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A dingo ate my noodles
Rain
Cranky farmers, although we were on his land Nice caravan park with temporary managers letting us sleep in the carport Mud Closed roads People telling you you just rode on a closed road when the signs said the were open. People banging on about you being on a closed road even though you've told them several times the signs said open... but still they persist. FFS stop telling me the road was closed, I'm already here & there's nothing that can be done about it now. Changed route plans Torrential downpours in the tent Said tents can be waterproof if assembled correctly Ghost town Flooded roads Finally used a BBQ plate that traveled around Aus & never used. Dingo Gorges Bitterly cold desert winds An oil leak Pounce pilbara ride report, riders tommy, pounce, jacko, fueltanker alan all back safe from an eight day tour up to karajini and back. day one started at Bindoon, with three days of rain on the forcast it was very cold so we all had out wet wheather gear on. no rain for the morning but the light drizzle started later on. we refuelled at Wubin and went on to the sheep station tracks we had done before. we got to the second station and the farmer turned us around so we found an alternative route and went to Yalgoo for the night. it was still drizzling so they kindly let us camp in the carport. then it was off to the pub for a feed and refreshments. day two we headed north on the backroads up to Murchison where roumors of road closures began, there were no signs up so we took some more backroads up to mount augustus. by then all roads out were closed so we needed a plan out. it was still drizzling so pounce and tommy booked a room and al and I found an old rotunda to sleep under. we all stayed dry again. day three we found a route out with pounces gps skills through a cattle station and some mining tracks to the gnh and headed north to newman. we had some heavy rain on the way but dried off quickly after it stopped. we dodged two more big rain storms on the way into newman, luckily the road went right between them. we set up camp and went to the camp kitchen when it pissed down for an hour. when it stopped I went to check my tent and found it full of water. I had put the fly on upside down and the window funnelled all the water onto my sleeping bag. luckily they had driers in the laundry. day four we headed up to Wittenoom and had a look around the old town and then up through the spectacular gorges on the way to the minesite. we crossed a few creeks on the way but the last one was a metre deep and flowing fast so it was time to turn back.we went on through the pass through the hamersly ranges and to the gorges. the back road into karagini was closed so we went to tom price and into karagini on the bitumen. dale gorge was the only one open so we camped there for the night. we were sitting around in the dark cooking sausages when we looked over and saw a dingo raiding als food box just three meters away and got away with a packet of noodles. day five, we went and had a look at the nearby gorges and it was time to start heading back. we went westto the mt augustus turn off but it was still closed so we headed for nanutarra road house. it was getting late by then so we went south and found a river bed off the side to camp at. we lit a fire to keep warm, since the rain had cleared the cold easterlies had come in. day six, we went down to just after the old barridale roadhouse and took a backroad to williambury station on the manillia river. they were very friendly people and let us go through the gate and into the unknown. strangly none of them had been along it or knew where it went. pounce had it all sorted on the gps so we headed off through some ranges and followed the manillya river south branch and then a gas pipeline and then the lyons river to gascoin junction. we stocked up on supplies, bourbon and coke, and headed off to bilung creek for a camp and another fire, a big fire this time. we went out collecting wood on the drz so we had plenty of it. day seven, we headed south for a while and turned off and zig zaged our way across to meka station, then down onto malengata road where we found an abandoned gold mine to explore for a while and then on to mount magnet via palmer wells road. a few more backroads and onto the gnh to paynes find for the night. a few drinks at the pub and a good feed is very welcome after a hard day on the saddle. day eight,last day of the trip and we were going to take a back road opposite the pub and head down to cleary at the north east of the wheat belt but it too was closed. we went south for a while and turned off at goodlands road and zig zaged our way across to cleary and picked up pounces original rout which had us weaving through the wheat fields in a southwesterly direction till we reached Toodyay. from there we split up and headed home. was a great weeks riding with a great bunch and amazing scenery all the way in areas where few get to go. Jacko PART 2 FOR MORE PHOTOS<a>                                                                                      |
