TIMMY 666
06-04-2007, 10:32 AM
G'Day all,
On the 12th of August 2006 Mum, Dad and I, after several months planning & preparing left for our Outback trip. The plan was to drive the from Hall's creek WA to Uluru via the Canning stock Route and the Gunbarrell HWY with Tony and Brenda of Outback Tag-a-long tours, and do some adventuring of our own on the way there and back. I'll be posting up some of the four and a half thousand photos :o I took over the 38 day adventure plus a breif outline of what we did in that time, in sections.
Enjoy!
Part 1 - 12/8/06 - 22/8/06
We left home (Elimbah, NW of Caboolture) late on the 12th and only made it to Childers due to a flat tyre :grin: We left the next morning and travelled north to Rockhampton, where we stopped for lunch, and then headed west to Emerald to end day 2. Day 3 - from Emerald we continued driving west to Longreach, for a top-up and some snacks ;). Next we headed in a NW direction to end a leisurely day just short of Winton, camped next to the Landsborough HWY. Day 4 - woke up from our first night in the swags, had some brekky then set off to Winton for a top-up and some lollies. After a brisk stop in Winton we turned west to drive through Middleton (a pub and a servo;D ) then Boulia, the last significant town till Alice Springs. With our stomachs full, we left the suprisingly green grass of Boulia for the ****ing corrugated road of Donohue/Plenty HWYs. We ended day 4 somewhere along the Donohue and pulled into a nice looking spot to set up camp. Day 5 - Awoken by the footsteps of some inquisitive cattle we simultaneously cooked brekky and rolled up the swags with some slightly better road awaiting. The plenty HWY starts at the NT/QLD border and as soon as we crossed into 'Nature Territory' we were greeted by some roadwokers and some smoother terrain. By 3:30pm we had reached Gem tree for a top up (at $1.79/L!). At around 4:30pm we reached the Stuart HWY!, and shortly afterwards (an hour or so) we reached Alice Springs! We bought some snacks n stuff, made a phone call home then backtracked 20 or so kms to the Tanami track turnoff, where we turned left, drove for an another 10kms or so and pulled aside to set up camp. Day 6 - Left camp as quick as we could due to the cyclonic force winds :o and continued along the Tanami. The Tanami isn't the most exciting road to travel on nor is it one that's easy on your arse ;) . After driving all day we pulled into a nice looking spot to set up camp no.2 on the Tanami. Day 7 - Unforntunately it was very windy again, which made it quite difficult to cook breakfast or roll-up the swags without a few kilos of extra weight in sand :P . We entered WA at about 10:45am (EST) and finally reached Halls Creek at 3:00pm. Day 8 - Rest day. Mum and Dad drove back to Halls Creek (we stayed at the Old Halls Creek lodge, 15km from Halls Creek) to get fruit, veges, etc. while I stayed back and slept in. That afternoon we attended the welcome BBQ at the Halls Creek Caravan park where we met Tony and Brenda (hosts) for the first time in 2 years, and everyone else on the Tag-a-long (10 vehicles altogether). Day 9 (1) - first day of tag-a-long. Everyone parked in Halls Creek for a chat, after a few photos and a radio check everyone left. First stop was the Wolfe Creek meteorite crater, a huge impact-crater with great views of the surrounding landscape. After morning tea we left Wolfe creek and pulled up at an old homestead for a look around. We kept driving south along the Tanami until we reached Bililuna, where we turned right to start the Canning Stock route. An hour or so later we discovered that part of the track was impassable due to flooding of the Lake Gregory system (unsure:-/ ). We backtracked for about 15km to a bypass-route and on the way we were met by some spinifex fires :o which very quickly hopped the track, leaving nothing but ash. Tony decided to end the day in a nice flat claypan with gum trees, where the swags were rolled out and the campfire lit. :) Day 10 (2) - By 8am everyone had eaten and packed up so we left camp. First stop was Gulvida soak, a small soak with aboriginal engravings reached by a 10min walk up a rocky gully. Back at the cars we had morning tea, a chat then continued along the stock route. Next stops were well 50, well 49, a burnt-out Ford Explorer :o, lunch next to the Breaden Hills and then Godfreys tank and Breadens pool. Godfrey's tank is a large rocky waterhole situated in a gully and Breadens pool is a smaller, similiar waterhole, all very picturesque. We left the waterholes and passed the Breaden Valley again to rejoin the stock route for a few extra hours driving until we came across another nice claypan to set up camp. Day 11 (3) - Stops: a large hill with beautiful views, well 46 (showers and water top-up), well 45, firewood and finally, camp at Gravity Lake; a huge, dry lake bed with treed areas well suited to camping.
