- Home
-
Treks
- TTT 7 - 2016
-
TTT 6 - 2015
>
- TTT 1 - 2010
- TTT 2 - 2011 >
- TTT 3 - 2012 >
-
TTT 4 - 2013
>
-
TTT 5 - 2014
>
- Trek-Blog
-
Day's 1 to 6 12/8/2014 to 17/8/2014
>
- Day 1 - Wangaratta to Renmark
- Day 2 - Renmark to 30km's out of Port Augusta
- Day 3 - 37kms North of Port Augusta to Mabel Creek
- Day 4 - Mabel Creek- 60kms in to Anne B to Anne Beadell 25kms short of Emu 15-8-2014
- Day 5 -Anne Beadell near Emu to The Unamed Conservation Park 16-8-2014
- Day 6 - UCP to 25kms south of Vokes Corner 17-8-2014
- Day's 7 to 12 - 18/8/2014 to 23/8/2014 >
- Flying Doctors
- The Movies
- Photo Albums
- Links
Day 17 - Dalhousie to 2 Dunes east of Lynnies Junction - Wed 28 Oct 2015
4.10am. We have some early risers in our team but not as early as the dingoes who started howling at 10 past 4 in the morning. Their mournful sounds woke many of us from our restless slumber; it was hot overnight and there were lots and lots mosquitos. Lots of mosquitos. As the morning woke, still illuminated by the very bright moon that held court overnight, several guys had another dip in the warm waters of Dalhousie.
6.45am. We ran our morning presentation, fines and award session. Fines included Scotty who purchased a cheap fly net that didn’t cover the top of his head and Rips who the previous day purchased an ‘I crossed the Simpson’ stubby holder, having not yet crossed the Simpson! OHSO won the anything but average award for his sterling performance in driving Larkie back to Alice after his crash and then bringing him back to us the next day. We were all very pleased to have him back.
7.00am. We are all away in little dribs and drabs around 7.00am, looking forward to the day ahead where we would enter the Simpson proper.
7.45am. We meet a bloke on a Suzuki who had started into the journey across the Simpson by himself with little water. He did not get far before having a flat and drinking all his water, so he turned around and we met him on his way out.
9.45am. The cars arrived at Purni Bore. The road had not yet succumbed to the sand of the desert but it was rutted, corrugated, sandy in sections and slow for the cars. Arriving at Purni Bore at 9.45, the cars were very slow compared to the bikes. It would be like this all day.
10.30am. We dicked around at Purni Bore resetting our systems. We fitted the sand flags to the cars now as the dunes would grow. Tyre pressures were also altered to suit the upcoming sand.
11.45am. The cars arrived at the French Line turn-off. The French Line is named after the French Oil Company who explored this area for oil and built the tracks. Again the bikes had landed well before the cars who were averaging around 25 kilometres per hour in the conditions. Lunch was sorted out, ham and salad wraps. The day was heating up which was our worry; during the morning it had been cloudy which helped us all, but now it was starting to burn. It topped out for the day at around 40 degrees.
12.15pm. It was discovered that Cynthia’s Evakool portable fridge that we were using as a freezer wasn’t working. A flurry of activity followed with frozen meals that we had planned on eating being shifted to Scotty’s freezer. Some stuff was allowed to thaw or was eaten on spec (zooper doopers). Brock and Brad set to work to see if they could fix the unit.
12.40pm. After toiling for half an hour with a tarp held over their heads the boys declared the freezer to be rooted at this point, possibly repairable at a late date. Packing up commenced to carry on down the Rig Road toward the WAA line.
1.00pm. We are off, going down through swales before turning to the east and again going over dunes that were much larger. The Rig Road is an old road constructed for trucks in the 1960’s to go into the desert to set up for oil exploration and drilling. It was constructed by laying and rolling a clay-based mix across the sand, cutting out the tops of the dunes.
1.48pm. We notice that the dunes have subtly changed colours. We think that this could be due to the sun angle or the sand itself or both. The colour change is such that it escapes us blokes to describe; it would be best described by sheilas.
2.25pm. The bikes are most likely at the next checkpoint, where WAA Line starts and the Rig Road goes south. A fairly big sand dune stops the Troop before it can get to the top. The rule in this situation is to reverse back down the dune, easy said but not that easy in a Troopy with a chuckwagon attached. Big Scotty does it well and on the third go with a good run up he gets over. Hopefully we don’t encounter too much of this, although generally the downslopes of the dunes are worse, with several washouts and bypasses.
