Well we're back, or some of us are anyway. What an epic trip with all sorts of dramas. We had a few Jeep related problems but nothing affecting the KJs.
My son met up with the convoy at Cobar and the trip down through Broken Hill to Yunta was the usual goat, roo, and emu dodging, especially at sunset. Up through Waukaringa ruins, Erudina Woolshed, to Wilpena campground. The Flinders on the whole were fantastic and we had time to go through Sacred Canyon and the Brachina Gorge.
Out through Blinman airing up again at Parachilna for the run up to Copely. Great time in the Copely Pub (this was rapidly turning inot the outback pub crawl). Back north through Liegh Creek mine site, and airing down again for the trip up to Farina, and Maree. We set up camp at Muloorina, and went out to Lake Eyre (Level Post Bay) to have diner on top of the dunes to watch the sunset. Coming back to Muloorina in the dark on that track was 'interesting'. The first of the ZJ sterring problems emerged there (tie rod bolts vibrated loose on the extreme corrugations and steering was affected). Back out the next day to the Birdsville track to Etadunna (where we took the ferry bypass road). The ferry was a great experience and we were pretty lucky to only have to wait about an hour and a half. The traffic on the northern side was backed up significantly (like never less than 16 vehicles). The ferry only takes one vehicle at a time. The wait gave us time to do a 'bush alignment' on the ZJ. On to Mungerannie for the night, and another pub experience. Completed the Birdsville track next day and spent a total of three days around Birdsville. Second day there we went out to Eyre Creek via Big Red. There is so much water up there that bypass tracks have been cut to allow access. Lake Nappanerica was spread out completely blocking direct access to Big Red. We took the bypasss track around the southern end of the lake (which took over an hour of bouncing - it was literally cross country driving and no prepared in anyway). Climbed Big Red and then set off west acrocss the dunes to Eyre Creek. THe dune west of Big Red was also blocked by clay pan flooding so another bypass was taken. Conditions over the dunes going west were fanstastic with the desert very green and vegetation crowding in on the track in most places. At Eyre Creek we went up the bypass for some distance and had a lunch stop where the wild flowers and budgies were in adundance. We had a look at the Eryre Creek Crossing but it was just too deep for even the highest clearance vehicle that we had with us - so the decision was made to return across the dunes back to spend some time playing on Big Red. Our ZJ owner won the distinction of launching his ZJ into space over the top of the steepest climb on Big Red. He charged up and lept into the air with a clear two metres of space under the vehicles before crashing back on the down side (which again must have affected his steering rack).
After a layday in Birdsville for Pub/hotel and bakery duties, we headed down the Cordillo Downs Road to Innamincka. This was a great road (once out of the Sturt Stoney Desert area) and we set up camp at the Top Common at Innamincka and had another great pub diner. That night (last Monday/Tuesday morning early) the heavens opened and we had 2 1/2" of rain in about two hours between 2:30am and 4am and then it rained all day Tuesday. We were totally cutoff (even from the hotel). The Cooper Creek flooded there and all the floodways and creeks feeding it were impassable. A Bravo Ute managed to hydro lock his engine trying to cross one of the floodways. We sat there camped in thick mud for a couple of days until the creek went down enough for the snorkel equipped vehicles to get through to the hotel. All the tracks into and out of Innamincka were closed. Finally on Friday the tracks started to be re-opened, first the Strzelecki to Lyndhurst (which was the wrong direction for us). On Saturday morning with the pressures of Monday work commitments, most fo the group took off down the reopened track to Cameron Corner and hopefully on to Tibooburra. My son and I decided to wait and see if we could get on the Nappa Merrie track (and thus the Adventure Way to Cunnamulla) as that was the shortest route to pavement and he had to be back Sunday night for a work function at Dysart. At 10:15am on Saturday (and hour after the main group left for Cameron Corner) the Nappa Merrie road was reopened and my son and I were the first ones on to it. It was a very hard slog for the first couple of hours and the area around the Cullyamerra Water Hole was just a sea of mud. We did get through Ok but my son's unlifted JK Unlimited had some real problems with dragging itself through the mud (thanks to the torque of the diesel he made it without needing a muddy recovery). Once we got onto the pavement near the Ballera Gas Centre it was smooth sailing on to Cunnamulla. My son headed north from there to overnight in Charleville and I stayed in Cunnamulla and did the whole run down to Sydney from there on Sunday. Meanwhile, the main group made ti to Tibbooburra after what sounds like a fairly tough trip (mud the whole way from Innamincka). Some stayed there, the nutcases headed south on the SIlver City Highway to try to get back to Broken Hill to head back to Sydney. The next day (Sunday) as I was heading down the Mitchell Highway the rest of the Tibooburra group tried to take the dirt road from Tibbooburra to Bourke to get to the pavement. The petrol XJ blew a head gasket as they got to Nevertire and was 'toast'. Luckily his wifes parent in their Pathfinder were on the trip and took them on from there. The XJ was last seen on a truck headed for Narromine. The trip leader stopped in Dubbo due to fatique, no idea where the Broken Hill group got to, but both my son and I were home safely last night.
I have heaps of photos to go through as does my son and I will try to add them into this in the next day or so. It's going to take me a week to get all the mud and sand off the KJ.
Ok rather than post individual links in here I thought I would try to post my photobucket album link for the trip instead. Let's see if this works (only some photos here for testing purposes).
http://s555.photobucket.com/albums/jj45 ... ip%202010/Ok it works but the photos are in reverse order, so if you look at the second page (last ones first) you'll get the sequence. If you hit the orange slideshow button on the upper right it will enlarge the photos and show them in order.
Whew, I need a rest.