{"id":7582,"date":"2026-08-01T11:13:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T01:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/?p=7582"},"modified":"2026-08-01T18:14:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T08:14:34","slug":"kununurra-to-katherine-and-a-show-stopping-breakdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/kununurra-to-katherine-and-a-show-stopping-breakdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Kununurra to Katherine and a show stopping breakdown!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The four of us just a few minutes from Ian & Michele’s<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arriving at Ian & Michele’s in Kununurra was like ‘coming home & Christmas rolled into one’. They have always made us so welcome & this was no exception.  Their hospitality again extended not only good company, a comfy room, use of a car, but also private tour’s of some stunning spots nearby that many, including locals, are unaware of. We were also happy to help out with some of Ian’s project work whilst there. He always has projects on the go & this time he was building an outdoor bathroom, with shower & toilet for friends like us, who visit during the dry season. Several days of good hearted banter between the two of us as we worked resulted in the job being almost finished by the time we left. Photos were sent on to us shortly after showing it completed with some nice finishing touches. They have a lovely bush property a few kms out of town on which they have established, in addition to their lovely house, pool, gardens & a great vegie plot what is essentially a private campground just for friends, like us, who travel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several hidden camp spots in the bush all with gravel road access & now with a luxury rustic shower & toilet facility close by. They understand traveller’s needs & love the opportunity to share yarns about 4wd’ing & adventure, being passionate adventurers themselves. On this occasion we had been using their postal address for a while, to get orders made online sent to, hence ‘like Christmas’ as we had a bundle of packages to open upon our arrival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MrsTea in the pool<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kununurra is a deceptively small town, not immediately obvious until you need something & find out there are waiting lists to get work done or parts that you need that most towns would have but Kununurra doesn’t . It ‘looks’ like a town where you could buy most anything, but looks are deceiving. It only has a small population, & even though it has many more folk stopping there or passing through during the dry (tourist) season * harvesting seasons, it is not surprising that small businesses are often unwilling to keep stock which might sit on their shelves for a very long time. An example , in our case being some replacement gas struts which open & hold up our window shutters. A couple had failed after many years of use, & for a while we had been getting by using sticks cut out in the bush, as props.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Great spot for sunset nibbles<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A portrait entitled ‘Man in a hole<\/strong>‘<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although a ‘standard’ size & rating, there are so many different standard sizes, with standard ratings, & differing end fittings. A search of every possible stockist in town failed to find anything with the right length, pressure & end fittings. We ended up ordering some online sent, again to Ian & Michele, to forward on to us when we have another address for them to send to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The two of us.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The finished ablution facilities. Built by Ian, Michele, & myself. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Shower – Gas hot water<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The town is deceptive in another way too. Every time we visit we learn more about the country which surrounds the town, & it’s fair to say that as a result, if forced to make a choice between east & west Kimberley we would now have to choose east! There is so much stunning & picturesque country, mostly requiring a 4wd to access it, & often so close by. Ancient rocky outcrops with ancient rock art, big impressive vistas, hidden valleys, hidden plains, billabongs packed with birdlife, creeks & rivers, all within a stones throw of where Ian & Michele live! During the wet season they can even canoe from their back yard for many kilometres out to larger water systems & ephemeral water falls. In just a short morning outing it is possible to be in places where it feels like you could be hundreds of kilometres from civilisation, & best of all Ian & Michele love exploring & have amassed an extensive, but still growing knowledge of the area which they love nothing better than to share with interested friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We drove out to this hidden valley (in the 4wd side by side buggy<\/strong>) where we found some ancient rock art <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our primary goal during this visit to Kunuurra was to get our ‘bush-fixed’ repair to the old worn & wobbly pressure sensor connector on the OKA motor’s fuel rail ‘properly’ fixed. Although quite proud of my sticky tape & cable tie ‘stabilisation’, getting the connector replaced with a new well fitting one was a priority. A visit to the auto electrician resulted in ” I can do it in a couple of weeks time, but you’ll need to supply the connector as it’ll be a proprietary Cummins part which I don’t have. Phone Cummins in Darwin, they should have what you need”.  This advice proved to be overly optimistic!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Hanging Grass’<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cummins Darwin said “I’ll have a look & call you back”.   When they called back they should have told me to sit down before telling me the outcome of their ‘look’   ” Umm, there’s not one in the country so it’ll be 30 to 45 days for us to source one……. at it’ll be $714.00 including GST but freight will be on top of that”.  My jaw just about hit the ground!  