Broken Hill - Wilpena - Arkaroola - Lake Eyre

[Tweaksta]

Well, I finally got it all together after months of planning and vehicle preparation.

I am going to post up a full trip report with tons of photos and vids, but in the meantime here is a teaser for you all.

For those interested, the Foz handled the roughest of roads (many had recently been closed due to flooding and were strictly 4x4 only), many water crossings, deep mud and clay, steep inclines and I have to say it handled all of these conditions with ease.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug2gfs6PQ5A&feature=player_embedded"]Bugger[/ame]

There is much much more to come - we came home with 16GB of photos and videos.....I wanna share!

 

[Barry]

Looks great mate! Didn't realise that yours was a 4" lifted diesel Forie with snorkel, crawler gears and lockers!!!

We better nt let any of the 'real' 4X4 mob see this, or they will all need to get even bigger trucks to compensate. (OBS owners of various 'trucks' excepted, of course! :iconwink: )

 

[Tweaksta]

Thanks for your assistance Barry.....looking good!

 

[mr turbo]

Thats a great vid Tweaksta.
I can't wait to see more, once you sort through all the pics & vids from your adventure. :ebiggrin:
Sound like you had a fantastic time. :biggrin:

Link looks like it works - but still can't get it to embed......

By the way I've fixed your original post & embeded the vid for you.

Regards
Mr Turbo

 

[tinknocker07]

How deep was the water looked pretty deep in some parts of the vid

Subby boats :lol:

Nate

 

[apsg]

That's amazing!
How did it not die in that second big crossing? Did you have the fan disconnected etc?

 

[Kevin]

:biggrin: well done! Look forward to seeing more of the Foz out there. We got back from there 10th Oct and missed most of the big wet.

 

[Tweaksta]

Although it was a bit nerve-racking - I was quietly confident because I had checked and double-checked the height of the air intake and the alternator. In my mind those two were the main things I was trying to be conscious of.

I didn't disconnect the fan - but I made sure it wasn't running when I entered the water.

I am pretty sure the raised King Springs helped as it momentarily exceeded the 50cm recommended depth and possibly was even 70-80cm deep when it splashed up around the headlights but to be honest I haven't measured how high my headlights are.

Incidentally - the carpet remained dry and no damp smells resulted.

I can definitely vouch for Mr Turbo's signature line......nothing is too hard in a Forester!

 

[han0009]

That looks like heaps of fun...
I am hoping go up Oodnadatta Track and to the Flinders Rangers next year.
Cant wait to see some of your photos!!

Great stuff

 

[Skender]

Tweaksta. Very impressive stuff. Forgive my ignorance but can you give me a run down of your Forrie? Year, model, engine, mods etc. Really enjoyed the bid and am looking forwardto reading more aboutthe trip.

Cheers
Skender.

 

[Tweaksta]

Hey Skender - it's a 2000 model Forester GT which has just clicked over 150,000km. Before the trip I had raised King Springs installed giving me about an inch over factory height. The engine is stock although I recently got a hole in my muffler which has got me enjoying the burble so I'm considering an MRT exhaust but it must be totally silent.

Han - all I can say is "do it".....you won't have any problems. I saw two Outbacks, two Foresters, a RAV and two X-Trails in Marree. It becomes apparent which cars are capable and which ones are shonky - ie: you don't often see Outlanders, Territories, Captivas, Klugers or Tributes out there because they would break, drown or get bogged.

 

[Dulagarl]

can't watch vids at work, but will have a look tonight.

A few years back I went Melb - Wyperfeld - Mildura - Lake Mungo - Poocarrie - Broken Hill - Sturt NP - Cameron Corner - Arkaroola via the Strezlecki track - Flinders Ranges - Melb. All in a stock MY03 forrie.

Went well, except I ruined 2 geos 900's (**** tyre on rocks) and lost my sump guard and wheel arches. Replaced wheel archs and got an aluminium sump guard, also have AT tyres these days.

The Forry slayed that trip.

 

[SubaCool]

Awesome video!! Can't wait for more

 

[Barry]

Hey Skender - it's a 2000 model Forester GT which has just clicked over 150,000km. Before the trip I had raised King Springs installed giving me about an inch over factory height. The engine is stock although I recently got a hole in my muffler which has got me enjoying the burble so I'm considering an MRT exhaust but it must be totally silent.

