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I've just put together a bit of a write up on my recent Simpson Desert Trip. I started it, intending on it to be a quick little read, but it seems to have ballooned somewhat, so I apologise if this has turned out to be boring and longwinded, but hopefully the pictures make up for it.... Enjoy.
The Simpson Desert, 2010.
Well, after 18 months of planning and plenty of $'s thrown at all of the trucks, the time had finally arrived. It was extremely difficult to try and get a dozen people, who all work in the same occupation to all get simultaneous time off, but somehow we did it. There were a few weeks of worry and concern as the amount of water through the area had us seriously considering a 'Plan B' as most of the National Park would be closed and under water. Then the unthinkable happened three weeks out from the departure date.... one of the guys who was going to be making the trip with us had an idiot pull out in front of him and bang, his 80 Series LandCruiser was written off! So the internet was scoured looking for a replacement, which came in the way of a 105 Series.
So, everything pulled together just in time to make this a trip of a lifetime!
The timing of this trip was to be at the Birdsville Hotel on Thursday 5 August to celebrate a mates 30th Birthday in style!
Coming along on this trip were 6 trucks. There was our D4D 120 Prado, a TD5 Land Rover Discovery II, a 3.0TD D22 Nissan Navara, a 4.2TD 100 LandCruiser, a 4.5 Petrol/Gas 105 LandCruiser and a 4.2D GQ Nissan Patrol.
Day 1: Adelaide to Woomera
Thursday 29th July 2010
We all met at the Caltex Servo on Port Wakefield Road nice and early for a pretty cruisey drive to get us to Woomera to end Day 1.
Hopefully plenty of skies like this are ahead or us....
So, on arrival at Woomera, we checked in to The Eldo and got stuck in to a few lagers and chatted about what may lay ahead. We ended up meeting one of the honcho's of the RTA and got the inside word on some of the tracks. Everything was promising for a great trip with all tracks open. After a bit of a late one, we called it a night and hit the hay.
Day 2: Woomera to William Creek.
Friday July 30th 2010
In the morning, we were all geared up and ready to go, when the guy from the RTA caught up with us. he gave us the bad news that the Borefield Track had been closed, due to a few inches of rain overnight..... oh no! Worse still, the rain had also closed the Oodnadatta Track leading north from William Creek.
We decided to head north anyway, and hope for the best or change route to go via Kulgera and come in from the top. So it was back to the blacktop and head to William Creek via Coober Pedy.
These were abundant! My favourite plant...
This turned out to be another easy day behind the wheel, but parts of the Coober to William Creek Track gave us just a small insight into the conditions that would face us later, but we didn't know it yet.
We arrived at William Creek on schedule, and first stop was the pub for the iconic shots and then set up camp. Once camp was all set up, then it was off to the pub for heap more beverages and a great feed. This place is absolutely fantastic! The pub has been decked out with every random object you could imagine, from hardhats to drivers licences, to foreign cash to the shirt off your own back!
Here we are...
Setting up camp...
So fingers crossed for tomorrow that the track north would open up and we'd be on our way.
Day 3: William Creek to Eringa Springs.... or so we hoped!
Saturday 31st July 2010
Well, bad news. The tracks were still closed, and there was no update on track conditions due until 10am! So what else to do but go back to the pub and hook in to a big breaky of bacon and eggs. After another great meal at William Creek, we got the nod. The track had been opened to 4x4 only, you beauty! Off we go.
We made it about 200 metres until we came across a couple stopped in the middle of the track. Their caravan had dropped a bearing and lost its cap. So after a quick search, we found their missing cap and left them on their way.
Once we got out of William Creek, we found out why the tracks had been closed! The amount of water out here was beyond comprehension! It was absolutely everywhere.
4x4 only, or closed...
And this is why...
After a number of deep puddles, which we had come concerns about with the 105 Series being snorkel-less, we hit Oodnadatta and the Pink Roadhouse for a timely lunch stop.
It was here, after speaking with a few travellers heading south that we realised we wouldn't make our scheduled camp at Eringa Springs this night. So speaking amongst ourselves, we set our new target of Mount Sarah for the night.
Beer o'clock...
Here, we setup camp, kicked off a great fire and settled down for the night. The trucks definitely showed the conditions of the tracks by the new colour schemes we were wearing with pride.
Day 4: Mount Sarah to Dalhousie Springs.
Sunday 1st August 2010
After an early rise, we needed to get on the road early to make up for lost time. So off we went!
