# DOWNUNDER OUTBACK ROAD TRIP



## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Now I have retired, pushed along by having a stroke 25 April 2018. Fortunate that I have no deficits apart from old age and a grumpy disposition. Following the stroke my wife and I decided it was time to stop work and spend some time together and get to that Bucket List and start crossing some items off before it is too late. The first major outing was a road trip with a difference for the folks Stateside. First I built a camper on a tray that I can remove from the vehicle and put an ordinary tabletop tray on. The specifications were basic; No trailer , the vehicle had to be 4WD, have enough fuel for 1500 miles highway driving or 1000 miles off-road, enough food and water on board for up to 3 weeks without any re-supply and small enough to negotiate iconic Australian tracks and treks. So I chose a Chinese built 4WD with an 8 foot 6 inch x 6 foot aluminium tray, it is a 2 seater with a 2800lb payload, a winch and front collision protection, known here as a roobar. Sleeping accommodation for 2 which is waterproof and windproof. The first trip, and you may wish to track it on Google, comprised 6,500 miles with over 5,000 miles on dirt roads or tracks in the wilderness. The epic track with side trips was 1.150 miles on unmade track of basically 2 wheel tracks through the desert (so called) and negotiating nearly 1000 sandhills up to about 55 to 60 feet high.

The route was from Perth in Western Australia in an almost direct line to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, excursions East, West and South of "the Alice", then up the Tanami track/road to Western Australia's Kimberley , an excursion into the Purnalulu National Park to see the Bungle Bungles, back through Hall's Creek , calling into Wolf Creek Meteorite Crater and then down the Canning Stock Route (toward Perth) to Wiluna, then back to 9Perth via backroads),see map. After we left the stock Route and were heading back to Perth, we stopped off at a conservation reserve and from our campsite it was a full day's drive to get to either Southern Cross (pop 700), situated 200 miles east of Perth, or Menzies (pop 108) yes that was the population in the 2016 census and has an area of over 48,000sq miles.

Many in the US will struggle to appreciate how remote the Canning Stock Route is. At Well 33, there is a small Aboriginal (First nation) community. The nearest towns to this community are: Hall's Creek (pop 1600) 600 miles away, Wiluna (pop 680) 700 miles, Alice Springs (pop 25,000) 750 miles, Port Hedland (pop 14500) 620 miles away. There is almost no bitumen on any of the roads to those towns. We travelled for 5 days and covered about 350 miles along the stock route without seeing another soul. That is remote.

To start with I will post a couple of images of the vehicle and from each of the 6 major legs, Perth to Alice Springs, Around the Alice, The Tanami Track, Purnalulu/Bungle Bungles, Canning Stock Route, and the run back to Perth. I plan to progressively post further photos and short videos, this is just a taster.

There are 2 successive photos of a dingo (Australian wild dog) showing how well its camouflage can work. Great Central Road. The first glimpse of the Olgas. Ularu or Ayers rock from about 10 miles away. Rainbow valley. Lonely graveyard east of Alice Springs at a deserted district of Aritunga. Part of the Binn's Track. Castle rock near Chamber's Pillar. Abandoned Owen Springs Homestead (Ranch). Gosse's Bluff, the remains of a massive meteorite strike millions of years ago (from about 8 miles away). Red Gorge a desert waterhole. Gyrocopters called into a roadhouse to refuel,120 miles out of Alice Springs. Mr "no shoulders" taking some early morning sun. Sunset on the Bungle Bungle Range. Sunrise on the other side of the Bungle Bungles. More Bungle Bungles. Canning Stock Route (CSR). A camel on the CSR. Diebel Hills CSR. A cave used by a now defunct brewery to store their produce made on the top of the mesa above.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Outstanding! The bungles rock formations are very interesting. Some of that country reminded me of Utah in our Western region. Glad you have been on tour Coondle. I have been wondering about you and if you and the Mrs. were on tour. Keep us apprised and keep safe. Wonderful pics. 600 miles between towns is kind of an appealing thought to me. 

