Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 17

It rained a bit overnight but the car awning kept me nice and dry. I packed up the swag and stretcher  and headed off, stopping briefly at the Gin Gin Bakery for breakfast. 

Then it was off to Hervey Bay to pick up Blute from Dave's shed and swop the trailer over. Once that was done I headed south stopping for a quick lunch at the servo at Gunalda. 

The driving got easier south of Gympie on the double lane road. I finally dropped the trailer off at Landsborough and then headed off to mum and dad's place at Caloundra for the evening. Tomorrow I'll head home, another trip over. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 16

Didn't sleep real well last night because of the road noise and a horde of mozzies descending on me at about midnight. Got out of bed around 6'ish showered, packed up and headed into Proserpine to have breakfast at the bakery. 

Then it was back on the road south, not really a lot of traffic to hold me up just the occasional roadworks. Pulled off the highway to the little town of Marlborough and had a nice burger for lunch in the general store. Then more driving south with the occasional stops for fuel and toilet breaks. Finally got into Gin Gin around 5 pm, refuelled and headed up to the Showgrounds to camp for the evening. Lucky me, it had just started raining. 😞. I pulled up close to a building and put the awning up. 

The rain stopped after awhile and hopefully won't come back. I did a general cleanup of the car and canopy ready to swap it over for Blute tomorrow. Had a sandwich for dinner then went bed early. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 15

Had a bit of a sleep in as the servo didn't open until 7:30 am. It got a little chilly overnight, about 17 deg C, luckily I was nice and warm in the swag. I could watch the Wallabies eating the early morning grass from the comfort of my swag. 

Packed everything up and drove over to refuel, also got an iced coffee and toasted ham and cheese sandwich for brekky. Set out for Mareeba and had a nice drive. Got there around 9:30 am, refueled and went in search of the car trailer. Nobody home so I hooked it up and drove off. I hope the neighbours didn't think I was stealing it. It's relatively easy to tow but wide, so I had to be careful not to cut any corners. 

Then it was out through Atherton and down to the Bruce Highway at Innisfail and then south towards Townsville. It was a pretty easy drive with not too much traffic. The trailer was light enough to not impact the Dmax but it had enough weight that it wasn't bouncing all over the place. I stopped to refuel and have a late lunch just north of Townsville and then continued on south. 

The road was in good condition and I could cruise quite happily along at 100 kph. After Bowen I was starting to get a bit weary so I found a caravan park just north of Proserpine and set up camp for the night. Very nice spot but still close to the road and a bit noisy. I'm sure I'll sleep through it all. I'm the only person in the unpowered section so I have a table and chairs and shelter shed all to myself. So I set the swag up under the shelter shed to keep the dew off. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 14

I was up around 6'ish and started packing up. I hadn't heard much about having to tow the empty car trailer do I continued packing up as normal. The others wouldn't be ready to leave for many hours. Left a bit after seven and drove into Bamaga where I refuelled. Then headed off to the Jardine river ferry, crossed across with no problems and continued on. The section of the PDR we didn't drive earlier, from the Gunshot bypass road to the twin falls turn off turned out to be the worst section I encountered anywhere. Stopped in at Bramwell roadhouse for morning tea and to check if our missing spotlight had turned up (no luck there). Continued on after a quick break. The road keeps getting better the further south I go. Stopped in at Archer River roadhouse for fuel and lunch. Then simply continued driving until just before sunset, I pulled into Lakeland and checked into the caravan park. Cheap $10 for an unpowered site for one person. Setup the swag and went for a nice relaxing shower, had a bite to eat and I was ready got an early evening in bed. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 13

Had a relatively late time getting out of bed. Cooked up some bacon and eggs for the crew. Then did some packing and work on the car before dropping Dave into Bamaga airport so he can start the long trek back to Brisbane. In the meantime they unpacked the boat off the camper trailer  and went out to do some fishing while the rest of the crew went to shoot some background footage. 

