Overlander Imbil trip Nov 2011

After some concerns about the weather and possibility of rain at Levuka, the Xmas gathering was postponed. Some of us decided to meet up at One Putt's Waterhole near Imbil to have a weekend away. I left the Gold Coast about 8:30 am on Saturday and headed north via the highway stopping for morning tea/second breakfast at the Mobil servo at Wild Horse Mountain. Brett texted to say he was on his way from Brissy so we agreed to meet up in Imbil for lunch. When he arrived a little after midday we couldn't find any thing to tempt us for lunch so we headed out to Borumba Dam and found a nice shady spot, with a breeze and a view.

The hand made sandwiches were first class and the coke was chilled so we were happy. Then we drove past the camping area at the dam and a very nice looking swimming spot which we would return to. Onto the dirt road and off to the forest reserve dodging a couple of sleepy looking cattle. We got to our usual camping area and found no one there so we went for a bit of a walk to pay our respects to One Putt's waterhole. There were a few people further along the track looking like they were trying to burn all the available wood in a smokey roaring camp fire.

As it was quite warm and muggy (about 32 deg) and there was no water in the creek we headed back to the dam for swim. The water temperature was quite chilly and we took awhile to inch our way into water. Once we had got used to it, the water was very refreshing, so we ended up sitting in the shallows sipping on a bundy Dark and Stormy (why do they taste so much better when drunk outdoors ?). We were entertained by a nearby family having a water fight that escalated from splashes and cups of water to buckets dumped unexpectedly on the mum.

After we had cooled down, it was back to OP Waterhole to check if anyone else had arrived. On the way in we spotted a SWB Landie Defender which looked very like Suek from the forum, so after a quick chat they (Sue and Peter) followed Brett and I back to the camping area to set up for the evening. Back at the camping area the other group had been joined by a hilux ute which they had tried to drive up the dry creek and got stuck in the waterhole. Earlier they had told Sue and Peter that they were fine and had recovery gear. But when we arrived they came to borrow a snatch strap because their rope had broken. I lent them my snatch strap and a couple of shackles but I don't think the shackles were used in the recovery.

We set up camp and sat around the fire for awhile as we introduced ourselves and shared a couple of drinks, the Dark and Stormys were still tasting bloody good. As it started to get dark Shane rolled up from a day photographing a comp just up the road at Landcruiser Mountain Park and put his can of spaghetti and meatballs in the fire while we cooked dinner. I don't think I managed to kill off Brett with some toxic(for him) mushrooms as we cooked our steaks on the Biji Barbi. There was a bit of a breeze to cool things down a bit so we sat around the fire for quite awhile before everyone hit the sack. Not long after we went to bed it sounded like one of the couples from down the track had a blue and one of them stormed off before being followed by a car.  I think they sorted things out after awhile.

Next morning we were awakened by the throaty roar of the hogmobile. Andrew and his neighbour (Greg) had stayed at the caravan park in Imbil with their respective vans and partners. We had a coffee and sat around the fire for awhile but it was getting hot very quickly, so after Hoggy left we all packed up camp. Shane headed back to LCMP for some more photography, Sue and Peter headed in to Imbil, while Brett and I decided to head home via Kilcoy and Somerset Dam. We took the back road to the entrance to LCMP and then headed to Kilcoy, as I was trying out some new maps on my iPad we made a detour down through Monsidale and it turned out to be a pleasant drive.

After a quick morning tea in Kilcoy we headed to The Spit at Somerset dam and had a very relaxing swim and a drink. Then we headed off to Esk and then onto Brissy. The temperature soared to 36 dg near Ipswich so we just cranked up the air con and headed east. I turned off to the Logan Motorway while Brett headed into Brissy and home. The closer I got to the coast the cooler the outside temperature got, until finally at home it was a chilly 28 degs. After unpacking the car, getting all the camping gear sorted out and writing up this trip report, I went for a walk down to the beach for a quick swim to cool off.