3.05pm. The cars arrive at the WAA Line turnoff. The bikes again have been there for a while but the heat has taken its toll. The bike guys are struggling and happy to see us.
3.15pm. Travel is over for the day, camp is called. A good campsite has been found two dunes to the east down the WAA Line.
3.38pm. Everyone has dragged themselves over the track to the campsite and are setting up. Robdog does his usual superb act of finding wood and setting up for a fire. Swags are off-loaded from the bike trailer and set up. Spots are determined on a number of criteria. You need a flat spot, you need to check for ants, you don’t want to be too far away but also not close to other people, the bike boys like their bikes next to them, Hector likes a room with a view, some blokes snore or fart or both so stay clear of them. If there are rocks or vegetation you might remove them with the boot or the shovel. We all carry a range of pegs for different ground conditions and sometimes a hammer is needed to bash them in.
4.08pm. It’s still bloody hot. The trees in these parts all droop and sag and look tired from the heat, so do we. We sit under some shade and cover, we sweat just sitting still, and we have a beer or water and discuss the day and plan for tomorrow.
4.21pm. Eddie and OHSO Stibilj are running a separate camp to us out of OHSO’s D-max. They have been stuffing around for ages and at this time they thankfully stop.
4.25pm. We are still sitting around shooting the breeze and feeling shagged. A box of small packets of potato chips is brought out and they are snaffled up quick. After a day of water and hydrolyte and sweet drinks the salt of the potato chip is welcome.
4.26pm. Carl hops up and makes a speech thanking the road crew for their support. The road crew appreciate this but they wonder if they still have to cook tea and clean up the rubbish that lies around. Often there is a bit of team dynamics going on in trips like this as people wax and wane on effort and perception of effort. It is 17 days now since we started in Perth and we have had three new people come into the group. The dynamic changes and changes and then changes again.
4.35pm. A group discussion is called to determine the strategy and tactics for the next day. The objective is the same, get to Birdsville by Saturday evening as we have rooms booked at the pub. The experience of today‘s efforts has moved us to sharpen our game around the timing of our start, and our comms, in particular use of the sat-phones between cars and bikes, which will operate as more autonomous groups. It is also still very hot. Most educated guesses of the maximum achieved for the day have it a couple of points over 40.
4.50pm. The discussion is over and consensus has been reached. People mill about with different objectives and jobs to do. Some chat, some work on bikes, some sit about as it is still hot. Some entertain their penchant for photography.
5.00pm. A group travel up to the top of the dune to inspect Hector’s choice of residence for the evening, ‘Dingo Hill’. It was called this as when he was setting up he looked about and saw many footprints that looked like Dingo prints. It is a nice place but he alone sleeps there as the rest of us are in the swale.
5.15pm. As the inspection of Dingo Hill is completed it is noted that the heat is abating. It’s probably still 35 degrees, but the slight drop in temp is noticeable and people start to regain some energy.
5.25pm. We had established camp and started drinking a few beers pretty quick, so quite a few empty cans were lying about. During the day rubbish and cans are often chucked or placed into nooks and crannies of the cars, particularly Carl’s D-max. A clean camp is a good camp so a couple of the same blokes who generally do it have a whip around and pick up the other blokes rubbish. Some rubbish that is suitable is burnt but most, as per Nature Reserve and permit rules, is carried out by us and will be dumped at the next available town.
5.33pm. There is a buzz in the air as the drone goes up for a fly. Since its pull-through on Sunday it has been literally ‘flying’.
5.45pm. Meal preparation starts. Tonight we are again having Cynthia’s Lamb Burgers (they de-frosted in the lunch time freezer calamity so we have to eat them now), mashed spuds and coleslaw. It’s a team effort as a couple pitch in to peel spuds, the fire is sorted out for the right heat, Rohan cooks up the burgers and Carl does a whiz-bang job on the onion and bacon gravy, a TTT speciality.
6.40pm. Sunset. Not much more to say really other than its beautiful.
6.49pm. Eating. Yes, it takes us an hour to prepare and cook a meal for eleven people.