Regards, Mike


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

Very nice. No shopping centers, no long lines or cars or people. Enjoy.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Vol said:


> ..... 600 miles between towns is kind of an appealing thought to me.
> 
> Regards, Mike


The location at Well 33 called *Kunawarritji (Said phonetically) *is hardly a town, it is as you would call it a "First Nations" settlement of around 100 Aborigines (do not know how large, being white, not allowed into the residential part) with a small shop a petrol and a diesel fuel bowser a first aid post and a shop to sell local indigenous art. The shop would fit in our lounge room. The petrol is "OPAL" a non-aromatic fuel not suitable for petrol sniffing which pastime became a scourge of first nation youth, causing immense permanent brain damage. Sadly there is almost a lost generation of the Aboigines that took up sniffing. In addition some of our remote towns and communities are also dry in that full strength alcohol is banned. The town of Hall's Creek sits in the middle of a 700 mile stretch of major highway that is dry. As a result of that policy/law there has been a vast improvement in the behaviour in and amenity of the town between what it was in the 1999 and now. Despite its tiny population there are 4 young men from there playing Aussie Rules football in our National League. Aussie rules has become almost a religion it is played so fervently in the area. Seeing the improvement and participation rates in work it is sad that Government did not have the balls to make OPAL and dry towns more widespread in our remoter areas, the transformation of the communities is sensational. Also sadly some of our remote communities are being now destroyed by illicit drugs especially ice.


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## Ox76 (Oct 22, 2018)

Awesome pictures. Thanks for taking the time to share them with us and I look forward to seeing more!

Did you have any problems with your Chinese built vehicle? I'm not sure I would trust something like that, especially way out in the sticks like you were. What happens if you were to break down out there? Pretty much wait it out and someone will be along within 3 weeks?


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Here are some photographs from the first stage of our trip (Perth to Alice Springs, about 1500 miles with a good many of those miles on gravel road. All of the photos are taken in one or more of our deserts. The amount of growth in most of our deserts amazes people. The plants and animals are adapted in many ways to cope with little or even no freely available water. Many of our animals that live in the desert do not need to drink, ever. 1) an early stop at a Granite dome, Australia has ancient landscapes , these domes are bedrock exposed and weathered into smooth domed rising in some cases hundreds of feet high.

2). an old steam powered pumping station on a historic pipeline from near Perth going 300 miles through arid country to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Designed and built by C Y O'Connor in te late 1890's to open in 1903. The first time water had been pumped so far, unfortunately O.Connor suicided because of the political pressure put on him owing to cost and its pioneering water transfer. Brilliant in its simplicity, each station pumped but a short distance to a high point from where it gravitated to the next pump station. He also pioneered pipe building with a pipe rolled in two semi-circles and joined with two locking bars.

3). Malcolm Dam, water supply built in a desert during the 1890's gold rush, this one supplied a now abandoned gold mining town about 500 miles out of Perth.

4). The start of the Great Central road Alice Springs is just on 1000 miles away.

5).Feral camels grazing on the side of the road near Warburton about 930 miles from Perth. Camels were introduced to Australia in the 1800's for use by Afghan camel drivers to transport goods to remote, arid areas. When railways and road transport displaced camel transport many camels were released and there is now a huge feral population, estimated by some to be 2 million. They are a scourge, polluting water holes and changing flora through their grazing habits.

6)This Cat grader started its service life on Australia's atomic bomb test site, it then got used to create a network of roads in remote Central, Western and South Australia, partly to access the nomadic Aborigines and relocate them because the area was to be used for atomic tests and rocket range, stretching from Woomers in South Australia to off Western Australia's north west coast. It graded thousands of miles of road where none existed previously. Those tracks are used today, many as adventure 4x4 trips.

