Way into the WA wilderness

[JohnM]

Day 16, Tuesday 18 July.

Day 13 on the CSR.

Full day at Well 33 and into Kunnawarritji for fuel (16 km round trip).

Camp site at Well 33.



Lining up in ‘town’ for fuel – do you favour the R or L, sir? Fill ‘er up mate and hang the cost…



It’s a crossroads of sorts here and some of the people camping at Well 33 are crossing the CSR. Some of the locals. Sunset.



While at Well 33 I noticed some vehicle activity going past early in the morning and heard an aircraft take off not long after. Ears pricked up. While in ‘town’ I saw a guy with pilot garb on and got talking. Turns out he’s flying geomagnetic surveys on a contract with Geoscience Australia. Their early start this morning was terminated by tech problems with the magnetometer gear. The pilot’s in town while the techo is battling the gremlins in the measurement gear out at the strip.

Interesting guy to talk with. He’s flying a Cessna Caravan at low altitude (around 200 m or less) and tells me that geophys flying is very dangerous – like crop-dusting. Not much time for sorting problems at 200 m. We had noticed some white structures in the distance to the E driving in to Well 33 and couldn’t work out what they were. Looked like farm sheds, but it turns out that they were fuel containers and the bird.

Anyway, on the way back out to camp, I go beyond it to the strip to put some aviation into this terrestrial trip.



Along the road between Well 33 and the airstrip.

 

[JohnM]

Day 17, Wednesday 19 July.

Day 14 on the CSR.

Well 33 to bush camp (100 km) via Well 34, 35, 36 (ruins), camp near Well 36 in a grove of Casuarinas and take an 800 m afternoon walk to Well 37 (ruins) and visit grave sites.

The online map I’ve been pinching images from again lacks some detail. It’s also a strip map, so N is not top centre. I’ll add a photo from the Hema map.

The airstrip beyond Well 33 is marked on the Hema map and there is a different primary marking of the CSR between Wells 34 and 38. The Hema shows more tracks more clearly and is the better map to use. Unfortunately, it’s not available online to scavenge from.



The pool at Well 33 attracted plenty of birdlife.



Enough of this dilettantism; we have c-c-c-c-corrugations to c-c-c-c-conquer and very tall spinifex to look over.





Well 34.

 

[JohnM]

Day 17, Wednesday 19 July (Cont.).

Day 14 on the CSR.

Take your pick. Probably nothing in it…



Spinifex can look dense but is basically patchy – hence the bareness when it burns.



Well 35. In a low-lying area, still a little damp underfoot. The signs are very new, installed recently by Track Care.



Getting into Casuarina country.



First encounter with something spectacular that we are going to see plenty more of. Northern Tinsel Flower.

 

[JohnM]

Day 17, Wednesday 19 July (Cont.).

Day 14 on the CSR.

More Northern Tinsel and some post-modern sculpture…



Well 36. This had an interesting event in, IIRC, 2011. A camel fell into the well. A tripod gantry was built and the corpse of the unfortunate Darwin-award winning beast was hoisted out. The tripod remains in place. Needless to say, nobody drinks the water… We crossed paths here with a three-vehicle group heading S.



It’s not only vehicles and trailers that come to grief out here.





This bush with bright yellow flowers with orange centres became extremely abundant in places further N.

 

[JohnM]

Day 17, Wednesday 19 July (Cont.).

Day 14 on the CSR.



Great bush camp site amongst the Casuarinas.



Walk on the CSR to Well 37 and graves from conflicts with Aborigines.



View of sun setting from the dune overlooking camp. Drinks and a nice stick insect. A gentle breeze that came up overnight sounded gorgeous and soothing whispering through the Casuarinas while tucked up in the tent. Peace, man…

 

[RooFlyer]

Do the Track Care people have any ambitions to take away wrecked vehicle debris, where practicable?

 

[JohnM]

Do the Track Care people have any ambitions to take away wrecked vehicle debris, where practicable?

I don't know. Seemingly not. I would guess, as experienced people, that they avoid taking in trailers.

However, I guess they would need to when constructing a new toilet (which would only happen very infrequently). Maybe then they make take some debris out. But wrecked vehicles would be heavy and unwieldy.

All conjecture, though.

 

[JohnM]

Day 18, Thursday 20 July.

Day 15 on the CSR.

Bush camp to bush camp (70 km) via Wan Cave, ‘Rockhole’ Well 38, Well 39 (ruins). Overnight at a camp in the Casuarinas again on the S shore of Lake Tobin.

Fun day in the dunes and soft sand today. The Formation Bogging Team sprang into action early on for a bit of winching before everyone hit their straps. Generally, in the morning when the sand is cool it tends to give a firmer grip. I think couple of the early people going over a large, soft dune overestimated the degree of firmness. Anyway, it was a good experience seeing winching in action – although it was a little unnerving seeing Jeremy’s Kevlar winch rope which looked like a piece of string - but it certainly did the job. Details shortly.

Again, adding some Hema map detail. Occasionally there are some alternate tracks that the online strip map misses.





ATC had its hands full this morning. I was tail-end Charlie this day, so I stopped on the crest of a dune and had a bird’s eye view of the action unfolding on the next dune.



My vantage point – and time to take some pics of the plant life there while ATC cleared the strip.



The other Troopy flying – but not for long. Moving up to join the queue. The other Troopy is stuck - time for the winch.

 

[JohnM]

Day 18, Thursday 20 July (Cont.).

Day 15 on the CSR.

Hitched up for winching. Not so much bogged as run out of momentum, come to a standstill and unable to get sufficient traction to get over. Trying too hard would inevitably have the vehicle bogging in - while backing-up was also not feasible from this far up and in such soft sand. Tensioning – and I step back; that bit of string, Kevlar or not, looks flimsy.



