Trek the Trak
Riding the outback tracks
  • Home
  • Treks
    • TTT 7 - 2016
    • TTT 6 - 2015 >
      • General Trek Stuff >
        • Advance Party
        • The Machines
        • Its Mental
        • More Great Photos
        • Mr. Damage
      • Day 1 to 4 - Perth to Steep Point >
        • Day 1 Perth to Walgunya Nat Park - 12/10/15
        • Day 2 - Walgunya to Knobby Head 13/10/2015
        • Day 3 - Knobby Head to Shark Bay 14/10/15
        • Day 4 - Steep Point 15/10/15
      • Day 5 to 8 - Steep Point to Geraldton Bore >
        • Day 5 - Steep Point to Geraldton 16/10/2015
        • Day 6 - Geraldton to Dalgaranga 17/10/2015
        • Day 7 - Dalgaranga to Wiluna 18/10/2015
        • Day 8 - Wiluna to Geraldton Bore - 19/10/15
      • Day 9 to 12 - Geraldton Bore to Alice Springs >
        • Day 9 - Geraldton Bore to Warburton - 20/10/15
        • Day 10 - Warburton to Mt Fanny - 21/10/15
        • Day 11 - Mt Fanny to Red Rock - 22/10/15
        • Day 12 - Red Rock to Alice Springs - 23/10/15
      • Day 13 & 14 - Alice Springs >
        • Day 13 - Alice Springs - 24/10/15
        • Day 14 - Alice Springs - 25/10/15
      • Day 15 to 20 - Alice Springs to Birdsville >
        • Day 15 - Alice To Old Andado - 26/10/2015
        • Day 16 - Old Andado to Dalhousie - 27/10/2015
        • Day 17 - Dalhousie to Lynnies Junction 28/10/2015
        • Day 18 - Lynnies Junction to Poolowanna - 29/10/2015
        • Day 19 - Poolowanna to Birdsville - 30/10/2015
        • Day 20 - Birdsville Sat 31/10/15
      • Days 21 to 25 Birdsville to Byron Bay >
        • Day 21 - Birdsville to Noccundra 1/11/2015
        • Day 22 - Noccundra to Comeroo Station 2/11/2015
        • Day 23 - Comeroo Station to Burren Junction 3/11/2015
        • Day 24 - Burren Junction to Tenterfield 4/11/2015
        • Day 25 - Tenterfield to Byron Bay 5/11/2015
    • TTT 1 - 2010
    • TTT 2 - 2011 >
      • A sign of the times...
    • TTT 3 - 2012 >
      • Trek The Track 3 - Goog's Track >
        • Signs of the times...
      • Days One to Five >
        • Day One Pictures
        • Day Two Pictures
        • Day Three Pictures
        • Day Four Pictures
        • Day Five Pictures
      • Days Six to Eleven >
        • Day Six Pictures
        • Day Seven Pictures
        • Day Eight Pictures
        • Day Nine Pictures
        • Day Ten Pictures
        • Day Eleven Pictures
    • TTT 4 - 2013 >
      • Maralinga - A fantastic adevnture destination
      • Days 1 to 6: 4/10/2013 to 9/10/2013 >
        • Day 1 - Homes to Ned's Corner
        • Day 2 - Ned's Corner to Hancock's Lookout
        • Day 3 - Hancock's Lookout to Coober Pedy
        • Day 4 - Coober Pedy to Anne Beadell Highway Trackside Trailer Park
        • Day 5 - Trackside Trailer Park to Emu
        • Day 6 - Emu to Maralinga
      • Day's 7 to 12 - 10/10/2013 to 15/10/2013 >
        • Day 7 - Maralinga
        • Day 8 - Maralinga to Anne Beadell Highway Trackside Trailer Park
        • Day 9 - Anne Beadell Highway Campsite to Wiliam Creek
        • Day 10 - William Creek to Parachilna
        • Day 11 - Parachilna to Mildura
      • Breaking Bad
      • "Hey Stickers"
    • 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 >
        • Day 7 - 25kms south of Vokes Corner to Oak Valley Airport 18-8-2014
        • Day 8 - Oak Valley Airport to Cook 19-8-2014
        • Day 9 - Cook to Fowlers Bay 20-8-2014
        • Day 10 - Fowlers Bay to Lake Gillies 21-8-2014
        • Day 11 - Lake Gillies to Hahndorf to 22-8-2014
        • Day 12 - Hahndorf to Wangaratta 23-8-2014
  • Flying Doctors
  • The Movies
  • Photo Albums
    • TTT7 - The Gulf
    • TTT6
  • Links
    • Project Chuckwagon

