Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
DOUG
DOUG is my cruising car.
He is a Holden VZ SV6 Commodore (Holden is the local GM company, VZ is the model range, SV6 is a six-cylinder higher-performance engine) sedan with the five-speed automatic transmission. He was first registered on 14 December 2004 and came equipped with five 16" wheels (not four and a space-saver), limited-slip differential, leather interior with side airbags, heavy duty towing pack, tinted windows, two extra power outlets and six-stacker CD player. Since then he has got a flat left-hand mirror (originally convex, useless) and a bull bar with shoo roos and driving lights. Normally he has an electric fridge in the back, behind the driver's seat (to keep drinks and food cool) and a TomTom SatNav on the lower windscreen.
I carry twelve litres of water and twenty-two litres of petrol with me, as well as tools.
He has covered 200 000 kilometres by June 2009, is on his third set of tyres, is capable of at least 240 km/hr (as determined in the Northern Territory before speed limits were erroneously imposed) but can get around eight litres per hundred kilometres (over 35 mpg for those who are older).
He is comfortable for sleeping in, either in a sleeping bag or wrapped in a blanket.
Photos of him are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougmullett/sets/72157618907560886/
He is a Holden VZ SV6 Commodore (Holden is the local GM company, VZ is the model range, SV6 is a six-cylinder higher-performance engine) sedan with the five-speed automatic transmission. He was first registered on 14 December 2004 and came equipped with five 16" wheels (not four and a space-saver), limited-slip differential, leather interior with side airbags, heavy duty towing pack, tinted windows, two extra power outlets and six-stacker CD player. Since then he has got a flat left-hand mirror (originally convex, useless) and a bull bar with shoo roos and driving lights. Normally he has an electric fridge in the back, behind the driver's seat (to keep drinks and food cool) and a TomTom SatNav on the lower windscreen.
I carry twelve litres of water and twenty-two litres of petrol with me, as well as tools.
He has covered 200 000 kilometres by June 2009, is on his third set of tyres, is capable of at least 240 km/hr (as determined in the Northern Territory before speed limits were erroneously imposed) but can get around eight litres per hundred kilometres (over 35 mpg for those who are older).
He is comfortable for sleeping in, either in a sleeping bag or wrapped in a blanket.
Photos of him are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougmullett/sets/72157618907560886/
Birdsville Track
I began my trip from home Friday 18th June, but after a day of checking things, I finally left Adelaide about 10:40 on Sunday 20th. This was not due to sleeping in or spending too long packing, but rather waiting until the Melbourne papers were in and the Newsagent open. I had o good run up the highway to Port Augusta. The Flinders Ranges were on my left (east) for most of the way. They are a very old range, and like peoples’ faces, they are worn down, losing any unique features and appearing in folds. Australia is a very old continent. It has risen up, been eroded down and its soil washed away. It is very large, but sparsely populated away from the few large centres. Many places on maps are settlements with few living there, while others are just roadhouses, with no permanent population.
I called in to Hungry Jack’s at Port Augusta for a late lunch. I left after refuelling DOUG at Shell and headed off up to Marree. The first section was winding, slow and hilly between Port Augusta and Quorn. The road straightened up and was smoother, becoming straighter after Hawker. I stopped here for a comfort break and also to telephone the family in Adelaide (the last place I would have a mobile signal). From there I had a really good run up to Lyndhurst. I was stopped just before Leigh Creek for a random breath test by a police four-wheel-drive headed the other way. The sun set while I was between Lyndhurst and Marree. I was able to get some good photos. I arrived in Marree about 1815 and tried the Drover’s Rest caravan park for a cabin, but it was full due to Lake Eyre flights. The owners were very helpful and pleasant. I headed around to the Marree pub and as soon as I pulled up, I was recognised by all of those outside the hotel from my registration (not licence in Australia) plate. After saying hello, I went into the bar, found that the last room was a single and available, booked in … and found I had left the power adaptor for the laptop computer in Adelaide. That messed up future plans, as I would have to return via Adelaide, when I had wanted to return via Broken Hill and Mildura. After looking around the hotel and speaking to a few others, I retired for the evening.
