Bedourie,Simpson Desert
Bedourie is our next stop and on the way the motor slowed to around 60 kms 3 times and came good for the next 60 km run,our travelling mechanics will inspect it today..Population is around 200.and we are here for 4 nights taking in a Rodeo and horse races..the town boasts 2 pubs one very old and the other an up to date pub..We are not impressed with the older pub and have already spent 2 good nights in the newer pub.Interestingly both pubs have employed backpackers (2 from the UK) these girls travel on their own seeking new adventures and I would imagine there is a vast difference between Leeds and Bedourie !!.The settlement boasts a free swimming pool with an Artesian (really hot) Sauna pool direct from the ground (entry to this place is free as is entrance fee to the rodeo) We met up with a local aborigine worker by the name of Syd and he is a very entertaining man.His lovely wife Madge is from New Zealand and a character of her own right (also the newer pub cook)It is a lazy,laid back settlement with a GOOD feel to it and once again NO computer signal (I am beginning to like that idea,what did we do before computers and mobile phones ?)Friday evening saw us at the Rodeo and what great fun it was (don’t think the cows and horses were too pleased tho,even tho animals were not harmed) We decided to give the pub a miss tonight as my previous nights consumption was rather heavy !!Saturday we rocked upto the racetrack and entered a Motorhome competition (we didn’t win !) and spent the day watching races and having a laugh with our team mates Betting was grimm and on our part money was lost ! After a great days racing we retreated to our campsite and joined a group and having witty conversation plus a few drinks !! Another great day as our Safari draws to last few days !! We left Bedourie Sunday am and experienced motor problems (slowed down to 60 kms and we had to restart the motor every time we got to this speed) After a discussion with our back boys we decided to push on arriving at Monkira (a park that was literally in the middle of nowhere and even drew complaints on the choosing of this particular site)
BIRDSVILLE !! & the Races !
Today we travel towards our main destination Birdsville and what a sight going into this town that usually has a pop of around 60,blowing out to 8000 for the races the road side was jammed packed with campers,fortunately for us we are pre booked.Going into town was an eye opener with all sorts of side shows and stalls ( not too badly priced either) To get into the race track tickets have to be pre bought Beer tickets are pre bought also BUT im not prepared to buy mid strength (all thats allowed) for $6.70 a can !! One particular booth caught me eye and that was the old fashioned BOXING BOOTH but Annie wouldn,t let me put her name down !!We have 5 days here and should be great fun..The normally quiet town centre was littered with booths selling all kinds of wares and we have bought a few !!All people drinking at the pub were allowed to throw their empties into the street !! and what a sight The races were very busy ,it was also very hot and fortunately we took our own seating NO winners tho ! Fashion and fancy dress parades were the order of the day and the dress ups were brilliant..Poor horses behind the leader were getting lots of dust thrown at them .Highlight of Birdsville was the flight (30 mins) around the town and the number of campers seen from abovewas tremendous !Lots of desert out there and upon landing spotted a plane that had crashed minutes earlier (No one hurt) and costly as we told around $100,000 damage !! Later on Sunday we took a bus trip out to a massive sand dune named Big Red
Big Red is the largest and most famous dune in the Simpson Desert. It stands approximately 90 metres above sea level and 35 metres above the plain, although height may vary due to winds and dunal movement. This sand dune, which sits 33kms west of Birdsville in Queensland, provides an extremely challenging feat for 4WD enthusiasts although it is not necessary to scale its height to traverse the Simpson Desert as there are alternative routes. When heading out into the Simpson Desert from Birdsville, Big Red is the first and highest of over 1,100 sand dunes that run north-south for hundreds of kilometres. This landscape is dominated by parallel, wind-blown sand dunes ranging from a few metres to 20 metres high. The striking colours and the huge expanse of arid landscapes are some of the reasons why many visitors are attracted to the area.Originally known as Nappanerica Dune, this huge sand dune in the Simpson Desert lies on the western edge of Lake Nappanerica. Nappanerica roughly translates to “water that takes a long time to dry up”. The dune was later named Big Red by Simpson Desert traveller Dennis Bartell.