Borumba Dam Lunch with Brett 2

 

Camping OP Waterhole

 

Day 16 and 17 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

We were up and ready to go a little after 8 am but Brett found the milk in his fridge had leaked so he needed to do a bit of a clean up first. Then it was off to Windorah to refuel. We really noticed the wind on this leg of the trip, it seemed to be coming from the north and most of the driving was north to north east. The fuel economy meter on the Paj was saying about 13.5 l/100km. After WIndorah we were heading south to south east towards Quilpie and the economy improved to around 11.5 for the Paj, Brett's V8 was also much better. It was a fairly boring drive to Quilpie with the only sights really being the occassional Emu and chicks crossing the the road. Then it was onto to Charleville in another boring drive and Brett didn't refuel as he thought he could make it to Roma OK, so we continued on.

 

However, just to be safe he refueled at Morven. It was getting late in the arvo and the roos had started coming out beside the road but they didn't give us any problems. We continued onto Roma where we arrived about 7 pm. Brett found a luxurious motel while I put the tent up, for the final time at one of the caravan parks, and after a long days drive the hot shower was wonderful. I headed to bed early so I could be up and ready to meet Brett for Brekky at Maccas at 8:30 am.

 

I was up relatively early and packed up quickly, then went and got some cash out after phoning the Bank's fraud people to temporarily unfreeze my card. I refueled the car and made it to Maccas on time. Brett had also been up early and visited the local car wash, his shiny clean Cruiser just didn't look right next to the dirty dusty Paj in the car park. We then hit the road for an easy but boring drive home, stopping in Toowomba for lunch and I got back to the coast about 3'ish in the afternoon. I unpacked the car, which took awhile and it finally sunk in that the trip was finished, although I was tempted to use the remainng firewood in the back yard to cook dinner. A nice long hot shower afterwards and then an early bed time in a very comfortable bed. The End.

Day 15 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

The generators at the pub fired up pretty early (about 6:30 am) but as it was a bit chilly outside we stayed in our nice warm sleeping bags until the sun had come up a bit and warmed the place up. We were packed and ready to go about 8:30, so we headed down to the Pub for brekkie, which consisted of a coffee and a very nice bacon and egg roll. Then it was over the actual surveyors marker for Cameron Corner where we took a few photos before hitting the road north to Omicron and Episilon as the Bore Track was currently closed. When we hit the main road to Moomba and Innamincka we took the northern part of the Bore Track instead of the fairly boring main road. This was in pretty good condition until we passed the last working bore on the track and then it was obvious no track maintenance had been done in a while. It wasn't particularly hard to drive just slow.

 

Then it was into Innamincka for Brett to refuel and we headed back along the Adventure Way stopping in at Burke's Grave for a look and some photos. Then it was north again until we turned off to see the Dig Tree where provisions had been left for Burke. Finally we drove north again through Arrabury to Haddon Corner. It was getting a bit late so we decided to camp at the corner for the evening. There was a nice shelter shed there that had a collection of wildlife using it for home, a largish rat lived in a hole under the shed, some largish ants were crawling around the table and it looked some mud swallows had made their mud nests in the ceiling. We had our last fire for the trip, cooking up some of the steak left from Marla. We sat around the fire for awhile until it got cold and we went to bed.

Day 14 - Mini-Desert rip 2011

We got up early and packed up up before the sun had hit the awnings. We went for a drive around the 4WD loop in the national park and although the 4WD'ing is not very difficult the views were amazing. We drove into Arkaroola about mid-morning so that Brett could refuel, it looks like quite a civilised place to stay for a few days and explore the tracks in the area. Then it was a fairly boring drive to get to the Strzelecki track, coming out just to the north of Mt Hopeless.

 

We then had to endure an even more boring drive along the Strzelecki Track until the turn off to Merty Merty and Cameron Corner. This road went through a lot of sand dunes and as I was starting to feel almost sea sick from the up and down motion of going over the dunes, Brett called over the radio to say how much fun he was having as he crested each of the dunes. We ended up in Cameron Corner about 5'ish, where we refueled and camped at the Pub for the evening. The hot shower was well and truely worth the $3. We had dinner and a few drinks in the Pub before heading to bed with the sound of the diesel generators lulling us to sleep.

Day 13 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

Woke up and had a leisurely pack up as it was quite warm overnight (8 deg C). Then we headed south through William Creek and onto Maree where we refueled and had a bite to eat. Then we headed further south to Leigh Creek where we refueled, Brett picked up a spare 20 l fuel container as we weren't sure where we would fuel up next. Then we back tracked a bit to Copely where we took the road to the Gammon Ranges National Park. The road was in good condition but very dusty and Brett had to drop back a few kms to dodge the dust stirred up by the Paj.