The next morning I was up early. I knew others had been up because the floorboards creaked, so there was no sneaking around and certainly no anonymous funny business. The facilities were communal, but the water was hot and there was enough. So cleansed of the day before, I dressed for a day out and wandered down to look at the town – before, at and after dawn. I looked at the sunrise and got some atmosphere shots, then looked at the museum and then spoke to some others outside the hotel. A pilot, doing helicopter charters, said he had one seat left for the late morning, and offered it to me at a reduced price, so I agreed to go on that and meet him back at the hotel at 1020 (which is when I thought the flight was to leave, but apparently it was for 1400 – but I found that out later). The charter flights over Lake Eyre from the pub were operated by a company from Phillip Island, Victoria. Well after dawn I wandered around the town again for more photos, then went back and packed up, planning to leave late in the day. By 0900 I ventured further into the town and found the school. Looking at the outside I ran into the woman from the pub who had booked me in the night before – she is a teacher aide at the school. After a quick chat, she invited me to look around – so I did. The senior part of the school had just left to go to Oodnadatta for a sports meeting (for the week!) and the juniors were just having their assembly. I spoke to some other teachers before they went in, photographed more of the school (and the MCG – Marree Cricket Ground) and then wandered back to the pub. Here I found out – that the flight I was going to go on was actually for 1400 and that it had been cancelled. Cutting my losses, I headed out for Birdsville.
The first section was sealed (bitumen) – for around one hundred metres. Then it became unsealed. Technically it was formed earth, as no extra material (gravel, bluestone) had been placed on the surface. A grader had simply gathered the soil together, then made it smooth (or relatively so – corrugations were a common feature). The scenery was small shrubs, with the occasional tree, and quite flat. Any watercourses were visible as lines of trees, growing either in the bed of the river/creek or next to them. However, don’t get over enthusiastic. These watercourses are ephemeral and only flow when there are rains. Usually this is many kilometres away, in Queensland or New South Wales. Sometimes they will flow as far as Lake Eyre (as at the moment) but more often they will just peter out in the middle of nowhere. Often there is water under the surface, and so in desperate times a deep hole in the river bed will yield water (not much and not clean, but drinkable in an emergency) the next morning – a soak! Crossing these watercourses can be simple, with a small drop into the bed and a small rise up the other side, or larger drops and rises and beds many kilometres wide! The firm soil on the plains is replaced by sandy or loose gravely material in the beds. This can make it interesting driving through them.
Soon the surrounding countryside had sandhills visible. It was easy to see how early explorers could have difficulty crossing, and lack of features would make navigations by landmarks very hard. Also, small hills and mesas popped up, eventually looking like breakaways as layers of gypsum gave a brown and white striped appearance.
After around two hundred kilometres from Marree, I passed Coopers Creek, which was a campsite as well as crossing facilities when a flood occurs. There are no bridges because of the remoteness and the low traffic density.
From here on, gibbers were evident. They are smallish but sharp-edged stones, difficult to walk over and problematic to drive over. As the roads use local material, these gibbers are on the road and can cause damage to tyres (as I found out later).
After another few kilometres I arrived at Mungerannie Roadhouse. It was in the afternoon and I ordered a hamburger for lunch, eating it there and being met by … two pilots from Marree (and therefore Phillip Island), who had driven up with fuel for a stop up the road. After chatting with a few others (including a girl from Sheffield, England, who was working there), I headed off, with not much over three hundred kilometres to go.
The scenery was interesting but not too varied, but driving was slow. Wheel pads had been worn, but this created mounds of stones between them – and some stones were sizeable, approaching one hundred millimeters in size. Resting on crowns of up to two hundred millimeters put them at the height of my car’s sump, gearbox and fuel tank. Driving was mainly trying to avoid them, so it was about eighty kilometres per hour most of the way.
By dusk I was still about seventy kilometres out of Birdsville, but the road was sand on a clay base, so I went a bit faster. Just when I thought I was going well, a car ahead left so much dust that I had to slow down and travel at the same speed.
I got to Birdsville just after 1800 and stopped at the Birdsville Pub. There was room at the inn, but the tariff was higher than I expected – to be precise, it was about the same cost as a hotel room in NewYork! I went to the caravan park and got a room for a more reasonable charge. After unpacking at getting things ready, I went to the “camp kitchen” to sit and write. I wrote three postcards (my own) and finished one letter. I ended up having a chat with the other couples who were reading and talking there. After that, I went off to bed.
