14 Jul 10 – Gunbarrel Highway (Wiluna-Warburton)

By Craig: The Gunbarrel, one of Australia’s historic tracks, what can one say, well simply Magic! Just to be out on this track was a pleasure, the knowledge that we were travelling on one of the Gunbarrel Construction Party's historic roads, brilliant. Highway, well a picture paints a thousand words and although beautiful I fall short calling it a highway.







The Gunbarrel starts at Wiluna as a wide smooth dirt road however once you pass Carnegie Station ($2.50 p/l diesel the most expensive to date) it changes and there are many washouts, ruts, bumps and narrow two wheel tracks to negotiate.













In places the track is difficult to follow and as you track along, mountains appear to rise out of vast plains as the road passes through rocky outcrops, then down through mud holes and back into open plains.























However the joy of 4wding this road is only surpassed by star gazing in the night sky while boiling a billy around the camp fire.

Peaceful nights all bar the occasional howl of a dingo prelude sunrise and the next day's adventure commencing with an early rise.

We passed many of Len Beadell’s markers, saw camel and dingo tracks making us very aware of their presence but there was a resounding feeling of solitude.











Two significant stops were at Len's Tree, a place where Len had scarped out a section of tree bark to place bearings in latitude and longitude and Len’s Camp which was an old road crew camp site.
















The highlight for me was a visit to Mt Beadell.
Mounted on top of the hill as a memorial to Len is his theodolite. Standing there looking out over country which bears many of Len’s survey marks is an inspirational event which I am proud to have experienced.








Other stops along the way were for both sight seeing and of a more personal nature.


A picture tells a thousand words so no more explanation is required for the personal stops however we did visit several significant rock holes and dare I forget to mention we visited Mt Samuel.





















By Lou: Our 4 day/3 night stay on the Gunbarrel was excellent. The countryside is just beautiful, and again in the car I read aloud from Len Beadell’s “Too Long in the Bush” which relates to the construction of part of this road. For 2 of the nights we just pulled off the side of the road once we could spot a spinifex-free spot, and on one night we camped at a formal campground, Camp Beadell, 6km from Mt Beadell. Each night we would hear dingoes howling in the distance but at Camp Beadell,
a pack circled the site and drew as close as 30m away howling their heads off. We assume this was because our fellow campers had a little dog with them, and we've been told the dingoes will call to all dogs in the area.
The setting up each night was simple and stress free.


Setting up a campfire for cooking is quicker than setting up the gas cooker, and given we wore the same clothes 4 days in a row, there were no clothes bags needed to unpack!

Other images of our Gunbarrel experience:



























Oh! and we thought we had some trouble with our trailer, at least our's is still with us.

10 Jul 10 – Lorna Glen Conservation Park

By Craig: Again and again the least expected takes you by surprise. Lorna Glen Station 180kms east of Wiluna off the Gunbarrel Highway was one of these surprises.

While at the ExplorOz gathering many acquaintances were made, friendships commenced and will continue. We arrived at Lorna Glen station knowing that possibly 2 groups, Evan, Renee and son Lee & Rob and Charles (in the big green rig) were heading in the same direction. All three groups found camp at Lorna Glen and we shared time and conversation around the camp fire. It is amazing how friendships develop while sharing a meal around a camp fire.

On one outing we tracked out with Evan & co to the southern end of the station to see some wells and to head off station to see a large rock hole called Dinner Plate Turtle Pool. Even though the time was short it was great to be tracking in the company of another vehicle, solo travel does get a little lonesome at times.

Although a tad difficult for Sam to understand, camels are a pest in this neck of the woods. As we travelled along the boundary fence we came across several camels that had met their fate with a .308. Camels are considered to be a feral animal and very destructive to the land in general and to infrastructure such as fencing therefore in an area like Lorna Glen Station where a program exists for the reintroduction of many indigenous fauna species, the less camels the better.
I was quite taken by the fact that hot water was available for showers however you had to light a fire under the boiler approximately 20min or so before shower time.







The other thing I enjoyed was the walks, in particular out onto the runway past the customs office and down a long straight.
Of course you took your life in your own hands when walking in this area. Two plovers would carry on like they owned the place and with good reason. They were a couple raising two chicks one of which I stood so close to yet still could not see until almost too late. Apparently mum and dad distract whilst the chick goes to ground and if the distraction doesn’t work mum or dad fly straight at you. I couldn’t tell which it was as I was too busy ducking but I did get a shot off and if you look closely at the picture you can see the plover in full flight coming straight at me.


