Some of the tracks were more like rivers. There was water completely covering the width of the track and continued to stretch for hundreds of metres. Given that none of us were keen to walk, we hit them head on and hoped for the best. But luckily, given that they're the only tracks in the area, they were all hard under foot and easy crossing, as long as the wipers could keep up....
Eringa Springs...
Then we got about 7kms out of Mount Dare and things got very interesting. These last few kilometres were going to be some hard going! None of us have ever experienced any tracks like this before, and none of us have had so much fun behind the wheel of a 4x4 either! Best part was, we had to go through it all again to get back to the Dalhousie turnoff.
Once we got in to Mount Dare, the Disco started to develop a loud whine when turning. Power steering pump! So up went the bonnet and down went the tools. The power steering hose has a small section of aluminium on it, and this had rubbed on the engine block and worn a hole straight through it. So some new hose and some more fluid and we were good to go! Lunch and a beer, tanks topped up and it was back through the mud bound for Dalhousie and back on schedule.
Dalhousie is an amazing place, words can't really do it any justice. And the crowds at the campground were a testament to this! With the Disco's little breakdown, it put us into Dalhousie just before dark and that meant that all the good camping spots were taken, so camping in the mud for us had to do!
Day 5: Dalhousie Springs to Colson's Junction.
Monday 2nd August 2010
We started off the morning with a dip in the springs to watch the sun rise. There's no better way to kick off a day!
A different way of crossing The Simpson...
Once we had all packed up, it was time to roll out.... then there was more trouble, the GQ's clutch was slipping and wouldn't engage properly. After some tweaking, it was deemed to be terminal!
The GQ had to turn around and head back to Mount Dare. So, without hesitation the 105 Series put their hand up to follow the GQ to make sure it got back safely. Hopefully once at the Mount Dare Hotel, the clutch could be fixed and the GQ and 105 Series would catch us up again, but no such luck. Just out of Dalhousie, the GQ lost its clutch all together and had to be skull-dragged back to Mount Dare. So here, the journey ended for the GQ and the 105 Series, but they had an adventure of their own, because the 105 Series had to tow the GQ through all that mud and slop leading in to Mount Dare again. An awesome effort. So the GQ ended up getting towed all the way to Kulgera and then forked on to a truck back to Adelaide.
So, feeling a little bit empty the remaining four trucks continued the adventure east. It felt wrong continuing on after dropping the other two trucks, but I guess it had to be done.....
Then another setback, the Disco started to overheat about 30kms further down the track. So we pulled over and popped the bonnet (which became a very familiar site for the Disco....) and checked the problem. The hose linking the coolant reservoir to the radiator had split, easy! So a bit of hose, some clamps and we were rolling again. Due to the number of running repairs we were somewhat behind schedule now, so we set our target for Purni Bore instead.
Once we continued on, we came across a section of the track that was completely submerged in water. The water stretched as far as our eyes could see, and we had no idea how deep it was. So, in we went and hoed for the best. We basically drove from one side to the other completely blind because the wipers couldn't get rid of the water quick enough.
We finally crossed this section, which ended up being about 2kms wide and then it was back to it.
We made camp at Purni Bore with a bit of daylight to spare, so up went camp and down went the beers in front of another great campfire. Not knowing what was ahead of us given the conditions, we planned for another early morning departure.
Day 6: Purni Bore to WAA Junction.
Tuesday 3rd August 2010
We kicked off, bright and early and again headed east, and we have now officially entered the Simpson Desert National Park.
Today seemed to be going along nicely and we decided we would take the Rig Road all the way through and by-pass Colson's Junction, to try and keep our chances of making Birdsville on time alive. Things were travelling along nicely until the 100 Series dropped its front passenger side shocker. So we pulled over and re-fitted it because there was still a fair bit of the trip ahead of us. We continued on, now taking the WAA Line as we were slipping behind.
We continued east along the WAA Line, taking it easy and water crossing after water crossing. It was an amazing feeling doing this sort of driving in the middle of a desert! We were almost at the WAA Junction, where it meets the Erabena track when the Disco had a charge warning light pop up on the dashboard. F#@k, what now!
We popped the bonnet and adjusted the terminals on the main battery, with one of them working its way only slightly loose. So we fired up the Disco, and continued on.... for about another 3kms until it stopped dead. So, we were now at the WAA Junction, and night time was near so we set up camp and had a look at the Disco while the ladies did the right thing and took care of dinner for us. We flushed out the Disco's alternator, changed the batteries around and hoped for the best come morning.