7), some ranges to the north of the Great Central Road

8). The Great Central Road about 1150 miles out of Perth.

9).Another range.

10). ditto

11). Horses grazing near the side of the road they may be feral.They are in a desert oak woodland110. Another range, this time south of the road.

12). Lasseter's cave. A cave where a prospector died of thirst after his camels ran off in 1930.

13) Mount Connor, a mesa between Ayers rock and Alice Springs.

14).This and the following photos are of the Hennebery Meteorite site where 12 meteorites (4 large and 8 small ) hit, the largest was about the size of a 50 US gallon drum.

15).

16).


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

OX 76, The vehicle performed flawlessly. however some add-on accessories were a little more problemetic, but i repaired those in Alice Springs. I was heartened when the mechanics that fitted an upgraded suspension reported it was the best put together vehicle they had seen in a long time, every nut had been properly torqued, which they say is rare now.

My wife and I travelled solo, which many are not prepared to do and there were many naysayers telling us it was foolhardy and dangerous. All the What ifs. Now days many new vehicles are not amenable to backyard mechanics. Electronics are impossible to service in remote locations like the ones we were in. So no different if we had been in a mainstream vehicle. One mainstream vehicle that we became aware of had cost 3 times ours and had had huge upgrades to tackle the CSR and had a 150 mile detour to get essential repairs before it even got half way.

We could sit at home and tremble or go out and do it and if something goes wrong then work out what to do.

We were, I think, well prepared. We carried enough food and water for 3 weeks without resupply, we had a satellite navigator (not just a GPS0 and a smaller one as a backup plus some paper maps. We had a satellite phone, 3 batteries in the vehicle with solar power as backup, lots of likely needed spares and a comprehensive tool kit. Nevertheless I did need a soldering iron to repair a broken radio microphone lead ( I borrowed one on the track.) We carried 3 spare wheels with tyres and had tyre levers, tubes and tubeless tyre plugs (I fitted a tube and plugged punctures on the track. We also had 2 "grab bags_ in case of a vehicle emergency especially fire. There are many burnt out vehicles on the CSR as spinifex grass can build up under the vehicle, it is very flammable and resinous. The plan in case of fire was: the passenger was to get the the 2 grab bags and remove them to a safe place. The driver was to address the fire with a jet of water from a squeeze bottle to be followed by a pressurised water fire extinguisher. In the bags were our satellite phone, then each bag had a blanket, a tarpaulin, warm waterproof jacket, 1/2 gallon water, water filter system, matches and a gas fire lighter, canned food and dry food like biscuits sufficient for a full ration for a person for 2 days.

Enjoy the best but prepare for the worst.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Well done Coondle. One cannot over prepare when you are counting on just yourself. Did you chance meet anyone while driving in the remote areas? I really like the looks of that truck. What is it called?

Again, those are some terrific pics.

Regards, Mike


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Very similar to trekking in northern Canada on the James Bay highway, Trans-taiga or Trans-lab highways in terms of remoteness.

One of those roads terminates 745 km from the nearest accessible town which itself is a remote town. I've got to say the Aussy scenery is more interesting than stunted evergreen trees and bogs!


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## Palmettokat (Jul 10, 2017)

Maybe I missed it, but see your bride in several pictures but none of you. My wife and I have been watching a old tv show called "Wagon Train", tails of people traveling I guess 125 to 150 years back by wagon across much of this county. They were not equipped near as well as you are.

You make a very valid point in there is always a risk. There is a risk to travel as you are, there is also the risk of sitting home and just dropping dead. Doubt there is much bigger class of risk takers than farmers...we lost crop to hurricane last year..flood worst in history followed by good bit of rain and fields were wet late into spring. By then the flooding was gone and so was the rain...we set records high for think about three weeks and NO rain. Went from muddy fields to drought across our area. Think we call that, LIFE.