Day 6 - UCP to 25kms south of Vokes Corner 17-8-2014

20/8/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Reaching a high point and hoping to avoid a low.

Overnight clear skies prevailed and we shivered in our swags.  Ice formed on the top of the fridges and froze the wet mugs we had washed and left on the table.  Reports came in of some jets flying past overnight low and fast, and at 6.00am some poor souls flew past high up in passenger jets returning from holidays in cheap destinations in Asia.  We looked up and smiled.  This wasn't a holiday, this was an adventure.

Everyone was up and working to throw off the cold and enjoy the rising sun in the clear sky.  Joc got up and we gathered to hear his prognosis. Not needing Doctor Google as he is a Paramedic, he had worked out that he had probably broken some ribs and damaged his shoulder, along with general soreness.  However, he was going to ride on.  Award ceremony was held, and Joc got the day’s award for having the biggest spill.  He was issued with new glasses so he could see the trees before he hit them, an RFDS Nurse Teddy Bear that the Flying Doctors had dropped off overnight to treat him and to cuddle if he felt sad and a blue bandana, as that was the colour he would end up when the bruising came out.

Joc mounted up (with difficulty) and we rode.  We didn’t go far before another issue was noticed.  His red BMW 800GS Adventurer was a bit worse for wear.  An examination showed that there was a bend in the rear sub-frame and the rear shock absorber had leaked out its oil, meaning the back bounced up and down like a pogo stick.  Joc shrugged this off as well and still he continued on.  It was 30 kilometres from our camp to Vokes Hill Corner, our first objective.  We made it around 11.30 and settled to enjoy the serenity.  Here we would turn off to the south on the road to Cook and Nullabor and leave the Anne Beadell behind.

A group of four decided to continue on in our quest to reach the famed Vokes Hill.  We went further west along the highway and then north to the spot that was showing on the GPS.  The track grew smaller and twisting, with sandhills presenting challenges to the crew in the D Max.  The land gradually rose and we looked about in eager anticipation of seeing the mythical hill.  Twisting and turning the arrow on the GPS came closer and closer to the mark on the map and as we came through the scrub we saw the carpark of our objective…with a car parked there already.  Here in the middle of nowhere was a young couple already enjoying the spot.  They welcomed us as we tumbled out of the ute and walked the last metres to the top.  Although not overwhelming the view was nonetheless splendid and well worth the efforts made by all the team to get there. In recognition of the three who didn’t come to the top of the hill we took their helmets and had a small ceremony to mark this turning point of our trek.  From here we were heading home.

Back at Vokes Hill Corner we lunched and gathered our thoughts.  It was late in the afternoon but we would continue south now on the road to Cook until 4.30.  The track changed now as we started going across the line of the sandhills rather than parallel.  It reminded us of previous tracks such as Goog’s or the road between Emu
and Maralinga. The bikes started doing it hard in the soft sand while the D Max and Monster Chuck covered the
ground fairly easy, albeit selecting 4wd for the first time in the trip.  We struggled to get far in the soft conditions, eventually calling it a day and setting up camp in a swale about 25 kilometres south of Vokes Hill Corner. 
It proved to be a good choice as it gave us an early finish to the day and the opportunity to enjoy the serenity and the beef ragu; a good bunch of blokes enjoying good goon. Concern for Joc was high as we drifted off to bed to watch the stars above.  We had to lift him off his bike and help him out of his clothes and he went to
bed early to try and recover enough to continue


Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    The Wordsmith writes that its a team effort; without the team there would be nothing to write.

    Archives

    August 2014
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Categories

    All
    General
    TTT2012 Goog's!
    TTT2012 - Goog's!

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.