On the first day the station manager Bruce came down and introduced himself to us all. Now Bruce has one of the best ‘anything can be achieved’ attitudes I’ve witnessed along with a sturdy but laid back approach and with a casual glance at our trailer, one of Bruce’s first words to me were ‘Axle’s bent’.
Yes I said, suggesting that it had been this way for some time and no matter how much I ignore it, it doesn’t go away. I further added I just haven’t been in a position to do anything about it.
The following day in conversation Bruce decreed he had been thinking about the axel overnight and he couldn’t see us off across the Gunbarrel knowing the axle would only get worse. So that was that. Within minutes the trailer was up on blocks and I was pulling the axle out.
Still not sure if the man’s ability matched his words I was soon put at ease but not before I laid the axle, bare, into a ready made fire. Bruce just simply said ‘when she’s hot we’ll beat it straight with the back of the axe’ and that’s exactly what we did and the axle?


Well it’s straight as a dye with an additional strengthener.
I took the opportunity to upgrade the springs and although delays were experienced with transport the springs, once fitted, complemented the new axle and I was now more than confident weight in the trailer was no longer an issue.

One minor issue was a small mishap that found the trailer attempting to follow me into a pit but we worked through that and all worked out well.
Thanks to Bruce’s old bush fix-it knowledge, forging skills & simple willingness to help out we were ready to take to the track again. During the process Bruce found time to instruct Sam on fire hose handling procedure and invited me along for a couple of hours of road maintenance. The towing of a couple of sections of rail line chained together did seem a tedious way to flatten corrugations but I’m the first to admit as the first vehicle to cruise over the newly worked section of road, it was smooth sailing!

As I said in the beginning, when least expected, things happen and take you by surprise. Well the Lorna Glen experience was a surprise all round. A plan to stay possibly 2 nights ended after 9; the possibility of catching up with likeminded people for a night ended with friends parting ways after several and the trailer, well it never looked so good!



By Lou: Wow, an intended 1 night stay turned into 9! While Craig and Bruce worked on the trailer repairs, Sam and I caught up on school. In between times I enjoyed using the camp kitchen for making bread and biscuits, home treats which are a rarity these days. During the day I caught up on some blog and then handed over to Craig after he’d downed tools in the shed and he spent hours each night also updating the blog. It takes many hours to maintain (the photos are the most time consuming) but it will be a great memento of our trip at the end, and we’ve had great feedback from some of our readers so we will keep rolling the sleeves up.

Initially we were camped in the free camping section and enjoyed the company of fellow ExplorOz members Evan, Renee and Lee together with Charles and Rob.

However, once the camper had to be moved to the workshop we moved into relative luxury. The caretakers call it the bunkhouse but we called it The Lodge because Sam had his own bedroom (which means we had our own bedroom) and it was warm and had power and a full-on kitchen! It became vacant for our use because a team of conservation officers who visit regularly for the feral cat baiting program had just departed for Perth. One particular officer was very generous with his time in showing Sam a bower bird nest undergoing monitoring and lots of photos of mulgara, an endangered marsupial whose population is on the increase thanks to the work undertaken at Lorna Glen. It is also here at Lorna Glen where boodies and burrowing bettongs (aka golden bandicoots) have been translocated from Burrow Island off the coast from Broome due to the ginormous gas plant project being undertaken there.










The caretaker Bruce and his wife Kay, took pity on us and were very kind in making our extended stay comfortable. They shared fresh produce from their excellent self built hothouse and even invited us to a scrumptious homemade pizza and apple pie dinner at their place. It was nice to have their company as much as their assistance and I’ll take away fond memories of our stay there.

3 Jul 10 - Wiluna

By Craig: On our way to Wiluna we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn for the third time this trip. (Mental note: buy Sam some new shorts.)



While we stopped to take the obligatory photo, we saw our first quadruple road train.








During the road trip from Newman to Meekathara we spent a little time on the roadside waiting for huge mining equipment transports to pass.


I’d been looking forward to the ExplorOz annual gathering for some time. I’ve been a member for approximately 12 months and have enjoyed the broad range of commentary and discussion on the forum, not to mention the great deals on 4wd gear like maps and other 4wd essential items. The web site has a lot to offer for both the 4wd novice and enthusiast providing access to track information and updates.

In addition to Lou’s spiel, arriving at Wiluna Shire Office to pick up our information gift pack was a quick stop before heading out to the Gunbarrel Laager Travellers Rest to set up camp and commence the 3 days of activities.
The shire office displays several life-like charcoal sketches of local indigenous persons in addition to a larger display of local artists work held in a community room at the rear of the offices. This building is the library come Council meeting room come artist workshop.
The display of local work was spectacular and I have my eyes set on a couple of pieces of particular interest. A drop in visit is recommended to anyone passing by Wiluna.
As a part of the overall event the shire in conjunction with the local community and minning company put on a BBQ in commemoration of 100 years since the Canning Stock Route. We all enjoyed the evening and the ExplorOz group were warmly welcomed.