They all arrived back around lunchtime so I set up for ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches. After lunch it was time for a swim in the pool and then while I stayed at camp getting the car packed up for trip home, and having a snooze, the crew took the cheap cars for a run through a back track to the tip. On the way home they broke one of the cars when the rear diff shat itself. They took off the tail shaft and drove it back to camp as a front wheel drive. 

We went for pizza for dinner at the "Corrugation Bar" and it was pretty spectacular. While having a drink there it turns out that one of the guys from Sydney bought along some fireworks so the owners are allowing him to set them up on the beach. Should be a spectacular show. It was pretty great having fireworks on the beach.

 We all went to bed not too long after. Then the producer mentioned I might be towing one of the empty car trailers back from Mareeba. He still has to work it out with Dave yet. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 12

We were up relatively early and had cereal for brekky. Then the guys had to get the car that was being towed going. That took awhile, so we packed up camp and the cars and were finally ready to head off a bit after 9 am. As always things take a lot longer than usual and we didn't get out to the PDR until nearly 11 am. One of the cars had fuel problems and is running very roughly. We continued north to the Jardine River Ferry and waited for everyone to catch up. Then it was across the ferry, all the cheap cars then had to wait while one of the support cars to dash into Bamaga to get ULP as there was none available at the ferry. After helping change a tyre on the camper trailer, Dave and I went ahead to restock with food in Bamaga. We eventually met up with the others and had lunch at one of the WW2 plane wrecks. 

Then we went to the Croc Tent for a look before continuing onto our camp for the evening at Punsand Bay. 

Due to a mix up with dinner plans Dave and I had to do a run back into Bamaga to pick up some bbq meat that would be cooked on a sponsors product. 

We met up with the others in the car park at the Tip and then walked out around the beach as it was low tide. We got photos and filming done as the sun set and then walked back to the cars and drove back to camp. 

For dinner they had to find the instructions on how to put the bbq together and then the fire lighting skills of the presenters were put to the test and they failed until a little petrol was added to the mix. Once the fire was going well, a mountain of meat was cooked and eaten. Afterwards we sat around the fire chatting until everyone headed off to bed. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 11

We were up at 6 am as we were supposed to be doing some filming and swimming at 7 am but that didn't happen so after a cereal breakfast we packed up and finally went for swim a bit after 8 am. While the others were swimming and filming at Elliot Falls I wandered around to Twin Falls and had a nice quiet little swim. 

While waiting for the others to come back from their swim we transferred lunch stuff across to their fridge as we would be missing some of the OTL so we didn't have to cross Nolan's Brook and could operate as a recovery car on the north side. 

After watching them cross the first creek after the falls we headed back to the PDR and cruised up to the turnoff that would come out just after Nolan's Brook and turned down that. 

Along the PDR we did hear them briefly on the radio but couldn't work out what they were saying. 

We drove down the OTL to the north side of Nolan's Brook and parked in the shade. There had been a reported croc sighting in the area so unfortunately a swim wasn't an option. After a bite to eat for lunch I set up my stretcher and had an afternoon snooze waiting for them to appear. We started getting worried that they hadn't showed up around 5 pm. 

They eventually appeared just as the sun was going down with one of the cars being towed after it had trouble swimming across one of the rivers. Nolan's Brook was actually easier than had been anticipated so they set up lights and filmed the crossing after dark. Everything went well so once all the cars were on the north side Dave and I started cooking dinner. As they had had a tough day and we could resupply in Bamaga we cooked up what we had left in the fridge. Lamb Chops on the Weber, mashed spud, bolognaise and pasta sauce a meal fit for kings. We also had to drink the last of our alcohol as once across the Jardine river it was a dry zone. After sitting around chatting for awhile we went off to bed for a good nights sleep. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 10

Had a bit of a sleep in as we weren't supposed to leave until 9 am. Did a slow pack up and cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast. Lots of car mechanics needed to be done so still waiting to leave at 10 am. Finally left about 10:30 heading north, there was a twisty, winding section where everyone took a different track roughly heading in the right direction but no one got lost. Then it was Cockatoo Creek which while not hard took some time to film. 