Day 7: WAA Juntion to Poeppel's Corner.
Wednesday 4th August 2010
We decided to get another early start to the day, because we were starting to worry about time constraints. I wouldn't say we were having breakdowns, we were just having "issues"
We started up the Disco, no dramas there. No warning light on the dashboard. Off we went, north along the Erabena Track, bound for the French Line. Travelling north, we were making great time, comfortably sitting on about 50kph as we were riding in the troughs of the dunes. Once we got to the French Line we took a right turn, and off we went. Then the 100 Series dropped its shock again. So, off came the wheel, on went the thread tape and back on with the wheel. Hopefully it can hold on until Birdsville....
Once we took off from the 100 Series "issue", we continued on for another 5 or so kilometres until the Disco stopped again! So up went the bonnet again, another flush out and hit with the air compressor. We jump started it, hoping that that should fix the problem and away we went. The driver of the Navara and I were just looking at each other, too scared to comment on the reliability of our trucks thus far, just in case Murphy's Law decided to bite us in the ass.
We come across a few travellers stuck in a clay pan, we watched them use their MaxTrax to great effect with the first vehicle, but not so well with the second. So we backed up the 100 Series and plucked them out in no time. Two trucks travelling west were spotlessly clean. They passed comment on how dirty our trucks were, and we asked if there was a carwash over the next dune that they had just left. So it seemed that the mud and water was behind us now.
Now it was our turn to cross the clay pan. First went the 100 Series, straight through. Then the Disco. Stuck! Maxtrax out and instantly unsuck. Then the Navara. Stuck and the sun starting to set. The Disco reversed up and snatched out the Navara. Finally the Prado to come.... Plenty or right foot, and a slight deviation in line and the Prado rocketed through without breaking a sweat.
We decided to continue on, and set ourselves a 8pm driving deadline to try and make up some time. Spotlights on and away we go. We ended up catching a group of tractors that we had seen camped at Dalhousie Springs. They had continued from Dalhousie straight along the French Line. they told us that they were travelling from Perth all the way through to Byron Bay! Not my first choice of vehicle for making the trek, but then some probably don't care for the Prado much either I guess. But they were a lovely group or retired farmers and were having fun.
On we continued, to Poeppel Corner. We didn't plan on seeing it in the pitch black, but at least we saw it. We stopped and had a quick celebratory beverage and decided to continue on as we were still feeling fresh and wanted to make up as much time as we could.
We ended up driving until just after 9:30pm, where we set up camp at the start of the QAA Line, just north of the Poeppel Lakes. Straight to bed that night after almost 14hrs behind the wheel.
Day 8: QAA Line to Birdsville.
Thursday 5th August 2010
After a long day, we had another early rise. We packed up the minimal camp that we set up the previous night, focused on making Big Red and Birdsville that night. Then we look 100 metres to our east, that we couldn't see the night before.... the mother of all clay pans! This clay pan had some 2 foot deep ruts, was soft and gooey, and didn't look like anybody had been through it in the last week.
So, should we go around not knowing how long the by-pass route was, or risk it and go straight through..... Straight through
First went the Disco, rear locker engaged and off it went. It got about half way, and then stuck! MaxTrax out again, a little bit of digging and away it went. Then the Navara, straight through with some revs and wheel spin. Then the third truck to go through, the Prado. Off I went, and went I did! I went straight down to the chassis rails, very stuck! MaxTrax out, shovel out, nothing! The clay had sort of built up an air tight seal around the bottom of the Prado and wouldn't let go. So the 100 Series took a different line, the tough line, and powered through. After taking about an hour to try and get the Prado out with no success, we backed the 100 Series down on the firm part of the track, linked together four snatch straps and a bridle, and out she came. Easy as you like. As we just got the Prado out, a group pulled up travelling west. They took one look at the clay pan and went around. In the time it took to pack up the snatch straps, shovels and quick chat about what happened, the other group had finished the detour around the clay pan and reached our camp site, about 600 metres from where we were! Bugger! That took them 15mins going around and took us 2hrs going straight through..... but I bet we had more fun.
We continued on with Big Red and a night on the cans keeping us going until the Disco stopped again! Here we go, another long day ahead of us.... So another flush of the alternator, a jump start and off we went.