Do enjoy your post, most likely the best tour of that area I will ever take.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Vol. yes we did meet other travellers, however for the first 5 days on the CSR we did not see another person or vehicle (other than abandoned burnt out ones). We travelled from North to South whereas most others travel in the other direction.

We went several times of not seeing anyone at all fort days and once three days. We were on the CSR from 5 May to 22 May, 18 days in all. Each day we travelled only about 60 miles, starting after 8 in the morning and finishing about 3 or 4pm to set up camp. One say we set up camp at 12.30 pm because there was a very attractive woodland with lots of birds and a dingo also went by..... we saw his tracks later in the afternoon over ours but not the dog itself.

We were travelling at the start of te season as the CSR is considered too dangerous in the hottest part of the year. Even when we went the relative humidity was as close to zero as it can get. Daytime temps in summer would regularly go over 120*F and humidity near 0. Around Alice Springs the overseas tourists are in droves, they are everywhere and often ill-prepared.

We happened on a pair of German tourists on the Tanami that had ruined a tyre with no jack and no spare. We had been following the distinctive trail of a damaged tyre for many miles before we came on them.

We stopped to render assistance and ended up taking the young man and his ruined tyre some 80 miles to the nearest town to buy a replacement then brought him back. Before we left the car we put up a tarpaulin for shade and made sure there was ample water and food for the two women. My vehicle is only a two seater.

While away the young woman told my wife she was about to try and walk to get help

WRONG.

The first rule in Australia if lost or disabled is DO NOT LEAVE THE VEHICLE. It is a landmark and is usually on a track or road of some sort and search parties will find it before they find a person walking. It is a source of shelter too.Further you cannot carry enough water and unless you are very skilled you will not find any along the way, dehydration and death soon follow.

Without water a person in moderate conditions could last week or so. Out there, without water it would be a miracle to go for three days. In the hottest conditions, to see the end of the second day would be amazing .

The vehicle is marketed here as an "LDV T60". Elsewhere in the world it is a "Maxus T60", manufactured by SAIC which much to the chagrin of you in the US is now a major vehicle manufacturer with over 15 million units a year. It has a 2.8 litre variable geometry turbocharged intercooled diesel, producing only a modest 148 horsepower and torque of 245ft lbs, however the same engine, uprated in another vehicle does 200 hp and 332 ft lbs, both over a reasonably wide rev range from 1600 to 3600 rpm. Legal payload of 2800 lbs, a towing capacity of 6600lbs a gross combination of 13350 lbs. A six speed manual gearbox and hi 2wd, high 4wd and low 4wd. Mine does not but the upmarket model has a rear locking diff.

I am happy with the way it performs, here is a short video of it conquering a coastal sandhill, during a shakedown run before our Outback trip. This was to winch a stranded vehicle and boat trailer up the hill. When this video was taken there were 5 vehicles that had failed to negotiate the sandhill because the stuck one was blocking the easiest path. By the time I had winched the stranded vehicle out there were 10 vehicles that had failed in their attempt/s to get out, there had been one that did. My vehicle was near full y loaded condition and my tyres were down to 10 psi.

As I was diving up the hill, a group of young people were rubbishing my vehicle with comments like

"the old bloke has got a piece of Chinese crap"

and my wife said to them

"don't underestimate the old farmer"

They shut up and after my vehicle got out as in the video, a couple of the young guys came over and said

"Not bad off road"

Lucky I did not hear their earlier comments otherwise I would have put my wife back in and left them to get out by themselves.

A still photo of the scene, you may be able to see the winch rope with several dampers, one is the orange flag left of the fence post, another appears to be in the hand of the bloke taking a photo.Dampers prevent the rope flying if it broke.

The beach behind is fantastic, it has is a river outflow which provides a very tricky crossing if you want a wet challenge and many miles of beach driving in both directions. We camped on that beach for a couple of nights, very peaceful, but a strong on-shore wind so not good for beach fishing.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Palmettokat. No it is me taking the photos, not into selfies and do not want to risk the iPhone.