Dave and I went on ahead to Fruitbat Falls to set up lunch while the others continued on slowly. 

After some sandwiches for lunch we went for a great swim. The falls are just as spectacular as I remember them and we soaked in the water for awhile after they had finished filming. 

Finally we started heading north with the last obstacle for the day being Scrubby Creek, a fairly long but deepish crossing. The water was over bonnet height, however there is now an easy chicken track which takes out the chance of stuffing your engine. 

Dave and I continued onto Twin Falls to find a suitable camp site which was pretty easy as the place was mostly empty. While we cooked up a roast for dinner the others wandered down for a swim and some filming. After a magnificent roast dinner we sat around the camp fire for awhile before heading off to bed. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 9

Up relatively early, packed up and had a cereal breakfast. Headed off to refuel at around 8 am and a bit of filming happened. Dave and I inherited the red camper trailer as they didn't want to tow it down the Telegraph Track. We are going to take the Gunshot bypass and meet them there for lunch. We went down to Palm Creek to watch the cars get through there. It is quite different to when I went through 9 or so years ago, the entrance is much steeper, there was no water and the exits were much more cut up. 

The entrance was dealt with quickly and efficiently and then the cars had to work out which was the best way out. The left track which was very steep with deep holes and off camber slopes or apparently easier looking one that was still steep with rutted out holes and loads of bull dust. They ended up choosing the easier looking one and two got up, one very easily, with the third having to winch itself up. The two support vehicles chose a different path each but both still required winching. I was able to watch all this from the comfort of my chair set up in a nice shady spot. 

Dave and I headed back to the main PDR and stopped in at the roadhouse for awhile and then headed north. We turned off onto the Gunshot Bypass road and followed that past the Rangers station and down onto the Telegraph track. We back tracked to Gunshot Creek and found a shady place to park while we walked down to look at the crossing. Once again it had changed drastically in the nine years since I had been there with lots of new entrances and exits having been created. 

Then Dave noticed that he was missing a spotty and the other one was very loose. A photo we took earlier at the roadhouse showed both spotys still attached.  

After tightening up the loose one and checking over the car, another car came in from the north. It was a Patrol from the NT and they had come to play around at the crossing. While talking to them they remembered seeing a spotty on the road so Dave unhitched the trailer and headed back to look. 

I then had a relaxing time sitting in a chair in the creek waiting for everyone to arrive and Dave and the other cars all arrived back a bit after fiveish. It took them awhile to get organised to film and the light was disappearing so that got the first car down the very steep entrance by winching it down. The winch block shattered just as the car got down and it couldn't drive out as the angle was too steep, so they had to bring another car around to get it out. They eventually got the other cars down the easier slopes but it was well and truely dark by then. We set up the Weber car in the creek to bbq some sausages so dinner was had. 

We sat around in the creek for awhile chatting before everyone headed off to bed for the evening. Most camped down near the water but Dave and I drove back up to the camping area and setup for the evening and it was very pleasant under the trees. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 8

Up at around sixish, cooked bacon and eggs for the crew for brekkie. Packed everything up and we were ready to start filming at 8 am. The three cheap cars all successfully negotiated the obstacle in the road after a lot of consultation and a bit of track building although the camper trailer took a bit of a bashing. The three service cars then pursued a different path which after a bit of bush bashing allowed them to make a fairly steep but safe entry into the creek and out again. Then it was onto the Wenlock River where the hard part was not the river crossing but the climb up out of the river to east. 

While they were shooting video of this Dave and I cooked up some nachos for lunch. The eating happened in the river as it was so bloody hot. 

There was no way out without winching so all the cars either self-winched out or were winched out by another car. 

On the short run out to the PDR one of the cars developed a problem and had to be towed out to the main road. 

We then turned north heading towards Bramwell Junction Roadhouse. We regrouped at Moreton Telegraph Station and Dave and I continued on while the others did some filming. The PDR to Bramwell Junction was in very good condition and we made good time. As we were waiting for the others we had to have ice creams to celebrate the return to civilisation. No phone signal however. 