7.07pm. Campfire time. Chairs are around the campfire and we talk through the day we have had and the day we expect. Hector and Joc wash and clean the dishes so we can use them again tomorrow in the cycle of our nomadic life. Tomorrow we progress eastward again, a little bit further, in this, one of our toughest tests. Gradually people give in to the fatigue and heat of the day, saying good-night and walking into the dark. The last one up is the wordsmith, tapping out his story of the day, of our hopes and dreams so that they can be conveyed to all and sundry so they understand. The last talk is of the day tomorrow, tipped to be harsh. Talks of destruction and of an apocalypse. The wordsmith smiles as he hears this talk…again. We have been challenged before and we have overcome. We will overcome again.
4.10am. We have some early risers in our team but not as early as the dingoes who started howling at 10 past 4 in the morning. Their mournful sounds woke many of us from our restless slumber; it was hot overnight and there were lots and lots mosquitos. Lots of mosquitos. As the morning woke, still illuminated by the very bright moon that held court overnight, several guys had another dip in the warm waters of Dalhousie.
6.45am. We ran our morning presentation, fines and award session. Fines included Scotty who purchased a cheap fly net that didn’t cover the top of his head and Rips who the previous day purchased an ‘I crossed the Simpson’ stubby holder, having not yet crossed the Simpson! OHSO won the anything but average award for his sterling performance in driving Larkie back to Alice after his crash and then bringing him back to us the next day. We were all very pleased to have him back.
7.00am. We are all away in little dribs and drabs around 7.00am, looking forward to the day ahead where we would enter the Simpson proper.
7.45am. We meet a bloke on a Suzuki who had started into the journey across the Simpson by himself with little water. He did not get far before having a flat and drinking all his water, so he turned around and we met him on his way out.
9.45am. The cars arrived at Purni Bore. The road had not yet succumbed to the sand of the desert but it was rutted, corrugated, sandy in sections and slow for the cars. Arriving at Purni Bore at 9.45, the cars were very slow compared to the bikes. It would be like this all day.
10.30am. We dicked around at Purni Bore resetting our systems. We fitted the sand flags to the cars now as the dunes would grow. Tyre pressures were also altered to suit the upcoming sand.
11.45am. The cars arrived at the French Line turn-off. The French Line is named after the French Oil Company who explored this area for oil and built the tracks. Again the bikes had landed well before the cars who were averaging around 25 kilometres per hour in the conditions. Lunch was sorted out, ham and salad wraps. The day was heating up which was our worry; during the morning it had been cloudy which helped us all, but now it was starting to burn. It topped out for the day at around 40 degrees.
12.15pm. It was discovered that Cynthia’s Evakool portable fridge that we were using as a freezer wasn’t working. A flurry of activity followed with frozen meals that we had planned on eating being shifted to Scotty’s freezer. Some stuff was allowed to thaw or was eaten on spec (zooper doopers). Brock and Brad set to work to see if they could fix the unit.
12.40pm. After toiling for half an hour with a tarp held over their heads the boys declared the freezer to be rooted at this point, possibly repairable at a late date. Packing up commenced to carry on down the Rig Road toward the WAA line.
1.00pm. We are off, going down through swales before turning to the east and again going over dunes that were much larger. The Rig Road is an old road constructed for trucks in the 1960’s to go into the desert to set up for oil exploration and drilling. It was constructed by laying and rolling a clay-based mix across the sand, cutting out the tops of the dunes.
1.48pm. We notice that the dunes have subtly changed colours. We think that this could be due to the sun angle or the sand itself or both. The colour change is such that it escapes us blokes to describe; it would be best described by sheilas.
2.25pm. The bikes are most likely at the next checkpoint, where WAA Line starts and the Rig Road goes south. A fairly big sand dune stops the Troop before it can get to the top. The rule in this situation is to reverse back down the dune, easy said but not that easy in a Troopy with a chuckwagon attached. Big Scotty does it well and on the third go with a good run up he gets over. Hopefully we don’t encounter too much of this, although generally the downslopes of the dunes are worse, with several washouts and bypasses.
3.05pm. The cars arrive at the WAA Line turnoff. The bikes again have been there for a while but the heat has taken its toll. The bike guys are struggling and happy to see us.
3.15pm. Travel is over for the day, camp is called. A good campsite has been found two dunes to the east down the WAA Line.
