Thread: Kookynet travel story from Sydney to Kimberley

We have been quite busy since we left Sydney mid-May heading West. We said hello on the way to the famous Three Sisters of the Blue Mountains and enjoyed driving through NSW pretty towns such as Bathurst, Nyngan or Cobar.

The adventure really began when we left bitumen in Wilcannia heading to White Cliffs. We were the first car to take the track to Tibooburra since it was still officially closed after some heavy rains. The road-house people confirmed that several cars had made it from the other direction and that it should be possible. We nearly got bogged a couple of times but managed until met along the way the grater truck just finishing repairing the last bit of boggy patch, just for us...

Upon reaching Tibooburra, we felt really stuck: from there, tracks were closed in all directions! We waited for 2 days until the very helpful ART people told us we could make it, but under our own responsibility... and provided that we changed our initial plans past Innamincka. Walkers's Crossing was going to be closed for another 2 weeks, barring us the way to the Rig Road.

So we took the chance of going to Cameron's Corner to through the stations of Omicron and Epsilon in order to reach Innamincka. We felt we did pretty well, as we got bogged only once, a situation we got out of fairly easily with a good shovel, our mud ladders - the ones made from doormats and stored on the front bumper - and last but not least, the fiberglass waffles provided by Rovacraft.
We got out an hour and a half later, just before sunset and right on time to set up camp for the night.

After more than 1000 kilometers spent on muddy tracks, our hearts also were going to Ruslan for having installed additional mudflaps of his design, between the body and existing mudguards of Alistair. Side doors and more especially door handles remained approachable without rubber gloves thanks to him! That was about the only spot on the car which was not “camouflaged” in mud color…

From Innamincka, we drove North through Cordillo Downs station where we enjoyed stopping at the historical shearing shed before continuing through the Strzelecki Desert up to Birdsville.

The Big Red welcomed us into the Simpson before sunset where we had a lovely evening around a campfire before heading for the QAA Line. That first night, we built a small fire to keep warm and to boil our eco-billy with this incredibly dense mulga wood. Manipulating pots and billy has definitely become a lot easier thanks to our new set of ‘rileys’, these wonderful tweasers designed and made by Roger, AKA Xtreme. Our thoughts that night were with our group of LR friends from Sydney would go through this area in a couple of months during their venture on the Madigan Line...

We were lucky that there was only one detour around one bog and it was just 6 km off the main track. At the end of the QAA Line, we took the westernmost track heading south to Poeppel's Corner to continue west into the French line, past the salt lake.

That was the real test Alistair was waiting for regarding some changes made in the last few months... Firstly, we congratulated ourselves for our efforts towards shedding some weight - altogether nearly 80 kilos since our arrival in Australia!

Secondly, the ECU reprogrammed by Tombraider did make a difference, as it provided the extra power we needed to pass on the first run some of the more difficult or higher sand dunes. It was definitely a worthwhile move and which did not seem to increase our fuel consumption much compared to similar situations encountered in the sandy deserts of the Middle East.

Thirdly and just as importantly, our Nankang tyres - Wide Conqueror Radial A/T LT 235/85 R16 - performed really well in the sand. We did not even need to go any further than 18 PSI in spite of our weight of around 3.2 tons. After having passed the test with flying colors in boggy areas of Tasmania and recently hours on bitumen then in the mud, and not one puncture, we can truly say that we are perfectly happy with them in all respects.

And, final detail which also made a difference, our Narva set of headlights, +50% bulbs and fog lights helped us drive safely up and down the windy dunes early in the morning well before sunrise, when the sand is still hard from the cold nights.

We enjoyed a most welcomed dip at Dalhousie Springs before entering Northern Territory and heading West. From Kulgera, it felt quite strange to be back on bitumen after 1989 km strictly on track - apart from the couple of bitumen patches around Birdsville which are used as emergency airstrips, of course.

In the distance and the sunset, we marveled at the huge shape of Uluru... until we realised it was not yet Uluru in front on us but Mount Conner! Needless to say, we enjoyed several beautiful walks in Uluru, Kata Tjuta then King's Canyon.

After such busy and touristy places, we needed less travelled roads, so we took Ernest Giles Road then headed north to Illpurta to go through Finke Gorge National Park. The entrance to the track was indeed fairly discreet and was marked only by a short white post with an arrow on it – coordinates are 132° 38,974. What a lovely place! The track was slow but we had the whole park nearly to ourselves, as we only saw another vehicle camping. And it was on a weekend at that! Maybe the negative temperatures during the night – down to -8˚C. . .

In Hermannsburg, we secured for 2.20 $ a permit to drive on the Mereenie Loop for the next day, which is legally possible according to the permit form, contrary to what we had been told at the resort in Kings Canyon – maybe an efficient way of keeping paying guests for the night?

