Yulara to Tjukayirla Roadhouse

September 27:

The Great Central Road is part of the Outback Highway network, which also includes the Tjukururu Road, Lasseter Highway, Stuart Highway, Plenty Highway, Donohue Highway, and the Min Min Byway. This desert highway was developed under the leadership of the late Len Beadell to serve Woomera and the Giles meteorological station. After spending four nights camping at Yulara, we headed west once more. Before leaving, we refilled our water tanks and emptied our cassette. We had previously obtained permits to travel across Aboriginal land in the NT and WA. These permits allowed us free passage through the pay stations and saved us $25 each on entry to Uluru National Park, although they prohibited us from stopping to take photos. We snapped our photos while continuing toward the turnoff and the start of the dirt road. 

This didn't bother us much, as we've previously climbed Ayers Rock, circled its base, and done the Valley of the Winds walk at the Olgas. We paused at the westbound signs and the start of the dirt road that would take us to Laverton in WA, a 1088 km journey. There, we lowered our tyre pressures on the ute and van to better absorb the rough roads. Van tyres were reduced to 25 psi, while rear tyres on the ute were set to 30 psi and front tyres to 28 psi. We then drove more slowly, taking these lower pressures into account.

We stopped several times as we headed westward to take photos of the Olgas. The road surface continually changed from sandy to rocky, but those corrugations were ever-present until we were off the main road going into Docker River to refuel.

This is our first trip along the Great Central Road (GCR), and we are excited to see some incredible country and wildlife over the next five days. While this road can be driven in just a few days, we plan to take our time to enjoy the scenery and the diverse landscapes that we have read so much about. There is no pastoral activity along this route, just three main roadhouses that are part of Aboriginal communities, serving those who live in the region and travellers passing through. The Tjukayirla Roadhouse is the only one not supporting an Aboriginal community, even though it is owned by an Aboriginal council.
After passing Armstrong and Irving dry creek beds, we could see, off to our left on the horizon, the spectacular Petermann Ranges. A further 60 km on, we arrive at Lasseters Cave above the dry bed of the Hull River. He was stranded here in 1931 after his camels bolted. He spent twenty-five days here, hoping to be rescued before attempting to walk to the Olga's. He only walked 55 km before dying.

It's another 40 km before we arrive at the Docker River community, and since leaving Lasseters Cave, we have been driving through a valley with the Petermann Ranges to our left and Bloods Range on our right.
There is a store here selling food and fuel. Diesel is $2.35 per litre, and I was surprised to see three young Japanese people working here, one of whom had trouble speaking English. Unfortunately, the community is just like any other we have seen- and we have seen quite a few in our travels- with broken-down cars everywhere, rubbish strewn about the streets, and people sleeping on mattresses under the trees. It's just a very sad situation.
The Docker River campground (Kaltukatjara) is situated in a magnificent desert oak forest in a valley of the Petermann Ranges, and is located several kilometres west of the community. There are individual campsites, flushing toilets, showers, and fire rings, but sadly, all have suffered from neglect and vandalism, and none of these facilities, except the fire rings, are in working order. But apart from all that, and the fact that we are totally self-sufficient, we have decided to stay here. A viewing platform located on a sand ridge near the campsite offers fantastic views of the surrounding countryside. I found another cache hidden nearby on one of the sand dunes. The navigator counted eight wrecked cars today, with five 4WDs passing us heading west and seven heading east.

 

During the night, several dingoes prowled around our campsite, and the wind blew for most of the night, often magnifying the sounds as it moved through the desert oaks. Distance today: 243 km.
 
September 28:
Another lovely morning, with nineteen degrees inside the van. We couldn't believe the swarms of mosquitoes trying to get into the van until the sun rose enough to drive them away, so we drank our coffee inside. We left camp at a leisurely 9 am, and five kilometres later, we crossed the WA border, with the corrugations still as bad as yesterday.

These conditions persisted for another 30 km before the road service improved, making it much more enjoyable to drive on. Several kilometres later, we encountered two grader drivers working on the road. I spoke to them on channel 40, and they indicated that the road through to Laverton was in good condition. We stopped at Giles Creek and climbed a small hill where I found another cache. The range in the background is the Schwerin Mural Crescent Range.

It was then just 29 km to Warakurna at the foot of the Rawlinson Ranges. The community, unlike Docker River, was out of bounds and well hidden over a hill, so we wondered what it looked like. The surroundings of the roadhouse were clean and tidy, and the nearby Police Station was surrounded by a green lawn. The roadhouse offers camping, fuel, and food.
 