Next morning it was up and over to have a shower, back to get dressed and have a cup of tea. After a walk around the park, I sat in the “camp kitchen” again and ran into some more interesting characters, including a couple from Northam who had been waiting to a gearbox part before they could go on. At 0830 I packed and left. Down the street I posted the letter and postcards so they would have a Birdsville postmark and then called into the Birdsville Bakery to get something for breakfast. I took a photo of the pub, but beware – photos depicting a lonely pub are wrong, as there is a large, modern airstrip opposite in one direction and a petrol station (and the post office) opposite in another direction. However, what I got was not to my taste and nothing to write home about – so I won’t. I filled up with petrol (much cheaper than at Marree or Mungerannie) and then headed off back to Marree. The plan was to get to Marree and spend the night there, then look for a sightseeing flight. I was stopping for photos along the way and started at the Birdsville Racecourse. Just after was a sign for the beginning of the Birdsville Track. I headed out a little slower, seventy-five kilometres per hour so I could stop when I wanted, quickly. Also … DISASTER – a warning message came up on the panel – check power train! (I did check and it was still there, but the message stayed)
All was going well for a time and I passed Mungerannie early, so didn’t stop in for lunch. I stopped at a number of places and was only about an hour out from Marree at 1450 when … DISASTER! The sound of the car had altered and I pulled up to find my rear right tyre was flat, from a cut right on the edge of the tread. Fortunately I carry a full-size spare, so it was take a blanket out from the boot, unpack everything (the spare is underneath) and get the equipment and tyre out. Then came the problem of undoing the wheel nuts, but as I had taught the kids at a school where I had run a course in car care, I stood on the handle of the driving tool (can’t call pressed steel a spanner) to loosen them. A couple from Adelaide stopped and the man kept raising the jack for me as I finally replaced the tyre. Another couple pulled up, but one car had just gone by without even slowing, covering me with dust. I repacked the boot, shaking the dust off and then did the same with the blanket, ruing the fact that if the car had slowed, I wouldn’t have to do that.
My plans suddenly altered. No spare meant I had to be more careful driving (OK) but also that it would cost me to replace it, so no spare cash for sightseeing flights. After I arrived in Marree, I filled up with petrol and decided I would go back to Adelaide (and my sister’s place) for the night. As dusk fell I headed south to Lyndhurst and ultimately the sealed road. Just after Lyndhurst, I came across a few kangaroos, most of whom cleared the road (I have three shoo roos on the bull bar) but a joey just stood there. I had to stop and yell at him to move (he was only about eighty centimetres tall). It started to shower, then rain, so travel was a little slower than expected.
I arrived in Port Augusta about 2030 and had dinner, then headed off to arrive at my sister’s place about 2345.
Trip over!
Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougmullett/sets/72157620397339826/
I called in to Hungry Jack’s at Port Augusta for a late lunch. I left after refuelling DOUG at Shell and headed off up to Marree. The first section was winding, slow and hilly between Port Augusta and Quorn. The road straightened up and was smoother, becoming straighter after Hawker. I stopped here for a comfort break and also to telephone the family in Adelaide (the last place I would have a mobile signal). From there I had a really good run up to Lyndhurst. I was stopped just before Leigh Creek for a random breath test by a police four-wheel-drive headed the other way. The sun set while I was between Lyndhurst and Marree. I was able to get some good photos. I arrived in Marree about 1815 and tried the Drover’s Rest caravan park for a cabin, but it was full due to Lake Eyre flights. The owners were very helpful and pleasant. I headed around to the Marree pub and as soon as I pulled up, I was recognised by all of those outside the hotel from my registration (not licence in Australia) plate. After saying hello, I went into the bar, found that the last room was a single and available, booked in … and found I had left the power adaptor for the laptop computer in Adelaide. That messed up future plans, as I would have to return via Adelaide, when I had wanted to return via Broken Hill and Mildura. After looking around the hotel and speaking to a few others, I retired for the evening.