Han - all I can say is "do it".....you won't have any problems. I saw two Outbacks, two Foresters, a RAV and two X-Trails in Marree. It becomes apparent which cars are capable and which ones are shonky - ie: you don't often see Outlanders, Territories, Captivas, Klugers or Tributes out there because they would break, drown or get bogged.

Saw a Captiva in Blackall last November - on the back of a tray truck!
As regards getting bogged. If you have never been bogged you just haven't been trying hard enough. :iconwink: The thing is to have the ability to get un-bogged, so you can do it again! :rotfl:

 

[Skender]

Saw a Captiva in Blackall last November - on the back of a tray truck!
As regards getting bogged. If you have never been bogged you just haven't been trying hard enough. :iconwink: The thing is to have the ability to get un-bogged, so you can do it again! :rotfl:

HA!!! Good thing I off-loaded the Captiva then eh?

Tweaksta - so it's relatively stock then!! Great stuff. I'd certainly be keen to hear more about the other cars you encountered and what conditions you came accross them in ... were they under water like you?

 

[Tweaksta]

OK - Here we go...

DAY 1: Sydney to Nyngan
This was mostly a highway leg. Not much exciting to report. Went via Lithgow, Bathurst, Orange, Dubbo and Narromine. When we got to Nyngan we set up camp at Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park. As there was rain approaching they told us to set up our tent in one of the camp kitchens. Sure enough, once we went to bed the heavens opened up.....sounded awesome on the tin roof! Tent stayed dry! No exciting photos.

DAY 2: Nyngan to Broken Hill
Left Nyngan at about 10am and had morning tea in Cobar at 11:30. Cobar is actually quite a nice town. Heading west to Wilcannia from Cobar it was evident that we were clearly in red dirt country, but with regular rainfall and recent storms every creek was flowing and the patches of red were getting shrunk by the thriving grasses and shrubs and mulgas.

I could see Wilcannia approaching on the GPS but more exciting was the blue snake running through it.....yep - the once mighty Darling River! As we approached town I could see the bridge over the river approaching
Wilcannia. I slowed right down and got Julie to roll the video......the river looked great. It was 4m deep and flowing. This time last year it was bone dry. This was a bit of a buzz for me. Anyway - the bloody camera went out of focus right at the moment we crossed the bridge.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRkfNV23-Fw&feature=player_embedded"]Driving through Wilcannia[/ame]

Wilcannia itself was a hole. Lots of lovely old brick & sandstone buildings but they were all boarded up and derelict. The pub looked dodgy and the service station was shonky. We paid 1.66 for premium unleaded which was of questionable quality. Due to a gale force 40km/h headwind and a spare tyre on the roof we used it all up in 400km.

After that it was just plains...wide & open desert plains that go on forever. If it had've been summer during a drought it would've been scary. Only the fact that it was raining and knowing that we were approaching a city made it bearable. We saw lots of tumbleweed!

DAY 3: Broken Hill to Wilpena Pound
After brekky we went to check out Silverton - 24 k's away. It is the location of heaps if movies and tv shows. Check it out - www.silverton.org.au - also check out our photos, words can't describe this place. Lots of old buildings, red dirt, ruins and also a pub, cafe/teahouse and several art galleries. Both Silverton and Broken Hill are very arty places with galleries everywhere. We didn't get a chance to go to the Pro Hart gallery - but that is the top of our list if we go back.

After that it was across the red plains and across the boarder into SA. It all seemed to start getting hillier and greener. Our turnoff to Wilpena via Arkaroola Rd was at Yunta. Filled up at the service station and were told that the road was closed......bugger! This meant that we had to take the "plain old" sealed road that every Tom, Dick and Harry used.....boring. We had to go all the way down to Peterborough and Orroroo. These roads look like they are only 40-50k from Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Whyalla but we don't want to venture that way on this trip.

The bird life if awesome out there. We saw plenty of Magpie-Larks, Swallows, Willie-Wagtails, Crows, Galahs, Sulphur-Crests and these other smallish greenish parrot things. It was a bit sad to see some road kill too.

