South Australian Touring | 4WDing in Bulldust, Outstation and Rock Formations!
this week we head across the border to south Australia for some rock crawling with a twist we catch a wave of a different kind and stretch our legs across endless sandy trails we're also catching up with the locals doing our best not to wash out and living the history of 140 million years of geological forces this is life off-road in the amazing Gawler ranges the Gawler ranges lay along the northern frontier of south Australia's air peninsula just beyond the wheat growing belt and around six hours northwest of adelaide the four-wheel driving isn't extreme but the history and wildlife of the landscape make it a hot spot for outdoor adventurers I think roger is in fairly good condition it would have been very busy roads i reckon a few months ago when they were pulling the crop off just before Christmas so it would have had nothing but road trends national park you operate on channel 14 when you enter because it's a one-way system so basically call ahead and let people know that you're on the track everyone's going to operate on 14 while they're on it it's just a simple very narrow track so it's good to let people know to give them some time to find a nice safe area to pull over and get people past each other safely massive salt pans flank the southwestern border of the Gawler ranges breaking up the sandy scrubby terrain and contributing to the stunning diversity of vistas the region is famous for interesting enough they are all saltwater lakes because they are quite a bit under sea level decided to get out wander down to the soft pan and have a quick look it's quite amazing to see as the salon solution had dried you can see these perfectly formed salt crystals throughout the pan you can imagine the explorers coming through here just doing it so incredibly tough a bit like us today ice cream straight out of the fridge delicious on a salt pan pushing on along Sturtz track a series of dunes momentarily broke up the flat flowing sandy trails and as always tyre pressures played a critical role jeff what pressures do you recommend for roads like this roads like this that are fast and smooth yeah roads like this are fast and smooth so it can run anywhere between 24 to 28 just takes a little bit of pressure out of the tyre it makes a little bit smoother the beauty about taking the pressure out of the tire here Simon is that you can do a bit more speed the silicon compound in the tire just floats over the surface while giving you a little bit of shock absorber in the tire when you get the pressure out of it mike a pretty big contrast we're still on sandy tracks but very different to where we've been travelling the last few days it's almost a bit like the border track you could almost be forgiven for thinking that you're just about to come out onto horsham or somewhere quite dense beautiful and sandy and as south Australia does it turns it on have a look at that sky there's barely a wisp of the cloud ground very similar to the terrain we were travelling in just southwest of mildura one of our recent trips with those big dry lake beds yes island very similar and what also struck me is a lot of valley around here which is quite far west of valley region and a lot of maui trees here and very similar vegetation yeah i definitely wasn't expecting this I was thinking to be a lot like haruka khan i was looking for a lot more rockier terrain but this is very sandy very Malley though one area we've just passed now has a few small rocky outcrops so in the area we've travelled this morning a lot of big rock crops are kangaroos at 10 o'clock there's dinner it's amazing you just got this real flat country here in the air peninsula and all of a sudden you've got this mound of rocks that just appear out of nowhere your viewing platform to have a look it was really an amazing outlook 360 degrees and you would wonder why is this rock formation there because it just flatland all the way around farming land just to see such a large expanse across all the land was really great to see so the 360 views that i saw were pretty great but grant he had to top it and he actually climbed to the top of one of the biggest rocks there and so i think he had the best view we've just left chakudu rock and we're now on our way to pildappa rock I'm not just coming into view it's just amazing because you've got all this flat agricultural land and you've got this big rocket just sticks out in the middle of nowhere pretty much like a little Uluru with all the tourists around was quite nice we were I think pretty much the only ones look like track loops right around the rock quite close you get to have a good look at it it's a fantastic shape you'd have to think water has come through here and pushed this up and just shaped it the destination turning right crack the cars in nice and tight we parked up to get a good picture surfing the wave Andreas you're blocking the waves this for me was quite amazing it was like something you'd see down the bottom of Western Australia put on the boots and head for the top it was unique very unique get to the top to have a look around and the craters that were up there and how they were formed was amazing the erosion for millions of years with the waterfalls it would be when it's raining there were some plants and trees and shrubs that were planted by aboriginal women back in the day and that beautiful pungent orange looked almost a bit like kangaroo you get this magnificent vista all the way across the plains whichever way you look you're just looking right off into the rising a very very spectacular sight i could have sat there all afternoon leaving the rocks behind for now we've rejoined the convoy as they continue