Driving through the sand dunes with green as far as you can see and water crossings every dozen or so dunes was epic, no other way to describe it. But then the smooth sailing came to a halt. The 100 Series had dropped its shocker again. This time we just pulled the bastard out and drove without it.
All of a sudden, the landscape changed as we crest one dune. It went from being all small, green and lush shrubs to a mini rainforest of raking, tall trees. the bird life was abundant and must have really been relishing in these wet conditions. I have never seen so many budgies before in my life!
We continued on, being overtaken by a low flying helicopter on the way until there it was, Big Red! We had finally made it, and what a sight it was. There was so much water surrounding it, it was such the detour, eager to have a crack at the famous dune.
As we got around to the base of the dune, we realised that this may be a difficult feat to accomplish, as the water level really did restrict the run up you could take. So we let the Birthday Boy send the Disco up for the first crack, only to watch it get halfway up! Bugger.
We all spent some time having a go, but none of us were successful. I got so bloody close it wasn't funny, but just started to drag the ass end a bit. Looks like I'll have to organise some airbags from Darren to go with the Bilstein/Ridepro setup....
We stayed at the top of Big Red, just us, enjoying a few beers and watched the sun go down. Then it was off to the Birdsville Hotel for a nice meal and some more beers. As we rolled into Birdsville at night, what did I see? Another Prado bearing PP Sticker parked out the front. It was a dune coloured 120 Series Prado, nicely decked out and wearing Vic Registration plates. I still don't know who this was....
After a quiet night it was off to bed, with the adventure behind us now.... or so we thought!
Day 9: Birdsville to Mungerannie.
Friday 6th August 2010
After a solid sleep, we fuelled up, souvenired up (had a new shocker thrown in the 100 Series) and then hit the Birdsville Bakery for some breaky and a butter chicken pie. Fantastic! And I must say that I was amazed with economy of the Prado. All loaded up, and driven the way it was, it used a measly 92 litres of fuel. Pretty impressive!
We then headed south and back into SA. We made it about 80kms north of Mungerannie and then the Disco died again.... Out came the tow strap and the 100 Series pulled the Disco all the way to Mungerannie.
Mungerannie is a nice little place, with a pub and a hot spring, that's pretty much it. So we pulled in, put in the phone call to Land Rover and tried again the next day.
Day 10: Mungerannie to Leigh Creek.
Saturday 7th August 2010
Rise and shine, and off we go, all looking forward to the once in a lifetime chance of riding the Cooper Creek Ferry. We fired up the Disco, and to all or our amazement, it somehow started! WTF! Oh well, don't question it, just get going so away we went. We got 7kms south of Mungerannie and then the Disco pulled up stumps again. No charge, oil pressure light on, game over!
So the Prado went back to Mungerannie to arrange a tow truck through the RAA and the rest made their way south to get the Disco as close to Adelaide as we could.
The Prado ended up catching up with the rest of the crew just as we pulled in to the lineup. The punt had no line-up, so straight over we went. From all reports we had read, it was said to be a 30min trip one way, but we had all four trucks over in under an hour. The Disco was then strapped onto the back of the 100 Series again and away we go.
There was still an obscene amount of water out on the tracks, with some surprisingly deep which made the towing of the truck through a bit more interesting, but the 100 Series dominated and did it with ease. I have to tip my hat to the 100 Series, it definitely proved to be the tough truck of the trip (other than the shocker giving way a few times).
We made it in to Marree and then got the Disco on the back of a tow trailer. That's the end of the story for the Disco.
We then made it in to Leigh Creek that night, and there we had our last meal!
Day 11: Leigh Creek to Adelaide.
Sunday 8th August 2010
We woke up in the morning, and after a few phone calls it was agreed that the RAA would send a tow truck to Leigh Creek and collect the Disco. So, we packed up the trucks for the final time and headed south for the return leg.
As we pulled in to Hawker for a quick pit stop. As I got back to the Prado I could smell oil, so I looked under the truck and there was oil pissing out from near the fuel tank! Oh no. On smelling it, I thought it was diesel, so eager to get home I figured that once the fuel level dropped enough there would be no more leak. On arriving in Port Augusta, there was no more leak so homeward bound.
On getting home, the Prado went in the Toyota to get looked at. In the end, I found out that it spat the transfer case seal and it was actually the transfer oil. Warranty job!