 

We found a nice camp site at Weetootla Gorge and as we were setting up camp we had a bit of a laugh at how Caravanners seem to need to crowd in around each other while we try and get as far away from other campers as possible. We got the camp fire going and produced probably the best meal of the trip, cooking steak and onions over the fire before slicing them up and adding some packet Thai green curry and canned tomatoes and heating up some rice. It then got quite cold very quickly, so it was early to bed as a couple of native mice were scurrying around the camp site.

Day 12 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

Packed up and headed off relatively to Stuarts Well, where refueled the cars and us (they make a great bacon and egg sandwich). We left here about 10'ish and had a boring run down the highway to Marla, where we refueled. We also picked up some steak and other supplies before heading off on the Oodnadatta track. Got to Oodnadatta and Brett refueled and then headed south to find a camp site on the North River (about 30 kms away). We eventually found a great spot in the river bed under the old Ghan railway bridge. We set up camp and cooked the steak over the camp fire for an excellent meal.

Day 11 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

We slept in a bit as it was pretty chilly overnight and some cloud cover kept the sun off us. Eventually we packed up and drove to the lookout for a pleasant walk and some photo taking. Then we continued the drive out of Palm Valley to Hermannsburg where Brett refuled and we had a bite to eat. Then we hit the road to Alice Springs before turning off to the Owen Springs reserve. This wasn't as secenic a drive as the previous couple of days but we stopped for some photos at the ruined homestead.

 

The road was pretty good and the small sections through the river bed were easy. We stopped early for the evening (about 3 pm) and set up camp at Red Bank Waterhole. I collected some fire wood and had a lazy afternoon catching up on some blog posts. We sat around the fire for awhile before heading to bed early.

Day 10 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

It had been very cold overnight and froze some water we had left out. As we hade been sitting around the fire we spotted a dingo prowling around but not really taking any notice of us. In the torch light they have green reflective eyes. We slept in a bit and cooked a leisurely breakfast before heading north along the track. We crossed the river a few times but none of them were very deep. The track more often than not ran down the centre of the dry river and there were stoney patches as well as some soft sandy patches.

 

We got to the Boggy Hole camp ground and then went in search of the ruins of the old police station. This time we were luckier finding a track across the river and then walking when the sign said not to drive any further. We took some photos and headed back to the cars and ended up having a bit of lunch, before heading north along the track and out of the park, ending up at Hermannsburg. This is a great track to drive with lots of stunning scenery and fun driving, there are also quite a few very pleasant camp sites along the way.

 

We then drove onto Palm Valley about 20 kms the other side of Hermannsburg, when we arrived we found a nice camp site and Brett noticed that his rear suspension was sagging a bit, but there didn't seem to be anything noticably wrong with it. We set up camp and then took my car out for a drive to the walking tracks further in Palm Valley. The road was very rough and we ended up driving over quite a lot of large rock shelves. As I parked in the car park I hit a hidden rock with the new bull bar and tilted it down a bit. We went for a walk around the Palms and took some photos before heading back to camp. We had a look at the bull bar which was still very firmly attached, just tilted down, and tightened up all the bolts and adjusted the spotties up wards. Then we had a tepid shower with the remains of the hot water from the solar system  on top of the shower block. Then a quick dinner before going to bed early as it got bloody chilly quickly.

Day 9 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

We packed up and left fairly early, heading back to the Stuart Highway where we turned south and Brett refueled at Stuarts Well again. We also had a spot of morning tea before heading further south, turning off the highway at Henbury onto the Ernest Giles road and stopped to have a look at the Henbury Meteorite craters. Then it was further west until the turnoff for the Finke Gorge to the north. Along the way we went in search of some old ruins at Illamurta Springs and failed dismally.

 

We continued onto Running Waters, just outside the Finke Gorge National Park where we crossed the river at a very tricky crossing as the rock ledges were pretty high, but we made it over with no real problems. Just over the crossing we found a great camping spot just beside the river with a great view of a large red cliff and some fresh water. We set up camp early and went for a walk along the creek followed by a very short swim as the water was very chilly. I then collected a fair bit of firewood ready for the evening fire. Brett went for a long walk to the other side of the creek while I lazed around camp. The fire was very welcome that evening as it got quite chilly. The view of the cliff was fairly spectacular as the sunset.