northbound along Sturtz track church track is a very straightforward single lane soundtrack one road one way you see these beautiful mountains rising up into the distance a lot of life scrub long sections of sandy firm tracks very narrow but a beautiful picture scenery as you make your way over the different rises when you've got a big canopy like mine and you've got a longer car you want to make sure that you don't cut the corners too harsh you're going to hit trees and bushes and it's opening up a little bit on our left so quite grassy terrain quickly opened up and the view was great we're really on the outback now dust roads you know everyone's going to keep their distance so you can actually see that's just what australia is known for red dirt wide open spaces and those big blue skies we wanted to get to the organ pipes before daylight but we still had to be conscious with the dust some nice old timbers through here relics of argon errors as the light was setting as we were coming in you could see that real red earthy color was just a reflection of the light up on top of the hills and the mountains around us left the open plains by the beeline for the organ pipes getting a bit late and a bit dark but we got there at a great time it was a bit of a trek up there simon grant made it up and they told us it was a really great view a little disappointed i couldn't make it but hey all the more reason to come back again all beautiful rock wallaby up there managed to study all these stone structures very neatly form pillars of solid rock these structures are created by massive geological and volcanic forces they're forced up in these pillars you look at the top of it you can walk on it just down here we picked up a couple of pieces and when you bang them together it's got a very very hollow sound a really unique rock structure really enjoyed it and certainly well worth the walk up there if you're going to drive this far go the extra few meters get up here and have a look at it and at the top of this gully we've got a beautiful waterfall as well but it would be impressive to see that with water coming over the sun was getting lower and lower time to get back in the vehicles we then cut our way pretty much in the dark and the dust to ondana station it took us quite a while and a few it's a kilometre back and forth lots of animals around that you have to be careful of heavy crevices if you want to watch where you're going you'd lose a carrot and advice to everyone make sure that you find your night spot if possible during daylight driving in the dark very difficult with dust just place to be a bit cautious take your time they'll rush when you're out here we got down here into pendant station just on evening time absolutely beautiful old homestead that's been renovated and looked after we've got some beds and I can't wait to put my hair down up early this morning and took a quick walk around the hondona station homestead what a spot in the middle of nowhere there is this old cheap farm it had been restored and kept alive because it had been very much run down they've done a sterling job and they've managed to preserve a lot of the old machine that dates back to the late 1800s early 1900s and what i really like is the fact that this place has been restored by volunteers at their free time they put a lot of effort in to restore the old farmhouse very warm very comfortable it looks like it belongs here it really does i mean look at the view it's spectacular you just want to unwind disconnect from everything and you want to take in spectacular views right in the middle of nowhere where else would you want to be we are at beautiful pond dana station using the ostrack kitchen to cook up bacon and eggs for the crew this time we're going to use some turkish rolls i'll get those toasted up get them nice and warm crispy and the guys are going to love it all right convoy as we work our way through the galler ranges today we're going from east to west our first track will be conical hill I hear there's a fair bit of rock in there so it should be interesting a couple of washouts on the way watch some potholes on the track let's have a fun day Simon and i had to go for a quick trip this morning to get a bit of telephone service and I looked at some of the track and it is incredibly washed out and rotted especially around the creeks the rest of it's quite graded and smooth in some respects this but we're about to hit here the colonial track is exactly that looks like a goat just went over there's not much four-wheel drive been over I'd say it's pretty rocky a crazy golf country big wash out on the left-hand side of the track just be really careful there that is a big hole on the left always a good reminder of water spacing them out a bit in the dust pretty important about here full dust is a thing buckshot dust is a thing if you're travelling in a convoy you need to space yourself out otherwise you're not going to be able to see if the person in front of you stops or if they go around to wash out you can't see it you're going to go through it until you experience it you just can't realise how much of a blackout this dust can really create through here we've got a fairly tight crossing of the dry creek bed looks a bit windy but straightforward wow there must have been a lot of rainwater gone through here now you can see where the water's rushed down through here and dumped a lot of rock in the middle quite rocky and a bit of a drop off there on the right would be fun to do in the wet and wouldn't take much rain to get the street flooding it'd be pretty tricky with a meter of water coming down interesting to know that this road is actually closed when it's wet and that's all about preserving the tracking