Thread: Pilgrim's progress

Now at Tanunda. Had high winds and rain overnight. There are flattened tents and annexes in the park. But good coffee is only a walk away.

One of the local coopers is selling staves from used barrels at a buck each - French or American Oak.

Tonight we roast a boned leg of saltbush Hogget.

A Pt Augusta cafe listed on its drinks menu an 'aggregato' . An affogato is an espresso with a scoop of icecream so I guess these guys were offering a scoop of gravel. They breed em tough there

We're already planning the next, which will be first to NT and Kakadu and then head W and 'do' WA.

Ah you will enjoy the Top End very laid back and some really great spots.Have ago a catching a Barra or two, nothing like fresh Barramundi at night around the fire and few beers

When you get to Perth drive a bit north to lancelin and check out the sand dunes. They shot the movie Rat of Torbruk there apparently. Used go shooting rabbits in the area many years ago.

love the saga updates

Thanks for the tips Hughie. Sound good.

Well we got sick of the poor weather which was forecast to continue so headed NE to Mungo National Park. That's 110 k from Mildura and an interesting spot - site of the oldest known Aboriginal remains. Mungo Man is about 45,000 years old and was 6' 5" tall. He was buried with some ochre scattered around and that must've been traded as there's none in the area. The tribes might have swapped for silcrete for spear heads which is common there.

Our last night was spent on the banks of the Murray - a 'great grey greasy green river', the phrase might have been coined for it - watching Homo Sapiens at play as well as lots of bird life. That was at Merbein Common and allowed us to top up the capuccino level in Mildura.

Now we're back in Melbourne unfortunately, with a big job of repairing, cleaning, sorting and packing ahead.

The camper needs new wheel bearings and paint patching after the rock blasting it's sustained. The sparkie who did the electrics has paid for the running repairs on the road and will now look at the rest.

All up we did 8,000 k with over a thousand of that on the dirt. On driving days we averaged 80 kph including breaks. We found the public dunnies in Vic are the worst of the 3 states visited, that pilgimage camp sites are scenes of the worst behaviour and that about one in two of oncoming drivers in outback SA give a wave. Also that Mallee and Mulga as terms commonly used can mean just about anything. There's even a Mallee Cypress Pine.

And just for GJ again, MORE PICS. Again, hover cursor over the thumbnail for the title.

The sheepshed at Lake Mungo was built in 1869 out of drop-log Cypress. The last engine that drove the shears was a 6.5 hp diesel built in Ballarat.

Ern your photos from around Wilpena Pound and Mungo National park stirred up some grea memories for me.

I have also been to Quorn, Parachilna and the Brachina Gorge. Tanunda is a beaut little town but suffers badly in very dry dusty weather.

Great photos mate.

Thanks Artme.

Yeah, it's great country around the Flinders Ranges. And at Mungo we were half a day from Menindie Lakes and Broken Hill. I was keen to go but ...

It was interesting seeing the country that Sidney Kidman built his empire in as I was reading one of his bio's on the trip. Anna Ck station near William Ck is still in Kidman hands and is a mere 24,000 sq km.

..but I need to ask Ern, So how did the Foz perform?

I know it took a while but still interested in the answer after coming back from Jamieson and Mt Terrible. From the north, not the south, before you ask.

Very well Rookie. Came back with one dashboard squeak and an occasional top-end rattle on cold start-up. Seems to be related to oil level/freshness.

We never had a 'moment' with traction or direction, but that said I only think we tackled one track labelled 4WD Only - the Jack Hayes Rock Hole Tk in the Eastern MacDonnells.

Getting the tyre pressure right helps to make the corrugations bearable and we took a compressor to make the adjustments.

How did you find the dirt roads around Jamieson?

Performed fine around Jamieson, but I could have let a little more out of the tyres for the descent from Mt Terrible. I had them down to about 26 but could have dropped a couple more pounds off. Felt a little slip in a couple of the steeper parts. Still getting used to this real 4WD stuff as opposed to going into scrubby fishing spots. Had sister and brother in law with me in their Land Cruiser making sure I didn't get into strife. Didn't need them

Magic.

FWIW for towing a rear window protector is often recommended cos stones kicked back can trash yours and ruin your day.

We got some Coreflute from a signwriter. It's like corrugated cardboard sandwich but in PVC.

Cut it to shape and fitted it to the rear window with generous strips of 2" wide super grippy double sided sticky velcro from Bunnies. Then sealed all round with duct tape cos it touched at one point and if sand gets in it will abrade the window.

Worked a treat.

Well you're safe from dingoes below Coober Pedy. I used Kingston Cream biscuits to fight them off at my camp sites whener I was up that way.

Tighten up all of your loose fitting before you get out onto the Odd Trck.

Just been rereading the thread and maybe another comment or two is worth making.

While I'd done two shake-down cruises with the rig on my own, this was the first outing with my partner Helen. And while I'm not worried about roughing it on my own, of course the trip has to work for both. At home there's lots of space but travelling you're rubbing shoulders every day.

As it worked out, she enjoyed herself, helped by waking up on day 2 to seeing Pelicans cruising down the Murray, her favorite bird, and again on the last day at Merbein Common on the Murray.

She was also a great help in the prep for the trip and with the setup of camp and camp housekeeping. Best of all she enjoyed getting out there seeing the sights and doing some rough day walks. That was one of the most rewarding things about the trip for me.