Day 8 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011.

We slept in a bit before having a cooked brekky. Then it was a walk around Chambers Pillar to take in the views and some photos. We packed up slowly and headed back to the old Ghan route whree we headed north for awhile before turning off onto the Hugh River Stock route. We stopped for lunch and some photos in the bed of the Hugh River where the new Ghan train line passes through. We continued onto the Stuart Highway turning north to go to Rainbow Valley. We stopped and refueled at Stuarts Well along the way.

 

We got to Rainbow Vally and found a good camping spot and set up camp before heading off for a walk to look at the cliffs, but there was not a lot else to see. While waiting for sunset to take some photos I repacked the car and everything was sitting much better. We went and set up the cameras and tripods for sunset and spent 45 min or so taking photos as the sun slowly went down. When we got back to camp some very inconsiderate people had set up camp right next to us and were using our fire ring. We were very pissed off. We listened to some of the Broncos versus Storm NRL game at a fairly loud volume and we got rid of them fairly early. We ended up going to bed fairly early but the whole camp site was pretty noisy.

Day 7 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

We got up with the sun because of some noisy birds near camp. We packed and left early heading north to Hamilton Station where we turned right for Dalhousie Ruins and Springs. This stretch of road was the worst so far, very bumpy and rough. We stopped at Dalhousie ruins and took some photos before heading to the Springs. The water at the springs was warm and relaxing (about 40 deg C). In the springs were thousands of little fish all headbutting on your skin giving a pleasant all over massage. After some lunch we headed to Mt Dare where Brett refueled.

 

Then we headed onto Finke where Brett also refueled and we headed north along the Old Ghan train route. The road was in excellent condition except for the random occurrance of rail spikes left over from the rail track. Along side the main road ran the much rougher route the Finke desert racers use. We made excellent time and turned off for Chambers Pillar. After a lap of the crowded camp ground we went back about 1 km to some new camp sites that were just about ready and set up there for the night. Another dinner was cooked over the fire and we went to bed fairly early.

In Hermannsburg

Stopping momentarily in Hermannsburg after a few days in the Finke Gorge and Palm Valley national parks. The views as we drove along the river and in the river were spectacular. Working our way slowly towards home via Owen Springs Consvervation Park, the Painted Desert, Strzelecki track, Cameron's Corner, Innamincka, Hadon Corner adn a few other places we haven't decided on yet.

Day 6 -Mini-Desert Trip

Got up very early so that we could get to the Maree airport at dawn. Between Brett setting his clocks to SA time and me keeping Qld time but doing date and time relativity calculations we managed to set the alarms properly. Brett and I ended up in a VHF DN with four other passengers and the pilot. After takeoff we flew up the Birdsville track and over the Clayton wetlands where we had camped a couple of nights previously. Then on to the Cooper Creek ferry crossing and from there we followed the Cooper Creek until it flowed into Lake Eyre and then we flew south over Lake Eyre back to Maree. Just over 2 hours of flying time and the views were wonderful. I'm hoping the photos turned out OK.

 

Then we had morning tea in Maree while Brett refueled and we headed north on the Oodnadatta track where we stopped at a couple of old railway sidings and ruins for photos and a quick stop for a few photos at Plane Henge near Alberrie Creek. Then we had a look at some Mound Springs at Wabma Kadarbu Conservation Park, amazing sights as water bubbles out of the ground and supports some very green plant life. We stopped for lunch at what would have been an excellent camp site about 20 kms south of William Creek on the banks of Warriner Creek. Brett didn't refuel at William Creek.

 

Then onto Oodnadatta where we both refuled and continued onto to find a camp site about 30 kms north along the banks of the Alberga River. Very quiet and someone had even left us some firewood and it was not too chilly overnight.

