GSD Preparations

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20th July 2014

We are finally on our way. It took a lot of last minute stress and commotion but we finally gotour stuff packed and mostly operational and left home just before lunch.

After a lot of upgrades to the mechanics of the Oka to meet the challenges of a desert

crossing, we left with some trepidation:

In the past 2 months, Id:

Replaced the front differential for an automatic locking type,Removed the rear axle (which took a lot longer to do than to say) to replace the rear

differential with a Limited Slip Diff.

Wed got bogged last year partly though not having any locking differentials and we werentgoing to allow that to happen again, were we?

I also:

Replaced the rear gate hinge pins which were wearing thin,Replaced the rear brake cylinders, pads and seals,Replaced the font axle oil seals which are always leaking,Replaced the transfer case rear oil seal which was also leaking.Replaced our laptop computer with a new Macbook Air which of course needed setting

up as a navigational system for our moving map system,Had most of the A/C system pipework repaired or replaced as it stopped working last

year,

Had a replacement windscreen fitted (under warranty) after last years version crackedmassively though no fault of ours and ended up looking like crazy paving.

The reason I did all this upgrade work is that we are meeting up with some friends in HallsCreek in WA to attempt a crossing of the Great Sandy Desert from Fitzroy Crossing to 80Mile Beach via old mining tracks, where they exit, or making or own way over the interveningsections where they dont, not something youd want to attempt alone. Our prime objective isto reach Dragon Tree Soak in the centre of the desert (and return safely to earth of course).

We did a lot of pre-planning and have track info and map plots of people who had done thisbefore but that wont make the challenges any less, well, challenging.

So yesterday we reached Port Wakefield before our late lunch, all of 80km up the track. Bylate afternoon wed reached Mambray Creek, 40km south of Port Augusta, a No Campingrest area we have camped in several times before.

21 July

Not surprisingly, we slept for about 10 hours, but a hot breakfast and even hotter showerrejuvenated us for the next leg of our journey, a shopping trip into Port Augusta.

After buying up 190 L of Woolies best diesel, we carried on up the track towards AliceSprings without realising that the rear gate with the spare wheel on it wasnt properly closedand locked. My fault for not checking adequately and a few km up the track, flashing lights


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from a following vehicle alerted me to the problem, the rear gate had opened and wasswinging wildly about with 100kg of wheel and other items attached to it.

We stopped ASAP as you would, and fortunately nothing was damaged except my pride andthe safety strap Id put on to prevent the gate from opening too far. That had snapped butpresumably absorbed some of the kinetic energy of the swinging gate.

Relieved and mollified, we were soon on our way again. We also discovered minor leaksfrom the rear fuel tank and the main water tank, both of which will have to be fixed once theircontents have dropped. Not serious, just annoying.

After the freezing last few days in Adelaide, the warm sun which appeared in a clear bluesky this afternoon was positively burning hot and we had to use the sun visors and openedthe vents. Not quite A/C weather yet but a welcome change.

We stopped at Glendambo Roadhouse to post a birthday card to Diane for her forthcomingbirthday which is promised to arrive by the one after. We should have posted it in Port

Augusta.

After a long 450km drive today we are camped in the centre of the Woomera RestrictedArea, just south of the 30 30 parallel.

We made contact with Dave and Pauline on the radio, who are at Cape Keraudren on themid coast of WA, heading up to Broome. We havent made contact with Deano and Kaye yetwho were in the Katherine area when last we heard from them.

22 July

Very clear still night with full on starscapes, I wish I had set up my camera on its tripod, andlearned where the manual exposure controls were, other than the Auto mode.

Added items to our TWSF (Things We Still Forgot) list: my soldering iron, without which Icant fix the LED lights which are continuing to fail on a regular basis, and a small frying panfor fried eggs. Ah well, the bright lights of Coober Pedy or Alice are still ahead. However I didbuy a replacement for my iPad charger cable (which is also at home) in PA. Its a nice darkpink Belkin one which nicely matches the gaudy pink protective iPad cover that someoneother than me chose.

Today on our 480km travels we bypassed Coober Pedy except for a comfort stop, bypassedCadney Park except to check the fan due to the engine overheating and then bypassedMarla completely without stopping (which is presumably what bypassing actually means).

We also came across another overturned 4WD with the roof crushed in. It had recentlyhappened but emergency services were present and a tow truck came roaring down theroad towards the site. Not for the first time have we seen 4WDs overturned on this road,and sadly its the most common form of accident on outback roads and tracks, with speedand inattention being the main cause. A sad end to someones holiday with their belongingsscattered over the roadside.

We are camped tonight at what I thought was the Chandler Rest Area but its not signedthus, so presumably thats still before us. No matter, this is perfectly adequate for an


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overnight stop. I am manfully attempting to lighten the vehicle load for the forthcoming desertcrossing by reducing our wine stocks as quickly as possible.

Problmes du jour:

1) Overheating of the engine, not a serious problem right now but it will be when the

temperatures rise and we have the A/C on.