It truly was an amazing adventure, and now that I am home I would love to do it again, to see what it is like in the "dry". Out in the desert, with all of the little issues we were having with the trucks etc it wasn't so much fun, but now that we have made it home, it was a blast.
The Simpson Desert, 2010.
Well, after 18 months of planning and plenty of $'s thrown at all of the trucks, the time had finally arrived. It was extremely difficult to try and get a dozen people, who all work in the same occupation to all get simultaneous time off, but somehow we did it. There were a few weeks of worry and concern as the amount of water through the area had us seriously considering a 'Plan B' as most of the National Park would be closed and under water. Then the unthinkable happened three weeks out from the departure date.... one of the guys who was going to be making the trip with us had an idiot pull out in front of him and bang, his 80 Series LandCruiser was written off! So the internet was scoured looking for a replacement, which came in the way of a 105 Series.
So, everything pulled together just in time to make this a trip of a lifetime!
The timing of this trip was to be at the Birdsville Hotel on Thursday 5 August to celebrate a mates 30th Birthday in style!
Coming along on this trip were 6 trucks. There was our D4D 120 Prado, a TD5 Land Rover Discovery II, a 3.0TD D22 Nissan Navara, a 4.2TD 100 LandCruiser, a 4.5 Petrol/Gas 105 LandCruiser and a 4.2D GQ Nissan Patrol.
Day 1: Adelaide to Woomera
Thursday 29th July 2010
We all met at the Caltex Servo on Port Wakefield Road nice and early for a pretty cruisey drive to get us to Woomera to end Day 1.
Hopefully plenty of skies like this are ahead or us....
So, on arrival at Woomera, we checked in to The Eldo and got stuck in to a few lagers and chatted about what may lay ahead. We ended up meeting one of the honcho's of the RTA and got the inside word on some of the tracks. Everything was promising for a great trip with all tracks open. After a bit of a late one, we called it a night and hit the hay.
Day 2: Woomera to William Creek.
Friday July 30th 2010
In the morning, we were all geared up and ready to go, when the guy from the RTA caught up with us. he gave us the bad news that the Borefield Track had been closed, due to a few inches of rain overnight..... oh no! Worse still, the rain had also closed the Oodnadatta Track leading north from William Creek.
We decided to head north anyway, and hope for the best or change route to go via Kulgera and come in from the top. So it was back to the blacktop and head to William Creek via Coober Pedy.
These were abundant! My favourite plant...
This turned out to be another easy day behind the wheel, but parts of the Coober to William Creek Track gave us just a small insight into the conditions that would face us later, but we didn't know it yet.
We arrived at William Creek on schedule, and first stop was the pub for the iconic shots and then set up camp. Once camp was all set up, then it was off to the pub for heap more beverages and a great feed. This place is absolutely fantastic! The pub has been decked out with every random object you could imagine, from hardhats to drivers licences, to foreign cash to the shirt off your own back!
Here we are...
Setting up camp...
So fingers crossed for tomorrow that the track north would open up and we'd be on our way.
Day 3: William Creek to Eringa Springs.... or so we hoped!
Saturday 31st July 2010
Well, bad news. The tracks were still closed, and there was no update on track conditions due until 10am! So what else to do but go back to the pub and hook in to a big breaky of bacon and eggs. After another great meal at William Creek, we got the nod. The track had been opened to 4x4 only, you beauty! Off we go.
We made it about 200 metres until we came across a couple stopped in the middle of the track. Their caravan had dropped a bearing and lost its cap. So after a quick search, we found their missing cap and left them on their way.
Once we got out of William Creek, we found out why the tracks had been closed! The amount of water out here was beyond comprehension! It was absolutely everywhere.
4x4 only, or closed...
And this is why...
After a number of deep puddles, which we had come concerns about with the 105 Series being snorkel-less, we hit Oodnadatta and the Pink Roadhouse for a timely lunch stop.
It was here, after speaking with a few travellers heading south that we realised we wouldn't make our scheduled camp at Eringa Springs this night. So speaking amongst ourselves, we set our new target of Mount Sarah for the night.
Beer o'clock...
Here, we setup camp, kicked off a great fire and settled down for the night. The trucks definitely showed the conditions of the tracks by the new colour schemes we were wearing with pride.
Day 4: Mount Sarah to Dalhousie Springs.
Sunday 1st August 2010
After an early rise, we needed to get on the road early to make up for lost time. So off we went!