Day 5 - Mini-Desert Trip

As it was a little chilly we slept in a bit and packed up slowly to let the dew dry off the car awnings. We left about 9'ish to head into Maree. When we went to refuel, I found my credit card would no longer work (neither eftpos nor credit) so something was very wrong, luckily I had enough cash to cover the fuel. There is no mobile phone reception (telstra or optus), so no internet and the public pay phone was playing up and wouldn't accept coins and the post office was out of phone cards. Long frustrating story cut short, a dodgy charge was lodged against my credit card (72 cents from a company I had never heard of) so the bank blocked it, they need to issue a new card which I can't do until I get home as I have to pick it up from a NAB branch. They gave me a phone number to call and I can get the card temporarily unblocked (10 mins) to get cash out of an ATM. So I hurry from the phone to the ATM in the pub only to find it out of order, but luckily I could get cash across the counter of the pub, so I have enough cash to pay for fuel for awhile and will have to repeat this in a few days.

 

While this saga was being sorted out we went for a drive out to Lake Eyre, Level Post Bay (about 100 kms there). You could see water in the distance and the occassional mirage which made it look like there was more water than there really was. The road out was pretty good except for corrugations on the last 15 km or so. Also, along this road there is a really nice camping place, Muloorina, which was located around a water hole with quite a bit of birdlife. Then it was back into town, where we organised a flight out over Cooper Creek and Lake Eyre but it left as the sun rose in the morning, so we decided to get a cabin at the caravan park as it would be easier to get going and get to the flight. The thought of a cheap curry at the caravan park didn't tempt us so we set up Brett's grill and cooked some magnificent steaks for dinner. Then after cleaning up we headed for a shower and an early night. I am hoping I set my alarm correctly as Maree is running on South Australian time and I have left my clocks on Queensland time and corrected for the half hour difference.

Day 4 - Mini-Desert Trip

We were up and gone from the Pub by 8'ish and headed off to the bakery for brekky. Then a refuel and we left for a drive to Big Red. We had to take a detour along the South Australian/Queensland Border fence because of water across the normal track. The were half a dozen or so dunes along the way to give me a little taste of what it is like to drive the Simpson Desert. There were a couple of people on top of Big Red and we drove up using the easy track to save having to let air out of the tyres and then pump them back up. We spent some time taking photos before we headed back to Birdsville, Brett took the steep track down the side of the dune while I took the more sedate track we had used to get up.

 

Back at Birdsville, Brett fueled up again and we headed off to Cooper Creek. The road was in very good condition and cruising on the speed limit was quite easy. We got to the Mungerannie Pub and Brett fueled up again while we had a quick rest stop. Then off to the Cooper Creek ferry via the diversion road. We got there about 3:30'ish and with 5 or 6 cars ahead of us we didn't get across until about 5 pm. The ferry has one bung motor so it was running at half speed. Then it was about 100 km drive to where we wanted to camp the night at Calyton Wetlands. We arrived just as the sun set and got camp set up - our first time for  the trip.

 

There were quite a few cute little native mice around and we had to keep the cars and the tents shut up so they didn't climb in looking for food. After a quick dinner we got the camp fire going and chatted for awhile until it got too chilly. Then it was time to crawl into a nice warm sleeping bag.

Day 3 - 2011 Mini-Desert Trip

Had another good evenings sleep before heading off to the Windorah
Information Centre to get the road info. The road to Birdsville was
still closed but a report would be made at about noon. So we headed off
for a bite of brekky and then headed back out to Cooper Creek to kill a
few hours relaxing by the creek watching the birdlife. When we got back
into town the news was good, the road to Birdsville had been opened to
4WD traffic, so we set off straight away.

The first 100 km of bitumen was fine and then we came to the dirt road.
It was wet and a bit slippery so we adjusted our tyre pressures down and
found that driving on the shoulder of the road was the best, rather than
the centre of the road which was a getting cut up. The soggy road was
only a problem for about 30 to 40 kms and then it pretty much dried out.
After that it was a pretty good cruising surface and we were able to
make good time. We had a stop at Deon's Lookout to stretch and have a
drink before continuing on to Birdsville. We arrived there around 5 pm
and checked into the Birdsville Pub for the night. We had the roast
dinner at the Pub before getting an early night so we can head off
reasonably early in the morning.

Day 2 - 2011 Mini-Desert trip

After a great nights sleep in the cabins and a positive sounding weather
forecast for Birdsville we decided to head off to WIndorah and to stay
there the night, hoping the Birdsville road would be open the following
day. We slept in until 8'ish and after packing we headed into town for
brekky at the bakery. Then off to Windorah at about 9:15 am. It was a
pretty uneventful trip, although for some reason the Paj was drinking
diesel not as frugally as it should. Along the way we saw Kangaroos,
Emus and chicks, and pigs and piglets.

