We planned an overnight stop at Bilung Pool on the Carnarvon-Mullewa Road, en-route to Temple Gorge in the Kennedy Ranges. The wind was fairly howling by the time we stopped for lunch at the Murchison Oasis Roadhouse, with someone estimating it had hit 100km/hour. This put paid to the initial plan, given Bilung Pool is only 150km up the road. The Gascoyne Junction Caravan Park has little wind protection either, so we pushed on to Temple Gorge where the Kennedy Ranges did exactly what we had hoped – they diverted the wind over the top.
It was a long, dusty and windy trip and we arrived just on dusk. Set-up did not go well, as the dust and gravel had lodged in two of the camper trailer legs and they would not drop down. Repeated usage of Inox, a hammer and swearing produced a successful result in the end, but not before our campsite neighbours offered to help. Their offer may have been partly driven by their desire for us to set up camp before it was their bedtime! The dusty conditions also took their toll on our fridge in that the push-down start button would not lock down, resulting in the gas shutting off every time you lifted your finger off the button. Necessity is definitely the mother of invention, as a specifically sized rock strategically placed on top of the button and held down with a 60mmx20mm flat bar (carried for use as an anvil) did the trick!
All the previous day was completely forgotten on getting up for the obligatory early morning visit to the long drop. The view from our campsite of the sunrise on the Ranges was spectacular! We planned to drive the eastern side of The Kennedy Loop Track (KLT). Our camp host said he did the entire trip in one day, returning back to camp 9 hours later. We did not want to have such a long day so, on leaving at 9:30am, we calculated we would drive for 3 hours and have a brief lunch stop before turning around to drive back to camp. We knew the return trip would be quicker as we would be sight-seeing on the way in and not on the way back, which then allowed some leeway if needed (eg a flat tyre). We carry a Personal Locator Beacon in case of absolute emergency and had logged our trip before we left home.
The Shearers’ Shed is amazing: The rock front wall, concrete door surrounds and concrete lintel are a true testament to craftsmanship. It was a big operation in its heyday, with the remains of the 9 shearing stations still visible. There are marker posts along the KLT but we thought we must have missed one, as it is 33.4km to the turnoff to Merlinleigh Station Ruins, not 28.6km as shown on the mud-map. Virtually as soon as you take the turnoff, you are greeted with a steep, gnarly rockface to climb. However, as the line to take was fairly evident, we did not need to stop, even though the bonnet was pointing skywards.
It was then my turn to drive for a while. Several years ago we both did “rocky” and “sandy” 4WD-ing training courses, the reason being that my better half only needs to badly sprain his right ankle to make driving difficult and very painful (even though we do have an automatic vehicle). It does not make sense for me to be sitting in the passenger seat doing absolutely nothing in that scenario. I thought discretion was the better part of valour so, with both heart rate and blood pressure instantly soaring well above normal, I stopped to work out my line of descent down the rockface before the ground disappeared from sight below the bonnet. Having negotiated a successful descent, and my heart rate and blood pressure returning to a semblance of normal, I then settled into 4WD-ing. I know I drive a little more conservatively than my better half, I confess to misjudgements every now and then, but I do feel great at the end of a day of 4WD-ing. Running along the escarpment, the White Stacks and The Neck are great, as are the views looking east. Things went according to plan and we were back at camp well before the happy hour at the communal campfire.
As we had arrived at Temple Gorge a day earlier than planned and not knowing how successful and for how long the fridge “fix” would last, we took a day trip to Carnarvon. Whilst all the people who could possibly repair the fridge were booked out days in advance, we were at least able to have mobile coverage for the first time since we left home. Emails and voicemails were checked and dealt with, and the return trip included a stop at The Junction caravan park where, for a small fee, we had a shower – again, heaven! (And, as it turned out, the fridge “fix” lasted all the way home!)
On our previous trip to the Kennedy Ranges, health had prevented me from doing any of the walks, even into Temple Gorge itself. This time I successfully completed not only the shorter Class 3 Temple Gorge walk but also it’s longer Class 4 trail cousin: Mission accomplished!
To be continued….