Flinders Ranges
2nd - 17th July 2005

To say that the trip was jinxed from day 1 is an understatement.

In fact even before the trip started, Bob went down like a pole axed deer with the dreaded tummy wog. He was so bad that his wife Ros put him in hospital for a night and did not want him to go on the trip.

But, he recovered, (sort of) and off we went.

I had spent over $1400 on my Range Rover to get it up to scratch for the trip, including a new alternator.

By the time we got to Windsor, it was evident that something was very wrong.

We stopped to get a coke for young John, and could not get the car to start.

Eventually it did, but reluctantly.

We arrived in Bathurst (late) and met up with Terry and Rhonda Boyce, had a pleasant meal and evening with them.

Next day the car started without incident and we set off for Dubbo via Orange. On arrival at Orange we decided to have a coffee and meet up with Michael and his two sons.

Great stuff, but would the Rangie start? NO.

We decided that it was the starter motor that had gone fut., as it was making that ominous sound that starter motors make when they are about to die.

Called friend Clive who lives in Orange, who has a flourishing garden of Land Rover Parts, and found that he was attending his Grandsons Christening. But being the man he is he came along to see if he could help. Yes, he had a starter motor.

However, in the interim we had called the NRMA, and to cut a long story short, it was found that the brand new alternator had not been connected properly (not earthed) and the batteries were not charging sufficiently. Not the fault of the starter motor.

We made it to Dubbo eventually, and set up camp.

Next day the crew went to the Zoo, and I spent the day wandering around Dubbo getting the alternator properly installed. Recommend Macca's Auto Electrics - very helpful.

The crew enjoyed the Zoo, and in the late afternoon we headed off to Nyngan. Got there fairly late and set up camp at the local caravan park.

In the interim, we had a phone call from Herve who told us that the route we had planned to take to get to Broken Hill - via Hillston and Ivanhoe - was closed due to heavy rain. Herve was to take a similar route on his trek to the west, but was turned back.

So, we headed off toward Broken Hill via Wilcannia. We decided not to stay in or around Wilcannia. The dirt road had just re-opened to Menindee, so decided to give it a try. About an hour later, young John found us a great bush camp just off the main road, and Bob was very happy, because the sandy soil in the (dry) creek bed was nice and soft for his needs. You guessed it his gut problems were not exactly over at that stage.

We spent a very pleasant late afternoon and night around a real camp fire. This is what it is all about!

Until now it had not rained on us. however we had been plagued with extremely heavy dew each morning. I can now understand why this region closes after light rain, as the morning dew was enough to turn the ground muddy.

We packed up the next day and headed off to Menindee. Around the middle of the afternoon, Eric, driving the Disco, noticed that it didn’t matter how hard you pressed the accelerator (engine was revving ok), the car coasted to a stop! We all pulled up as it appeared that Michaels Disco decided that enough was enough. It was its turn to play up. After much beard pulling and opening and closing of the bonnet, it was determined that it may be the rear diff or an axle that had carked it. Thanks Lord for a front diff.

Michael called directory assistance on his CDMA phone (worth considering for outback travel) and they connected him to the Landrover dealer in Broken Hill. He then decided to head off to Broken Hill to get the car repaired, and the rest of us went on to Menindee.

What a disappointment. The Lakes are empty - not a drop - dry as the proverbial bone - no water in them either. I was there about five years ago and there were white caps on the lakes - boats - birds (the feathered kind) and all sorts of pleasure craft.

We drove around a bit, and had a look at Kinchega National Park and the historic Woolshed. Well worth a visit. The photo opportunities are endless.

We spent the night at a lovely campsite on the banks of the Darling River, but the downside was the lack of fire wood, so the camp fire was short and sweet. Early night.

We had a late start and a leisurely drive into Broken Hill, where we met up with Michael and the boys.

Michael's Disco had a busted rear diff, and it would take two days to get the parts from Adelaide and do the repairs.

We all decided to stay in the local Caravan Park and DO Broken Hill.

Then the rains came. Then the wind blew. Then it got cold and I mean COLD. Michael and the boys were ok, they were being put up in a van - paid for by the NRMA. (It’s worth taking out NRMA premium cover)

The rest of us had no such luck and we all got very wet and very cold.

So much so that the next day, Bob and I decided to take an onsite van to get our gear dried out.

