Purposeful Meandering Around remote WA - Week 2

Week 2 started with another reasonably early start, our body clocks hadn’t fully adjusted to the western time zone yet. Carnegie Station had been a welcome relief, a hot shower and another night spent relaxing by the fire. We packed up and were on the road by 8:30am. We had a few hundred kilometres of the Gunbarrel Hwy to complete and mostly it was uneventful. We had the odd cow on the road or a washout that had us hitting the anchors pretty hard. By lunchtime we’d arrived in Wiluna, this marked the end of the Gunbarrel Hwy and the start of the Canning Stock Route. Being in a small rural town on a Sunday did pose its own problem, fuel was scarce and food resupply was limited to one corner shop. We took our time in town savouring our achievement and preparing for the next 20 days of isolation on the Canning Stock Route (CSR). Heading out of town we quickly found ourselves at Well 2, some info boards enlightened us to the grandeur of what lie ahead. A few kms down the track we opted to make camp for the night. Our first night on the CSR was shared with millions of flies until a million stars took over. We celebrated our first night on the CSR with a nice bottle of red and a hearty feast of Butter Chicken.

Public holiday Monday saw us up as the sun rose over the horizon. By 8:30 we were back behind the wheel driving northwards, the track conditions dictated that it was slow going and that was pretty much the ‘norm’ for the day. We only seen 2 other vehicles all day. We stopped at each water well, many of them in ruin but one in particular had been repaired and was in good working order, we were able to winch up a bucket of water from its depths but sadly the water was rank and not worth the temptation. The CSR is renowned for its harshness on vehicles and on multiple occasions we’d be stopping for someone to check a rattle or squeak. For us, it was the recently installed solar panel which had sheared itself free of its mounts. Thankfully we managed to see the issue before it caused too much damage, but our solar panel now sits on one of the others cars until I can repair it in Broome. Throughout the day we’d see 1 or 2 very lonely cows, the occasional lake which given the recent rains, seeing water in these parts I’m sure is rare. For the most part it was a slow demanding day trying our best to avoid sharp relentless rocks that covered the track. By 3:30pm we’d arrived at Windich Springs which was picturesque creek but once again the water was dirty and only worth admiring. For 7 hours driving we managed 127km for the day. Alas our evening campfire was a good time to rest our weary bodies.

Day 3 started with one of the kids spotting a dingo close to camp, which made his day. We were soon on the track heading north again. The track once again offered a variety of fast and slow sections, more slow than fast. Around mid morning we reached Well 5, this had recently been restored to working order by a 4WD group and we relished the novelty of dropping the bucket down and retrieving some fresh water which we used as a refreshing clense. A few kms down the track Well 6 offered a similar experience. Continuing northwards we stopped at Inglebong Hills, it was here that we bumped into 2 tag-along groups offering the CSR experience. We were later to find out that each person paid upward of $8k for the experience. I know what I’ll be doing post retirement - “tour operator”. We chatted to them for a while before climbing the nearby Inglebong hill where we were amazed to find indigenous rock paintings and spectacular views. Just beyond Well 7 our progress was halted by another mechanical issue, we all banded together to soon have the tire changed and we were back on the road. At Well 9 we were pleasantly surprised to find a cyclist riding the CSR, we’d been following his single wonky bike trail for 2 days. We chatted with him for a good 30min learning of his feat to accomplish what we were doing in cars, he was trying to achieve on a bike. Leaving him at Well 9 we went down the track a few k’s before stopping for the night. As many of us did vehicle checks and maintenance, our cyclist friend pedalled past us, vowing that we’d catch up with him again tomorrow. Much of our maintenance evolved around removing spinifex grass from the underside of our cars, thus reducing the risk of our cars catching on fire. Once again we enjoyed a relaxing night around the fire with a million stars as our backdrop.

Our early morning starts have become the norm and Wednesday proved no different. We’d packed up and were on the track earlier than ever, sadly the rough rocks continued, but also that’s all part of the journey. We passed Well 10 and by Well 11 we’d caught up to our friend John the cyclist. He’d been on the road for a full 2 hrs before we started our day, we chatted for a while before bidding him farewell again… I’m sure we’ll see him again soon. The flora of the area was starting to change, we were slowly leaving the pastoral area and moving into the dune/desert section with steep crested dune crossings. The change was welcoming but there was always a rocky section to keep you on your toes. We stopped at Lake Aerodrome and wandered out onto the salt pans to inspect the mirage of water that lied well past where we could walk. Leaving the lake, the red sands and corrugations were relentless, it didn’t matter what speed we tried, in the end nothing worked, we erred on vehicle preservation and bounced along like the wobbly dog on the dash. Detouring to Well 13 for lunch as some unexpected vehicle repairs, the corrugations had vibrated the fridge off its slide resulting in the eggs being scramble. After lunch the distance between wells seemed to lengthen. We stopped at a lookout which was merely 10m higher than where we’d been travelling but it showed the vastness of the area in which we were travelling. By Well 15 we’d had enough for the day and opted to make camp for the night. Our spot had fresh water in the Well affording us the luxury of a shower after 5 days of dusty desert driving. We all commented how refreshed and rewarding the simplicity of a shower can be. As night fell the opportunity to do some night photography of the sky proved amazing.

Thursday dawned with beautiful cloudy skies filled with pinks and purples and temps of a balmy 13deg, we all commented how mild the morning was. To date the CSR has given us beautiful days with temps in the high 20’s. The day started with smooth roads but that didn’t last long, the corrugations were quite severe. We chose to stop and reduce our tyre pressures even further which thankfully improved our comfort and sanity. Heading further north the sand dunes become more prominent and the conditions were more favourable. By lunchtime we’d passed through Well 16 before arriving at the picturesque Durba Springs. We took some time looking around the area, inspecting the indigenous rock art, creek gorges and cliff lines. Returning to our cars it was disappointing to see the place had been overrun by 12 caravans and their tow vehicles who’d taken over the area which for us spoilt the serenity and ambience of the location. We chose to cut our loses and move on, even though the place offered so much. The track conditions improved to be mostly sand driving and an hour up the track we pulled into Well 18 for the night. The water from the artesian well offered a welcome relief with some of us having our second shower in 2 days. The night culminated around the fire with a few ports and plenty of tales about the caravan group from Durba Springs.

Another pre-dawn start, I wish our body clocks would reset itself. Nonetheless our pack up routine was getting well honed and we pulled out of camp around 8:00am. The track wound its way through various sand dunes and birradas lakes. At one point we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn where we stopped for the obligatory photo. Continuing on, Well 19 was simply a depression in the side of a dried salt lake. We opted to bypass Well 20 as fire had destroyed the structure and the Well had filled in over time. Continuing north we ventured out to 3 vantage points overlooking Lake Disappointment. At one of the vantage points we enjoyed spectacular views over the salt lake while having lunch. Following lunch we decided to make a beeline for Georgia Bore, however the track conditions didn’t work in our favour. The corrugations were horrendous, whether we went slow, fast or any other combination there of. To make the best of the road we pushed our vehicles harder than we wanted, we bounced across the corrugations at speeds of greater than 70km/hr. At one point we shared the track with 2 dingos who put on quite the show for us. Late in the day we arrived at Georgia Bore, this popular spot is a crossroad and early exit point on the CSR. Given its popularity we squeezed into a small spot with no room for a fire, thus resulting in an early night and week 2 on the road complete.

So far we’ve done 638km on the CSR.