I refrained from asking whether he was referring to the gold plated & diamond encrusted version of the small plastic plug & instead asked politely if he might send me a screenshot from his parts catalogue on his computer showing the item & it’s part number, which thankfully he did. I then spent a couple of hours online trying to find a suitable aftermarket option, firmly believing there must be such a thing as no-one in their right mind would pay that sort of money for a small plastic 3 pin plug. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MrsTea posing as a lovable pixie<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was right. It was a bit of a gamble as the best I could do online was to compare images & hope dimensions would match. It turned out that the ‘proprietary Cummins’ connector looked identical to a more generic Bosch 3 pin connector. Bear in mind that at this stage I was unwilling to risk a non starting vehicle by pulling off (& possibly damaging) the connector in our truck to examine & measure it’s dimensions. And the reason I wanted an auto electrician to do the job was that I was not confident in my soldering skills in a spot with difficult access. Last thing I wanted was a broken connector & our truck stuck in Ian & Michele’s driveway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No posing “Just take the photo”<\/strong> Taking morning tea with us was a good idea<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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“Behind you!”<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There were two very similar looking Bosch connectors which were possibilities, just a slight  difference between them made it difficult to be certain which was the correct one, so I ordered one of each, one from Perth, WA & one from Melbourne, Vic, both via priority air mail. One was $40 delivered & one $28 delivered. The $28 connector was the one which fitted!  The auto electrician’s bill was less than expected & a satisfactory job was done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some young fella making himself look like an old fella in the ‘royal buggy seat’ on a buggy made for two.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of our ‘Christmas parcels’ had been the replacement glow plug for our diesel cooktop, sent from Tasmania. There was a lot riding on it being the solution. It turned out to be fairly easy to install from underneath the cooktop, so no need to pull the entire cooktop out, AND after fitting it, the cooktop fired up like a champ, so all my catastrophising about trying to replace the stove had been unnecessary. If only I could embed the ‘glass half full’  philosophy in my head rather than the ‘glass half empty’ version, life would be so much easier!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On saying goodbye to Ian & Michele, we crossed the state border from Western Australia  into the Northern Territory (& a different time zone) but it was a fairly short travelling day as we stopped at the Keep River National Park, just over the border, for a couple of nights where we enjoyed  some of the easier but worthwhile walks. Back in 2009 we visited & stayed at the Goorrandalng campground just 18kms from the park entrance. It had some great walking trails , but this time we chose the second campground (Jarnem) around 32kms in & managed  a walk through wetlands & towering red cliffs, & then a second along a creek to rock overhangs with rock art & evidence of use over millenia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Off we go’ … just out of Jarnem campground, Keep River NP<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Another man in another hole<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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On the second trail, the Jenemoon Walk, to see some rock art.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Eastward from Keep River NP our intention was to loiter and wander a little in order to discover some good camp spots we thought must surely exist in the stunning Victoria River area where on several past occasions we have just driven through saying “We must stop & explore around here some day” . Riverside camps with the impressive forest covered escarpments as a backdrop. We identified a number of possibilities on maps before leaving Kununurra. We could , if pressed, drive the approximately 500 kms from Kununurra to Katherine in a day. Katherine was to be our ‘jumping off’ location for a trip onto ‘virgin ground’ (for us). Across the Central Arnhem Road to East Arnhem Land. It was all planned. Permits & camp bookings had been made 6 months earlier, something necessary to see that part of the country as it is all aboriginal owned,\u00a0 campground numbers are limited, and free\/bush camping is not allowed, from Kununurra to Katherine we had allowed around a week. However fate had other ideas for us.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few kms before Timber Creek, approximately half way between Kununurra & Katherine, & before reaching the areas under the escarpments, we turned off to visit a lookout high up on a hill, overlooking the township of Timber Creek, with the Victoria River in the background. I believe it was the steepest hill climb I have ever driven on sealed road. Steeper than the 5 Rivers lookout at Wyndham, longer but less twisty. The OKA breezed it in 1st high. We had been told of camping possibilities along the 4wd dirt track which continued upwards after the bitumen finished at the lookout, so continued onward & upward, with the intention of checking out the lookout at sunrise the following morning. After a quiet & peaceful camp just off the track, we returned down to the lookout the following morning, parked the OKA & went for a gander. It was indeed a good view that we would recommend to anyone passing that way. As it was though, it was a view we saw a lot more of than we had expected!