The day we left Lochern NP was the day I learned not to trust the maps in the mapping system we are using. The problem was not user error this time, but map inaccuracies. Actually inaccuracies is perhaps not the best description rather a mix of out of date inaccuracy & blatant fibs fits the bill better! These are maps provided on the latest & greatest Hema off road GPS navigator , the HX1. Purchased just a few months ago, shortly before we left on this trip I thought it reasonable to expect that it would be pretty much up to date. For those unfamiliar with the Hema product it’s ’off road mode’ displays your position on a map rather than giving turn by turn directions like most road going gps navigators (& indeed the road navigation mode on the HX1).
The first instance which suggested there may be inaccuracies was 45 minutes along a two wheel rut 4wd track following a river north – a potentially interesting shortcut, which promised to save us over 200kms. Interesting it had been, with frequent creek crossings (dry) of varying difficulty – enough to have me comment to MrsTea that this would be a shortcut which would save us in distance but probably not time, & that it was good to be getting away from roads. (She agreed). We had reached a fork in the track, having noticed a few kilometres earlier that the GPS showed our position to be heading away from the track. A short distance along one of the two tracks ahead of us were some steel stockyards & a red Nissan Patrol ute, which started toward us.It seemed prudent to await the driver’s arrival to enquire which track we should take.
The stocky unshaven & rough looking chap pulled up across our path, got out & walked toward us. It was hard to read his expression, but it didn’t appear especially welcoming. I quickly explained our situation & received the curt response of “Ya way off the mark there” …. not even a “mate’. When I made reference to the track shown on our map ….. “That track hasn’t been in use for over forty fucking years & would just dump you way out in the scrub”. I deferred to his knowledge which seemed to soften his intial disposition a little, only a little, but it was tangible. He went on to tell us stories of near disaster when folks without local knowledge went gallivanting around this country. I assured him that with our gps position at odds with the track we were on the point of turning around, & now on his added advice would do so. He told us to follow him back to the station (we had passed earlier). Not wanting to ‘put him out’ I began to say there was no need, that we could follow the track back without his assistance but he quickly made it clear he was not offering us a choice. By the time we reached the station his attitude had softened a little more, probably, we thought, because he had observed that we had done the right thing on our way in leaving every gate just as we found it. At the homestead another car pulled up in front of us. Red car driver told us to follow it back the the road & that he would follow behind us to shut the remaining gates. It seemed that we were clearly being escorted off the station in case there were any chance that we might turn back to give the track a second go if left to our own devices. Red car turned back to the station after the final gate. At the road the other car pulled up in front of us & Alex the driver got out. “Well that was a bit of an adventure” I opened the conversation with, “I hope we didn’t cause too much of a problem”. His broad smile conveyed that the ice had been broken. “Nah, it’ll be fine” he said – they’re two bachelor brothers got the station, you met one of ‘em”. I agist some of my cattle on there place. They’re alright & will no doubt enjoy telling the story about a couple of crazy Victorians who were driving off into the never never when they’re next at the pub”. With that he gave us directions & then headed off in the opposite direction to us.
Over forty years since the track has been used & shown on the latest mapping system …… Sheesh!
Around 40 kms further on our map showed a crossroads with all four roads attributed equal status – that of ‘main’ dirt road. We had intended to turn right (northward) at this point. Only problem was there was no right turn, the crossroads was only a T junction with our only option to continue straight ahead – a route which would add almost 300kms to what we had expected. Thankfully we had sufficient fuel in our tanks to cover this as there are no towns or fuel stops until Winton. It’s not hard to imagine someone relying on the Hema map & running out of fuel – potentially a life threatening situation for those less well prepared than us.
At this stage I need to introduce you to the third member of our travelling party. Besides myself & MrsTea ……. there is ‘Ted’. Ted & I have known each other for close to 60 years & knowing that we would be travelling indefinitely, he insisted that he join us. Until now he has taken a back seat, but another issue with our Hema HX1 has brought him out to front & centre stage. He now ‘leads the charge’. The Hema, designed to sit on the dashboard , in a cradle suctioned onto the windscreen, to guide us around outback Australia suffers with an ‘on the job’ problem. It overheats, & protectively shuts itself off, refusing to do it’s job until it has cooled down. To get around this apparent design flaw for an appliance intended for use in the Australian climate & needing to be mounted on the dash in the sun to get a satellite signal, we have had to remove it several times & hold it front of an air conditioning vent to cool it enough to re-start it. And ambient temperatures are yet to rise above 31 degrees.C.
