Tom Price to Alice Springs
Our planned route was to take us via Hamersley Gorge to Wittenoom which is a deserted town due to the blue asbestos mining they used to do there.
Hamersley Gorge - the rock formation in the escarpment is incredible
We wanted to visit Hamersley Gorge which is within the National Park where dogs are not allowed. We had planned to stay the night at the Hamersley Gorge free camp which is just outside of the National Park. We've visited this gorge before, and when we visited this time it was well over 35ᵒC. Bailey wasn't even supposed to be in the car at all when we visited, so our planned hike will have to wait for another time.
When we got to the free camp it was still over 35ᵒC so we decided to keep driving in the cool air-conditioned car.
We drove through the deserted mining town of Wittenoom which has only 3 people left living in it. Why they are still there is anyone's guess. The WA government has passed legislation that the town of Wittenoom doesn't exist anymore, so you won't find it on current maps. They also have removed all sign posts to the town. More than 2,000 workers and residents have died from Mesothelioma and related asbestos diseases.
Plenty of warnings as you approach the former town site
Wittenoom featured in the Midnight Oil song "Blue Sky Mining", but I think Peter Garrett is now singing the "Roof Insulation" song. :)
Beautiful mountains of blue asbestos, nice to look at, but don't dig
We camped on green grass that night at the Auski Roadhouse and joined our neighbours for a drink and dinner at the roadhouse cafe. Bailey didn't seem very well in the morning, so we changed our plans and diverted to Newman where there is a vet. It was only a minor 150km diversion but it was the last vet for nearly 2 weeks. The vet gave him a thorough check and passed him as being in good condition, so off we went into the remote. Better to be sure than sorry with him these days.
Nullagine Pub for lunch and diesel
Skull Springs Road and Skull Springs River
We had to detour via Skull Springs Road, from Nullagine to Carawine Gorge, as according to Jayne it has a "cool" name.
It's only 200kms long, of which 50kms or so is in really good condition, and the rest is corrugations.
We camped at Skull Springs (Davies River), but unfortunately there wasn't any water in the creek or river, so it was a very dry, dusty camp.
Skull on a Spring
The scenery on Skull Springs Road
Skull Springs Road brought our oven undone, yet again. This is the only "white goods" that we haven't been able to reinforce. The oven door is supported and pivots on two stainless steel pop-rivets. Sounds flimsy doesn't it? Well it is. One of these pop-rivets had broken. The top cover was also loose as one of the hinges had started to deteriorate. We need to strengthen the oven as it's the only "white good" that we haven't strengthened.
Carawine Gorge
This is a gem of a free camp. We camped there last year when we crossed the Gary Junction Road in the other direction, east to west. It must have been why we didn't enjoy it that much. It was very crowded as we were there a bit earlier in the travel season (winter). It was also where we had exploding Kilkenny beer cans, if you can recall this.
This time when we arrived we were the only ones there so got the best camp spot by far!
We managed to get the best spot, complete with the only grass in the place!
This of course called for a couple of Aperol Spritz
In the rest of Carawine Gorge is just full of bulldust and you can't even walk without kicking it up!
With Pelicans and Black Swans
Complete with grazing bulls eating our grass!
Gary Junction Road
The route we took on the Gary Junction Road (GJR) was just over 1,630kms of dirt. Of that 558kms was in the Northern Territory, the balance in Western Australia. The WA side of this road was absolute bliss, except for about 50kms. The 558kms of the NT side was the worst we've seen. Corrugations that were endless and unforgiving.
The scenery along the road is just amazing and goes someway towards making up for the corrugation fields.
The GJR passes close to the Telfer Gold Mine just before Lake Dora. Here we had our last Telstra mobile reception until we reached Alice Springs. So a quick few calls to our kids before we dropped off the end of the world.
Last year when we completed the GJR we realised just how remote the area was that we were travelling in. We've since bought a satellite phone which gives us peace of mind that we can be contacted anytime, and we can talk to the kids if necessary.
Lake Dora
Lake Dora was our first overnight stop on the GJR. It's a large salt lake and we were joined by a single guy towing a boat, he drove right to the lakes edge, but alas there wasn't any water for him to launch his boat!
Satellite phone on the ladder at the ready
It was a hot night, so we watched Cronulla beat Penrith on the TV outside
Canning Stock Route, Well 33
At Kunawarritji, after we bought diesel for $3.40 a litre, we left the GJR and went on the famous Canning Stock Route for about 8kms to Well 33.
Again camped on the only grass in the place. Bailey loves the grass for a daily doggie roll
Well 33 is quite a haven. We met other campers there as well as the local school teacher who dropped in for a chat with the tourists. She has a class of 14 kids ranging from Year 1 right up to Year 12. Of course not everyone turns up to school each day, but it's still a challenge teaching such a varied age group.
The local Dingo mum dropped in for a drink
We filled our tanks here as the water from the well is very good and a lot easier to get in the van than hand pumping at Jupiter Well.