not putting huge gutters in you can imagine it'd be tough hard work out here grazing trying to make a living off the land it was only every few months they'd actually get into town to get supplies they'd have a male run once a week that would drop male 10 or 15 kilometers from their place and then also had some hawkers coming through selling soap and other things that were quite an exciting time for the locals quite an occasion when the walkers came and i think they were on camelback and they come and sell their ways out of the station that basically set up a supermarket on your station for a couple of days everyone can come and get what they want and got their pots and their tins and cooking stuff repaired it's a long way to come isn't it to sell some soap it would have been one hell of a track which are yeah a dozen or so camels i think this run from fondant station to the conical hill and down the other side is about eight kilometers long so we're just starting to climb the side of conical hill now it should be interesting but i think that's the descent on the other side it's a bit rockier it really is not much more than a good track, to be honest but it's stovable and they basically just carved it straight into the hill up and over the other side imagine coming back here with an old wagon wheel pretty scary stuff teeth shattering all right well there's a lookout here so let's pull up the cars and we'll go down and take a look the climb to the top of conical hill revealed a stunning view and an information point just off the track is well worth checking out that scrubby peak out there if you have a look at that now how green it is and have a look at the photo oh guys it's almost half red in the photo see the difference how much vegetation is incredible now that we're talking about Christmas this is a good time what about some of that billy gorecroft how's your size yeah you're gonna no more mint slice for you armed with fresh insights of the region and inspired by the terrain ahead we pushed on towards the shifting sands and sadly the final leg of our visit to the Gawler rangers beautiful viewing point up there guys and it gets even better as you come over the edge here just stunning isn't it really when you look out at all that red country and some of that shifting sand dune that are over there its spectacular terrain makes a difference you can see really why everyone in the world wants to come and paint this landscape it's just phenomenal jeff even down here as we open up and get to break through these trees just the view is still stunning isn't it oh it sure is and to see those shifting sands up top there that amazes me that in all this rock you've still got outcrops of sand this landscape's been here for 140 million years the fair bit of tectonic volcanic activity pushed the land around there was some big rivers through here that formed these gullies valleys and gorges and all that water got pushed out of here when the land basically tilted that left a lot of salt lakes in the lower region and also left those shifting sands they're called yeah when you look at the landscape you can sort of imagining a prehistoric landscape through here this valley was quite full of water been absolutely magnificent my beautifully fresh grated road you can see how deep they've dug it down you can certainly get some speed up here but you've got to be careful of traffic haven't you yeah look what a lot of people won't realize in the road is this especially people coming from the city out here they think that this road's not used the reason it's created is because it gets used steve was telling sorry that trucks use this quite a bit and especially guys going from grand soil of the grandson a lot of raw trends coming down here and we've got hard packed dirt too soft sand yes instead of i just can't believe the you know contrasting the environments we're getting up here and just completely completely different they're always calling for everyone to have their headlights on why is that so important in these conditions i think one of the greatest reasons to have your headlights on is purely an earthly visibility so even trucks that are five six seven kilometers away if they're looking down into a valley they'll see your headlights stats say that a few of your headlights on even in the cities and here you're 50 less likely to have an accident and definitely some very interesting geological structures with the way the rocks are formed but also the outcrops as well they just look stunning yeah simon funny you mentioned it i'm just looking up about two o'clock up my right and the structure there looks very similar to the organ parts that we visited earlier it's very similar to the look red rock vertical pillars beautiful scenery and very nice drive through here so this trip was a great opportunity i've never been to south australia before or camping this is a great chance to do both what better place to do it the weather has been fantastic great team to do it with and uh cannot wait to come along again this would be fantastic the country is vast countries wide you can see absolutely any around australia but south australia would have to be one of my favorites glorious days blue skies definitely coming back to this area i would definitely come again i loved it once you get here highlights as you go everywhere you go there's somewhere to stop see look at a joy and appreciate it for driving south australia is absolutely epic you've got everything you've got the bush you've got rocks you name it it has it you know what a prairie oyster is there's sheep when they incarcerate them they're trying to fire thank you very much it can actually be quite tasty yeah delicious on a salt pan oh god
2022-07-27 10:38
