare Acacia Peuce trees. Trees only found here in the entire world. Worth doing. Continued on and for a while the road was terrific. Sadly, it didn't last and before we got to Alice we had every type of condition one can imagine thrown at us. The terrible corrugations went on forever, bulldust, mud, rocky sections etc. etc. Later in the day we were almost despairing of finding a camp spot but we did in the end. A beaut spot, flat and clear with trees at the back and a perfect spot for a fire. It was glorious night, clear, calm,warm, with amazing stars. Dennis's fire was perfect as usual. Unfortunately, the story inside the vans wasn't so perfect. Kaye had a 2 litre bottle of milk in the fridge and it had worn a hole in the bottom and leaked out all through the fridge and under it as well. Dennis had suffered a broken Brass bolt which connects the gas bottles to the van and had no gas as a result. Never seen a brass bolt break before. We had a microwave problem. The innards of the micrwave had torn free from the casing. The screws had torn out the metal and it was coming out. The casing was still securely attached to the wall but Bill had to remove the whole thing and rescrew the microwave back together then replace everything. A big heavy job. The microwave still works! Thank goodness Bill the improviser and handyman always carries quantities of tools screws etc. etc. The next morning we set off carefully and after a long slow rocky stretch and some bad corrugations the road improved. However, worse news was to come. We stopped on a nice flat stretch for morning tea and when i oopened the fridge discovered all my eggs except one were smashed and leaking through the fridge. However, that was nothing compared to what K and D found when they opened their door. The fridge had moved onto the coolant pipe and smashed it so the van was full of evil smelling coolant. They also had a tyre that went flat as we stopped. What a mess. They cleaned it up as best they could but van is unusable because of ammonia fumes and damage the coolant has done. Thankfully, this has happened on our way into Alice Springs not earlier down the track. It was a relief to finally make it into Alice, get set up, have a lovely shower, and think about the clean up tomorrow. Took ourselves out for a "celebratory" dinner at Barra on Todd. Such luxury.
D and K have left van in caravan park after taking it for insurance quotes and gone up to Tennant Creek for the weekend to see her sister.
Alice Springs. Have had a thorough clean up inside and out and we look respectable again. We were filthy. Took the van to the Peter Kittle car wash and then Bill took the truck in. Did a big shop as stocks ere getting a bit low.
Hi Jenny and Bill,
ReplyDeleteJust trying to post through comments let me know if you get this.
Cheers clive
Yes. Got it. Now hopefully I can do it also
DeleteHi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteWhat a nightmare of a trip! Just nice to know we were not the only ones with fridge problems on those horrid roads. Ours packed up on the way to the painted desert(truly a great area) 5 years ago. What's the road like now?
We'll be off north next Tuesday, so may be this new blogging works?
Cheers Doris
Putting a comment on my own blog to work out how to do it
ReplyDelete