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Day's 1 to 6 12/8/2014 to 17/8/2014
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- Day 1 - Wangaratta to Renmark
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- Day 5 -Anne Beadell near Emu to The Unamed Conservation Park 16-8-2014
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Day 3 – Knobby Head to Steep Point Base Camp – Wed 14 Oct 2015
Overnight we camped beachside at Knobby Head on what we think is Carson Beach, a fisherman’s paradise by the look. A couple of hardy souls took a dip while the rest relaxed; we had covered 337 kilometres for the day. Early starts again as the body clocks and the early sunrises have us getting into a pattern. Many are also adopting the Carl’s Morning Constitutional pattern as well, which is good for the body. Fines were handed out, Joc copped a couple again, Rips got one for crashing the drone and Big Scotty also contributed as he had a flat tyre at Wanneroo.
The intent today was to put in a fair day to set ourselves up for the tough final stint at Steep Point. All the local knowledge and intel we had gathered had suggested that it was hard; real hard. However, we thought that if the Leyland Brothers can get there in 1966 in a 1958 and 1963 model Landrovers with no roads, then we were half a chance!
After breaking camp we continued north, going through the lovely town of Port Denison and Dongara, getting in to Geraldton for a re-fuel and re-stock. The Puma servo was doing good business already and then we put around $500 over the jump to re-fuel all the bikes, the Troopy and Max as well as fill several jerry cans. The fuel prices were close to local prices, nothing outrageous except for gas which was over a $1 a litre. At the local pie shop we contacted the Ranger at Steep Point for more local knowledge. The go was that camp sites were available at the Ranger Station 10 kilometres from the point. This was good. The bad was that it was a three hour drive to the Overlander Roadhouse where the turnoff is. It was then another three hours in to the camp, with the last part over soft sand and dunes on single lane 4wd tracks. We decided to hit the road for the first stage and then re-assess at the roadhouse. The general mood though was to go for it.
After a bit more dicking around when Max blew a fuse we rolled out going north again. We moved away from the coast and travelled through dry country with mature wheat crops laid out across rolling hills. A minor highlight was seeing the turn-off to the Principality of Hutt River, Australia’s oldest micro-nation. The Billabong Homestead Hotel-Motel presented an opportunity to stop and fix Max, who was flashing his ‘engine check’ light, and Brocky’s Beemer which was again presenting throttle issues. Twisting the throttle was giving no go. We were made to feel very welcome at the Billabong by Kelly who was working behind the bar. Nothing was a problem and she was very helpful with local knowledge. We were happy to have her serve us. Happy also with some old mate who heard our story as he walked out the door and gave us a $20 donation.
We pushed a further 50 kilometres to the Overland Roadhouse where we filled with fuel. It was getting to 3pm now but we decided to still try and push to the National Park. The wind had also got up at this time as we were back near the coast and this made it hard for the bikes. A lot of the first kilometres were on asphalt as this road serves Denham and Monkey Mia, two significant tourism sites. It turned to dirt and the bikes turned it up as we continued westward, heading towards our final destination. As we got further west the road got rougher, the wind got stronger and the feeling was that we might struggle to get to Steep Point by nightfall. The final sealer was a large kangaroo that Carl met as he came over the top of a hill. He didn’t hit it but the ‘roo sat in the middle of the road and looked at him. The decision: lets camp!
We found a campsite on the edge of Disappointment Loop near Baba Head in the Henri Freycinet Harbour. It was a good place to camp; plenty of firewood, a good clear space and beautiful views. The country, as it came down to the water’s edge, is fairly harsh, with salt bush, small flowering shrubs and low stunted trees, populated with lizards, birds and snakes. The water’s edge was much layered and weathered showing millions of years of erosion. In some places fossils could be seen, yet near the water’s edge, the process of fossilisation could be seen slowly occurring. As we camped and enjoyed a second lot of spaghetti bolognaise a light skiff of rain came from the cloudy skies. Weary heads in the camp (upwards of 500kms for the day) held a nervous expectation, caution and even concern about the day ahead. We had received many warnings about the harsh road ahead, especially for bikes. Discussion around the campfire was of hypothesising how the day might pan out and if indeed would we get to Steep Point.