The next morning I was up early. I knew others had been up because the floorboards creaked, so there was no sneaking around and certainly no anonymous funny business. The facilities were communal, but the water was hot and there was enough. So cleansed of the day before, I dressed for a day out and wandered down to look at the town – before, at and after dawn. I looked at the sunrise and got some atmosphere shots, then looked at the museum and then spoke to some others outside the hotel. A pilot, doing helicopter charters, said he had one seat left for the late morning, and offered it to me at a reduced price, so I agreed to go on that and meet him back at the hotel at 1020 (which is when I thought the flight was to leave, but apparently it was for 1400 – but I found that out later). The charter flights over Lake Eyre from the pub were operated by a company from Phillip Island, Victoria. Well after dawn I wandered around the town again for more photos, then went back and packed up, planning to leave late in the day. By 0900 I ventured further into the town and found the school. Looking at the outside I ran into the woman from the pub who had booked me in the night before – she is a teacher aide at the school. After a quick chat, she invited me to look around – so I did. The senior part of the school had just left to go to Oodnadatta for a sports meeting (for the week!) and the juniors were just having their assembly. I spoke to some other teachers before they went in, photographed more of the school (and the MCG – Marree Cricket Ground) and then wandered back to the pub. Here I found out – that the flight I was going to go on was actually for 1400 and that it had been cancelled. Cutting my losses, I headed out for Birdsville.
The first section was sealed (bitumen) – for around one hundred metres. Then it became unsealed. Technically it was formed earth, as no extra material (gravel, bluestone) had been placed on the surface. A grader had simply gathered the soil together, then made it smooth (or relatively so – corrugations were a common feature). The scenery was small shrubs, with the occasional tree, and quite flat. Any watercourses were visible as lines of trees, growing either in the bed of the river/creek or next to them. However, don’t get over enthusiastic. These watercourses are ephemeral and only flow when there are rains. Usually this is many kilometres away, in Queensland or New South Wales. Sometimes they will flow as far as Lake Eyre (as at the moment) but more often they will just peter out in the middle of nowhere. Often there is water under the surface, and so in desperate times a deep hole in the river bed will yield water (not much and not clean, but drinkable in an emergency) the next morning – a soak! Crossing these watercourses can be simple, with a small drop into the bed and a small rise up the other side, or larger drops and rises and beds many kilometres wide! The firm soil on the plains is replaced by sandy or loose gravely material in the beds. This can make it interesting driving through them.
Soon the surrounding countryside had sandhills visible. It was easy to see how early explorers could have difficulty crossing, and lack of features would make navigations by landmarks very hard. Also, small hills and mesas popped up, eventually looking like breakaways as layers of gypsum gave a brown and white striped appearance.
After around two hundred kilometres from Marree, I passed Coopers Creek, which was a campsite as well as crossing facilities when a flood occurs. There are no bridges because of the remoteness and the low traffic density.
From here on, gibbers were evident. They are smallish but sharp-edged stones, difficult to walk over and problematic to drive over. As the roads use local material, these gibbers are on the road and can cause damage to tyres (as I found out later).
After another few kilometres I arrived at Mungerannie Roadhouse. It was in the afternoon and I ordered a hamburger for lunch, eating it there and being met by … two pilots from Marree (and therefore Phillip Island), who had driven up with fuel for a stop up the road. After chatting with a few others (including a girl from Sheffield, England, who was working there), I headed off, with not much over three hundred kilometres to go.
The scenery was interesting but not too varied, but driving was slow. Wheel pads had been worn, but this created mounds of stones between them – and some stones were sizeable, approaching one hundred millimeters in size. Resting on crowns of up to two hundred millimeters put them at the height of my car’s sump, gearbox and fuel tank. Driving was mainly trying to avoid them, so it was about eighty kilometres per hour most of the way.
By dusk I was still about seventy kilometres out of Birdsville, but the road was sand on a clay base, so I went a bit faster. Just when I thought I was going well, a car ahead left so much dust that I had to slow down and travel at the same speed.
I got to Birdsville just after 1800 and stopped at the Birdsville Pub. There was room at the inn, but the tariff was higher than I expected – to be precise, it was about the same cost as a hotel room in NewYork! I went to the caravan park and got a room for a more reasonable charge. After unpacking at getting things ready, I went to the “camp kitchen” to sit and write. I wrote three postcards (my own) and finished one letter. I ended up having a chat with the other couples who were reading and talking there. After that, I went off to bed.
