Our journey began when we left home on May 18. We stopped in to see our friends at All Terrain Warriors – the builders of our vehicle, an Isuzu NP 300 4X4 we called Xena – in Yandina, on the Sunshine coast, and then we headed off to Fraser Island.

On our first day on Fraser we met the Brisbane 4X4 Club that was doing its annual coastal clean-up of the island. Needing to hone our off-road driving skills, Fraser Island would be the perfect place; with the long beaches, inland tracks, short, steep sand dunes and coffee rock headlands it was just a beautiful place to play. We explored the island from top to bottom in six days.

After the barge ride back to the mainland we crossed the Great Dividing Range and our trip west proper had begun.

Three days out we topped a hill on the Bulloo Development Road in outback Queensland and there, in the middle of nowhere, was a policeman alongside a truck he’d obviously pulled up.

As we approached he stepped out and signalled for us to stop. We looked at each other thinking ‘what have we done?’ Our speed dropped and we had almost come to a stop, when he looked at us, shook his head and waved us on muttering “motorhome” several times. We were ‘civilians’ and not the ‘cargo’ he was looking to check.

At that point it was getting close to lunch and as we also needed to fuel up we took a detour out to the Noccundra Hotel. The sandstone pub has been there since 1886 and offers fuel, food and camping options for all forms of traveller. When we stopped by we were privileged to see two brolgas wandering around over the road.

Once on the road again we set off for the site of the Dig Tree, the now iconic memorial to Burke and Wills’ expedition of 1860/1 that came to an end in miss-timed chaos at this inhospitable outpost. Burke and Wills died of hunger within walking distance of two pubs – they weren’t meant to win the race to the top.

As we arrived after 4pm we decided to set up camp on the banks of Coopers Creek. We couldn’t believe how bad the flies were out there and then, in the evening, the bare trees came alive with roosting (and incredibly noisy) corellas. We saw a black dingo on a solitary patrol over the other side of the creek and later a wild pig popped into view.

We spent two nights at the Dig Tree engrossing ourselves in the eerie atmosphere of that lonely spot. Upon leaving we set off in the direction of the Innamincka Pub. Arriving just in time for lunch we then checked out the local history but the flies were just incredible and becoming a real pain.

Checking the map we noticed that we were on part of the old Strzelecki Track. After a couple of hours travelling in the middle of nowhere we came to a T-intersection, the GPS was telling us to turn left; out came the paper maps and compass. For some reason our GPS appeared to be avoiding sand tracks and was taking us back to the pub [not always a bad thing –Ed]. Anyway, the sun was low in  the sky; it was time to look for a spot to camp for the night. We came to the Montecollina Bore, which was a really nice spot with plenty of places to camp, toilets and a hot spring for a dip.

The following morning we made our way further down the Strzelecki, before joining the Oodnadatta Track. We stopped in Lyndhurst only to find that the garage had recently closed down. Continuing on we were most excited to see the signs for the Farina Ruins campgrounds and what a bonus, the old bakery was open.

No worries, we’re just passing through

As with most places we stop, Xena attracts quite a bit of attention. Two couples – the Simpsons and the Shultzs – travelling together from SA invited us to share their camp fire. The pasties were enormous and very nice; what a treat it was to have fresh bread. We stayed two nights and enjoyed chatting around the camp fi re with our new South Australian friends.

Next morning they headed off to William Creek for the day to have lunch at the pub and said they’d probably camp at Coward Springs. We took our time, having a good look around amid the history of once-bustling Farina. Relics are strewn across the townscape and the remaining buildings are slowly being restored with the help of volunteers. We came away with an understanding of the hardship faced by the souls that once lived here all those years ago.

Back on the road to William Creek, making our way to Coober Pedy, we stopped in at Marree for fuel. After a quick look around we continued on to Coward Springs, another railway siding on the Old Ghan. Seeing the South Australian couples were already there we turned in, pulled on the handbrake and pressed the button.

The Gwalia State Hotel in all its splendid glory; now an office for the mines

When we met our new friends at the Farina bakery we showed them through our motorhome. They were quite impressed with our rig and how, with the press of a button, our top went up and camp is set up. They left and went to the campground. We visited the bakery and had a bite to eat then went to set up camp. I went for a walk and came across them and jokingly said to them “are you still setting up camp?” They remarked “alright, Mrs Press Button” and invited us to join them at their fire.

We were all set up for our night’s camp. At $24 a night it wasn’t cheap, but it was very clean and had nice hot showers once you’d lit the donkey (with wood supplied).

