Rawlinna to Melbourne - March 1999

I've broken out the scanner again, this time I'm writing up our return trip home from Rawlina. I've already written up our trip over on the Anne Beadell hwy and if this link works you should be able to read about it without trawling through old posts.

Cocklebiddy Cave.

Once we left the comforts of Rawlinna we headed straight for Cocklebiddy to refuel, I'd done well over 1600 kilometres since my last diesel. After filling up we headed west for a few kilometres until we picked up a track heading north off the highway at the back of a rest area, this was the track to Cocklebiddy Cave, definitely no sign posts in those days, not sure about now. Cocklebiddy Cave is basically a big sink hole in the limestone plateau, parking the trucks we were able to scramble down into the cave, I even managed a swim in the underground lake, and cold and rather surreal experience.

Twilight Cove, with the Baxter Cliffs.

Our next destination was Twilight Cove, where the Baxter Cliffs end. We grabbed a mud map from Cocklebiddy Roadhouse and slowly negotiated our way through the mallee scrub, camp that night was made about 15 kilometres short of the beach in the mallee. Next morning we were up early and soon dropped down of the escarpment on a steep corded track. Weaving through the dunes behind the beach I noticed numerous Death Adders stuck in the wheel ruts that we were following, as we drove along they would slither along in front of the truck, I'm glad we didn't make it down here to camp last night.

We've reached the end of the sand at Twilight Cove, now we have to find our way over a headland.

Cresting the last dune the beach at Twilight Cove opened up before us, the scene was magic, there was even a couple of dolphins playing in the surf. We now decided to head east along the beach to see if we could get to the Eyre Bird Observatory, a run of about 50 kilometres with a limestone headland in the middle of it. Twilight Cove was good going on reasonable sand and we soon reached the headland, I was relieved to pick up a set of tracks and figured they could only be heading to one place. The next hour was spent weaving around thick scrub, limestone rocks, and avoiding dead ends before we eventually popped out with Kandel Beach opening out before us. The way now looked straight forward but nothings ever easy, and we found this beach fairly steep with soft sand, it was low range and plenty of revs all the way until we found the exit of the beach to the observatory.

Picking our way across the headland on the way to Kanidal Beach.

Over scones and cream at the Eyre Bird Observatory (I kid you not!) we learnt of another track that passed an abandoned homestead and tracked east, to finally join the Eyre Highway at Madura. It sounded like a plan so after having a look around we headed of with a new mud map. We had a great run across the plain towards Madura, spending the night camped just of the track, we could see the lights of the road trains up on the escarpment.

The Eyre Bird Observatory.

Next morning, after passing through a couple of gates we were soon at Madura. Over coffee we planned the next stage of our trip, we would head along the highway for towards Mundrabilla and then take a track to the south again that should take us to Red Rocks Point. Graham knew the bloke who had a crayfish camp there, an old VFL footballer named Jimmy Jess. So off we went, arriving early afternoon at the camp we learned that Jimmy had headed to Melbourne for a break, we'd missed him by a couple of hours. On to plan B, we now headed to the big smoke, Eucla. Sam and I got ourselves a room and enjoyed our first hot shower in over two weeks, we then met Graham in the restaurant and enjoyed a big steak and a few beers.

The Pilot looks like he needs a wash!

Looking west from a lookout on the Nullarbor Plain out over the Great Australian Bight.

Looking east.

Over the beers last night we decided to keep of the highway as much as we could, so after heading east for around 150 kilometres we picked up a track heading north to Cook, another siding on the Trans Continental Railway Line. Once hitting the railway line we pointed the trucks east a followed the service tracks beside the line. This was slow going as there was a lot of sharp limestone sticking out of the ground, also the service track, unlike the railway line, weaved around like a drunken sailor. We camped that night on the billiard table flat Nullarbor Plain about 100 metres off the tracks. We could see the lights of the trains coming for an hour before they actually got to us, and the stars came down to ground level.