It’s been a long time since I needed permission to drink but that’s the deal in Wiluna, permission is given to purchase alcohol via the police and only after you’ve proven who you are and where you are going. Alcohol can then be purchased between 3pm & 6pm daily; the process although strange to the traveller when first encountered is an important part of community life and places some control over the unregulated sale of alcohol to the indigenous community.

For some time I’d been wearing a beanie in an attempt to keep my hair out of my eyes. Being just a little too hot in some regions I was taken by the versatility of the 'headsox', an initiative by the local community which was taken up by lots of the ExplorOz members. The headsox can be worn in so many ways, my chosen headsox is an aboriginal design of the Canning Stock Route and hopefully it will provide me with a cooler alternative to the beanie. I must say if nothing else, wearing it has generated many comments.


I can’t forget to mention that Wiluna is the start for both the Canning Stock Route CSR and the Gunbarrel Highway. We had an opportunity to head out briefly on the CSR to Well 1 for a survival session with Bob Cooper and while there explored the old well area.




Once the gathering has wound up we will head out on the Gunbarrel for a few nights and experience another road laid down by Len Beadell and his Gunbarrel Construction Co.

By Lou: One of the first ports of call, coming into Wiluna, was to collect mail. Although there was a characteristic red box outside the building, it only had grafitti on it and didn't appear to be currently in use. The door to the building seemed securely shut and I wasn't convinced the establishment was actually open. However, I made my way through the front door into a small foyer only to be confronted with a wall of security screen which spoke to me: 'We're closed for lunch'. It is common for businesses in regional WA towns to shut down for an hour at lunch time but given that I always arrive with 55 minutes to go, it can be frustrating. It's not like there's a lot to do to fill in time.

We had an excellent time at the ExplorOz national gathering at Wiluna, located in red dirt country, at the beginning of two 4WD enthusiasts meccas: the Canning Stock Route and Gunbarrel Highway. ExplorOz is a website business jam-packed with excellent sources of information for camping and 4WDing in remote and regional Australia. The trek notes and online forums have been a great source of help to us both preparing for and during this trip. So when we knew we were going to be in the general vicinity of WA at this time of year, we signed up to attend the 10th anniversary national gathering.

There were plenty of activities organised but it was also fine to do none of them. We enjoyed Bob Cooper’s Outback Survival course. I anticipated he’d be a gung-ho commando type but I would have to say he reminded me both physically and vocally of an older version Kyle Sunderland. It was a good reminder of all the little survival tips you’ve heard about before but forgotten, all based on common sense. For instance, it’s good to have a pack of cards to play solitaire because sure as eggs someone will walk out of nowhere to point out that you can move the 2 of Hearts. For morning tea we enjoyed sandalwood berries, quandongs and yams, though we had no hand in sourcing them.




For our navigation in the bush we have detailed maps loaded onto our laptop and then we plug in a GPS unit to show us where we are. I’ve progressed so far as loading the map and turning on the GPS and that is the extent of my knowledge. So it was useful to attend an informal tutorial by a navigation guru and I can now set waypoints, turn them into a route plan and keep a record of where we’ve been. We also expect to be able to improve the map on our blog site to make it much easier for us to quickly record where we’ve been on an electronic map of Australia.

There were lots of camp fire gatherings, story telling and general chit chat amongst around 120 like minded travellers, dispersed throughout the Gunbarrel Laager property. Although we often say we’re not really into mass gatherings, this was a healthy pit stop for the 3 of us to treat our cabin fever. It’s been a long time since we could ask each other “So how was your day?” and not already know the answer. Sam had a ball playing with kids and it was lovely to see him just being a kid. He was also quite taken by the bush poetry sessions and later in the safety of the car came up with a few ditties himself.



A totally unexpected and delightful surprise came one early evening when the owner of the property was calling out for ‘Greg and Louise with young Sam’. It turns out our travel companions from the Oodnadatta track, Errol and Val, had arrived along with their travel companions Peter and Jan. We had spoken a few days earlier and discovered we were about 300kms apart but as I had thought they were headed south, and we were headed east I didn’t think we would catch up. I definitely didn’t expect them to come to Wiluna!! So it was wonderful to have a catch up and spend some time with them around a campfire in between all our other activities.

We hope to stay in contact with a number of people as a result of meeting them at the gathering. It was nice in particular to meet David and Michelle, the founders of ExplorOz and their 2 beautiful girls. Around 12 years ago David and Michelle packed up their high flying corporate lives in Sydney and spent 2 years travelling around Australia. Whilst doing so they noticed how little information was available online to help them plan ahead (weather, shops, maps etc) and so began the idea for a one stop website which is ExplorOz. I admire what they have achieved and their story of finding something they were passionate about to be the source of their livelihoods was inspirational. The fact that they were kind enough to bring along some playmates for Sam was a bonus.