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Overnight camp by the road – just us and a breeze<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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From the lookout. Victoria River . <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Timber Creek township. Not far away but 7kms via road<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Back at the truck, ready to leave, the truck refused to start. The engine would turn over as normal, dash lights on, but it simply would not fire up. I checked for the obvious. Water in the fuel, clogged air filter, fuses etc etc. No good. With Starlink set up I called the servo in Timber Creek to ask if they knew anyone in town (population 70) who knew diesels. The lady said she’d see what she could do. We also flagged a tourist couple visiting the lookout & let them know our predicament & asked them to also see if they could garner any assistance for us in town. On a Sunday the chances were not good, but we were stuck. An hour later a diesel fitter turned up in his work ute & tried to help. Basically he checked everything I’d checked but ended up saying “I think you’ll need a tow truck” . This was made more certain when during one of the many attempts to crank the motor over an error code came up on the dash, which when we googled it told us it translated to ‘the motor’s computer is not able to talk to the transmission’s computer’ & thus as a safety feature it will not allow the motor to start!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hmmmm, not good, not good at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh & we had learned that the vehicle workshop in Timber Creek had closed down just a week earlier. We believe the diesel fitter had been working at the nearby Bradshaw military facility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully we have the top level RACV recovery package, so we called them. They passed us on to AANT, the Northern Territory equivalent motoring organisation who were about as helpful as hairs on a snakes armpit! Interstate motoring organisations are supposed to offer reciprocal services to members of other state motoring organisations, but clearly things are different in the NT. They all have rules about the need for service personnel to attend the site of the breakdown to assess the situation before any further aid is commenced. Until a week earlier, that would have been someone from Timber Creek Mechanical Serices, but with that service now closed it would need someone from Katherine, almost 300kms away. AANT flatly refused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So back to the RACV in Melbourne, who to their credit didn’t quibble about picking up what AANT should have, but now had to organise everything from 4000kms away in Melbourne Victoria, without the benefit of ‘local knowledge’. In the circumstances they did very well. They sensibly waived the requirement for someone to visit for an initial assessment & arranged for a tow truck to come from Katherine collect us. This had taken some time, we had already been there for 2 nights, but they had sought assurance that we were safe & had plenty of supplies with us. Somewhere during this time frame someone had taken notice of the fact that our truck weighs 7 tonnes. The tow  truck being sent out had a maximum carrying capacity of 6.5 tonnes. This was hastily cancelled & suitable truck arranged but there was a another days delay before it could get to us. So 3 nights we spent at the lookout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Site of the breakdown, & home for 3 nights<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When the tow truck finally arrived the operator’s first words were “If I’d known how bloody steep that hill was going to be I’d have added another $100 to the price” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Getting the OKA onto the truck wasn’t straightforward. It has an air operated parking brake & like any vehicle with that system air is used to release the park brake, not apply it. After 3 days of sitting it needed the engine to run to build up the air pressure, so with an engine which would not start -> no air = park brake locked on. The ‘towie’ was an old fella, a tad brusque & grumpy (he did warm up a bit during the long journey back to Katherine) & it was clear that he wasn’t going to get underneath the OKA to remove the rear driveshaft (on which the park brake operates) and he wasn’t going to hang around whilst I attempted to do it either. The only option was to ‘skulldrag’ it up onto the tip truck’s deck with his winch with the OKA’s rear wheels locked. Which is what he did. Thankfully we had parked on the dirt just a metre or so beyond the end of the bitumen. Our wheels left ruts a couple of inches deep in the dry ground. If we had been on the bitumen I dare say we would have needed two new tyres!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was a slow trip. The long travel suspension & the height of the OKA required that to avoid tipping too far. I think we averaged around 80kph. But we also stopped twice. Once for the towie to get feed, & a second time for him to have a sleep , followed by a coffee. By the time we got to his yard in Katherine it was almost dark. He’d obviously been thinking about the situation on the way, because before we got there, he acknowledged something I had asked earlier. “How will we get our truck off the back of the tow truck with it’s brakes locked on?”    “You’ll have to camp on top of the tow truck tonight, & I’ll get my son to disconnect your rear tailshaft in the morning so we can get it off” he said). So we spent the night in his yard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next morning his son did as said, & then took us to Manbulloo Homestead caravan park.The only auto electrician in Katherine able to work on a truck had told us that he would have no room in his yard for our truck until the following week & the RACV had agreed not only to cover the cost of the tow to Katherine, but also for the OKA to be dropped off at the caravan park & then collected & towed again to the auto electricians yard. So we found ourselves somewhere very familiar, the caravan park has rooms as well as campsites, & in 2009 when we found ourselves in Katherine for 5 weeks needing a replacement motor in our 1987 Nissan Civilian Bus, in the very same place the RACV had paid for us to stay (just as they did this time) and believe it or not, in exactly the same room! And both times covered the costs for a hire car too. (A Suzuki Jimny this time).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our room at Manbulloo. We had a separate shared kitchen to use<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Probably checking the phone for news from the RACV, the auto electrician or the towie.<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Two very different 4wd vehicles. One is a Suzuki Jimny & the other isn’t. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Following the tow truck when the OKA was being taken to the auto electrician was quite nerve wracking!