Terry and Rhonda decided to stay in the Ship Shape, but by next morning they had had enough and decided to call it quits and go home.

The weather reports were depressing to say the least, and most of the roads were closed by local flooding.

So we farewelled our two friends, and the rest of us headed off to Hawker. Michael's Disco and the Rangie decided to behave themselves and the trip was uneventful. We didn't make it to Hawker in one hit, but camped overnight in a caravan park in Quorn.

The landscape and the town have been used in films as diverse as 'Gallipoli', 'The Shiralee', 'The Sundowners', 'Sunday Too Far Away' and 'Robbery Under Arms'

The next morning we went down to have a look at the Pichi Richi Railway that runs from Quorn to Peterborough providing visitors with the experience of an old-style steam railway journey. This runs over part of the old Gann line to Alice Springs

We made it to Wilpena Pound, set up camp, I developed the dreaded Gastro, and the rains came down again.

The next couple of days were not at all pleasant - particularly for me having to trot back and forth to the loo in the wet and cold, day and night. The other guys managed to get around a bit but the roads were all closed so we could not access the areas and places we had planned to see.

We packed up in the rain and headed off toward Victoria and the Murray Sunset National Park.

We spent the first night out in Burra, a charming little town, and although the common accommodation was all booked out, caravan park and motel, we spent the night in absolute luxury staying in a couple of cottages. Warm dry beds, fuel fires, indoor loos, hot showers, heaven on a stick. The local Tourist Information Centre was very helpful in organising this.

Highly recommended.

Next day we set off to the Little Desert. The turnoff to the National park was not sign posted, so we used Michael’s moving map on his laptop which is connected to his GPS, to find the turn off. We used this system to find our way through the park. We travelled for about an hour and when we reached an intersection I recognised, I remembered a camp ground I had been to on another trip. We turned right and spent the night at the Shearers Hut camp ground. We were able to build a roaring fire, and dry out the beds and the tents. My Gastro decided to give me some relief, and things started to look up a little.

The night was dry, clear and warm.

The Shearers Hut location has a drop loo, for campers, and a flushing one if you hire the Hut.

Nice place.

Next day dawned dry and clear and after a leisurely breakfast we packed up and headed off into Sunset Country.

The scenery is pretty ordinary - mostly scrub - but there are pockets of interest such as lakes. Good photo opportunities.

Obviously the lakes had water in them and that made a big difference. There was one incident worthy of note, it was one of the few times that I was allowed to drive my car, and I dug into a bog hole at the wrong angle and managed a 'pirouette' as Michael described it, but in fact it was a very swaying 360 degree turn in the mud. I seriously thought that we would turn over. We lost a few tools out of the tool box on the top of the car, but suffered no damage. Missed the "tree" by the width of a bee's thingo.

One disappointment was the lack of wild life - very little about.

We navigated our way out of the park, with the aid of the GPS and came out on the Calder Highway at Hattah. We re-fuelled here and depending on whether you owned a V8 or a Tdi, depended on whether you shelled out a considerable amount of cash! (The Tdi was returning 11L /100) The less said about the V8 the better!

We spent the night at Hattah National Park.

Very pleasant indeed - good fire wood - and again fine and dry. Clean loos with rubbish bins outside.

After a leisurely start we headed off toward Hay and West Wyalong.

I have been travelling the Hay Plains for over thirty years - probably ten times - and I have never seen it like it is now. It is a golf course. I could not believe how green the plain could be. Magnificent.

We made it late into West Wyalong and stayed the night in a Caravan Park. You guessed it - it started to rain - poured is a more accurate description. We had our final meal together in a Chinese restaurant, and next morning headed off to Sydney. We were going to contact Hugh and Mary Scott, members who live about 30ks out of West Wyalong, but the roads were less than desirable to travel on.

I know that if I had contacted Hugh he would have met us regardless, but I thought it best not to put him at risk.

On the whole, the trip was pleasant because of the company and the positive attitude of the people on the trip. Good humour and understanding of each others needs makes all the difference.

Thank you Michael, and particularly your sons, Eric and Henry, for being so patient and understanding with young John. He had a ball by the way, put on weight, was always laughing and getting very dirty. Typical boy stuff.

Maybe we will run the trip again next year, but a bit later - would really like to see some of the places we missed out on.

Thanks to all of you for making the trip.

Dave.