The problem is that the viscous hub in the fan unit is not viscousing anymore and doesntlock the fan to its pulley when the engine gets hot. So Im investigating ways of coupling thefan pulley to the viscous hub so they are permanently locked together. Ideas vary frombrackets to tie the fixing their bolts together, wiring or roping the fan blades to the pulley orwelding the whole bloody lot together.

Idea #1 is probably the best one, but in a 3 way radio hook up with Dave and Deano, Deanosuggested looking at the spiral spring on the front (if its the original Oka type) and tighteningit half a turn. A task for tomorrow when its light again and the fan is cool enough to actually

touch. (Dave and Pauline were at Shelamar Station south of Broome and Deano and Kayewere in Kununurra).

2) The 9m whip antenna refused to function. But how can a piece of straight wire refuse tofunction? It was due to corrosion inside the connector on the end of the coax cable so Ireplaced both ends with new connectors (after a frustrating half hour searching for where Istored the crimping tool) and we are back on the air.

23 July

Rained gently on and off most of the night but quite warm, although no aardvarks were seen(just testing my spell checker).

Up early, bacon and eggs for breakfast, but without the bacon, and all before 7am. Thatswhat happens when you have no TV to watch and retire at 9pm.

The next 3 hours were taken up fitting straps to the viscous fan to lock the fan pulley to thefan hub. 20 minutes was used constructing the straps from some steel strips found on adiscarded Westinghouse oven, and the remainder of the 3 hours was taken up reinstallingthe fan and getting the 4 sodding fixing bolts to line up. Par for the course I think.

First I removed the fan unit and replaced 2 of the studs with long bolts so I had something tofix the straps on to on the pulley side:


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Then I fashioned some straps from steel strips recovered from an abandoned Westinghouseoven (and while doing so, found a novel way of securing my vice to a solid surface):


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These were then attached between the fan pulley and the fan unit, locking them together,one on either side to maintain the balance. The straps are angled so the pulley pulls thefan around without any twisting:


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The fan unit installed, after 300km in operation:

It works fairly well and drops the maximum temperature by 5, but it can still be improvedfurther with longer fan blades which actually fit the cowling properly and a fully workingviscous fan hub to save power. It got quite hot this afternoon (27) with a near cloudless sky,so we had the A/C on most of the day and the temperature remained within an acceptablerange (ie, not boiling).


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While I was working, a large road train passed by carrying another large road train:

Had lunch at the SA/NT border and cruised through very scenic countryside to our campsitein the Owen Springs Reserve abut 60km south of Alice Springs where I had a couple ofleaks to fix.

The Owen Springs Reserve was a former cattle station bought by the NT government in2002 and opened as a free bush camping and 4WD tour destination close to the Alice. Weare camped near the Redbank Waterhole which looks very pretty with ducks and mozziesand small flying creatures in abundance. And it is getting warmer.


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Shopping, laundrying and resupplying in the Alice tomorrow and then we set off NW up the1100km Tanami Track to Halls Creek, a route we havent traversed since blowing out a tyreup there on our Disco in 2002.


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But first I had to fix a couple of significant leaks, one on the rear fuel tank where the filleradaptor pulled away from the side of the tank:


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And another on a crack the side of our stainless steel main water tank:

More epoxy liquid steel to be added tomorrow morning and we can try a test fill of both tanks(we do have several other tanks so all our ufsare never all in one pannier).

1469km done since leaving home (without refuelling) with 65km to go to Alice and then1100km to Halls Creek, a total of 2634km to get to the startof our desert crossing.

24 July

Happy Birthday Diane, hope you enjoy your day and any events planned tocommemorate your milestone.

Owen Springs where we camped last night is quite a picturesque location and well worthy offurther exploration when next we past this way.

The 65km into Alice Springs seemed a lot longer than it actually was but everything was veryfamiliar to us when we got there since weve been there many times before (about 9).

We quickly located the Woolies supermarket which satisfied most of our culinary needs. TheHome Hardware and K-Mart stores met all the others, except for the Town Library which met

the comfort stop requirements since there are very few public loos in the Alice due to certaingroups of people who appear unable to treat them well.


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By mid afternoon, fuelled and watered up with 220l of diesel and 150l of water (both tanksfixings seem to holding), we headed north for the Tanami Track. This road north first takes usto the highest point on the Stuart Highway, around 732m. There is a plaque and monumentto this point which tells you everything you need to know about the Stuart Highway except,that is, exactly how high the highest point actually is, we have to use our GPS to estimate it.

The first 100km or so of the Tanami Track are very scenic but particularly annoying since ithas only a single strip of bitumen down the centre, and to pass another vehicle, both have toput 2 wheels on the gravel, showering each other with small rocks unless you both slowdown. When one doesnt, a chipped windscreen is the result and I hope we wont have yetanother cracked windscreen as a result. I guess we should be grateful because even thisthin strip of bitumen will end soon and then well be on to a gravel /sandy track for theremaining 1000km.