<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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MrsTea in Katherine Hot Springs<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Apparently ‘Northern Territory humour’ according to a local FB page we enquired on. Respondents were however mixed. Some saying it was sexist & others calling them Karen & telling them to ‘harden up.<\/strong> In our view it just showed how embedded sexism is in the NT psyche, but during a time of stress the FB thread was a welcome distraction<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once the OKA had been taken to the auto electrician’s yard, he told us he would get onto it when he could, but that there were a number of jobs ahead of it first. First meeting with him was reassuring. He had the factory diagnostic scanners for both Cummins (motor) and the Allison (transmission), & whilst I assured him that our truck was a prototype model with no diagnostic socket to plug them into, the fact that he had that sort of expensive equipment suggested he wasnt a ‘backyard cowboy’. Several days later when he had begun to look at our job he surprised me. He had ignored my assurance & found a diagnostic port to plug into. Not an ‘OBD’ port, but an SAE J1939 plug as used on heavy machinery, which I had no idea we had. Clearly he was taking a ‘considered’ approach for himself & not being led up a garden path by my insistence on telling him the course of events leading to the breakdown. Over the course of several more days I had little communication from him & began stewing over the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to fix it, & considering worse case scenarios – ie getting our home on wheels taken all the way home to Victoria on the back of a tow truck. The longer I didn’t hear from him the more I thought the worst. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had been in Katherine almost two weeks & had passed the dates of some of our Arnhemland bookings and begun ‘rolling cancellations’ of others. Some there was no refund, some there were refunds if cancelled more than 48 hours before the booking. It was looking increasingly like we might not get to Arnhem Land at all. I cursed the whole ‘booking ahead’ necessity. It’s not how we generally travel, & now that we had booked, well it was just a problem on top of our truck worries. Then the phone rang. It was Larry, the auto electrician.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Your truck’s running & ready for you to pick it up” he said. I doubt I could have been more surprised if it had been a call to tell me I had won lotto, & found it difficult to believe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spluttered something, asking for an explanation of a miracle I wanted to believe, but was having difficulty accepting.  “The error code was a red herring, and the new fuel sensor connector fitted in Kununurra was an obvious suspect” he said. “The connector was good though, but our scanner showed that there was zero pressure in the fuel rail, when it should have been somewhere over 4000psi’. And unlike other Cummins four cylinder motors I’ve worked on, yours has no lift or prime pump, only the high pressure pump. There was air in the fuel system, most likely in the pump itself, & no amount of turning the motor over on the battery was sufficient to dislodge it.”  “So” he continued, “I sprayed some Aerostart into the air inlet & started the motor that way, & getting it running was enough to suck the air, then the fuel through, & it’s now starting & running fine”.  If he hadn’t been on the phone I might have been tempted to hug him!  Modern high tech error codes ignored & good old fashioned thought & action had solved the problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, in hindsight, I am confident that the cause of the air problem would have been driving up\/down that very steep hill on a fuel tank which, whilst not empty, was pretty low – a 160litre tank with under 20 litres left in it. On the hill it is very likely that with the fuel all running to one end of the tank that the fuel pick up pipe was exposed & sucked in air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have no idea how much diagnostic work & reasoning went into getting to the solution, I think it was a job he went back & forth to, but continued thinking it through whilst doing other jobs too. I was more than happy when he said I’ll have to charge you for 4 hours labour” and when I went to pay the bill, found that his hourly rate was only 2\/3rds of that paid in Kununurra. So on the basis of our experience, I’m happy to recommend ‘Katherine Auto Electrical’ if you find your self in need in that neck of the woods, & if you can wait for Larry to fit you in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So some lessons learned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. if faced with a steep incline ensure we are not using a fuel tank that is low – switch tanks! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Once back home at our workshop – fit either a manual primer pump or an electric lift pump. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.Until then, carry a can of Aerostart with us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We bought a can of Aerostart before we left Katherine!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arriving at Ian & Michele’s in Kununurra was like ‘coming home & Christmas rolled into one’. They have always made us so welcome & this was no exception.  Their hospitality again extended not only good company, a comfy room, use of a car, but also private tour’s of some stunning spots nearby that many, including … Continue reading Kununurra to Katherine and a show stopping breakdown!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[158,23],"tags":[15,159,60,161,19,160,59,162],"class_list":["post-7582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breakdown","category-east-kimberley","tag-australian-travel","tag-breakdown","tag-full-time-travel","tag-katherine","tag-kimberley","tag-kununurra","tag-life-on-the-road","tag-tow-truck"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_1013.jpeg?fit=2000%2C1125&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8PHoJ-1Yi","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7582"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7667,"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7582\/revisions\/7667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cuppa500.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}