Next morning it was up and over to have a shower, back to get dressed and have a cup of tea. After a walk around the park, I sat in the “camp kitchen” again and ran into some more interesting characters, including a couple from Northam who had been waiting to a gearbox part before they could go on. At 0830 I packed and left. Down the street I posted the letter and postcards so they would have a Birdsville postmark and then called into the Birdsville Bakery to get something for breakfast. I took a photo of the pub, but beware – photos depicting a lonely pub are wrong, as there is a large, modern airstrip opposite in one direction and a petrol station (and the post office) opposite in another direction. However, what I got was not to my taste and nothing to write home about – so I won’t. I filled up with petrol (much cheaper than at Marree or Mungerannie) and then headed off back to Marree. The plan was to get to Marree and spend the night there, then look for a sightseeing flight. I was stopping for photos along the way and started at the Birdsville Racecourse. Just after was a sign for the beginning of the Birdsville Track. I headed out a little slower, seventy-five kilometres per hour so I could stop when I wanted, quickly. Also … DISASTER – a warning message came up on the panel – check power train! (I did check and it was still there, but the message stayed)
All was going well for a time and I passed Mungerannie early, so didn’t stop in for lunch. I stopped at a number of places and was only about an hour out from Marree at 1450 when … DISASTER! The sound of the car had altered and I pulled up to find my rear right tyre was flat, from a cut right on the edge of the tread. Fortunately I carry a full-size spare, so it was take a blanket out from the boot, unpack everything (the spare is underneath) and get the equipment and tyre out. Then came the problem of undoing the wheel nuts, but as I had taught the kids at a school where I had run a course in car care, I stood on the handle of the driving tool (can’t call pressed steel a spanner) to loosen them. A couple from Adelaide stopped and the man kept raising the jack for me as I finally replaced the tyre. Another couple pulled up, but one car had just gone by without even slowing, covering me with dust. I repacked the boot, shaking the dust off and then did the same with the blanket, ruing the fact that if the car had slowed, I wouldn’t have to do that.
My plans suddenly altered. No spare meant I had to be more careful driving (OK) but also that it would cost me to replace it, so no spare cash for sightseeing flights. After I arrived in Marree, I filled up with petrol and decided I would go back to Adelaide (and my sister’s place) for the night. As dusk fell I headed south to Lyndhurst and ultimately the sealed road. Just after Lyndhurst, I came across a few kangaroos, most of whom cleared the road (I have three shoo roos on the bull bar) but a joey just stood there. I had to stop and yell at him to move (he was only about eighty centimetres tall). It started to shower, then rain, so travel was a little slower than expected.
I arrived in Port Augusta about 2030 and had dinner, then headed off to arrive at my sister’s place about 2345.
Trip over!
Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougmullett/sets/72157620397339826/
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Summary
After relating my adventures during 2008 while travelling around the world (including Tasmania, U.S., Canada, England, France, Spain, Andorra, Italy, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, China, Mongolia, Turkey, Egypt and New Zealand), I'm now home-bound.
I will be travelling a little at first, then more later when I (finally, if and when the GFC finishes and investments become worth something again) purchase a motorhome to tour my home country in some style and comfort, and certainly at leisure.
At the moment I will detail such trips as my usual excursions to Adelaide and Perth (taken in my Commodore, DOUG) and one-off trips to visit old (not necessarily aged!) and new friends and occasional new places.
The first will be Birdsville (I hope) as the weather is cool and the road is supposed to be dry and passable by all vehicles.
Photos will be posted on Flickr in the collection Birdsville.
Any questions can be directed to my email and I'll answer as soon as possible. I am very familiar with my own country and its peculiarities, so I may gloss over or assume that people know things unfamiliar to them. If there are questions, I'll answer them in detail in another, later entry.
I will be travelling a little at first, then more later when I (finally, if and when the GFC finishes and investments become worth something again) purchase a motorhome to tour my home country in some style and comfort, and certainly at leisure.
At the moment I will detail such trips as my usual excursions to Adelaide and Perth (taken in my Commodore, DOUG) and one-off trips to visit old (not necessarily aged!) and new friends and occasional new places.
The first will be Birdsville (I hope) as the weather is cool and the road is supposed to be dry and passable by all vehicles.
Photos will be posted on Flickr in the collection Birdsville.
Any questions can be directed to my email and I'll answer as soon as possible. I am very familiar with my own country and its peculiarities, so I may gloss over or assume that people know things unfamiliar to them. If there are questions, I'll answer them in detail in another, later entry.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