We can only wonder whether it will be useable at all when those ambient temperatures rise into the high 40’s! Anyway, back to Ted. He, plus a cloth beanie are now doing a sterling job of sitting between the windscreen & the Hema to protect it from the heat. So far it seems to be working & Ted doesn’t complain like the Hema!
Now just on a note of fairness, the HX1 is very nice to have & much of the time works just as it should, it is however not a cheap appliance, & for something considered ‘best in class’ I feel it should have been a little more.
Just to keep Ted happy we promised him a spot in the blog from time to time, & when we came across our first ‘termite mound city’ this trip – (always a favourite of MrsTea who instantly manages to spot shapes which have a complete story to go with them) Ted wanted in on the action.
Checking on the ‘WikiCamps’ app showed us what sounded like a good overnight camp spot alongside the Mayne River part way along our dusty route. Given our preference to keep our travelling day mileage down we elected to check it out. So glad that we did. The river, comprising of many channels as most of the channel country rivers do, was dry at the causeway across the road, but taking a track at one end of the causeway brought us to a very pleasant waterhole around 500 metres long, lined with white barked river gums. There were already a couple of other campers there & after talking with them we decided to check out the “even better campspot further on that we can’t get to but your rig should manage no problem”. Discussion also included a whinge about maps. “Are you using the ’250’ Hema maps” I was asked. I said I was. “Ah you’ll be far better off using Hema’s ‘Great Desert Maps, the 250 maps are notoriously inaccurate”.Since then I’ve looked at their recommendation & sure enough the ‘Great Desert Maps’ show far fewer tracks, presumably those that are currently useable!
Around another kilometre further the track divided with one leg crossing a rocky dry section of creek as had been described, high clearance was needed, but the Patrol & Tvan managed with ease, albeit with a bit of rockin’ & rollin’. As promised it brought us to a gorgeous camp spot, possibly our best outlook to date. A second waterhole we are guessing is at least 2 kilometres long (we walked it this morning). 50 metres from the water the country is red dirt & rock desert, but we are in a green oasis, & unlike every other river we’ve camped by to date the water is clear, not muddy. We have seen more of the ‘luminous’ red winged parrots – I think they are my new ‘favourite birds’. They are fast & don’t seem to stay still for long, some day I’ll get a photo of one in flight, but so far haven’t managed a single shot. 9 pelicans flew over me just after dawn this morning, lit above the trees by the rising sun…. didn’t have a camera with me for that either, & when I did have the camera with me when a short time later I was walking along the river whilst MrsTea had a ‘lay in’ the zoom lens again failed, refusing to zoom in on the single pelican on the mirror-like water with a backdrop of red rock & green ferns. Ah well I hope the description goes some way to conveying what a lovely bit of country it is which we decided to call home for a night …. & now a couple of nights.
A lazy morning getaway saw us packed & moving by 9am. One of the strengths (& joys) of the Tvan is the ‘quick set up’ – which enables easy packing. Increasingly we are not bothering with an awning on the Tvan, just open the rear hatch & climb in, or spend 30 seconds attaching the elasticated fly/midgie net if needed. During the day if we need shade we have either just used the shadow of the vehicle & Tvan, or have used the sailtrack awning I had made to fit onto the Patrol. The description ‘swag on wheels’ really does seem to fit the Tvan well. The easy packing is helped enormously by our now having established a routine. We know where stuff goes & can recognise if something is missing or is not looking right. However that said when we arrived at Mayne river I thought it might be worthwhile using the compressed air blow gun to clean away the large dust build up before we unpacked – ultra fine red dust an inch thick on all horizontal external surfaces (but none inside). The idea was to blow it all off before opening the hatch as touching anything just spreads it around. The routine had been broken, when I repaired a seal on a lock back in Isisford. Somewhere in Isisford is my ‘good’ Jamec Pem blow gun I brought with us instead of the cheapie I left at home. I reckon I left it sitting on the drawbar of the Tvan & failed to notice it when doing our pre departure check. Bugger! We’ll try & get a replacement in Winton. A blow gun is one of the most useful tools we carry.
