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.

New camera

I made the dangerous mistake of visiting the Sony shop at Robina, just to see if they had the new A33 in stock. I've been hoping to upgrade to a dslr with my next camera and the reviews of this camera sounded very positive. After being shown the camera by Tim and liking how it felt I went off to do some other shopping, but not before Tim asked what it would take to sell me one today. I went off and had a think while shopping and ended up going back to the Sony store to see if they would match the prices advertised by Ted's camera store. They would so I ended up buying an A33 plus a Sony 18-250 lens for a reasonable price. I'm now waiting for the battery to charge so I can have play.

The battery seemed to take forever to charge up but its ready to go now. The first photo is shown below.

Executive Summary - Desert Trip 2010

Overall I travelled 8078 km in 23 days during this trip, with 6 of these days being just travel days getting to Coober Pedy and then getting home. The fuel economy (13.45 l/100km) wasn't nearly as good as I got on the trip to the Cape (11.25 l/100km) although the car has had a few modifications (suspension raised and more aggressive tyres) and I had more trouble with driving into strong winds and then problems with the MAP sensor. Our longest distance without fuel was Coober Pedy to Ilkurlka Roadhouse (817 km) along probably some of the roughest roads I've driven on for any distance. The fuel economy on this bit of the Anne Beadell highway was 14.9 km/100l meaning I didn't need to touch the spare jerry can of diesel I carried along. Ilkurlka was also the most expensive fuel of the trip, costing $2.49 per litre, meaning this was the most expensive fuel bill I've ever had at $295.

Photos from the trip are on my picasa website.

Highlights

- A couple of days where we basically didn't see any one else.

- The abandoned section of the old Gunbarrel Highway.

- The weather was dry but chilly overnight.

Lowlights

- no fish were caught (a hang over from the trip to the Cape)

- The MAP sensor on the Pajero stuffing up and stranding me in Alice for 6 Days.

Dramas

- Apart from my car problems, the only hassles we had were a few roof rack problems on the Cruisers.

Quote of the Trip (from Brett)

"The night was clear and bright, the damper was dark and stormy."

This was after a particularly good damper prepared by Leon using a can of Bundy Rum Dark & Stormy donated by Brett.

Participants

- Leon and Ryan in a Toyota Landcruiser, Petrol V8

- Brett also in a Toyota Landcruiser, Petrol V8

- Me in my NS SWB Pajero diesel

Day23 - Desert Trip 2010

Another early morning as I left Mitchell just after 7 am. As I got
close to Roma and finally got some Optus phone signal, I got an SMS
from Brett saying they were in Roma. So after getting into Roma and
refueling I contacted Brett and found they had just about packed up
(the wimps had spent the previous couple of nights in cabins) so we
caught up and had some brekky. They refueled and as we were leaving
Roma we had to stop for a Random Breath Test as they were testing all
the cars leaving Roma to the east. Then we had a nice easy drive,
until just east of Dalby we saw Ron heading west in his Jackaroo. Leon
called him up and we stopped for a 15 min chat. Then it was onto
Toowoomba where we stopped for a quick lunch at Maccas. Leon took us
through the back streets of Toowoomba in what was supposed to be a
short cut. Then it was an easy drive in towards Brisbane until the
Logan Motorway where I peeled off to head home to the Gold Coast
leaving Brett, Leon and Ryan to head home to Brissy. I refueled at
Mudgeeraba and got home about 4:30 pm. I took me an hour or two to
unpack the car, then a shower and a quick bite saw me going to bed
pretty early as I had to go to work the next morning.

Day 22 - Desert Trip 2010

Another early start, as I left Boulia at about 7:15 am. The road was
now single lane bitumen but with next to no traffic it was a very easy
drive. I saw a few more eagles and lizards along the way and stopped
off at Cawnpore lookout for a few pictures. I stopped at Winton for
morning tea and then continued on to Longreach where I refueled the
car and myself. The road was excellent for driving and I made time to
Augathella but I couldn't find anywhere suitable to stop for the night
so I continued on as it started to get darker. The kangaroos started
to come out as the sun went down, so I needed to slow down so I could
avoid them. I continued onto Mitchell where I arrived at around 7 pm
and I stayed at the caravan park. This was my biggest driving day with
1186 km. The Mitchell caravan park has great facilities with the
showers and toilets set up like ensuites and the hot water for the
showers was very relaxing. Luckily I arrived as the bush poet was
finishing his routine and set up my tent under a tree as it felt like
it would get pretty chilly overnight. The other problem with the caravan