The Dig Tree
In 1860–61, Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills led an expedition of 19 men with the intention of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the south to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, a distance of around 3,250 kms (approximately 2,000 miles).At that time most of the inland of Australia had not been explored by non-indigenous people and was completely unknown to the European settlers.The south-north leg was successfully completed (except that they were stopped by swampland 5 kms(3.1 mi) from the northern coastline), but owing to poor leadership and bad luck, both of the expedition’s leaders died on the return journey. Altogether, seven men lost their lives, and only one man, John King, crossed the continent with the expedition and returned alive to Melbourne.
Robert O’Hara Burke had asked Brahe and the depôt party to remain at the depôt camp on the Cooper for three months. The depôt party actually waited for over four months, but by then they were then running low on supplies and starting to feel the effects of scurvy and they believed Burke would not be returning from the Gulf. Brahe decided to leave Coopers Creek and return to Menindee, but before he left he buried some provisions in case Burke did return and he carved a message on a tree to mark the spot.
Betoota and beyond
Next day (Tuesday we set of for The DIG tree where Burke the explorer died attempting to cross from Melbourne to Darwin. We settled in on a very hot day travelling over some of the worst dirt road I have 3ver seen ! with the luxury of a 25 km stretch of bitchumen ! the last 16 kms to the ranch house was terrible BUT an experience we wont see again leading to the Famous DIG tree In the evening Jackaroo,s cooked a huge BBQ for us with proceeds going to the Royal Flying Doctor,once again we spent the evening in good company and lots to drink..Bedtime came around very quickly and people starting to feel the effects of dirt track driving Up early and ready for 300km dirt track drive and was very interesting,spotted a dead dingo some one had horribly hung over a fence!and Happy Hour can,t come quick enough !!On arrival we went into a deserted pub of 15 yrs,apparently the owner got too old and simply walked out and left it as was !! Amazingly no graffiti or vandalism..the pub is literally in the middle of nowhere !!(Betoota) Our stay is at yet another country race track and the usual group stayed and had a few drinks and as usual we were among the last to leave the session
The Betoota Races are held every year in the ghost town of Betoota that usually has a population of zero. This year, a record 700 people attended. It kicks off the Simpson Desert Race carnival and we will be at 2 of the 3 meetings one in Birdsville and the Bedurie
On Strzelecki track towards Birdsville
The next trip was great around 240 kms dirt track road on the Strzelecki Rd sighting lots of Emus,Lizards.Eagles and around a dozen wild horse and included in the pack was a Donkey and a small pony !! We arrived at what can only be described as an Oasis mid Simpson Desert. It was a large sized pond fed by an Artesian Well known as Montecolina Bore Water coming straight from the ground was very clear and also HOT..the pond itself was refreshingly cold !!We filled our new outdoor shower bag from the Bore and it it was great showering in the desert !Happy Hour (s) were interesting as usual and as night time approached a fire was lit and once again we stayed behind well after others had retired ! (The wine was good!) Up early next day and set of for Inamincka,260 kms away and we have currently travelled around 500 kms so far on a very rattling rocky, corrugated road (think we may have been in trouble IF we didn’t release air from our tyres. Recommended speed on these roads is around 80 kms IF travelling any slower a great chance of rattling inside the bus to pieces ~~ The next schedule stop is at Innamincka Roadhouse and a fuel stop is a must because the next petrol stop is in Birdsville approx 550 kms from here .After setting up camp and resting we did the obligatory Happy Hour * that went from 4pm to 9pm and a fire was lit in the early evening .The chat and friendliness was great and a very pleasant if not drunken evening was spent under the stars
The Strzelecki Desert is located in the Far North Region of South Australia, South West Queensland and western New South Wales. It is positioned in the northeast of the Lake Eyre Basin, and north of the Flinders Ranges. Two other deserts occupy the Lake Eyre Basin—the Tirari Desert and the Simpson Desert.The desert covers 80,250 km2 making it the seventh largest desert in Australia.The Dingo Fence, Birdsville Track, the Strzelecki Track, the Diamantina River, Cooper Creek and the Strzelecki Creek all pass through the Desert.The desert is characterized by extensive dune fields and is home to three wilderness areas. It was named after the Polish explorer Paweł Edmund Strzelecki by Charles Sturt. He was the first non-indigenous explorer in the area, followed closely by the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition.Much of the desert is preserved within the Strzelecki Regional Reserve in South Australia.Parts of the eastern sections of the desert are protected by the Sturt National Park. A population of the endangered Dusky Hopping Mouse lives in the desert.