They eventually rolled in at about 6:30 pm and we set up camp had showers, refilled water bottles and tanks. Then Dave and I cooked up a stew and rice for the crew. We sat around chatting for awhile before heading off to bed. Sometime during the night a wild pig we had seen earlier had got into the rubbish bins. It got chased off several times through the night. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 7

We were up and going relatively early from camp, heading east towards the Frenchman's Track start. Things always take a lot longer when they need to be filmed. We turned onto the track and there weren't to many worries. Along the way we let a local car through as they were heading off camping. When we got to the Pascoe River and it's crossing we found that car hung up on its diff with no traction to the rear wheels. A quick winch backwards and a different line saw him through with no more worries. We set up for a quick lunch before stating the crossing. Luckily there was no more traffic as it took quite a few more hours to film the cheap cars getting through. 

Once all the support cars were through we stopped for a rest and a swim before heading off. More filming for a steep rough bit of road, then it was decided that Dave and I could forge ahead to the Wenlock River and look for a camp site. Here we hit a few snags. The first being a longish water traverse with the first 20 metres (east to west) being pretty soft. I almost lost a croc, sinking to the bottom when I walked across to check the depth. Dave tried a couple of times but bogged down. We waited for the rest to catch up so we would have recovery options. When they arrived he gave it another go and got through fine. The 79 Landcruiser came next and just made it through as it was bogging down. A couple of the cheap cars came through with no problems as they were pretty light, one of them went back for seconds as it was fun. 

We headed off while they played and another problem popped up about three or four kms down the road. It's just a small creek crossing but it had a very steep and leaning entrance with no way around it. 

We waited for the others to come along and because it was close to sunset we decided to camp the night before risking the cars on the crossing. 

Once again they set up the camp trailer and did a bit of filming, while they did that we started cooking up some beef kebabs on the Weber. After dinner we sat around and chatted for awhile before heading off to the swag. 

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Cairns and the Cape Trip, Oct 2018, Day 6

Had an early start. We headed into Weipa to see if we could find an alternator. Left Archer River just on 6 am and roughly 2.5 hours later we were there. While the auto-electrical place looked at the alternator we went and did some shopping for food, fuel and camping stuff. There ended up being problems with the alternator that they had, so they stripped an alternator off an old car and we brought that back to Archer River. 

We got back at about 2:30 pm and they started working on fitting the alternator. This gave me a chance to have a nice hot shower and a bit of a rest. Around 4'ish it seemed like everything was working, if not at 100 % then at least it was generating electricity. We packed the cars up and headed off a little later. It was only 50 or so kms up the bitumen road to the turn off to Lockhart River but it took an hour or so due to filming of the three cheap cars. 

At this stage they wanted more filming on the dirt road, so Dave and I headed off to find a camp for the evening. Just past the Wenlock River crossing (dry at this time of year) we tried a couple of tracks and eventually found the one to the Batavia Goldfield Ruins. There was a great camp spot with no one around. Pretty spectacular ruins with lots of old gold mining equipment about. 

Dave and I then sat back and had a drink while we waited for the others to rock in. Once there they had to do some filming as they set up camp. Finally we were able to cook up dinner (butter chicken and rice). Afterwards it was chatting around the camp fire before going to bed with the promise of an early morning for filming. 

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Cairns And the Cape, Oct 2018.

Had a bit of a slow morning as some of the cheap cars needed some mechanical work. But we finally packed up and left around 10'ish. We thought we were going to have only a shortish drive to Archer River but it was going to be over 300 kms. The bitumen finished shortly and but returned on and off along the way making a nice break from the dirt road. The road was rough and dusty in places but there really wasn't any sign of the famous corrugations. 

We had a couple of stops a long the way to check the cars on the trailers and finally stopped off in Coen for a late lunch. 

Then it was an easy run into Archer River Roadhouse where it was time to do a bit more mechanical work on one of the cars. Turns out it's alternator wasn't working. The sunset was spectacular so I put the drone up for a look around. 

Then it was time to cook dinner for the group, steak, beef ribs and salad. Finally, we could settle down for a drink and a chat before heading off to bed. 