Over you come to mama, baby.



May as well look at the flowers while waiting for the next Formation Bogging Team performance. Glen just pulling into the runway way down below this fluff. Sure enough, gets to about the same point. Haul ‘im over…



Those that have come over wait in the distance. Lesson now learned for the rest – go faster. Annie’s over – and so is ‘Rocketman’ – with John lining up and he does it. I’m after John…

 

[JohnM]

Andy was taking video, so here we go…

Pffft – piece of cake… But why am I seeing blurry humanoid shapes scattering – Hmmm, someone must have seen a snake :shock:. Good fun !


[video=youtube_share;5ztXaDaYOYE]https://youtu.be/5ztXaDaYOYE[/video]

 

[JohnM]

Day 18, Thursday 20 July (Cont.).

Day 15 on the CSR.

Onwards, ever onwards. And being tail-end Charlie on a day of great driving has the bonus that I have greater freedom to pause or stop to take pics (and then to have some fun catching up…).







Wan Cave in a small rocky outcrop.



Pretty cough tail Mulla Mulla and gall with wasp exit holes.

 

[JohnM]

Day 18, Thursday 20 July (Cont.).

Day 15 on the CSR.



Well 38 – the ‘Rockhole’. Multiple Aboriginal names are appearing – I suspect recent research (and probably objections) is leading to new signage. This is in a natural watercourse and explosives were used to create a large ‘rockhole’ to act as a reservoir.



This well is also known as the Duntroon Military College site. In 1976, in December-January a (presumably sadistic) officer led a group of recruits on a CSR expedition in (petrol) LandRovers. IIRC, they had New Year’s Eve here. They left their mark in the rock under the overhang (as with some of the Aboriginal rock markings, one may ask the rhetorical question: art or graffiti?…). Pulling out of Well 38 and on some rockier ground for a while.

 

[JohnM]

Day 18, Thursday 20 July (Cont.).

Day 15 on the CSR.



A few slightly rough bits. Expansive views over quite green spinifex. Stop for lunch near a nice breakaway and a walk to the top.



A sea of dunes and swales.



Lots of Northern Tinsel and the vegetation is lush in the swales around here as we zig-zag through the dunes.

 

[JohnM]

Day 18, Thursday 20 July (Cont.).

Day 15 on the CSR.

Through the dunes and on to Well 39 (ruins) in a low-lying area.



A little water attracted the wasps, as usual. Massive flock (aka murder – I’ve been to school quiz nights…) of crows (ravens, really) overhead.



A little more flora at peak flowering and on to camp in a small grove of Casuarinas right next to the track. A sensational day’s driving!



Seems nondescript, but take a closer look.



Time for a walk (c. 2 km) to Lake Tobin and back as the shadows lengthened. I put some warm water into my camp shower bag, took it and my camera over the dune to the west, hung it in a tree and showered to the sun setting. A nice way to top off a great day!

 

[JohnM]

Oops - the video at Post #90 should now be public.

 

[love_the_life]

Oops - the video at Post #90 should now be public.

It looks like a fair bit of speed required to hit the top

 

[JohnM]

Day 19, Friday 21 July.

Day 16 on the CSR.

Bush camp to bush camp (120 km) via Tobin Lake, Well 40 (ruins), Tobin’s grave, Well 41 (ruins), Well 42 (the shallowest well and really a 1.4 m deep ‘tank’ in the limestone on the edge of Gull Lake). Longest distance between wells and highest dunes (but we’ve got ‘em sussed now…) is between Wells 41 & 42. Bush camp N of Well 43 (return to visit Well 43 the following morning).

Again, the online strip map is a little strange. The pale purple ‘highlighter-style’ line marks the current track in this area, but has no track line drawn. It appears that Well 43 is on a dead-end, but it’s not. The Hema map gives more detail – and shows some tracks that have been old and new sections of the CSR (and from which it is still possible to choose).

The arrow on the Hema pic shows roughly where we camped this night. In Day 20’s report I’ll elaborate on the back-track to Well 43 the next morning and the (gorgeous) ‘old’ route we took to continue N. The great benefit of tagging along with an experienced guide...



Dawn through the Casuarinas. Lined up at the start of an 18 km firm stretch across Tobin Lake (as Jeremy pointed out, it’s a different story when it’s wet. He had a lot of winching here in 2016). Plenty of termite mounds.



Sometimes you just need to look a little more closely at plants. 60 kph on the lake section; could easily have gone faster.



18 clicks later, the Tobin Lake sign on the N side. Again, halophyte succulents at their peak.



Plenty of Tinsel as we get back into the dunes.

 

[JohnM]

Day 19, Friday 21 July (Cont.).

Day 16 on the CSR.

Well 40. Tobin’s grave. Tobin was a member of the original Canning expedition who was speared by an Aboriginal and died as a result.



Picturesque driving.



Along a narrow swale. More lush flora.



Just lovely scenery while trundling along quite nicely at 40 kph.



Well 41 and residents.

 

[JohnM]

Day 19, Friday 21 July (Cont.).

Day 16 on the CSR.







Lunch stop was a shady spot on the N side of a large dune. Well-warned, and well-learned from the previous day, everyone was on-point. No winching anymore!

I’m over, and no. 2 today, so I dashed back up onto the dune to watch the action. Here comes Mike.



‘Rocketman’ Steve. John. Annie. Everyone made it look easy today.

 

[JohnM]

Day 19, Friday 21 July (Cont.).

Day 16 on the CSR.

Lunch stop beyond the large dune.



Pressing on to Well 42.



Another stretch of lake bed and playing around while driving. No cops out here! Welcome committee just before camp. Evening falls on another great day.

Later that night, a dingo was spotted slinking through camp. Never leave boots out…