Gone, Again... ( Random Adventures in Oz )

[Philmeup]

Originally Posted by TerryK

What is this, big dog or big cat ? & the add one photo"right click on the photo & copy location" then add image as per normal. Like this

Its a dingo i guess the warning works becuase we didnt see any.thanks for the tip ill have a go now

[GoneAgain]

so the sun was on its way down again, so it was time to head for camp..



.


.


.




almost took out a Kangaroo along here...
quite a few of them about...




the track changed again back to grey...

not much out here.....



i really like this pic




.

as i said... not much out this way... 'cept for great tracks


.


few more 'action shots'...



.



finally we got to camp...

this windmill was to be the site of the 'soon to be famous, 600ml shower'

[GoneAgain]

so, we made camp just on sunset...




we were joined by this fella...


.
started getting some wood together for a fire..



.


.

and then time for the mandatory campfire photos




.


.



the next morning Phil decided to have a crack at cleaning his air filter...



i went and took a photo of some mud




and then we were off to head north

(after heading south and west first )




.

[TerryK]

Good read, keep it coming, cheers Terry

[GoneAgain]

so after one last mud photo



it was back out on the tracks...



another beautiful day for riding (day 5 i believe)



more spectacular countryside




.



i forget the name of this place... (and the library internet is too limited to be bothered googling it )

stopped off for smoko..




here it is up a bit closer..





off again, then we hit the main Arkaroola to Copley road..





fanged it the 40 odd kms down the good dirt road into Copley and hit the bakery for breakfast...



seems they have changed owners or something and it wasnt 'that' good.. ok, but not as good as the hype that used to be around it.....



then in to the Leigh creek coal mine

bloody big hole that
(oh and looked like a bit of weather around)



bloody big trucks too!



so looked like some rain was on its way in...and comming fast

figured we better bugger off north quick smart and try and beat it



we didnt quite make it...and had 15 mins of heavy rain to ride thru...'lucky' for us we hit it on the first piece of bitumen we'd seen in 4 days



.


.


.


.


.


a quick stop at Lyndhurst..

and a double check to see if the Strzelecki track was still closed...



it was, so off north again...

i made a quick turnoff into the Ochre cliffs, pulling up about 50 metres off the main road so Phil would see me and turn in too...

I waved and honked and even did a quick bit of dust raising when it looked like he wasnt gonna see me...

and watched as he flew past...

i ducked in and had a quick look...




then hit the main road and had a bloody good shot at catching Phil... but didnt...knowing how fast i was going.....that little 650 of his can move!

He made it to Marree...and was a 'little bit' concerned that i wasnt there

we picked up some supplies and fuel....

and decided to keep heading north up into Lake Eyre....






.

[GoneAgain]

so off we went...heading for Lake Eyre (North).. both pretty excited about what the afternoon might bring..




whole lot of open-ness out here...



.


.


.
almost at camp... forget the name of the camp... but i know where it is



the camp was a real suprise... little oasis in the middle of nowhere...

of course just as we started setting up an almighty dust storm blew thru..

Phil didnt like it much




but anyway, we survived the dust storm, and had tents set-up... still had an hour or 2 before sunset, so i convinced Phil we should head out to Lake Eyre 'now' rather than in the morning..so we could see sunset there.. also meant we'd be leaving first thing in the morning rather than mid arvo tomorrow...giving us more time in the Flinders... Phil didnt need much convincing to go riding ...

so off again with 'lighter' bikes to the lake....



Phil was loving the lighter bike and was gone...



but i caught up to him when we hit the lake (well the south end of the channel that joins the north and south lakes..)



the track turned north and started getting fairly sandy...



the Garmin couldnt work out where we were




but that didnt stop us from storming on thru the sand



.



.

how cool is this place!



and then we were there



we walked out onto the (dry) lake and waited for sunset..

bloody magic place...



.


.

.




.


.



.

.



.


.


.

.

.

.


so the sun had set, we'd ticked off 'sit on Lake Eyre and watch the sun set' from the list of things to do in life

Then Phil pointed out that we had to ride back to camp (about 80kms) in the dark


one last pic and we were off!








.

[GoneAgain]

on the bikes and gone... moving quickly to make the most of the little light that was left...