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Cairns and the Cape, Oct 2018.

Had another lazy morning as we didn't have to be anywhere until a bit later in the day. Had brekky at the caravan park and then packed up and headed off to TJM in town. Met up with others there and they unloaded some cars off of trailers. After chatting for awhile Dave and I headed off to do the food shopping for the group. Several trolley loads of stuff from Woolies later, we met up with everyone again and headed off around 1 pm. 

Then it was a pleasant drive up to Mareeba, then Lakeland and finally Laura. We got there just as the sun went down and checked into the camping ground behind the pub. Dinner was at the pub and was ok. Then it was off to bed relatively early. 

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Cairns and the Cape, Oct 2018.

Had a bit of a sleep in and lazy morning as I didn't really want to leave until the 10 am checkout time. No rain overnight so everything was nice and dry. I had my Ice Break while catching up with what was happening in the world, then a quick shower before packing up and getting the car rearranged since I would be picking Dave up from the airport, tonight at 9 pm. There were a couple of other cars coming up from Sydney and Dave got me to book a big space at the Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort. Nice place and not too bad a price for three cars and five adults. 

Before leaving the first caravan park I went for a walk down to Lake Placid and had a look, very beautiful spot but the croc warning signs meant I didn't go for a swim. 

Left at about 10 am and headed off to the next caravan park, along the way I found a Maccas where I could park the car and trailer, so I stopped in for a bit of brunch. The new cara Park had an 11 am check in so I stopped in and paid the money for the site for the night. It was a deep grassy site and I was able to swing in over the adjacent couple of sites so that I didn't have to do too much backing of the trailer and what I did have to do was relatively straight. 

Meanwhile the other folks had problems with one of the cars so they either not make it to Cairns tonight or get here pretty late. I ended up sitting in the shade and drinking quite a lot of cold water as it was up over 30 deg C and quite humid. Then after unhitching the trailer I went for a walk and got an ice cream (unfortunately no magnums 😞) and continued on to check out the pool area. There wasn't much shade over the pool, so I thought I'd come back later in the day when the sun had dropped down a little.  I did a quick drive out to the local supermarket for some essential supplies (Ice Break) before coming back to a relaxing arvo in the shade reading a book. 

Later in the day it was very pleasant in the pool and I went back for a nice warm bubbly spa after I set up my swag, stretcher and shelter as it may rain tonight. The folks who homing from Sydney only made it to Innisfail for the evening so we'll catch up with them tomorrow. Went off to the airport to pick up Dave and then back to the caravan park. This took awhile as Dave's bag didn't come out quickly.  Chatted awhile and then turned in for the evening. 

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Cairns and the Cape, October 2018

Had quite a good night at the rest stop and as I was packing up in the morning a green frog came to visit and help. Had an Ice Break and a sandwich for brekky before hitting the road a little after 7 am. Refueled the car about 60 km down the road in Ayr and then continued north. Getting past Townsville was pretty easy as there is a nice signed ring road that dodges nearly all the traffic. Dropped into the Frosty Mango for morning tea and had some very delicious mango and passion fruit ice cream. Picked up some mango and chilly sauce to try later on. 

As I was making good time I decided to drop into the little town of Lucinda. I don't think I've been here for nigh on 50 years. It was a Family caravan trip and we visited my uncle who was a fisherman and he lived over on Orpheus island. That was a great couple days wandering around the close in coral reefs and eating some of the freshest coral trout that I can remember. Although from memory the boat trip back was pretty rough and I don't think Qwell's had been invented then. 😞 🤢 Had Barra and chips for lunch from the local take away shop - excellent. 

Kept going north, stopping in at Cardwell for a quick photo before stopping in Innisfail to refuel.

 I was going to stop the evening at the free camping spot on the river at Gordonvale but when I got there I didn't really feel comfortable at all and there was a fair bit of noise from the road traffic, so I continued onto Cairns. Using Wikicamps I found a nice sounding caravan park near Lake Placid so I headed there and set up for the evening. 