Some of the tracks were more like rivers. There was water completely covering the width of the track and continued to stretch for hundreds of metres. Given that none of us were keen to walk, we hit them head on and hoped for the best. But luckily, given that they're the only tracks in the area, they were all hard under foot and easy crossing, as long as the wipers could keep up....
Eringa Springs...
Then we got about 7kms out of Mount Dare and things got very interesting. These last few kilometres were going to be some hard going! None of us have ever experienced any tracks like this before, and none of us have had so much fun behind the wheel of a 4x4 either! Best part was, we had to go through it all again to get back to the Dalhousie turnoff.
Once we got in to Mount Dare, the Disco started to develop a loud whine when turning. Power steering pump! So up went the bonnet and down went the tools. The power steering hose has a small section of aluminium on it, and this had rubbed on the engine block and worn a hole straight through it. So some new hose and some more fluid and we were good to go! Lunch and a beer, tanks topped up and it was back through the mud bound for Dalhousie and back on schedule.
Dalhousie is an amazing place, words can't really do it any justice. And the crowds at the campground were a testament to this! With the Disco's little breakdown, it put us into Dalhousie just before dark and that meant that all the good camping spots were taken, so camping in the mud for us had to do!
Day 5: Dalhousie Springs to Colson's Junction.
Monday 2nd August 2010
We started off the morning with a dip in the springs to watch the sun rise. There's no better way to kick off a day!
A different way of crossing The Simpson...
Once we had all packed up, it was time to roll out.... then there was more trouble, the GQ's clutch was slipping and wouldn't engage properly. After some tweaking, it was deemed to be terminal!
The GQ had to turn around and head back to Mount Dare. So, without hesitation the 105 Series put their hand up to follow the GQ to make sure it got back safely. Hopefully once at the Mount Dare Hotel, the clutch could be fixed and the GQ and 105 Series would catch us up again, but no such luck. Just out of Dalhousie, the GQ lost its clutch all together and had to be skull-dragged back to Mount Dare. So here, the journey ended for the GQ and the 105 Series, but they had an adventure of their own, because the 105 Series had to tow the GQ through all that mud and slop leading in to Mount Dare again. An awesome effort. So the GQ ended up getting towed all the way to Kulgera and then forked on to a truck back to Adelaide.
So, feeling a little bit empty the remaining four trucks continued the adventure east. It felt wrong continuing on after dropping the other two trucks, but I guess it had to be done.....
Then another setback, the Disco started to overheat about 30kms further down the track. So we pulled over and popped the bonnet (which became a very familiar site for the Disco....) and checked the problem. The hose linking the coolant reservoir to the radiator had split, easy! So a bit of hose, some clamps and we were rolling again. Due to the number of running repairs we were somewhat behind schedule now, so we set our target for Purni Bore instead.
Once we continued on, we came across a section of the track that was completely submerged in water. The water stretched as far as our eyes could see, and we had no idea how deep it was. So, in we went and hoed for the best. We basically drove from one side to the other completely blind because the wipers couldn't get rid of the water quick enough.
We finally crossed this section, which ended up being about 2kms wide and then it was back to it.
We made camp at Purni Bore with a bit of daylight to spare, so up went camp and down went the beers in front of another great campfire. Not knowing what was ahead of us given the conditions, we planned for another early morning departure.
Day 6: Purni Bore to WAA Junction.
Tuesday 3rd August 2010
We kicked off, bright and early and again headed east, and we have now officially entered the Simpson Desert National Park.
Today seemed to be going along nicely and we decided we would take the Rig Road all the way through and by-pass Colson's Junction, to try and keep our chances of making Birdsville on time alive. Things were travelling along nicely until the 100 Series dropped its front passenger side shocker. So we pulled over and re-fitted it because there was still a fair bit of the trip ahead of us. We continued on, now taking the WAA Line as we were slipping behind.
We continued east along the WAA Line, taking it easy and water crossing after water crossing. It was an amazing feeling doing this sort of driving in the middle of a desert! We were almost at the WAA Junction, where it meets the Erabena track when the Disco had a charge warning light pop up on the dashboard. F#@k, what now!
We popped the bonnet and adjusted the terminals on the main battery, with one of them working its way only slightly loose. So we fired up the Disco, and continued on.... for about another 3kms until it stopped dead. So, we were now at the WAA Junction, and night time was near so we set up camp and had a look at the Disco while the ladies did the right thing and took care of dinner for us. We flushed out the Disco's alternator, changed the batteries around and hoped for the best come morning.