We stopped at Cooper Creek Bridge for a look, there was tons of water
and heaps of birdlife, so we took a few photos. The ground was very
clayie and we built up a considerable amount of mud on our tyres and
shoes. Then it was into town where we initially had some good news at
the information centre that the road to Birdsville was open to 4WD's
which is what we were driving, so we were happy. But it turns out the
this road crosses two Shire Councils and the one at the Birdsville end
said it was OK but the one at the Windorah end said it was closed. SO,
we have to wait until the morning to see if it opens. Apparently a lot
of people have come through from the Birdsville side and although they
looked muddy they had no problems.

After, a burger at the pub for lunch we headed out to the west for a bit
of a drive and took some photos of the dunes. We came back to Windorah
and refueled and headed back to drive along the Nature track which would
take us back to Cooper Creek. Along the way we found a perfect camp
site, which will be involved in our Plan B if the road to Birdsville
doesn't open in the morning. Then it was back to the cabins for a relax
and shower before dinner.

Day 1 - 2011 mini-desert trip.

Got up at 4 am, showered and put the last of the freezer stuff in the
car and left just before 4:30 am. Refueled at Mudgeeraba and then went
on to meet Brett at the BP at Blacksoil ,just west of Brissy. Left there
just after 6 am and headed west through Toowoomba and onto Roma where we
arrived just after 11 am. Refueled the cars and drivers and headed more
west. Got to Charleville about 2:30 pm and Brett refueled the mighty V8
before we headed off to Quilpie. We got to Quilpie before 5 pm and
refueled and went to get accommodation.

Before Charleville it had been overcast with the occasional shower after
Charleville it pretty much rained all the way to Quilpie. Where it is
still raining. We wimped out and booked cabins for the night as it was
wet and cold. According to the caravan park managers the road to
Birdsville is closed after WIndorah, so it looks like we may have to
head south to Cameron's Corner and across that way as it is still open.
We will do a bit of research and have dinner at the bowls club a bit later.

The NextG WiFI-30 is working well, which is good because there is no
Optus 3G signal here for my phone. The cars behaved very well and I
clocked up over 1000 km driving in just over 12 hrs, so I think it is
time for a shower and a relax before dinner.

Early lunch in Roma

Refuelling the cars and drivers at Roma. Good run so far. Off to Charleville this arvo.

Test with picture

Testing posting with Thunderbird from the Netbook.

Packing

Just some of the stuff I need to pack for the upcoming trip. The roof box is on the car with some the stuff I hope I won't need to use (like a second spare tyre).

After bulbar and spotties

Before bulbar and spotties

testing an image posting

Checking to see if the attached image ends up posted to my blog.

Testing RSS feed from my Blog to Facebook.

Just testing to see how the Facebook App "RSS Graffiti" handles getting new posts from my blog (http://jcdmusing.blogspot.com/). Hopefully this will allow me to email updates to my blog while I am travelling and they will be automatically shared on my facebook wall.

 

Easter 4WD tour 2011 - Day 1 to Day 3.

Day 1 - Friday 22/4/11
Left home about 5:40 am and drove to the BP at Blacksoil to meet up with the others. Got there early and had coffee and breakfast. The others got there a bit after 7:15 am but Greg and Debbie couldn't get a park so they headed onto Dalby. We left 15 mins later and caught up with them at Macca's in Dalby. After morning tea we headed off to Roma. Kemsley shredded a tyre on his camper trailer on the way and we stopped while he changed it. Continued onto Roma where we fueled up and had some take away in the loacal park. You could see where the recent floods had got to but most of the water was gone. It was then onto Injune for a quick stop and finally onto the Lonesome camp site where we arrived about 4'ish and set up the tents and camper trailers. We had a shared meal in the evening to minmise cooking and after a few drinks and a chat headed to bed.