The openness of the outback highway is mesmerising

The next morning we walked around the area and discovered how the station master’s cottage had been restored and is now the owners’ residence, while the engine crew’s cottage has been turned into a museum with the local memorabilia. A dip in the hot springs before leaving proved very relaxing. After our walk around the area it became evident that a lot of blood, sweat and tears had gone into the restoration and preservation of Coward Springs, keeping the history of this area alive by making it available to the public. We were more than happy to pay our camp fees.

We said goodbye to our friends and continued making our way towards the Anne Beadell Highway. You may want to rethink your definition of the term highway that’s applied to some of Len Beadell’s outback tracks. Still, carved as they were from virgin desert in the 1950 and 60s a highway is what they formed in comparison to traversing sand dunes.

Just before leaving Coober Pedy we met a fellow traveller who’d just come off the Anne Beadell and his answer to our questions about the conditions he’d encountered was: two fl at tyres, been bogged three times, a few dints and a hole punched right through the side of his truck. His best advice he could offer  was to watch out for the mulga roots sticking up on the side and in the middle of the track. Our Xena was the same size as his vehicle; the plan was to cross the desert here so we continued on while heeding his advice.

The Maheno shipwreck on Fraser Island

Our first two full days on the track were very slow to start. The first day we managed to travel 45km and the second 60km due to the corrugations and trees encroaching over the track.

Following Len Beadell’s remarkable working life in the beautiful western deserts gave us an appreciation of the tough times he and his loyal party must have endured to enrich ours and countless other lives of travellers on this amazing track.

We went in search of the Emu atomic bomb site and found some twisted mangled bits of metal plate, concrete mounting blocks that the cameras recording the atomic test explosions sat on and the totems marking the bomb detonation site.

A railway worker’s cottage

Further down the track we saw Len’s salt pan air strip and Serpentine Lake which was another salt pan lake, I wasn’t sure if it contained water or if it was simply a mirage. It must have been a nightmare trying to land a plane out here.

Crossing the border we were now in WA; 800km into our trip we arrive at Ilkurlka, a remote settlement in the desert and our only fuel stop on this 1300km trip across the desert to Laverton.

We were in for a big surprise as we arrived; there were children and adults everywhere. Apparently it was the annual waterholes walk and the local Indigenous communities (at least three) were congregating in this remote area. We had a quiet night as the throng all packed up and went on the walkabout. With our fuel tank filled at $3.00 a litre our total bill was $600. Oh well, better than being stuck out there.

It doesn’t get better than this: camping on Fraser Island

Twelve days of travelling over corrugations, through muddy tracks, climbing sand hills and having the privilege of viewing colourful sunrises, sunsets, wildflowers, camels and some truly beautiful landscapes, we arrived at Laverton. This was the end of our journey across The Great Victoria Desert on The Anne Beadell Highway.

In that time we only passed seven other vehicles, we looked for and found some of Len’s Beadell’s trig points and survey markers that he used to build the road.

Before leaving Laverton the next morning we called into the tourist  information centre, where it was suggested that if we were going to Leonora then we should have look at the ghost mining town of Gwalia. What an interesting place; it certainly transported us back in time with all the relics of days gone by. It was the Italian and migrant camp where people settled and worked at the mine in the early 1900s.

On the ferry back to the mainland

We took a drive up the hill and looked at the mine. It was as everyone always says: all the big trucks looked like ants. It was so deep and a bit scary looking down into it. We continued on and made camp at Niagara Dam, a really lovely place to free camp and full of history.

We walked around the dam and chatted to the other campers. It was a wee bit chilly so we retreated inside after the sun went down and settled in for the night. In the morning we took a walk around – apparently there’s gold in them there hills but we didn’t find any.

Back on the road again we stopped at the Menzies pub for lunch and then headed off in search of Lake Ballard to see Anthony Gormley’s sculptures in the desert, and our camp for the night. We climbed the hill, took some photos and walked around on the crusty salt lake making sure we didn’t slip over on this very sacred site.

Spinifex in interesting, hedge-like formations

Another sunrise and we were back on the tar. We stopped in and had a look at the Super Pit in Kalgoorlie: Big.

Then it was on to Perth to service our truck and undertake a complete inspection of the rig. We dipped our toes in the Indian Ocean at Hillary’s, which was a shopping centre on a jetty.

So, straight across. No flat tyres, no bogging, nor scratches and, other than red dust on the chassis, Xena still looked brand new. Now it was just the simple matter of turning round and making the return journey.

Not much of a fanfare crossing the border into WA

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Written: Tue 01 Sept 2015
Printed: September, 2015
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