Had a nice warm shower and the a swim in the pool. Wayne dropped in a little later and we caught up, chatting for a few hours. As I was going to bed I felt a few drops of rain, although none was forecast, so I put up the awning just in case. Turns out I didn't need it as it was dry overnight. 

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Cairns and the Cape, Oct 2018.

Woke up around 2:30 am as the rain started to come down much heavier. However I was pretty well protected under the awning and I had the little plastic tarp over the swag to keep any drops or spray off. It only lasted about 30 mins and then went back to a misty drizzle. Got up about 6 am and slowly packed things up and had an Ice Break  to get me going. Hit the road going north and stopped at the BP servo at Marmor for brekky (coffee and toasted sandwich). More driving before pulling into Illbilbie Servo to refuel the car and have some lunch. 

Then even more driving until I stopped at a servo on the outskirts of Bowen, where I picked up some drinks and sandwiches for dinner later on. I ended up stopping a bit early (4:30 pm) at the Guthalungra Rest Area about 40 km north of Bowen. It's a nice clean little spot where you can stay for 20 hours. Toilets and sheltered picnic tables. It's not supposed to rain tonight but I'll set the swag and stretcher up under the shelter shed just in case. 

It's also a little close to the road for my liking but that should quiet down after awhile. The wind is also dropping off and the temperature is very pleasant, I'll be ready for bed after a dark and stormy or two. As the sun goes down the rest area has about 5 cars/campers and room for another 10 or so, everyone is nice and quiet so should be a good evening. 

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018, Executive Summary.

Ok now for some stats and observations from the trip to see the Simpson Desert and the Kimberleys. All up we travelled 10,814 km according to the odometer on Blute over 29 days. The fuel economy for the trip was 14.3 litres/100 km with the best stretch being 12.9 and the worst (over the Simpson with sand tyre pressures) was 17.4 litres/100 km. The total cost for diesel was around $2,700. Accommodation was pretty cheap just $170 for the 29 days, probably should add in $160 for the Desert Parks Pass as that allowed us to camp in the Simpson Desert. We stayed in a couple of caravan parks in Alice Springs and Halls Creek and some National Parks in the Kimberleys, otherwise we were free camping at some great little spots. I ate pretty well having taken 10 or so steaks, half a dozen meals of bacon, meat for a curry and chicken for a Spanish rice dish all cryovacced from home. Not to mention all sorts pies, sausage rolls and burgers consumed along the way. The main issue was fresh fruit and veges which caused problems as we were crossing a lot state borders and areas that didn't allow you bring any in from outside. 

It was my first time across the Simpson and found it relatively easy going as I dropped the tyre pressures straight away and never had any problems getting over any of the dunes. The main problem was the cut up French Line from the Big Red Bash Traffic. It was quite enjoyable and we had some great places to camp. The nice soak at Dalhousie Springs afterwards was a great way to relax and remove a bit of dirt and dust. We explored the East MacDonald ranges out from Alice Springs and it was very picturesque. The trip up the Tanami Track was much better than a couple of years ago with the worst bit being the last section from Wolf Creek Meteor crater to the Great Northern Highway. The Bungle Bungles were nice but didn't really live up to expectations but that may be because I needed to walk longer distances to get to the really scenic spots. 

This was my second time on the Gibb River Road (the last was in 2005 on my big trip) and I managed to see things I hadn't had time for in the last trip. The road was in way better condition than what I remembered. The Munja Track was tough in places, especially Magpie Jump-up but there was some spectacular scenery and it was well worth doing, allow at least four days to get to Walcott Inlet and back. Then it was up to Mitchell Falls and Kalumburu where for me, the highlight of the trip was the helicopter flight over the Falls. The road in wasn't nearly as bad as I had been led to believe it would be. Surveyors pool and Walsh Point were also pretty spectacular. After that we pretty much made a beeline for home taking about 4.5 relatively easy driving days, stopping off at a few great spots like Bitter Springs and Daly Waters Pub. 