On the road heading up to Cook.

Sunset, camped on the Trans Continental Railway.

Sam and Graham checking out the sunset.

We camped about 100 metres of the track, burning some old sleepers for firewood.

Next day we continued following the railway east, the highlights of the day being some feral camels and the indigenous settlement of Mount Christie which looked like a set from Mad Max. We also passed a sign marking the longest straight stretch of railway in the world. By the afternoon we started to get into red sand dune country which sped up progress a bit, cresting one dune we came across a reasonably fresh derailment, the freight carriages were empty and it looks like they had been left to decay in the desert, exploring the wreck was a rather unsettling feeling. Late in the afternoon we pulled up at the Tarcoola Pub, after having a beer we decided to back track a bit and camp at the start of Googs Track.

Feral Camels on the Nullarbor.

Many years later we did this trip on the Indian Pacific.

Mount Christie, looking like a set from Mad Max.

The Tarcoola Pub.

After camping just inside the Yellabinna Wilderness Protection Area we only had a short drive to the base of Mt Finke. Leaving the trucks we climbed up through the spinifex to check out the view from the top. Mt Finke may not be that high but it towers over any other hill around here. We were able to see a red sea of sand-hills heading away to the south, that was today's route. Returning to the trucks we spent the rest of the day crossing sand dunes, every now and again we wouldn't make it over and we would have to back up and have another go, overall though it wasn't to bad. We made camp that night on the shore of Lake Goog, a salt lake.

Googs Track.

Heading south on Googs Track.

We decided to do a day trip today out to Lois Rocks, a rocky outcrop that the indigenous and the early settlers had been using to collect water, they had built rock walls to channel any run off to a low point for collection. The track out was very eroded and slow going, requiring a few stops to do a bit of road building. The track was also very overgrown and the paint work copped a bit of a hiding, arriving back at camp we celebrated the early day with a camp oven roast and a couple of drinks while we watched the sun set over Lake Goog.

Still travelling through the Yumbarra Conservation Park.

Ceduna was our aim today, I wanted to drop my oil and get some grease into the troopie, after all that was sorted we headed to the beach for a swim and then headed off into the Gawler Ranges. Tonight we camped at Mount Ive Station, after paying at the homestead we were allowed to check out the massive shearing shed and fire up the wood fuelled donkey so that we could have a hot shower. The advantage of staying on the station was that we were allowed access to the station tracks, so next day armed with a mud map we headed out to Lake Gairdner, a massive salt lake that host speed trails. After doing my own top speed run in the troopie ( measured with a calendar, not a stop watch) we headed back towards Mt Ive, checking out a few more attractions on the way.

The Gawler Ranges.

You could measure our speed run with a calendar!

Lake Gairdner

Sam and I in the Gawler Ranges with Lake Gairdner behind us.

Arriving back at the Eyre Highway at Iron Knob we said our good byes to Graham who was heading back to Melbourne, and then pointed the troopie south towards Port Lincoln. We were now in the biggest town we'd been in since we left Mildura about three weeks ago, we checked into a B+B and proceeded to reacquaint ourselves with civilisation. I even managed to catch the world's unluckiest Salmon, although he did go back in.

The unluckiest fish in the world.

The trip was now virtually over, from Port Lincoln we headed to Burra were we stayed in an old Cornish miners cottage, and from Burra we made the drive to Melbourne in one day, arriving home dirty and tired but happy to be home.

In the dunes near Coffin Bay.

The Dirt.
I believe the track along the Trans Continental Railway line is now a private track. We picked up a mud map for Twilight Cove at Cocklebiddy Roadhouse and we also had inside information for Cocklebiddy Cave, neither of these tracks were sign posted. I believe Mt Ive homestead may now be part of the Gawler Ranges National Park, if that's the case I'm betting some of the access tracks will have closed.
The troopie didn't miss a beat and just needed a grease and oil change when I got home.