The gigantic comet crater of Tnolara/Gosse Bluff is just as impressive when seen up close as in the distance from the lookout of Tyler’s Pass, where the 360˚ panoramic view encompassing also the Mac Donnell Ranges is particularly breathtaking in the sunset.

After such a series of corrugated tracks, Robert congratulated himself for checking Alistair here and there. He found that we had just lost the two lower axles in the hindges of our reardoor, which were easily replaced by two M6X65mm bolts with… Nylstop nuts!

We enjoyed the various walks into the splendid gorges of the West Mac Donnells but were also eager to reach Alice Springs, to meet with one more aulro member, Bigjon.

Jon showed us his collection of old Series in his backyard which are in the process of being restored. Jon is a mechanic by trade, which we did not know before meeting him face to face. So when we asked him where he recommends that we go for an oil change, the answer was at the local Land Rover dealer where he works! Although we clocked less than 8000 km since our last service, Jon confirmed the advise given by Les Richmond in Melbourne at the time of our 60 k– that an oil change and check up were indeed a good idea after driving for thousand of kilometers in the mud and then in the sand.

We had a wonderfully friendly dinner at his place with him and Leah. It was really interesting for us to learn about the lifestyle in this part of the country through their stories and anecdotes.

The next day, in Elder Street - right across from the bolts and nuts shop - we also visited Desert Dwellers, a good camping store where we found a stainless steal eco-billy. John, the friendly owner of the shop also owns 6 snakes and takes a different one to work everyday. The snake of the day when we were there was a 2 meter-long local python!

Jon welcomed us at the end of his working day at Sutton Motors. On his personal time, he did an oil change on Alistair and a thorough general checkup. We appreciated his help a great deal as much as several things he taught us to check on our vehicle. With his knowledge of Land Rovers and clear way of explaining things, we thought he would make a great teacher. We were all set to hit the Tanami.

We found the track to be not as bad as we had expected… at least until we came close to the border with Western Australia! In the last portion of the track, a road train coming from the other direction and transporting loose gravel projected a stone on our brand new windscreen, creating an impact the size of a 5 cents coin…

Entering Western Australia gave us the odd feeling of “coming home”. After all, this is where we arrived in this country nearly 9 months ago, where we met our first Land Rover friends… We felt sadness at the thought of not driving back to Perth to visit them all again, and excitement at the idea of maybe meeting some of them somewhere in the Kimberley?

Wolfe Creek meteor crater was a very interesting stop towards the end of the Tanami. Instead of going straight to Hall’s Creek, we took a track – with permission from the owner at Ruby Queen station – which would take us through the ruins of an old gold mine. The track turned out to be much easier for us to follow than “Big Murph” had feared and took us through some pleasant landscapes the isolation of which we enjoyed a great deal. And we got different views on “China Wall”, a quartzite formation which runs through the area – well before reaching Old Hall’s Creek.

Purnululu National Park opened much later this year due to rains, but by the time we got there, the first and deepest ford was no more than ½ meter deep
and did not worry Alistair one bit. In fact, it was quite welcomed as it washed away some of the mud remaining on its chassis! We thoroughly enjoyed walking around the fantastic dome formations and some of the Picaninny River dried bed.
On our way out of the park, we assisted a worried young German couple upon crossing the same ford again on board their rented Subaru. It is in moments such as these that we fully measure the value of a reliable vehicle… and of a good recovery gear!

Back in Hall’s Creek to refuel, we met a lovely couple from Hobart on board a white Defender 110 who revived the “Tasmanian bug” in us. We would really love to go back there next Summer, provided that we can extend our tourist visas…

Robert decided to do an economy run on the bitumen during the 615 km from Hall’s Creek to Derby. Please note that the elevation runs from about 400 meters to sea level but that there was no wind factor to take into account. Driving at a steady speed between 80 and 90 km/h and even with our weight of 3.2 tons and roof boxes, our consumption turned out to be 9.2 liters/100 km! Which confirms that, at a steady engine rev, the reprogramming of our ECU has no or little impact on fuel consumption.

We are now in Derby, planning some of our tour in the Kimberley. We must say that we are excited and at the same time a bit worried at the prospect of facing the Gibb River Road for its sharp stones of scary reputation...

Please let us know if any of you are going to be in the Kimberley or the Northern Territory in the two coming months. We always welcome encounters with fellow Land Rover owners with great enthusiasm!!

Hello Robert and Martine hope they are still hangin some of our club members are in Derby and surrounds with kunmoo (John Schmidt) hope you can get together, also my brother in law lives in Derby look for a silver new mitsubishi Triton his name is Peter I told him you were coming up . I am sure he will look after you if you dont bump into the others, he has lived in DERBY for 25 years so knows the place real well both him and his wife Donna work at the hospital and are well known he can point you in the right direction.
Your trip stories are fantastic . Am glad everything is working out
take care and good luck
Brad