Blute made the trip pretty easily but some of the third party accessories didn't. I developed a leak in the long range fuel tank, the UHF antenna broke and the nudge bar broke a mount and had to be removed. Along the way the corrugations destroyed a couple of cheapy 12 volt adapters and shook things around in the camper but all up it was pretty good. The Rhino Camper was great, I always had a comfy bed ready to go and the 80 litre water tank kept me going along the way, also as we were moving a lot the 120 Amp hour battery was never under any strain of going flat running the fridge and lights. The longer wheel base of the ute made the rough roads much more comfortable than I experienced in the SWB Pajero. The engine and auto gear box also made the driving experience easy and relaxed. I used the rear diff lock in a couple of places and that was great as it meant I could take certain hard situations a bit slower without relying on momentum. 

Finally, I'd like to thank my traveling companions Brett (for the first half of the trip) and Shane for making it a truly memorable trip. 

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 29

Shane and I were up relatively early and while it was chilly, it wasn't as bad as yesterday morning. After a quick coffee we hit the road returning to Miles and then heading east. Because of traffic and road works this was an even more boring drive then normal. We tried to find a bakery in Dalby but with road works extending through the whole town we couldn't actually get to the one bakery we found. So we ended up stopping at Maccas in Toowoomba it took quite awhile to get our food and coffee so Maccas seems to be no longer good for a quick meal while driving. 

Then we navigated through Toowoomba and continued on east towards home. It was all pretty good driving until Shane turned off the M1 to head home while I ended up in Saturday morning M1 traffic. I finally got home around 1'ish and proceeded to unpack the car and after having a great hot shower, I started putting several loads of washing on. It will feel very strange sleeping in my normal bedroom instead of a 1.5 x 2.1 metre fiberglass box on the back of the car. I now have tomorrow to do some shopping and get myself ready for work on Monday. Another great holiday, thanks to Shane and Brett for being such great traveling companions.

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 28

As usual I was awake as the sun came up but it was too bloody chilly to get out of a nice warm bed, so I slept in until about 7:30 am. Then it was a quick pack up and into Longreach to refuel the car and grab a coffee and sausage roll to eat on the road. It was a good run and I stopped off in Blackall for a vanilla slice and an iced coffee before heading onto Morven for a final refuel and a burger for lunch. 

This part of the trip was still a very boring drive and although I had been planning to stop in Mitchell for the night, it was too early in the day to stop. 

I decided to make for Gill Weir camping area just outside Miles, so continued east. From Morven to Mitchell there were a lot of dead Roos on the road and I was glad I wasn't driving in the dark. From Roma to Miles there were several sets of road works with those bloody unattended traffic lights, at which I sat for a not inconsiderable time  while there was no other traffic around. This slowed me down a bit and I drove into Miles just before the sun went down. The usual free camping area on the western side of the town near the bridge was disrupted by road works so I headed south about 5 or 6 km to Gill Weir camping area and found a nice spot down at the end of the track near the water. I quickly setup before the light disappeared, had a quick bite to eat and then sat back and relaxed. After a bit of blog writing I was going to go to bed early and wondered what it would be like being home again sometime tomorrow.

Then some idiot drove down in a noisy patrol with spotties blaring and parked next to my car and it was Shane. Of course he'd stopped off in Roma for some KFC and had the remains for dinner. So we sat around chatting for awhile catching up on the events of the day.

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 27

Another early start and we were on the road east at around 7:30 am. We stopped off at the Shell Truckstop on the way into Mount Isa for fuel and coffee and sausage rolls. The section from Mount Isa to Cloncurry is quite twisty and hilly compared to the rest of the drive. At Cloncurry we turned south on the Landsborough Highway, stopping for a toilet break at McKinlay and then a burger at Kynuna for lunch. After that it was just boring, boring driving. A bit after 5 pm I was getting a bit weary so we stopped at Dingo Creek just north of Longreach and I setup camp for the evening. Shane was going to continue on to Emerald to catch up with his parents. 

I'll take another two easy days to drive home and get there on Saturday, giving me a day to get prepared for work on Monday.

