Tuesday 29th June
Well we stayed an extra night in Alice but we’re still not sure where we’re going. We know that we want to head east into QLD but we don’t know whether their border is still open. We have entry permits but they could be easily be revoked.
Anyway Pat and I have had enough of the cold nights in Alice and want to get warmer!
We headed east of Alice into the East MacDonald Ranges, the scenery is magnificent, we think better than the much more well-known West MacDonald’s.
On the way we stop off at Trephina Gorge. There is no water in this gorge but you can imagine what it is like when it is flowing. It is a relatively small gorge but we have a really pleasant walk of about an hour.
On returning from our walk, we’re informed that Alice Springs was put under a three-day lockdown a couple of hours after we left and has apparently been declared a ‘hot spot’ which, of course, means that we won’t be allowed into QLD!!!
We have a quick pow wow our fellow travellers and decide to continue to Hale River Station for the night.
When we get there we are isolated from the other campers because we have recently been in Alice! A shingle patch, not grass and no amenities available to us, still it’s out in the country and very peaceful.
This is a very well looked after working station, with the ruins of the original homestead.
Wednesday 30th June
The track we are travelling is called the Binns Track and was instituted by a park ranger (Bill Binns) who wanted to provide a route through the Australian bush that displayed its most beautiful regions. The track is quite rough in places but the scenery makes it more than worthwhile.
About lunchtime we get to a place called Gemtree, which, as its name suggests, is a place for ‘fossickers’ and the supplier of meat pies recommended by another of our travelling companions, Brad. I don’t normally eat pies but these are homemade and having eaten one can back up Brad’s assessment, it was very tasty, full of meat and has good pastry. Poor Richard went to get one on my recommendation but apparently I’d had the last one!
We booked in for the night and will re-assess our situation tomorrow.
I spoke to Brad and Denise today and later got a phone call from our mutual friends Gary and Vicki (from Northam), who are in Alice Springs, they will come up and visit with us tomorrow.
In the end we have stayed here for a few nights, being persuaded to stay on Saturday because there was a roast dinner available. The roast itself was very good, they had catered for 82 and there was plenty on the plate. It was well organised but it was so very cold that it got to the point where I was going to give it away and go back to the caravan but then the food turned up and it was worth staying for.
Sunday 4th July
Gary and Vicki came up for a catch up today, we all had lunch at the little shop on site and I’d ordered 3 pies. It was really good to see them, they did not know Richard and Marge so we had lots to talk about.
Had an excellent fire tonight before retiring.
Monday 5th July
Set out on time this morning heading east along the Plenty Hwy but after about 50 ks my fuel gauge started dropping, I stopped and checked but there we no obvious leaks, it looked like the same problem we had coming out of Sandstone last year. Fortunately there is fuel at the community just past Harts Range, so we dropped in there to check that it wasn’t leaking, I was expecting about a 60 litre fill and it as 64, so we’re happy.
A bit further on we turn onto another section of the Binns Track heading north. The track is not particularly good but we make good time and after the turn off to the defunct Mount Swan Resort, the track gets much better.
There is a meteorite crater a few more ks up the track and we pull off for a look. It is a relatively small one, about 300m across but it is quite clearly defined and it is possible to walk all the way round the rim and take photos.
We arrived at the Bundey River, of course, there is no water in it but the river bed, which is probably 250m wide , has sand bars and ridges in it which will challenge our driving capabilitites and our rig’s.
Video?
All safely through the river bed and just up the track is a handy little spot for the night.
We have seen no other vehicles on this section of the track and Richard says “we could probably camp on the track”! However, we backed off the road and less than 10 minutes later a vehicle comes along in the opposite direction!
A good fire and a glass of wine rounds the day off nicely.
Tuesday 6th July
A big day today, we have no idea what the track ahead is like so we decide to take Richard’s vehicle off the van and go and have a look at the track.
The track is pretty narrow and rocky to start with……………………
………………… and shortly after we come to a pretty deep gully which we think might be a serious problem. We carry on for about 10 ks with no further obstructions but with a few places where some trimming of the shrubs etc. is needed to get the vans through without too much scratching of the paintwork, and finally we rejoin the original Binns Track which has been diverted round Derry Downs Station via the track we’re on.
We returned to camp via a ‘survey line’ which bypassed the the bad gully, the track was mostly better than the other track but considerably narrower and more overgrown.
After second look at the gully on the way back we thought that with a bit of road building we could probably negotiate it.
Once through the gully it was slow going as we had to trim shrubs and small trees to protect the vehicles from scratches as much as possible.
On the way we see a few donkeys (maybe mules?).
Going slowly allows us to appreciate the beautiful countryside and we soon get to the Sandover Hwy. This road is not in particularly good condition and soon we turn back onto the Binns Track and then find somewhere for a night stop.
Wednesday 7th July
Today we have about 90ks to run, still on the Binns Track to the Old Police Station Waterhole. The road is quite good until we get to the turn off back into Binns country.
Again, this is slow going but the scenery is absolutely beautiful.
We make good time because the last 20ks to our destination is pretty good track.
Old Police Station Waterhole, in the Davenport Range National Park, is quite a long pool, part of the Frew River and, like all the surface water in this part of the world, is beginning to dry out.
The camping area along the river is not particularly busy so we find a spot and get ourselves settled in. There’s nothing here apart from some fire places and a couple of long drops which are maintained quite well by the Rangers.
The past two days driving have been quite tiring so after a fire and a chat with our neighbours, next door but one, who are from Attwell, a Perth suburb, an early night is called for.
Thursday 8th July
Another cold night but an absolutely gorgeous morning. A leisurely start and we address a few jobs that need doing on the car and the van, minor maintenance mostly. The roughish tracks cause relatively few minor problems because they are both built for the job.
It’s really quite a warm day so we leave it until late afternoon to go for a walk round the pool. Its a very easy stroll really and takes us past the ruins of the Old Police Station. It was open here when the area had some mining going on but that didn’t last and the station was abandoned after about three years. Even though remote, some building skills can be seen in the ruins.
Tonight we’re a bit more sociable and we have eight round the fire, with David & June from Castlemaine Victoria and Frank and Jill from Wangaratta. Conversation was going so well we ended up with a late dinner! We used the hot fire to cook our chops and sausages.
Friday 9th July
One of our camp fire acquaintances told us of a place to camp about 40 ks to the north of this site and said that they thought that it was as good if not better than this place. So we will give it a look today as it on the route to QLD.
The track too is quite good, probably because there is a community close to the it. The place we are aiming for is called Epenarra Station and it looks like a typical station yard as we pull in off the road. We both need to top up with water and one of my tanks seemed to be taking a long time to fill. Checking underneath the van I discovered that there is a very small crack, right at the top of the tank! Further investigation shows that it is not too much of a problem, it is only going to leak when the tank is full so, it is still usable, fortunately.
We check in at the store and the people there, all youngsters, are very friendly and helpful.
The camp site is about a kilometre away and down by another pool in the Frew River and as our informants said it is just as nice as the last place.
There is only one other vehicle here and they are a good 500m away, so it is as though we have the place to ourselves.
Roger’s turn to build and light the fire tonight!
Alloveroz 