Overnight we camped beachside at Knobby Head on what we think is Carson Beach, a fisherman’s paradise by the look. A couple of hardy souls took a dip while the rest relaxed; we had covered 337 kilometres for the day. Early starts again as the body clocks and the early sunrises have us getting into a pattern. Many are also adopting the Carl’s Morning Constitutional pattern as well, which is good for the body. Fines were handed out, Joc copped a couple again, Rips got one for crashing the drone and Big Scotty also contributed as he had a flat tyre at Wanneroo.
The intent today was to put in a fair day to set ourselves up for the tough final stint at Steep Point. All the local knowledge and intel we had gathered had suggested that it was hard; real hard. However, we thought that if the Leyland Brothers can get there in 1966 in a 1958 and 1963 model Landrovers with no roads, then we were half a chance!
After breaking camp we continued north, going through the lovely town of Port Denison and Dongara, getting in to Geraldton for a re-fuel and re-stock. The Puma servo was doing good business already and then we put around $500 over the jump to re-fuel all the bikes, the Troopy and Max as well as fill several jerry cans. The fuel prices were close to local prices, nothing outrageous except for gas which was over a $1 a litre. At the local pie shop we contacted the Ranger at Steep Point for more local knowledge. The go was that camp sites were available at the Ranger Station 10 kilometres from the point. This was good. The bad was that it was a three hour drive to the Overlander Roadhouse where the turnoff is. It was then another three hours in to the camp, with the last part over soft sand and dunes on single lane 4wd tracks. We decided to hit the road for the first stage and then re-assess at the roadhouse. The general mood though was to go for it.
After a bit more dicking around when Max blew a fuse we rolled out going north again. We moved away from the coast and travelled through dry country with mature wheat crops laid out across rolling hills. A minor highlight was seeing the turn-off to the Principality of Hutt River, Australia’s oldest micro-nation. The Billabong Homestead Hotel-Motel presented an opportunity to stop and fix Max, who was flashing his ‘engine check’ light, and Brocky’s Beemer which was again presenting throttle issues. Twisting the throttle was giving no go. We were made to feel very welcome at the Billabong by Kelly who was working behind the bar. Nothing was a problem and she was very helpful with local knowledge. We were happy to have her serve us. Happy also with some old mate who heard our story as he walked out the door and gave us a $20 donation.
We pushed a further 50 kilometres to the Overland Roadhouse where we filled with fuel. It was getting to 3pm now but we decided to still try and push to the National Park. The wind had also got up at this time as we were back near the coast and this made it hard for the bikes. A lot of the first kilometres were on asphalt as this road serves Denham and Monkey Mia, two significant tourism sites. It turned to dirt and the bikes turned it up as we continued westward, heading towards our final destination. As we got further west the road got rougher, the wind got stronger and the feeling was that we might struggle to get to Steep Point by nightfall. The final sealer was a large kangaroo that Carl met as he came over the top of a hill. He didn’t hit it but the ‘roo sat in the middle of the road and looked at him. The decision: lets camp!
We found a campsite on the edge of Disappointment Loop near Baba Head in the Henri Freycinet Harbour. It was a good place to camp; plenty of firewood, a good clear space and beautiful views. The country, as it came down to the water’s edge, is fairly harsh, with salt bush, small flowering shrubs and low stunted trees, populated with lizards, birds and snakes. The water’s edge was much layered and weathered showing millions of years of erosion. In some places fossils could be seen, yet near the water’s edge, the process of fossilisation could be seen slowly occurring. As we camped and enjoyed a second lot of spaghetti bolognaise a light skiff of rain came from the cloudy skies. Weary heads in the camp (upwards of 500kms for the day) held a nervous expectation, caution and even concern about the day ahead. We had received many warnings about the harsh road ahead, especially for bikes. Discussion around the campfire was of hypothesising how the day might pan out and if indeed would we get to Steep Point.