Towards the Ghost town Farina
We set off Early next day as this was going to be a 300km travel day thru some rough terrain We stopped at Hawker for fuel and drove on past Wilpena (we stayed there a couple of years ago and bought face fly nets there an absolute must in this part of Oz) We stopped at Blinman for lunch in the local pub and had my first taste of CHIPS for a long time! The young girl in the souvenir shop hails from Yorkshire and we had a yarn about this and that.After lunch we traveled 32 kms thru the Parachilna Gorges and what a magnificent awesome sight it was !The road was very rough (the reason we came with a group in case we had problems traveling on our own) The experience was terrific,the views out of this world and I felt very comfortable travelling in this friendly group.We arrived at Farina an old ghost town of yesteryear and will be here for 2 nights,the first was great and had some great yarn telling from others and we drank lots with FREE Jerky (Biltong) supplied by a lovely lady who actually makes them !! Annie got me up at 3 am because she considered it too windy and we put up the awning only to find the 8 metre long edging atop the bus had come out of its channel .Thankfully thr Road Boss Ian lent me ladders and the problem is now solved/
Yunta
Yunta is a village on the Barrier Highway in South Australia that services both the local area and travellers passing through. It lies south west of Broken Hill and north east of Peterborough.Yunta was established in 1887 after the discovery of gold at the nearby diggings at Teetulpa and Waukaringa, when more than 5,000 miners made their way through here. In the early 1890s the village was a busy railway town on the Adelaide to Broken Hill line. From 1934 Yunta was the base for the famed outback trucking and mail contractor Harry Ding.Today Yunta is a small service centre for travellers and the surrounding properties. Yunta also provides an alternate route to the Flinders Ranges and beyond. The natural gas fields at Gidgealpa and Moomba have resulted in improved access roads to South Australia’s arid north-east region. Village facilities include a hotel offering meals and accommodation, two roadhouses (one with caravan sites), two fuel stations, post office, Rural Transaction Centre offering internet access, police station, air strip .The main annual event is the Yunta Picnic Races and gymkhana held in May
Yunta overnight stay was interesting ..The racecourse we stayed at was very fly ridden BUT problem solved by wearing face nets (looked as if we were going to a funeral) The toilet was magnificent 4 sheets of corrugated iron joined at each corner and NO overhead shelter Fortunately the sit down loo did have an overhead roof…We set off to Craddock getting extra supplies in Peterborough,paa few of our partner travelers explored the town (We didn,t as we spent time here before ) we are now set for the night parked behind a Pub (that and a solitary house are the only buildings here !) We had a great night the food was great and we sat at a table with Bill n Leone and the rest of the table rotated with other travelers as the night wore on. The food was really good and Land lady was great fun A good pub to visit
Wednesday 28 August 2013 off we GO !
After a 5 day stay at Broken Hill and making some great friends we are off towards YUNTA on the first leg towards Birdsville,We had a magnificent dinner last evening provided by LEGACY with various entertainment thru out the evening.Morning we arrived 30mins early for breakfast as we forgotten the time difference! Annie reminded me of my dear departed brother Ted,who always managed to be first in food queues in family functions we attended in the past We have been allocated No 34 as we set of in convoy in groups of 10 We attended Happy Hour on the last evening and the conversation was great covering a variety of topics with very interesting people
Note Annie opening the Food Counter at 7;15am !!
Broken Hill the fun Begins
We have met some great people here and the Happy Hour (daily) has begun! The leader Ian has arrived and given us all a brief run down on the forth coming trip and altho he has done this a few times his excitement shone thru ! He introduced his back up team who provide maintenance for the group ( 60 RVs) Senior life can be quite exhilarating if you are prepared to take some risk,we are amazed at the number of people who have sold their homes and furniture to live the life on the road as Grey Nomads !!
We visited the Miners Exhibition at the top of what can only be described as a slag heap ! Exhibits were a wee bit aparse and a huge steel mausaleum had been erected in dedication to those lost in mining incidents,,saddest was the number of people who doed by heart attacks !! We visited a 50,s styled ice cream parlour ( cant recall them in UK but very popular apparently in the USA) I think the Parlour was built and opened early 50,s and has stayed that way ever since ! Still a nice experience tho.The Racetrack (our temporary home is filling up and the showers in the horse stables are quite unique and communial with no privacy,seems we seniors dont care if people ogle us in the nude any more SO much for Senior Status !!
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 