Day 7: WAA Juntion to Poeppel's Corner.
Wednesday 4th August 2010
We decided to get another early start to the day, because we were starting to worry about time constraints. I wouldn't say we were having breakdowns, we were just having "issues"
We started up the Disco, no dramas there. No warning light on the dashboard. Off we went, north along the Erabena Track, bound for the French Line. Travelling north, we were making great time, comfortably sitting on about 50kph as we were riding in the troughs of the dunes. Once we got to the French Line we took a right turn, and off we went. Then the 100 Series dropped its shock again. So, off came the wheel, on went the thread tape and back on with the wheel. Hopefully it can hold on until Birdsville....
Once we took off from the 100 Series "issue", we continued on for another 5 or so kilometres until the Disco stopped again! So up went the bonnet again, another flush out and hit with the air compressor. We jump started it, hoping that that should fix the problem and away we went. The driver of the Navara and I were just looking at each other, too scared to comment on the reliability of our trucks thus far, just in case Murphy's Law decided to bite us in the ass.
We come across a few travellers stuck in a clay pan, we watched them use their MaxTrax to great effect with the first vehicle, but not so well with the second. So we backed up the 100 Series and plucked them out in no time. Two trucks travelling west were spotlessly clean. They passed comment on how dirty our trucks were, and we asked if there was a carwash over the next dune that they had just left. So it seemed that the mud and water was behind us now.
Now it was our turn to cross the clay pan. First went the 100 Series, straight through. Then the Disco. Stuck! Maxtrax out and instantly unsuck. Then the Navara. Stuck and the sun starting to set. The Disco reversed up and snatched out the Navara. Finally the Prado to come.... Plenty or right foot, and a slight deviation in line and the Prado rocketed through without breaking a sweat.
We decided to continue on, and set ourselves a 8pm driving deadline to try and make up some time. Spotlights on and away we go. We ended up catching a group of tractors that we had seen camped at Dalhousie Springs. They had continued from Dalhousie straight along the French Line. they told us that they were travelling from Perth all the way through to Byron Bay! Not my first choice of vehicle for making the trek, but then some probably don't care for the Prado much either I guess. But they were a lovely group or retired farmers and were having fun.
On we continued, to Poeppel Corner. We didn't plan on seeing it in the pitch black, but at least we saw it. We stopped and had a quick celebratory beverage and decided to continue on as we were still feeling fresh and wanted to make up as much time as we could.
We ended up driving until just after 9:30pm, where we set up camp at the start of the QAA Line, just north of the Poeppel Lakes. Straight to bed that night after almost 14hrs behind the wheel.
Day 8: QAA Line to Birdsville.
Thursday 5th August 2010
After a long day, we had another early rise. We packed up the minimal camp that we set up the previous night, focused on making Big Red and Birdsville that night. Then we look 100 metres to our east, that we couldn't see the night before.... the mother of all clay pans! This clay pan had some 2 foot deep ruts, was soft and gooey, and didn't look like anybody had been through it in the last week.
So, should we go around not knowing how long the by-pass route was, or risk it and go straight through..... Straight through
First went the Disco, rear locker engaged and off it went. It got about half way, and then stuck! MaxTrax out again, a little bit of digging and away it went. Then the Navara, straight through with some revs and wheel spin. Then the third truck to go through, the Prado. Off I went, and went I did! I went straight down to the chassis rails, very stuck! MaxTrax out, shovel out, nothing! The clay had sort of built up an air tight seal around the bottom of the Prado and wouldn't let go. So the 100 Series took a different line, the tough line, and powered through. After taking about an hour to try and get the Prado out with no success, we backed the 100 Series down on the firm part of the track, linked together four snatch straps and a bridle, and out she came. Easy as you like. As we just got the Prado out, a group pulled up travelling west. They took one look at the clay pan and went around. In the time it took to pack up the snatch straps, shovels and quick chat about what happened, the other group had finished the detour around the clay pan and reached our camp site, about 600 metres from where we were! Bugger! That took them 15mins going around and took us 2hrs going straight through..... but I bet we had more fun.
We continued on with Big Red and a night on the cans keeping us going until the Disco stopped again! Here we go, another long day ahead of us.... So another flush of the alternator, a jump start and off we went.
Driving through the sand dunes with green as far as you can see and water crossings every dozen or so dunes was epic, no other way to describe it. But then the smooth sailing came to a halt. The 100 Series had dropped its shocker again. This time we just pulled the bastard out and drove without it.