40kms or so north of Mayne River the Winton Jundah road deteriorated, becoming horribly corrugated, so it was a relief to turn off onto the Mayneside Access road to take us instead to Winton via Opalton. It’s a longer way around by about 100kms but was a far better road by a long shot. The remains of the old Mayneside station are few, just an old windmill & a well kept grave site of a young girl who died age 11 years & 10 months in July 1920.
The road was an interesting one, enough dips & rises to feel like a roller coaster at times, (in wet times every dip would be flowing with water), lots of corners (unusual compared to most of the roads we’ve been on) & different outlooks once again.
This time along with the red earth & jump ups we have moved into spinifex country. Sometimes lone clumps, other times clumps for as far as you can see. Hay colour & green. All with ‘hair’ up to a metre high. MrsTea suggested we should have brought lots of large ‘googly eyes’ to attach a pair to each clump as she thought they all looked like strange desert creatures, reminiscent of the troll dolls she played with as a child. It is as though this country has been coloured by an artist with a different set of pastels to that we have so recently pased through.
We passed various small scale opal mining enterprises before reaching Opalton, where we found the Opalton Bush Camp, set up by the Miner’s ‘Progress Association”. For a population of just 25 they have done a great job. Small shacks, covered camping spots, fly & mozzie proof eating areas, fire pits, flushing toilets, hot showers (using a donkey boiler after we collected firewood) & the friendliest welcoming folk you could meet – all for $2.50 each per night. Tomorrow is a regular monthly association meeting & social get together for the miners at the bush camp site – bbq – & we have been invited. MrsTea is also keen to do a bit of opal noodling around some of the old mine sites having been given a few tips by a couple of the miners. Looks like our rustic verandah will be home for a couple of nights.
Now on our 2nd day at the bush camp. As promised the entire ‘neigbourhood’ turned up for the meeting & bbq. A few beers were sunk & the large wood fired bbq was pushed into service to cook several cows. A slight exaggeration, but there was a lot of meat, together with salads & cake. Business was concluded, snippets of opal & mining politics revealed by a few & generally a good time had by all. It is warming up today, not a lot of breeze & around 35 degrees.C. Some claim this is still cool, which I suppose it is compared to the temperatures in the mid 50’s just a month or two away. Most of the miners leave when it gets that hot, but a few hardy souls keep on digging year round.
MrsTea’s ‘Noodling’ efforts were interrupted by the days social activities, but now, after 3pm she is back at it with Neil, a veteran miner & noodler of some 20+ years. He has taken her under his wing & they are out there in the heat picking at rocks whilst I sit here with a cool drink under the shade of ‘our’ verandah. Who is the smarter will no doubt be determined by whether any opal is found! MrsTea has already started talking in a different language, using terms like fairy, boulder & pipe to describe the rocks she is finding. Certainly they are interesting but I doubt they will have anything more than personal value although one piece with a ‘pipe’ & with ‘colour’ looks promising….. apparently! Most importantly she is enjoying every moment of it. She has always been one for jigsaws, crosswords, suduko etc, & ‘finding needles in haystacks’ is an extension to this……. she has opal fever…. I’m confident however it will be a temporary affliction, she’s not a lover of heat.
For folk who love bush camping without the need for anything more than the basics (although it does have the luxury of flushing dunnies) this place is worth a visit. The attitude behind it is what I love. It’s a tiny community project achieved on a shoestring. No attempt made to exploit the tourists give it a nice ‘feel’. They could charge more & build it up, but as one chap said ‘We’d rather stick with all the little fish & keep things uncomplicated’. In so doing they have created a resource for both travellers & locals alike. I applaud that attitude in today’s profit driven society & wish there were many more places like this.