Apologies Dave, I left out our prodigal WK2. Oops!
Do sign in when you are home.
Dru'n'Kerry
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Apologies Dave, I left out our prodigal WK2. Oops!
Do sign in when you are home.
Dru'n'Kerry
For those wanting info on the trip, here are the salient points - obviously from our own experiences. This is just an outline, the bones as it were. You would write a book to cover the joy, the fascination, the comradery and the amazing scenery. Big shout out to Dave for pulling together such a fantastic trip. It isnt possible to do an outline without missing heaps - please forgive me for the omissions.
Clean start from Broken Hill, it got interesting very shortly after hitting dirt - several flat tyres that seemed to come in groups. Sorted at Copley - more on them shortly.
Road in and out of Lake Eyre was the worst corrugations - option tracks necessary for some corrugated sections. Sunset over the lake won't be forgotten quickly.
Flinders Ranges should not be forgotten.
More flat tyres on the Birdsville "track" - which may be dirt but is a Road Train Highway. Sorted at the fabulous Mungerannie.
K1 Line "closed access" signs had been withdrawn - status resolved, on to the Simpson! Where Greg had suspension issues, suspected air bag issues in the front end? And Dave collected a mound for a broken front strut. Following many sat-phone calls, Copley (nearly 600km away!) agreed to send a recovery vehicle for Dave. Discretion finally got the better of valour and Greg turned home having gotten as far as Poeppel Corner.
The convoy had to be split during the vehicle issues. Wayne and Julie, Kevin, Dru'n'Kerry stayed with Dave on an un-named salt flat waiting for the Copley driver. The main group was lead out varously by SteveT and Sean and Daphne. The two groups overlapped for an evening in Birdsville before the main group continued to the original Dave itinerary. The smaller group rested an extra day, then deviated with a 550k between fuel stops drive to pick up the third of the State corners. Nick and Pam headed north on their year long tavels, headed for dinosaur country.
All met up and convoy was reunited at Innaminka.
On to Tibooburra and White Cliffs. About 50k before White Cliffs Dru'n'Kerry had the tyre blow out of the trip. Completely shredding a Mickey Thomson. :grey: The ensuing recovery really needed convoy assistance - somehow I managed a dislocated shoulder and we would not have managed without the group. Nurse and Royal Flying Doctor Service sorted that out, OK for the trip home, albeit with Kerry doing more hours behind the steering wheel!
After that (Bitumen from there), the group gradually splintered as different parties had different deadlines back in Sydney.
I've hardly touched on half of the places or even things like "Big Red" or the number of Wedge Tailed Eagles or surnrise sunset or the incredible desert night sky. Kerry and I are resting up, shoulder is coming good, and dreaming about three corners (Poeppel, Haddon, Cameron) and three deserts (Simpson, Sturt's Stony, Strezlecki).
We'll see if we can post some more pics, they do better at explaining I think.
See you at the next SJC Meeting!
Dru'n'Kerry
Great to see you guys out there, we crossed paths with the trip, or some of it, a few times. Other than dinner at Broken Hill we dropped in on Dave at Copley to see if he needed anything as we passed through, got there about an hour after he arrived with broken grand, and then saw another SJC'r at Bourke in the servo but the name escapes me (it'd been a long trip for our little). We had our own dramas, I got a tent peg through the tyre at 80kmh just on the dirt at Yunta (replaced at Hawker) and then a rock through the back window on the Strezlecki (replace with garbage bags until Tibboburra and then card board from the post office). Soft top goes on today until I can get a new window. Then, 350km from home, the pathfinder traveling with us blew it's clutch and had to make the rest of the trip home on a flat bed.
Great time out there though, and looks like you guys did too.
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Cheers
Steve
Some more pics:
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Must be great to be back Dave. All the best.
Another fabulous adventure orchestrated by David G and Wayne n Julie
Can�t thank you all enough for some amazing memories and story�s
Can�t wait fir thx next trip
John n Di 15HERZ
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Thanks Dave and Julie/Wayne for an excellently planned and executed trip. One more item off our bucket list [emoji106][emoji3]
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OMG! I saw the pics on the mobile, this is the first time I've looked at the whole thread and saw your trip report. Glad you are recovering from your shoulder injury, sounds terrible! I'm guessing getting spare off the roof :(
We are going to have some stories to tell at the meeting next week!
Best wishes,
Dave
Dave - I thought I would knock out a "skeleton" - everyone's stories will be much better! Predictably I missed stuff EG should have spoken about the brilliant work by Wayne and Julie leading the second trip and continuing when the two groups er-merged.
Shoulder will do fine. Nothing time wont solve. Look forward to the stories!
Dru'n'Kerry