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 26

We were up with the rising sun and a quick pack up saw us hitting the road not long after 7 am. Shane drove into Daly Waters for some quick photos and then we headed south. It was pretty boring driving and we stopped for morning tea and a toilet break at Renner Springs. A little while later we stopped to refuel at Three Ways Roadhouse before turning east on the Barkly Highway. 

Much more boring driving before stopping for late lunch at the Barkly Homestead and then heading further east when we stopped at the Billabong just outside of Camooweal for the night. 

We had been cruising on roughly 105 kph to conserve fuel and still make good time. We used up my emergency wood for the nights campfire and cooked dinner before heading off to bed relatively early.

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 25

We woke up pretty early and packed up quickly to head into Kununurra to refuel. I got some coffee and a sausage roll from the servo for breakfast and then we headed east. It was a bit of a boring drive and once we crossed the border into NT we lost 1.5 hours. When we got to Timber Creek we stopped down by the creek for a drink and a stretch and then as we were driving through the little township we saw a sign for home made Croc pies so we had to stop and try one. They weren't too bad but also not wonderful. Back on the road until a toilet stop at the picnic area in Judburra/Gregory national park. 

Then more fairly easy/boring driving to Katherine where we refueled and Shane picked up another battery for his tyre monitors. As we were heading to Mataranka, Shane suggested a quick swim at Bitter Springs and this was great. Nice warm crystal clear water flowing smoothly along the creek, an excellent way to relax. 

Back on the road again heading south and Shane's Patrol clocked up a milestone of 300,000 km so he had to stop and take photos. It was getting close to sunset and we wanted to make it to the Daly Waters Pub for dinner. We made it as it was getting dark and had a great meal there, there tons of people there eating and staying in the caravan park. 

After dinner we went a couple of km down the road to the free camp at Stuart's Tree where we simply parked and climbed into bed. I noticed that I had a return of my diesel leak with it coming from around the epoxy filler. It wasn't too bad and I used soap to stop it as much as possible and I'll look at it again in the light of day. It should be fine for the trip home as I'll never be too far from fuel. Then it was time for blog writing and also posting some blogs from the time I was away from civilization.

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 24

We had a bit of a sleep in this morning as we couldn't get fuel until 8 am. Several people lined up at 7 am but we sat around drinking coffee and chatting before heading over at about ten past eight and getting served essentially straight away. While there I ran into the other Rhino Camper people from a few days ago. Then it was out onto the road and 60 km south to the Gibb River Road. It was a reasonably smooth trip with not much traffic. Same thing on the GRR until just short of the Durack river when I got a call from Shane on the UHF that one of his tyres was going down. It just happened to be the one with the working pressure sensor, so he was able to pull over off the road with plenty of time to spare. The problem was a fairly decent sized gash in the inside tyre wall. Shane quickly changed it and we continued on to have some morning tea parked in the Durack river. 

There was tons more boring driving until just before the Pentecost River crossing, where the hills in the background are spectacular. 

Then it wasn't far until the start of the bitumen at the El Questro turnoff where we stopped and put some air into the tyres and continued on into Kununurra. We stopped at the Coles shopping centre and restocked our supplies and had a quick meal at the nearby fast food store. We were also able to pick up some new batteries for Shane's tyre pressure sensors and after fitting them they are all back and working. At that stage I headed out to The Hoochery which makes Ord River Rum. I had visited this place back in 2005 when I was last here and now it looks like they are winning awards for their rum. I had a little tasting and picked up a couple of bottles, one liquor and one Spiced rum. Then I headed off to Invanhoe Crossing which had some water flowing over it but it was only half wheel height so the crossing was pretty easy. 

Shane was already there and he had swapped over his other new spare so it wears the same as the one he replaced earlier. 

We drove down the river a bit and found a nice place to camp, we got the fire going and cooked dinner, keeping an eye on the river in case we had uninvited guests in the form of crocs. 

We also checked the map and tried to work out the best way home, via the bitumen to Katherine or cut across the dirt to the Stuart Highway. We'll have to sleep on it.

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