Sandy road, rock art, hot hot hot
Our
first hike of the day was up Trephina Gorge. It wasn't a very long
walk, about an hour, but we were proud of ourselves for even
attempting it in the heat, it was around 105 F when we started. We
downed plenty of water and somehow managed to survive.
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| Trephina Gorge |
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| Lovely ghost gums |
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| A very large ghost gum |
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| We're not the only thirsty park visitors |
Then we
drove to N'Dhala Gorge. It was at the end of a posted 18 km 4WD track, and
for once, they were serious. We crossed the river in several places,
and there was quite a bit of deep sand along the way. The LC worked
up a bit of a sweat itself pulling us through, it's no easier to make
your way through sand with round feet than it is with flat ones. At
one section of the road there was a short but very steep section of
soft sand that had an easier bypass around it. On the way out I went
down the second route, but on the return decided to attempt the more
extreme path. You're supposed to reduce the air pressure in your tires
to give yourself a bigger footprint when traversing soft, dry sand.
The cheap little 12v compressor I bought months ago will reinflate
the tires, but it takes about 20 minutes for each tire, so I figured
I'd try to go up the hill with the tires at normal pressure. I put
the LC in second gear, got the revs up, and we made it with ease.
And it was fun, too!
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| Kevin crossing the river... |
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| ... and making Diana walk. "Are there Salties here?" |
N'Dhala
Gorge has thousands of Aboriginal rock art carvings. We walked
through the gorge looking for them.
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| N'Dhala Gorge |
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| Welcome Swallow art |
When we
got back we drank some cool water from the melted ice and drove back
to the main road. Along the way Diana got out our thermometer and
held it out her window on the shady as we drove along to get a
reading of the temperature. Suffice it say, it's the hottest
un-saunified air we've ever experienced. Yeah it's dry, you know,
dry heat yadda yadda yadda, but it still felt hot.
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| Oz too has roadside memorials, this is one of the more interesting examples |
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| Gonna need an outback cocktail tonight! |
We
ended up the day at John Hay Waterhole, which required a 4 km drive
on another 4 WD road. This one wasn't too sandy and I didn't use
4WD, but it was extremely rocky in places and it took almost a half
hour to get there.
We hiked up the short gorge hoping to be able to
take a dip but the water was stagnant and the shoreline swarming with
honey bees drinking the precious water. We had fresh green beans and
sun dried tomatoes with pasta for dinner and went to bed, sweating in
the tent.
Putting the LC through the paces! Do you think the Tan Van could have made it up the trails you've traversed on this trip?
ReplyDeleteThe Outback looks hot!!
Yeah, the Tan Van would have made it most of the way, at least in its younger days. By the last few years it would have fallen apart on the rough roads. It definitely would not have made through the sand or river though.
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