Here is the only shot of me on that trip, taken next to a track we were going along. You can see how rocky this piece of track is. It is actually in a dry riverbed, but easy going and abut 25mph travelling.

This is a sign on another riverbed track that we came across later, advising travellers: 22km is about 13 1/2 miles. That gives you an indication of how rough the trail can be to allow 2 hours driving to travel 13 1/2 miles.

On a scale 1 to 4, the most difficult stages were a 3 and much of the off road stuff was at least a 2, and the occasional short sections may have just got to a 4. Four is really hard core, but I am not interested in doing a lot of those tracks because I value my vehicle too much.

Photo of a sign at the start of a side trip into Roma Gorge, I thought that the estimate of an hour for 5 miles was way too out. Another trip up a watercourse bed. I thought that the hour would be easy to achieve as for the first mile or so I was on about 10 to 12MPH. WRONG, it then got rough and challenging, the water when it rains must rip down there, there was almost no sand only very rough rocks and gouged out channels. It took me over an hour each way.

The moral of the story.......heed the signs.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

slowzuki said:


> Very similar to trekking in northern Canada on the James Bay highway, Trans-taiga or Trans-lab highways in terms of remoteness.
> 
> One of those roads terminates 745 km from the nearest accessible town which itself is a remote town. I've got to say the Aussy scenery is more interesting than stunted evergreen trees and bogs!


AHHH< when I was fortunate enough to visit Canada I wanted to go to the far North, but not equipped and the rental car was not up to the task anyway, nor were our provisions etc. The furthest we got was Geraldton, still about 1,000 miles from the Arctic circle. One of the disappointments in life I ntinue to live with. The significance of Geraldton is that in West Aussie we have a town of the same name nut it is a coastal town with wide white beaches and surf and sand. It is also a prime windsurfing area with winds from the southwest so strong and persistent that the trees bend over and some become virtually horizontal.

Google "leaning tees of Greenough Western Australia". There is one next to the highway that is the most photographed but there are many others and even more before clearing for farming


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

My buddies get all jacked up for the Hatfield McCoy ATV trails, me not so much. There's no real challenge, I guess it's a been there done that deal. I've rode (literally swim) the Loup River in Genoa, climbed the meanest rocks in Uwharrie, played in the sand, South Dakota highways, and the farm. There is no real element of life and death.

.... but this is off roading and camping! This is how I imagine an adventure! Thanks for sharing Coondle!


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Those white beaches are just beautiful Coondle. So very clean looking.....no plastic trash it appears.

Regards, Mike


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Mike you talking people or waste? Lol



Vol said:


> Those white beaches are just beautiful Coondle. So very clean looking.....no plastic trash it appears.
> 
> Regards, Mike


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Vol said:


> Those white beaches are just beautiful Coondle. So very clean looking.....no plastic trash it appears.
> 
> Regards, Mike


Sadly Mike, plastic is ubiquitous, it is everywhere, even on these beaches These beaches are on our south coast. On my way back from this outing I drove for about 50 miles along similar beaches on our West Coast. Simply stunning.

Thanks for the comments, I appreciate all input and comments.

Regards

Kevin


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## Thumbtack (Jun 18, 2012)

Coondle,

Was in your neck of the woods in 1996 sort of I was in Darwin and your country is so beautiful!! Thanks for all the photos.

Cheers mate

Joe Bob


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

The next stage of our trip, around Alice Springs.

I apologise for the sideways photos, someone may be able to put them right way up, thanks in advance.

The Alice is about 120 miles north of the geographical centre of Australia. It is the largest town for at least 900 miles in any direction, indeed almost the only town. Most of OZ is very sparsely populated.