All of a sudden, the landscape changed as we crest one dune. It went from being all small, green and lush shrubs to a mini rainforest of raking, tall trees. the bird life was abundant and must have really been relishing in these wet conditions. I have never seen so many budgies before in my life!
We continued on, being overtaken by a low flying helicopter on the way until there it was, Big Red! We had finally made it, and what a sight it was. There was so much water surrounding it, it was such the detour, eager to have a crack at the famous dune.
As we got around to the base of the dune, we realised that this may be a difficult feat to accomplish, as the water level really did restrict the run up you could take. So we let the Birthday Boy send the Disco up for the first crack, only to watch it get halfway up! Bugger.
We all spent some time having a go, but none of us were successful. I got so bloody close it wasn't funny, but just started to drag the ass end a bit. Looks like I'll have to organise some airbags from Darren to go with the Bilstein/Ridepro setup....
We stayed at the top of Big Red, just us, enjoying a few beers and watched the sun go down. Then it was off to the Birdsville Hotel for a nice meal and some more beers. As we rolled into Birdsville at night, what did I see? Another Prado bearing PP Sticker parked out the front. It was a dune coloured 120 Series Prado, nicely decked out and wearing Vic Registration plates. I still don't know who this was....
After a quiet night it was off to bed, with the adventure behind us now.... or so we thought!
Day 9: Birdsville to Mungerannie.
Friday 6th August 2010
After a solid sleep, we fuelled up, souvenired up (had a new shocker thrown in the 100 Series) and then hit the Birdsville Bakery for some breaky and a butter chicken pie. Fantastic! And I must say that I was amazed with economy of the Prado. All loaded up, and driven the way it was, it used a measly 92 litres of fuel. Pretty impressive!
We then headed south and back into SA. We made it about 80kms north of Mungerannie and then the Disco died again.... Out came the tow strap and the 100 Series pulled the Disco all the way to Mungerannie.
Mungerannie is a nice little place, with a pub and a hot spring, that's pretty much it. So we pulled in, put in the phone call to Land Rover and tried again the next day.
Day 10: Mungerannie to Leigh Creek.
Saturday 7th August 2010
Rise and shine, and off we go, all looking forward to the once in a lifetime chance of riding the Cooper Creek Ferry. We fired up the Disco, and to all or our amazement, it somehow started! WTF! Oh well, don't question it, just get going so away we went. We got 7kms south of Mungerannie and then the Disco pulled up stumps again. No charge, oil pressure light on, game over!
So the Prado went back to Mungerannie to arrange a tow truck through the RAA and the rest made their way south to get the Disco as close to Adelaide as we could.
The Prado ended up catching up with the rest of the crew just as we pulled in to the lineup. The punt had no line-up, so straight over we went. From all reports we had read, it was said to be a 30min trip one way, but we had all four trucks over in under an hour. The Disco was then strapped onto the back of the 100 Series again and away we go.
There was still an obscene amount of water out on the tracks, with some surprisingly deep which made the towing of the truck through a bit more interesting, but the 100 Series dominated and did it with ease. I have to tip my hat to the 100 Series, it definitely proved to be the tough truck of the trip (other than the shocker giving way a few times).
We made it in to Marree and then got the Disco on the back of a tow trailer. That's the end of the story for the Disco.
We then made it in to Leigh Creek that night, and there we had our last meal!
Day 11: Leigh Creek to Adelaide.
Sunday 8th August 2010
We woke up in the morning, and after a few phone calls it was agreed that the RAA would send a tow truck to Leigh Creek and collect the Disco. So, we packed up the trucks for the final time and headed south for the return leg.
As we pulled in to Hawker for a quick pit stop. As I got back to the Prado I could smell oil, so I looked under the truck and there was oil pissing out from near the fuel tank! Oh no. On smelling it, I thought it was diesel, so eager to get home I figured that once the fuel level dropped enough there would be no more leak. On arriving in Port Augusta, there was no more leak so homeward bound.
On getting home, the Prado went in the Toyota to get looked at. In the end, I found out that it spat the transfer case seal and it was actually the transfer oil. Warranty job!
It truly was an amazing adventure, and now that I am home I would love to do it again, to see what it is like in the "dry". Out in the desert, with all of the little issues we were having with the trucks etc it wasn't so much fun, but now that we have made it home, it was a blast.
Matty80
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