Jupiter Well
Jupiter Well is without question the most remote camp site we've ever had. For the 24 hours we were in this region we saw absolutely no other signs of human life. Not a person, car, truck, farm, house or even a road sign.
There was only 1 sign of life within these 24 hours, other than birds, that we saw.
Jayne spotted this - Camel on top of a sand dune
Justin's stage name is also Jupiter
The drum catching water at the bottom of the well was also totally dry, so I gave the well a few pumps to fill it up. The water is clear and we've filled the van from this well last year.
Corella's chatting at the water cooler
The night there was extremely mild which allowed us to sit outside and star gaze. There was a really big sky there for us to enjoy. The sunset leading up to the star gazing was good as always. We observed the first star of the evening.
Then quite close to it were two other bright stars very close to each other. We've not observed two stars so close and so bright, so I pointed these out to Jayne. It was totally dark by now and other stars were also out. But these two stars looked quite strange, and we watched them for some time. They were stationary compared to the other stars and about 40 - 50mm apart in the sky.
We talked about the possibility of them being 2 stars from Scorpio's tail, but they were so bright. We watched them for a while, but as soon as we turned away to get a beer, a matter of 15 seconds, they were gone! Jayne is a sceptic but there was no explaining this strange phenomenon. We were being watched, that's for sure.
My star gazing iPhone app didn't come up with anything, as there were no planets or stars in that part of the sky. I tried to contact them using my laser pointer, but Jayne said I'd blind them and could make them a bit cranky. If I'm going to get taken away I don't want them to be mad with me. Jayne said she and Bailey would make their own way home with the car and caravan and went into the van leaving me outside. She said she would wave goodbye when they came to take me away.
Buck Hill
We started to see a bit of traffic today. A couple of cars belonging to Telstra who were installing the NBN (fibre internet) out here in the middle of nowhere. The others were from the local communities, and as we passed one old blue Commodore we saw a smiley black face in the driver seat, and another happy black face in the passengers seat. He was waving madly at us through the non-existent windscreen. The Aboriginal people from the outback communities drive the cars until they stop, then just leave them on the side of the road, or actually in the middle of the road which we saw today. Before long the car is stripped of anything useful and either set alight, or just left to rust. They were having a great day, and maybe on their way to find a replacement windscreen from one of the wrecks on the side of the road.
Buck Hill was our second last stop on the GJR.
Well after sunset another van pulled in to join us. Who were they pulling in at that hour? Don't they know that driving at night in these areas is very dangerous! And we could hear kids.
In the morning we saw they were in another BushTracker. During our morning walk we talked with them and it turned out that they were our neighbours from Ningaloo Station! They were doing the GJR because we recommended it to them as an alternative route home. What a strange coincidence to see them here. The only people we saw were here because we told them about it.
Buck Hill
Our last night on the GJR was at Kunparrka Camp and of course our old neighbours pulled in to join us and wandered over with the 3 kids for a chat.
At Kunparrka we noticed our fridge wasn't working. So we transferred all the contents to our new small 28L Waeco fridge which we purchased in Broome. I actually don't know how we've survived without one on our previous treks, regardless of the fridge packing it in. Thankfully we had hardly any perishable food left, so we managed to squeeze it into the new Waeco.
A drawer that holds all our tin cans of food was in pieces as well. So we emptied the drawer and put it aside for repairs when we got to Alice.
We had our own little Sand Dune going on the back of our van. Love the different coloured layers!
I love our BF Goodrich AT KO2's
Not so the only BF Goodrich TA KO1 I have left. Both these tyres have rolled exactly the same KMs and their positions have been swapped
Alice Springs
On the way into Alice as soon as we got phone service we were on the phone to the Fridge importer, who happens to be in Kirrawee, just a few suburbs away from our home! They pointed us to a refrigerator repairer in Alice who was very helpful, turning up at our van at 7am the next day. So our fridge was up and running very quickly. One of the refrigerant lines had cracked from the vibrations. He quickly brazed it closed and also replaced another semi-faulty part that he wasn't happy with and the fridge was running again. A minor expense of $220. Our neighbours also had to have their fridge repaired in Alice and they never went on any dirt roads! So this is a common issue in vans.
He also made the insides of the compressor area stronger assuring me that it will stop the movement from the vibrations and this problem shouldn't arise again. Hmmm, we'll see about that!
I fixed our tin can drawer, taking photos of the mounts that look very dodgy from BushTracker. I'm surprised the drawer had lasted this long with the mounts we saw when we pulled it apart.
So after these three issues I've informed Jayne that we're selling the BushTracker and Cruiser and buying a Jayco and Commodore. No more dirt roads for me! Jayne said if I sell the BushTracker and get a Jayco she'll leave me. We spent a lot of time in Alice Springs cleaning the van, so no more dirt roads on our homeward journey.
A quick call to the oven manufacturer in Melbourne who informed us there are no service agents in Sydney. Everywhere else is ok, just not Sydney. Work that out. So it looks as if we'll have to swing by Melbourne on the way home to get another new oven, this time under warranty as we only bought this one in November last year.
We've now left Alice and are on our way south. Who knows where we'll end up!