Alice Springs is situated at a gap in the McDonnell Ranges. These ranges run East and West from there. Much of Australia is an ancient landscape. Geologists say these ranges are the eroded down remnant of a mountain range that billions of years ago was the same height or higher than the Himalayas are today, 10.000 metres or 33.000 feet. They are now at most about 4,000 feet above sea level with surrounding areas at about 1.000 to 1500 feet above sea level. The rocks are contorted and twisted at all angles and shapes. The range is a barrier to waterline the North going south and there are many chasms gaps and gorges where the water has broken through. The gorges often have te only permanent water supplies in the area and provide a refuge for wildlife and plants, some plants are remnants of before the age of the dinosaurs, supported by water stored in the rocks millions of years ago and slowly released. Google Palm Valley Northern Territory for an outstanding example. We visited that previously, so not on our trip this time.

The ranges and gorges in particular are home to very agile wallabies. "Wallaby" is the generic name for smaller varieties of Kangaroo. The rock wallabies are the equivalent of mountain goats. They avoid predators like the dingo by hopping from rock to rock on the precipitous and very rough walls of the gorges, they are hard to see, being partly nocturnal, shy and well camouflaged. In some later photos I managed to film a couple jumping from rock to rock and grazing the tough sparse grasses on the gorge wall. But now:

1) to 3).Emily gap a small gorge east of Alice. Most gorges are very significant cultural locations for the Aborigines I guess because they were a source of water even in the longest droughts, shelter in caves and trees, food with a concentration of plants and wildlife. Water tears through many of these gaps ripping at all in its way, note the gnarled gum tree. These white barked gum trees colonise watercourses where there is enough surface water or water below the ground. The variety is Eucalyptus Cameldulensis and is the most widely spread native gumtree in Australia, growing in dense forests in wetter areas and alongside or in many lakes, and watercourses even in the most arid areas.

4). A jagged rock outcrop next to the Binn's.

5). N'Dharla gorge a small rocky gorge of very significant cultural significance. There are petroglyphs (rock carvings) thousands of years old taht we were allowed to look at, there are no photos. It is a men's site and aboriginal women are not permitted but the custodians permit other ethnic women to enter and view but further up the gorge is a prohibited area of even greater significance.

6)'On the Binn's track, another iconic outback adventure trek of about 1200 miles in Central Australia.

7).Horses watering in a pool in a gorge on the Ross river, alongside the Binn's, the water is under the overhang and quite a way down into the sand from where the rearmost horse is standing. A stallion and his family.

8). Another of the very many ranges and outcrops.

9). On the track into Roma gorge, a cave that would provide a cool place for wallabies to rest up in the day.

10). to 21).Roma Gorge another location with ancient petroglyphs

13).Entry to Chambers Pillar

14). Castle rock adjacent to Chambers Pillar.

15). to 17). Chambers Pillar. It was a magnet for early explorers.

18) Track in the bed of the Hugh River. Many tracks often follow sections of river bed as the surrounding country is too rough to make a track and since the river beds are dry for long periods then it is very convenient to follow them. River sand can be treacherous at times, because it has been rounded by the action of the water and can at times provide little support for wheels. It is necessary to lower tyre pressures to achieve better flotation on the sand, during one river-bed excursion my tyres were down to 12 psi, if necessary I could have gone to 10 in the rear and 8 in the fronts but that would have been desperation.

19) Cattle yard near Owen Springs (see photo of ruin in the first post) and an explanation of how the wild cattle and horses were managed by the stockmen for branding, gelding or marking (castrating cattle).

20). A range in the distance for the start of the next post.


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

Great photos, Kevin. I did some of that trip 3 years ago in a Citroen 2CV.

T for Toodyay, I presume.

Roger


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Fascinating trip Coondle. I look forward to the next session. I was wondering about the feral water buffalo and what part of OZ would these be located?