Finally got to Wilpena Pound at 6pm due to driving at reduced speed to try and reduce consumption. Felt a bit knackered so relaxed for an hour or two before having the most mindblowing hamburger at the restaurant in the resort.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZEJsII4ugQ&feature=player_embedded"]Driving into the Flinders Ranges[/ame]

DAY 4: Wilpena Pound
Had a day of rest after the mission across half the bloody country to get there. Did lots of bushwalks and visited a few lookouts. As you can see from the pics, the highlight was Huck's Lookout just a few kays down the road from Wilpena. Back at the resort we saw lots of birds including Yellow-Throated Miners which are the closest relative to our favourite little Noisy Miners from the Eastern side of Australia. The Yellow Throated Miners are almost identical in behaviour and sounds but are a bit more resilient for the arid areas. There are also heaps of emus around here, they are quite tame and let you walk straight past them. Apart from that, it's just Wallabies...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St7fXOwlQX8&feature=player_embedded"]Magpie - Flinders Ranges[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eoj0MOhEzsQ&feature=player_embedded"]Kangaroo - Flinders Ranges[/ame]

Stay in your seats - more coming! In fact the best bits are yet to come!

 

[Tweaksta]

DAY 5: Wilpena Pound to Parachilna Gorge
Woke up to a lovely sunny day in Wilpena Pound but there were roads to hit, so we packed up and checked out at 10am. Unfortunately the road to Arkaroola via Blinman was a washout (closed) so we had to go back to Hawker to get onto the main road North. We stopped for lunch at Parachilna which is a station from the old Ghan line. The pub had been beautifully restored and they have celebrity chefs resident there. Julie had an absolutely gobsmacking Pan Fried Haloumi with Rocket, sun-dried bush tomatoes and kalamata olive salad. My burger was also unbelievable. I didn't know that a hamburger could be done so full of flavours.

After lunch we pressed on a bit further - the thought crossed our minds that we may get to Marree if we stayed on that road - but then we saw a turnoff to Parachilna Gorge which had been inaccessible to traffic for almost a week and had just been reopened. The graders were still there fixing up the washed out bits of road. We knew that if we could get through the first 45kms that we would then be on a safe route to Arkaroola so we tried it. Soon enough the first washed out creek crossing came - it was a mess with the banks washed away and no sign of any road. A Falcon had stopped and they weren't game to try it. We did it without a problem and continued towards Angorichina. The second creek crossing came, this time the grader was still there cleaning up the approach angles. We watched for a while before giving up and doing a u-turn.

As we did this, a retired couple in a 4x4 ute were pulling up to do the crossing. I mentioned that I didn't think I would make it through the deep sloshy mud bits and the water. He said the three words "sense-of-adventure" and left us to ponder....within a minute or two we did another (2nd) u-turn and did the crossing. No problem!! Subarus can do anything! As the road snaked it's was along the creek there was washout after washout. We saw him again at the next one and he directed through the treacherous bits and up the oppsite bank. A few kays later we were at Angorichina Village grabbing some supplies and making phone calls before we set up camp by the creek for the night.

Pondering that crossing.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqjtuVQUZNw&feature=player_embedded"]Before crossing Parachilna Creek[/ame]

Then going for it.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVRCuUO0faE&feature=player_embedded"]Doing the crossing[/ame]

DAY 6: Parachilna Gorge to Arkaroola
Woke up with it pissing down with rain. Of course, we had to be camping that night didn't we? With the tent, tarp, cooking equipment and towels soaked we managed to pack the car up and be on the road after 90 minutes of mayhem. It was only 40km to Blinman where we stopped for breakfast and to have a bit of a rest after our hectic morning's start. After a toasted sandwich and coffee we were back on the (still very dirt, clay and rocks) road to Arkaroola (155km on rough roads).

During the next 60km the red dirt and ochre rock hills came back and soon we had descended from the Flinders Ranges into desert plains. Most of the creeks were dry but there were still waterholes and evidence of recent flooding. 95kms from Arkaroola we were doing well (approx 1pm) so we took a turnoff at a sign pointing to Mount Chambers Gorge which was 9km off the road (18km return). This place was quite magical. I got that feeling that there was some serious dreamtime **** going down there. The last 4km was winding along a creek bed so it was rock hopping and water crossings galore. By now we had our 4x4 legs so nothing seemed challenging anymore. The gorge was amazing - the contrast of red dirt, red rocks, the white rocks of the riverbed and the flowing pools of crystal clear water were a sight to behold.