Day 2 - Saturday 23/4/11
The bloody Kookaburras were up early and making quite a deal of noise. We continued to lie in bed for awhile until breakfast called. At about 10'ish we went for a drive through the back section of the Lonesome National Park. The road was not in wonderful condition and a few washouts meant we had to detour off the track to get around them. On one of these Greg needed a snatch from Kemsley to over a rough patch. I had been to this section last year but only got to the water tank. This time we went a bit further and then the drama started. I was the fourth and last car in the convoy and I ended up going through the surface of the track and becoming completely stuck - no traction and basically bellied out. This started a long and complicated series of snatch recoveries in which at one stage everyone got bogged at least once. Thankfully we always had at last one car free and after a few hours we managed to escape the boggy conditions and get back to camp. We had a belated lunch and I headed off to the Dawson river crossing down the road from the camp to wash the mud off my MaxTrax which we had used during the recoveries. Then it was a drive up to the lookout as the sun was setting, before heading back to camp, having dinner and a relatively early bedtime after the dramas of the day.

Day 3 - Sunday 24/4/11
The Kookaburras were not as noisy but still annoying. We had breaky and then headed off to look at another section of Lonesome which was a gorge on the Dawson river. We had a close call again when Kemsley broke through the track and I had to snatch him backwards. We then had a fairly hair raising drive back as the track was deteriorating quickly. We then went into Injune for a quick fuel up, and some lunch and used the Parthenium weed wash to get rid of the mud off the tyres so they were balanced again. Then it was off to look at the Beillba section of the National Park where we had a nice river crossing and a drive out to the an old homestead. Then it was home for afternoon tea and a chat, dinner and a few drinks.

Easter 4WD tour 2011 - Day 4 to Day 7.

Day 4 - Monday 25/4/11
We got up and had a leisurely breakfast before packing up camp and leaving around 9:30 to 10:00 am. It was then on the road north to Lake Nuga Nuga for a look. The road into the lake had been badly damaged by an enormous land slide, luckily it had been repaired sufficiently to continue driving. When we got to where the camp site should be there was a metre or so of water lapping against the camping sign. We had thought we may stay the night but not now. Back to the road and we headed for Rolleston for lunch but it was mostly shut so after a quick toilet stop we headed off to Springsure. The road was pretty good and we made good time. About the only thing open was the BP service station so we fuelled up and had lunch. They make the best burgers I had tasted in awhile. It was then off to Salvatora Rosa and for awhile the road was good but then it became a gravel road with a few bumps. Once we turned off the main road to the national park it became worse but it just meant we had to go a bit slower. We got to the camp site a bit after 5'ish and set up camp and cooked dinner. We then set up the first camp fire of the trip and sat around with a few drinks and chatted about where to go next day. Off to bed between 9 and 10 pm.

Day 5 - Tuesday 26/4/11.
After a lazy breakfast and a chat we decided to head off on the 4WD track into the park. The family in a Patrol said the track was a bit sloppy but they had no problems, so we headed off over the river with Kemsley in the lead. We found the boggy patch pretty quickly and I had to snatch him backwards twice before he found the right line through the bog. We had three snatch straps joined so I didn't sink into the bog. Then after we reduced tyre pressure to about 24 the rest of us got through the bog OK but the cars were filthy. There were a few other smaller bogs but nothing that gave us any problems. We stopped and had a look at several of the signed points of interest including Spyglass lookout, Louisa springs, Major Mitchell walk ?. We then headed back to camp for a late lunch and a lazy afternoon. The creek wasn't deep but it had a nice clean sandy bottom so I had a swim to wash off some of the mud. Then we soaked and cleaned the snatch straps in the creek to get of the mud. Another fire was lit and a few drinks had after dinner.

Day 6 - Wednesday 27/4/11
We packed up and got ready to leave by 10 am and headed out of Salvatora Rosa towards Ka Ka Mundi via the back road. The dirt road wasn't too flash so the trip was slowish. When we got to the park boundary it got even worse. The sign said the road was not maintained and it certainly wasn't, with many trees down across the road which led to some severe off track excursions to get around them. When we got to the camp site we found the Patrol family having lunch, so we set up camp and had some lunch as well. They went down for a walk to the Spring/creek while we were doing this. We then had a spot of afternoon tea and looked around the camp area and had a very lazy afternoon. Another camp fire in the evening after dinner but everyone was pretty tired and we were in bed by around nine'ish.