Regards, Mike


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

bool said:


> Great photos, Kevin. I did some of that trip 3 years ago in a Citroen 2CV.
> 
> T for Toodyay, I presume.
> 
> Roger


Well spotted, andYes, T is for Toodyay.. Not many understand that in West Aussie all local governments outside the inner metropolitan area of Perth have registration plates that are unique to the district, with district identifiers There are over 100 such district plates. Many even in WA many are not aware of what the plates mean. A couple of obscure ones are :GU for Upper Gascoyne, MU for Murchison which is a shire without a town. YL is for Southern Cross which is in the shoe of YilgarnSome districts with more than 1 town often recognise those towns eg:WB for Wongan Hills and Ballidu, MBL for Mukinbudin, Bonnie Rock and Lake Brown, the latter 2 towns have disappeared in the last 60 years or so and KTY for Kununoppin, Trayning and Yelbini, where Yelbini has only about one house now.


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

My favourite is P for Plantagenet, the shire around Mt Barker.

Roger


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

bool said:


> My favourite is P for Plantagenet, the shire around Mt Barker.
> 
> Roger


Actually PL. There are 133 district plates in West Aust. The letters: F, J, O, U, X and Z have not been used at all, and I, K, P and V are only used in conjunction with other letters eg: IR for Irwin (River) at Dongara, PL as above. VP for Victoria Plains for Calingiri, New Norcia, Bolgart, Piawaning, Yerecoin, Mogumber and Gillingarra townships. K although not used on its own is used in combination for 16vdistricts, one eg KMC for Kalgoorlie.


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## Greystone (May 19, 2010)

Enjoyed the pics and your story. Thanks for posting.


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## Coondle (Aug 28, 2013)

Continuing the trip around Alice Springs in central Australia, this post is limited to one geological feature: Gosse's Bluff.

The area around Alice Springs has an overload of geological features that brings thousands upon thousands of tourists to view them. The much promoted ones are Ularu,(Ayers Rock) the wolds largest monolith, the nearby Olgas, Kings Canyon, a plethora of gorges and gaps, but this is little publicised, however it was on my "must do " list and I was not disappointed.

Central Australia has no fewer than 17 identified meteorite strikes (though technically this is considered to be by a comet), including the 12 at the Henneberry site posted earlier.

Gosse's Bluff is the result of a comet colliding with the earth some 142 million years ago. It is estimated the comet was about 1100 yards wide, on impact released some million times more energy than the WW2 atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Rocks were compressed and shattered some 1000 yards below the surface and the original crater was 12 miles in diameter. That has eroded away but can be identified from satellite photographs.

1).This little range is viewed here from about 10 miles away and is the remnant of the "pop" in the centre of the crater, caused when the rocks that had been compressed bounced back.

This remnant by itself it is 3 miles in diameter rising from a flat plain. Shatter cones are found here confirming it is a strike from outer space. The rocks in this remnant are tumbled and jumbled, a road leads to the inner part and the surrounds are awe inspiring. The photographs do not do it justice.

Thinking of its immense age (80 million years before the end of the dinosaurs), the size and jumble of this "inner crater" made the hairs stand up on my neck. The Aboriginal legend is that a group of women danced across the sky in the milky way, one woman put her baby down in its wooden baby carrier, The baby fell out and to earth and is held in this circle of rock. The area is a women's sacred site and only limited access for Aboriginal men.

2). to 5). the view of various parts from the inside of the crater, taken from a pyramid-like hill in the centre that is some 150 feet high

6). looking at some of the shattered rocks under my feet.

7). a view of the hill that provided my vantage point

8). Looking back after we left, the breach through which access to the crater floor is gained can be seen about 1/3 of the way from the left.

For me a measure of how an object of interest has affected you, is how you feel looking back. I was still in a state of awe..

There is currently a lot of work going on to attempt to confirm an even larger ancient strike that is estimated to have resulted in a crater 360 miles in diameter and 1320 miles in circumference, but considering the land surface in this area is estimated to be over 2 billion years old, the numbers numb my mind. Is there something in that word?


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

Yes, you're right. It's a few years since I was last there.

Roger


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