After a walk into the gorge and plenty of photos and video we headed back to the car and resumed our trek for the last 95km to Arkaroola. Soon there were no more rocks, and the scenery became red desert (but with lots of green). As we worked our way towards Lake Frome it was dead flat and barren. It was starting to get quite warm too (around 25 degrees). We were now getting quite remote and it was 50km until we came to a sign of cilvilisation - a turnoff to some pastoral stations of some sort (Balcanoona and Wooltana - both stations offer camping), and what looked like a small mining operation with 4-5 utes parked. We kept going the last 45 kms knowing we were nearly at our next stop.

Arkaroola was amazing to drive into, plenty of mining relics and ruins. Reg Sprigg founded the place in the 1950's and he was a geologist and complete geo-nerd from what I can gather. He knew where to sink the bores to get water which would have been of critical importance back then. We checked out the camping areas but had to get a room because our camping battery needed a charge after running the freezer for 24 hours - and our tent needed a dry out. We checked in, made phone calls, had a quick walk up to the observatory, saw a snake so freaked out and came back down, had a shower and a redback spider dropped from the ceiling and nearly landed on my shoulder. Jeepers!

 

[mr turbo]

I can definitely vouch for Mr Turbo's signature line......nothing is too hard in a Forester!

I still have to stick the videos in once I upload them to youtube, keep checking back for progress!

That is one fantastic trip report. Absolutely brilliant.
I'll be staying tuned for the next lot of vids, thats for sure.

Regards
Mr Turbo

 

[Tweaksta]

DAY 6 continued...: Parachilna to Arkaroola

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3tCoZqwdPw&feature=player_embedded"]Washout - Parachilna Ck[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VP_WRfdoIY&feature=player_embedded"]Crossing Parachilna Ck[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzKa-AAEjI4&feature=player_embedded"]Flood Damage Parachilna Ck[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dug3I9LxLXc&feature=player_embedded"]Parachilna Gorge[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZvlK1JPIxw&feature=player_embedded"]Flood Damage, Parachilna Gorge[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_D2rrKwpJU&feature=player_embedded"]Driving through Flood Damage, Parachilna Gorge[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHVWw5usJRI&feature=player_embedded"]Driving in Flood Damage, Parachilna Gorge[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T64YIy_idRk&feature=player_embedded"]Washouts - Upper Parachilna Gorge[/ame]

Entering Mount Chambers Gorge:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj8mBqXsn98&feature=player_embedded"]Mt Chambers Gorge[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wZjvt-QvvE&feature=player_embedded"]Mt Chambers Gorge[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c-ZSuRXoxQ&feature=player_embedded"]Mt Chambers Gorge[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrRvp38n_b8&feature=player_embedded"]Mt Chambers Gorge[/ame]

DAY 7: Arkaroola
Woke up to the sound of rain on our tin roof...thank bajeezuz we didn't camp. Two wet nights in a row would've sucked. Instead we awoke to the glory of desert rain on the roof of our room. What a wonderful thing. If only it would rain in the desert all the time (but then it wouldn't be desert would it? It would be a rainforest - and rain in the rainforest is nothing to write home about - is it?).

Once the rain stopped, the sun came out and we went to the dining room for our yummy breakfast (Weet-Bix, toast, eggs, bacon and juice). After that it was our intention to go and find all the water that had fallen so we set out for a bushwalk. We headed out to Kingsmill Falls which was a few kays out of the village. Once we had gotten away from the road, the track descended into a rocky gorge with ochre walls and a small waterfall trickling down a chute in the rocks. Pretty soon it was quite surreal as it was a small oasis in the desert with flowing water, wildflowers in crazy numbers and the most incredibly diverse bird life. We saw a butcherbird trying to catch a willie-wagtail but the willie was too quick. There were also wallabies down there and probably heaps of snakes.

We went back to Arkaroola for a toasted sandwich lunch. I couldn't believe I paid $6 for a coffee....$6.00! Can you believe it? I need a 12v espresso machine. If it doesn't exist I will invent it!!

After lunch we took one of the 4x4 tracks out past some of the old bores sunk by Reg in the 1950's towards The Pinnacles which are some mindblowing rock formations. We drove up the steep and muddy 4x4 track to the trailhead and took some photos from the lookout. Again, I can't begin to explain how spectacular this place is - I hope the photos do it justice.

 

[Dulagarl]

yep. Mt Chambers Gorge is heavy duty.