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Threatening and dramatic scenery on the Tanami Track, but it was actually very warm andwe had the air conditioning on all afternoon:

Somewhere along the track today, about 39km ago, we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn withno fanfare or signs and we are now camped at the Mt Chappie Rest Area about 120km NWof the Alice. Only done 220km today but we did spend 3 or 4 hours doing our laundryingand resupplying, one of the rare occasions when we actually achieved everything on ourshopping list.

25 July

I was awoken very early when J went outside for a comfort stop and I thought I heard hersoftly calling me from the darkness, as if she was being attacked and abducted by somenefarious persons and somehow wanted my involvement in the process. I rushed out of bedbut fortunately it must have been the breeze in the spinifex and the last thing she actuallywanted was me assisting in her endeavours. Youd think shed show a little gratitude?

Later when making breakfast this morning, I first got the all stuff out that I needed, but then Ithought is there a word for things you have to do before the first thing you do? There oughtto be, but this line of thinking could take some time.

It was and still is a hot blue sky day and Im sitting at the table in the back of an Oka with anice cup of tea (wine will follow) and the cooling fan blowing straight in my face.


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The track however wasnt quite up to the same standard. It started well enough with thesingle strip of bitumen, which became variously sandy corrugations or a full on 2 lanehighway.


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It never used to look like this:


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We did come across one strange sight blocking the track, what could it be?


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The answer was a couple of huge mining truck trays being transported to the GraniteGoldmine. Why they were blocking the whole track is a mystery, they were moving at about0.2 kph, and yet one was overtaking the other.

Eventually all of the above morphed into a very corrugated gravel track which made goingvery difficult, slow and/or noisy. Various nuts and bolts came loose but fortunately nothingserious.

And we did a few of touristy things along the way:


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Ant mounds:


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Some windmills:


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Some termite mounds:


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A prickly bush:


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A Cork Bark tree:


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A small lizard:


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Holly Grevillea:


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And a camel:

Despite the conditions we did manage 390 interesting km today with the A/C on, and werecurrently in almost the middle of the Tanami Track, 550 km to Halls Creek or 550km back toAlice Springs.


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Our exotic dinner tonight is a quiche, but without the pastry, cooked in a camp oven andserved with sweet and normal potato.


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Janet got a bit hot slaving away in the kitchen so I used a tie wrap to tie back her hair.


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A road train rolled past the setting sun:


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And we had a nice Tanami Desert sunset:

26 July

It was exactly a year ago that we got bogged on the Hunt Oil Road in the Gibson Desert andhad to dig ourselves out, it was the main reasons we fitted diff lockers this year, so now wecan go much further before having to dig ourselves out.


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A beautiful flat desert sunrise greeted us this morning right outside the kitchen window.

Today we completed the Tanami Track to Wolfe Creek about 120km from the township ofHalls Creek, which is close enough for practical purposes. Weve been driving almost nonstop for 6 days and covered 2400km.


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Todays travels included more corrugated track:


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The Granites Gold mine, (this is as close as you can get):


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The place where we collected a small termite mound for our garden in 2002. Janet thought itwoeful that in 42 years of marriage we had only ever collected one termite mound:


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The exact spot where in 2002 we blew out a tyre on our LandRover.


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And the top of the Canning Stock Route that we went down in 2007. If you go far enoughsouth it comes out in Willuna, 1900km and 1200 sand dunes later, not a track for the feinthearted.

The WA/NT Conundrum.

We had lunch at the border between WA and the NT surrounded by Welcome to WA and NTsigns.However on the map as this GPS plot shows, the border is actually 2 1/2 km west of thispoint:


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The GPS cant be wrong and if the maps were not properly calibrated all our other positionswould be wrong too, which they arent, I tried several different maps. So our onlyexplanations are that either the maps are drawn with the border in the wrong place, which isunlikely, or all the signs have been put up in the wrong place. But something is definitelywrong.

We made contact with Dave on the radio who is visiting friends on Jubillee Station nearFitzroy Crossing. Tomorrow well meet up with Deano and Kaye in Halls Creek and togetherwell meet up with Dave and Pauline on Tuesday for our attempted crossing of the GreatSandy Desert.


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Some of the tracks do or did exist, some well have to construct but others have done itbefore and we are collectively sensible, experienced and well equipped travellers so we willknow when to backtrack if necessary.

The primary objective our our adventure is to reach the Dragon Tree Soak, a smallpermanent lake in the centre of the desert (the green rectangle), and return again safely toearth.

27 July

We completed the 1100km to Halls creek today and met up with Deano and Kaye in theCaravan at Halls Creek. We compared notes on our Okas at some length and did somemaintenance work on the handbrake since the cable had slipped off its pulley and wasjamming.

Apart from that we relaxed over a few drinks in the warm shade to discuss our future

adventures.


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At 5pm we called Dave and Pauline at Jubilee Station and agreed when to meet them;midday on Tuesday at the Cherrabun turn off, 200 km west of Halls creek, before headingsouth west into the Great Sandy Desert.

Tomorrow well refill all the water and fuel tanks and do some final shopping for supplies andset off west to a campsite on the Laura River.

This will be the final upload of our blog for a couple of weeks, there are no Telstra towersfrom here to 80 Mile Beach on the other side of the desert.

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GSD Preparations