.




sure was dark out here...



the pace was brough to an abrupt stop by a herd of cattle standing on the track... not sure who was more surprised...them or us

if you push your face up against the computer screen, you can just make then out in the darkness...




took a while to move them (and the next 2 herds) on... from then on it was a pretty uneventfull fang back to camp




ok, maybe except for me loosing it in some sand, leaving the track and a fair pace, parking my bike in a tree, launching myself from bike and body slamming / bear hugging a tree

no damage to me, or the bike, and i had it out and back on the track by time Phil came back looking for me


the rest of the ride back to camp was uneventfull

back at camp... night view of the Taj Mahal over the lake

oh and check the saucepan just above/left the tree


dinner, a few drinks and bed after another long but fantastic day.....




.

[GoneAgain]

took these two at first light....

(went back to bed after doing a bit of watering)


.



then actual sunrise..



Phil was up and packing early..



.


.

.

so we packed again (could be wrong, but i vaguely remember there being the odd fly out here that may have slowed things down a bit )


.

.
definatly gonna be back here again 'one day'



and once again.... we were ....gone again

the track/road back to Marree was great...

we encountered... gates


.... trucks



..really big trucks




...Emus



...bulls



and high speed dirt!



lots of it...




oh, speaking of 'lots'.... there was also a 'lot' of 'nothingness'




but never boring...

old ghan railway bridge just out of Marree..





next stop Marree......






.

[GoneAgain]

so we rolled into Marree, and pulled up at the servo for a cold drink..

saw this going on and decided that we'd wait till we got down to Leigh Creek before we fueled up again



then it was a quick look around town..



and since it was too early for the pub to be open...



we hit the road south..



note the 'new' road...

they are in the process of making the road all the way to Marree..they have half of it done now...





we stopped in Leigh Creek for lunch and Fuel, then continued south... it had been about 80 or 100kms of bitumen, so we were keen to hit the dirt again.. a quick check off the maps, showed the railway line contiuing south.. and where there is a railway...

theres one of these..



we debated turning round or not... but then realised the fence only went about 50 metres and then stopped... so on we went..

lots of mud n stuff..

then came out on this track..



we were heading down towards Beltana now..



passing the odd ruin here and there..



and then we came to Beltana...

here is the abandoned railway station (seems like someone lives in it now..)


Beltana is (was) a ghost town... but people are starting to move back into the abandoned buildings.. bloody odd place.. really odd riding around a town with absolutely no made roads anywhere..


.



.


.


.

.

from Beltana, we continued south... there had been some rain down here so the track got 'interesting' in places..



.

.

.

.

.

.




was surprised Phil didnt end up taking a bath... probabily should have..he would have come out drier



but off again, past more ruins...




thru more puddles


.

and into the Prarie Hotel for an afternoon beer



worked out the next leg of the trip over a nice cold pale ale..



looked like tonight would be dinner in the Blinman Pub...after an afternoon of dirt in the Flinders of course

so off we went...

east....




into the Flinders...




.





.

[GoneAgain]

the time at the Prarie Hotel, allowed me to plot a few tracks that looked 'interesting'...



we first headed out to the north west part of the Flinders..



.


and ended up on the (kinda) famous 'PAR' (Public Access route)..




this track was an absolute hoot...



.


stacks of creek crossings... or just plain driving down creek beds...



.


.



.


came across this old girl.... wondered how she got here..



Phil wanted to take 'er for a spin...

musta been outa fuel or somethin


.

not really suprised she's still here..



back on the bikes again...more gates..



having such a blast, didnt really stop to take many photos

a ruin along the way...


.
note to self: go straight at the ruin... left takes you a few kms thru this..



and this... to a dead end...



so back we came, back past the ruins.. and out the 'right' way..



as you can see, the sun was starting to drop... looked like it would be getting dark by time our day finished (for a change )

the pace was cracking...the track was rough



.



and the sun was setting..



we sccoted out of the PAR, onto another track, then onto a dirt road a made in into Blinman.. it was dark...again

parked the bike..

.

outside the pub....


.
and sat down out front with a local for a knock off drink...


..
.
.

[TerryK]

The PAR is a ripper, the day you saw us going past the pub we were heading for the PAR.

The wife loved it & so did I...

[NotHome]

Originally Posted by GoneAgain

.

I love the PAR and I remember this spot

[EwliyaCelebi]

This was my favourite page...
Thanks a lot for your share.

[TerryK]

That old ute is a real photo magnet, one we took.....Lesley on the front guard

[TerryK]

Craig, where is this on the PAR, don't remember the spot.