Day 7 - Thursday 28/4/11
We slept in a bit had breakfast and then headed off for a walk to the Creek and to look for Aboriginal art about 11'ish. We ended up walking along the creek for a bit but it was hard work getting through the undergrowth so we climbed up the south side of the creek to the ridge for a look. Lisa spotted some red paint on the other side of the creek so we made our way across there and found quite a good site under a rock outcrop facing south. We had a rest and took some photos before going to look for some more art. We found a small site that looked like kids had done it as the hands were quite small. Then we were going to return home to camp by going up and over the hill behind the camp site as we thought this would be easier than tracking back along the creek. It probably wasn't but we got to see some more countryside and Josh and Debbie both survived a couple of small falls. I got back to the camp and took a few preventative ibuprofins to help the knees settle down. After lunch we had a lazy afternoon, I finished reading my book on the iPod Touch. Greg, Lisa and Kemsley went and did a bit of track clearing to make the drive out easier. Once again we had a fire and used up the last of the Bunnings fire wood. A plan was made to have an early start, head to Springsure to shop and have another burger at the BP and then head onto Takarakka at Carnarvon Gorge if we can get in. Once again we were in bed by about 9:30pm.

Easter 4WD tour 2011 - Day 8 to Day 11.

Day 8 - Friday 29/4/11
We packed up early to head off for Springsure. The track out was much better after the track clearing exercise the previous afternoon. However, Greg still managed to tear off his trailer plug so he had no trailer lights or trailer brakes. Kemsley was having problems with his Paj as it was surging and then stalling. This made the trip into Springsure pretty slow as he couldn't get over 60 Km/hr and needed frequent stops. He tried everything possible including draining the the fuel filter to look for water in the diesel. We eventually got to Springsure about 2'ish in the afternoon. He rang Mitsubishi and they ended up organising to get his car to the dealer in Emerald the following morning, so he and Lisa were going to stay in Springsure for the night, then leave the camper trailer in Springsure, go to Emerald with the car and try and get a flight back to Brisbane from the airport. At this time Debbie had rung Takarakka and they had spaces available, so after another great BP burger we did some quick shopping and headed off to Carnarvon Gorge. The road was pretty good and we made it there just after 5pm. We checked in for two nights then got set up and had dinner. The showers were a bit random as I ended up with a cool shower while the others had a hot shower. We sat around for a few drinks and made plans for a walk the following day. To bed a bit after 10pm.

Day 9 - Saturday 30/4/11
We had a pretty lazy wake up and breakfast before heading off to the gorge for a walk about 10:30 am. I made a few sandwiches and packed some water and apples. We ended up walking up to The Amphitheatre and then to Ward's Canyon for lunch. We then started the walk back and dropped into the Moss Garden for a look and some photos. The last 3 or 4 kms back to the car park were pretty slow and my knees were acting up a bit. We ended up back at Takarakka about 5'ish and had an ice cream before having a shower (hot this time). We sat around for a drink or two before cooking dinner (steak from Springsure - pretty nice). Then a few more drinks after dinner as we planned the trip home the following morning, trying to stagger the starting times so we don't have to wait around in Springsure for the high pressure water cleaner. Then probably Roma for a fuel up and coffee before a long drive home.

Day 10 - Sunday 1/5/11
We were packing up and leaving for home this morning. Greg and Debbie headed off about 8 am while Josh and I had a more leisurely pack up before leaving around 8:30 am. We caught up with the Brownes in Injune at the Parthenium weed wash where they had given their car a good wash. They then headed off to Roma while Josh and I gave our cars a more cursory wash before also heading off to Roma. We met up at Roma for a fuel up and coffee at Maccas and then headed off to Miles (from memory) where we had lunch at the servo. Then it was a relatively uneventful cruise back towards home. Greg and Debbie stopped for fuel in Toowoomba (they definitely need an auxiliary fuel tank). Josh and I said our goodbyes over the radio and continued on. We parted at the exit to the Logan Motorway and it really felt that the holiday was over. I got home at about 6:30 pm and then spent half an hour unpacking the car and setting the tent up in the garage to air. Then it was a hot shower some quick dinner and a relatively early night in bed.

Day 11 - Monday 2/5/11
Slept in and then had a nice hot shower before heading off to the shops at Robina only to find that they were closed for Labour Day. Bummer. After lunch I spent a few hours cleaning some dried mud off the underside of the car before giving it a wash and clean.