Tim.
On the 12th of August 2006 Mum, Dad and I, after several months planning & preparing left for our Outback trip. The plan was to drive the from Hall's creek WA to Uluru via the Canning stock Route and the Gunbarrell HWY with Tony and Brenda of Outback Tag-a-long tours, and do some adventuring of our own on the way there and back. I'll be posting up some of the four and a half thousand photos :o I took over the 38 day adventure plus a breif outline of what we did in that time, in sections.
Enjoy!
Part 1 - 12/8/06 - 22/8/06
We left home (Elimbah, NW of Caboolture) late on the 12th and only made it to Childers due to a flat tyre :grin: We left the next morning and travelled north to Rockhampton, where we stopped for lunch, and then headed west to Emerald to end day 2. Day 3 - from Emerald we continued driving west to Longreach, for a top-up and some snacks ;). Next we headed in a NW direction to end a leisurely day just short of Winton, camped next to the Landsborough HWY. Day 4 - woke up from our first night in the swags, had some brekky then set off to Winton for a top-up and some lollies. After a brisk stop in Winton we turned west to drive through Middleton (a pub and a servo;D ) then Boulia, the last significant town till Alice Springs. With our stomachs full, we left the suprisingly green grass of Boulia for the ****ing corrugated road of Donohue/Plenty HWYs. We ended day 4 somewhere along the Donohue and pulled into a nice looking spot to set up camp. Day 5 - Awoken by the footsteps of some inquisitive cattle we simultaneously cooked brekky and rolled up the swags with some slightly better road awaiting. The plenty HWY starts at the NT/QLD border and as soon as we crossed into 'Nature Territory' we were greeted by some roadwokers and some smoother terrain. By 3:30pm we had reached Gem tree for a top up (at $1.79/L!). At around 4:30pm we reached the Stuart HWY!, and shortly afterwards (an hour or so) we reached Alice Springs! We bought some snacks n stuff, made a phone call home then backtracked 20 or so kms to the Tanami track turnoff, where we turned left, drove for an another 10kms or so and pulled aside to set up camp. Day 6 - Left camp as quick as we could due to the cyclonic force winds :o and continued along the Tanami. The Tanami isn't the most exciting road to travel on nor is it one that's easy on your arse ;) . After driving all day we pulled into a nice looking spot to set up camp no.2 on the Tanami. Day 7 - Unforntunately it was very windy again, which made it quite difficult to cook breakfast or roll-up the swags without a few kilos of extra weight in sand :P . We entered WA at about 10:45am (EST) and finally reached Halls Creek at 3:00pm. Day 8 - Rest day. Mum and Dad drove back to Halls Creek (we stayed at the Old Halls Creek lodge, 15km from Halls Creek) to get fruit, veges, etc. while I stayed back and slept in. That afternoon we attended the welcome BBQ at the Halls Creek Caravan park where we met Tony and Brenda (hosts) for the first time in 2 years, and everyone else on the Tag-a-long (10 vehicles altogether). Day 9 (1) - first day of tag-a-long. Everyone parked in Halls Creek for a chat, after a few photos and a radio check everyone left. First stop was the Wolfe Creek meteorite crater, a huge impact-crater with great views of the surrounding landscape. After morning tea we left Wolfe creek and pulled up at an old homestead for a look around. We kept driving south along the Tanami until we reached Bililuna, where we turned right to start the Canning Stock route. An hour or so later we discovered that part of the track was impassable due to flooding of the Lake Gregory system (unsure:-/ ). We backtracked for about 15km to a bypass-route and on the way we were met by some spinifex fires :o which very quickly hopped the track, leaving nothing but ash. Tony decided to end the day in a nice flat claypan with gum trees, where the swags were rolled out and the campfire lit. :) Day 10 (2) - By 8am everyone had eaten and packed up so we left camp. First stop was Gulvida soak, a small soak with aboriginal engravings reached by a 10min walk up a rocky gully. Back at the cars we had morning tea, a chat then continued along the stock route. Next stops were well 50, well 49, a burnt-out Ford Explorer :o, lunch next to the Breaden Hills and then Godfreys tank and Breadens pool. Godfrey's tank is a large rocky waterhole situated in a gully and Breadens pool is a smaller, similiar waterhole, all very picturesque. We left the waterholes and passed the Breaden Valley again to rejoin the stock route for a few extra hours driving until we came across another nice claypan to set up camp. Day 11 (3) - Stops: a large hill with beautiful views, well 46 (showers and water top-up), well 45, firewood and finally, camp at Gravity Lake; a huge, dry lake bed with treed areas well suited to camping.
Tim.