3.38pm. Everyone has dragged themselves over the track to the campsite and are setting up. Robdog does his usual superb act of finding wood and setting up for a fire. Swags are off-loaded from the bike trailer and set up. Spots are determined on a number of criteria. You need a flat spot, you need to check for ants, you don’t want to be too far away but also not close to other people, the bike boys like their bikes next to them, Hector likes a room with a view, some blokes snore or fart or both so stay clear of them. If there are rocks or vegetation you might remove them with the boot or the shovel. We all carry a range of pegs for different ground conditions and sometimes a hammer is needed to bash them in.
4.08pm. It’s still bloody hot. The trees in these parts all droop and sag and look tired from the heat, so do we. We sit under some shade and cover, we sweat just sitting still, and we have a beer or water and discuss the day and plan for tomorrow.
4.21pm. Eddie and OHSO Stibilj are running a separate camp to us out of OHSO’s D-max. They have been stuffing around for ages and at this time they thankfully stop.
4.25pm. We are still sitting around shooting the breeze and feeling shagged. A box of small packets of potato chips is brought out and they are snaffled up quick. After a day of water and hydrolyte and sweet drinks the salt of the potato chip is welcome.
4.26pm. Carl hops up and makes a speech thanking the road crew for their support. The road crew appreciate this but they wonder if they still have to cook tea and clean up the rubbish that lies around. Often there is a bit of team dynamics going on in trips like this as people wax and wane on effort and perception of effort. It is 17 days now since we started in Perth and we have had three new people come into the group. The dynamic changes and changes and then changes again.
4.35pm. A group discussion is called to determine the strategy and tactics for the next day. The objective is the same, get to Birdsville by Saturday evening as we have rooms booked at the pub. The experience of today‘s efforts has moved us to sharpen our game around the timing of our start, and our comms, in particular use of the sat-phones between cars and bikes, which will operate as more autonomous groups. It is also still very hot. Most educated guesses of the maximum achieved for the day have it a couple of points over 40.
4.50pm. The discussion is over and consensus has been reached. People mill about with different objectives and jobs to do. Some chat, some work on bikes, some sit about as it is still hot. Some entertain their penchant for photography.
5.00pm. A group travel up to the top of the dune to inspect Hector’s choice of residence for the evening, ‘Dingo Hill’. It was called this as when he was setting up he looked about and saw many footprints that looked like Dingo prints. It is a nice place but he alone sleeps there as the rest of us are in the swale.
5.15pm. As the inspection of Dingo Hill is completed it is noted that the heat is abating. It’s probably still 35 degrees, but the slight drop in temp is noticeable and people start to regain some energy.
5.25pm. We had established camp and started drinking a few beers pretty quick, so quite a few empty cans were lying about. During the day rubbish and cans are often chucked or placed into nooks and crannies of the cars, particularly Carl’s D-max. A clean camp is a good camp so a couple of the same blokes who generally do it have a whip around and pick up the other blokes rubbish. Some rubbish that is suitable is burnt but most, as per Nature Reserve and permit rules, is carried out by us and will be dumped at the next available town.
5.33pm. There is a buzz in the air as the drone goes up for a fly. Since its pull-through on Sunday it has been literally ‘flying’.
5.45pm. Meal preparation starts. Tonight we are again having Cynthia’s Lamb Burgers (they de-frosted in the lunch time freezer calamity so we have to eat them now), mashed spuds and coleslaw. It’s a team effort as a couple pitch in to peel spuds, the fire is sorted out for the right heat, Rohan cooks up the burgers and Carl does a whiz-bang job on the onion and bacon gravy, a TTT speciality.
6.40pm. Sunset. Not much more to say really other than its beautiful.
6.49pm. Eating. Yes, it takes us an hour to prepare and cook a meal for eleven people.
7.07pm. Campfire time. Chairs are around the campfire and we talk through the day we have had and the day we expect. Hector and Joc wash and clean the dishes so we can use them again tomorrow in the cycle of our nomadic life. Tomorrow we progress eastward again, a little bit further, in this, one of our toughest tests. Gradually people give in to the fatigue and heat of the day, saying good-night and walking into the dark. The last one up is the wordsmith, tapping out his story of the day, of our hopes and dreams so that they can be conveyed to all and sundry so they understand. The last talk is of the day tomorrow, tipped to be harsh. Talks of destruction and of an apocalypse. The wordsmith smiles as he hears this talk…again. We have been challenged before and we have overcome. We will overcome again.