Nearby is the Giles Meteorological Station. The station plays a crucial role as a weather and climate observatory for eastern and southeastern Australia.

In the past, the staff have conducted tours of the station that included releasing the weather balloon, but these tours are no longer available. There is also the remains of a Blue Streak Rocket found nearby in the desert, along with one of Len Beadell's graders from his Gunbarrel Road Construction Team.

And it seems that Priscilla Queen Of The Desert may have paid a visit.

The visitor centre was closed despite the sign claiming it was open seven days a week, so we missed out on seeing Len's murals. While we stopped here for coffee, I found yet another cache. We continued heading west, and 40 km later, I found another cache before reaching our campsite for the night. We stopped and took photos of just over twelve camels that moved off the road as we approached.

Our site tonight is at a designated location along the GCR called Yarla Kutjarra, which is 136 km west of Warakurna. The site has a long-drop toilet and is on the southwest side of a breakaway featuring columns and caves. A Supreme van was parked here, and over the next four days, we met Matt and Christine on several occasions. At 5:15 pm, the internal van temperature was 36.7 degrees. I was unable to find the cache hidden in the cave within the breakaway.

Today's tally from the navigator included forty-five wrecks, including a Mister Whippy van, one caravan that was completely demolished, and one dead camel beside the road. Distance today: 232 km.
 
September 29:
Lovely sunrise this morning, and eighteen degrees inside the van.

We stopped at the Warburton Roadhouse to refuel at $2.36 cpl. The young man who served me fuel and his partner, both from Sydney, have been working here for seven months. They receive free accommodation and meals, plus a very good wage. Every two months, they are flown at no expense for a week off at either Alice Springs or Kalgoorlie. After twelve months, they get six weeks of fully paid leave. The area around the roadhouse was clean and free of rubbish, unlike Docker River, where the interior was enclosed in metal security screens, unlike this one. However, the cabin and camping area were located behind twelve-foot corrugated iron walls with substantial security gates that were heavily padlocked.

Elder Creek just west of the roadhouse looked very inviting with its river red gums and water, seeming out of place in such a dry environment.

Another surprise was a 10 km stretch of bitumen that continued for 26 km until we again encountered the dirt.

Today's drive faced a strong headwind, resulting in a fuel consumption of 22L/100 km. We did not come across any traffic going our way today; all were heading east and included eight 4wds and a caravan. We also saw a large group of camels well off the road and five dead ones near it. Tonight's camp is at a site called Desert Surf Central, located 2 km west of Hunt Oil Road. This breakaway is named after the surf-like caves and cliffs along its ridge.

Having our drinks in the shade of the van at 6 pm, the outside temperature was still thirty-five degrees, and a strong westerly wind was blowing with enough force to rock the van. We had planned to cook our beef in the camp oven, but the strong winds put an end to that. Today, we counted 52 wrecks, including one caravan and truck trailer with a burnt-out car still on it.

Distance today: 219 kms.

 

September 30:

A very warm night with just a sheet to cover us. At 7 am, the van temperature was twenty-four degrees. Today's drive is very short. We are camping at the Tjukayirla Roadhouse. We passed two B doubles heading west, which I spoke with on the channel, delivering dry food to the roadhouses on the GCR. One week is dry food; the next is cold store. They were also transporting cars. A further 30 km later, we came across some quite severe corrugations, similar to those on the NT side, that lasted just over 45 km. It was better to drive in the soft sand on the side of the road, always looking out for where the graders had placed the drains to help remove water when it rains, rather than trying to drive on the corrugations. 17 km east of the roadhouse, we encountered this Desert Kurrajong by the roadside. It was quite large, so I can only assume it to be very old. Some of its qualities include the gum of the tree being edible, its seed can be roasted and ground to make bush coffee, and the tree roots can be eaten or used to gain water. During droughts, the tree sheds its leaves to survive. As we continued, we could now see many of these trees lining the sand hills, but none appeared as large as this one.

After arriving at the roadhouse, we received a mud map from Al and Serena, who manage the roadhouse, showing some 4wd tracks leading north. I was also searching for some caches and found one 5 km and another 15 km north of the roadhouse.

The strong winds were still with us, so Ros cooked the beef with sweet potato, pumpkin, roast potatoes, and roast onions in the van's oven, served with peas. We opened a bottle of Grant Burge Filsell Old Vine Shiraz. It was very yummy. 

 

Heading east today were five 4wds, two B-doubles, and thirty-nine wrecks.

Distance today: 160 km.