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Laverton and My Trip to Tjukayirla Roadhouse We rise early in the morning of a wintry June. The 4-wheel drive is packed and ready to go. The day looks promising with glorious colours, sunshine and a bright blue sky. As we drive out of the small mining town of Laverton, in the northern goldfields, towards the Great Central Road, it's already starting to warm up. As you may know, June is winter in the southern hemisphere, and in desert areas. It's not yet the middle of winter when it may be frost during the night. The days are pleasant and it's not too hot.
We
cruise along the red gravel track bordered by the many
yellows, grey-greens and blue-greens. The colours are
strong with deep contrasts even if it shows more
in the middle of the day. As we follow the track,
we see wild horses and goats grazing along the
roadside, followed by an eagle or two swooping down to
scavenge on a road kill. The pretty pink and grey
galahs pick for seeds in the bare red sand at the
sides.
We drive on at a leisurely speed while admiring the landscape. After the next curve, a kangaroo jumps out in front of the car. Luckily, we miss it. Not long after, we have to hit the brakes again. A group of camels with a calf wait at the side. All of a sudden, they wander slowly onto the road and stop. There they are, gracefully watching us - the people with the camera - before they're off into the desert. We manage to catch them on some photos, but we're not as lucky with the emus. They sprint away in groups faster than Olympic runners.
At the
Tjukayirla Roadhouse we stop for lunch.
The freezer is full of kangaroo tails, apparently
a delicacy, but we're hungry and opt for hamburgers. We
have about an hour or so, before heading back. Now it's
time to study the scenery in a different light. The
early evening, before the sun goes down makes us see
the world of the desert fringe in subdued colours.
Every hour of the day makes the red pindan
vary.
I have been there twice, but cannot wait to discover the area in spring with all the desert wildflowers. One day I would like to travel on this road all the way to Uluru (previously known as Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (Mount Olgas). Unfortunately, due to time restraints, I had to make do with 1000 km away from Perth and a further 310 km into the wilderness - all the way to Tjukayirla Roadhouse. If I am lucky, I can plan a longer trip another year.
Important
Warning:
If you plan to
travel longer distances on the Great Central
Road/Outback Highway it's preferable to use a
4-wheel drive in excellent condition. However,
the road is graded and some people drive with
2-wheel drive cars and even tow caravans - if
weather and road conditions at the time
permit.
You need ample
water, food provisions, petrol, emergency
equipment, GPS, EPIRBS etc. There are
no repair shops along the way, no water, and
not much in order of supplies. You should plan
accordingly as this is not a road for Sunday
drivers. As all desert areas, it may be a
treacherous place if stranded without water,
food and no shade in many times a sweltering
heat. You must be prepared for all
eventualities.
The road is about 2800 km long (from Laverton in WA to Winton in QLD) with a stretch of 1700 km unsealed. Unsafe curves may surprise unwary drivers and accidents do happen. The gravel road is subject to closure if wet and don't forget that Transit Permits are needed to travel through Aboriginal communities.
The Great Central Road/Outback
Highway in the Great Victoria Desert is broadly
speaking in the middle of Australia. It goes past
Alice Springs in the Northern
Territory.
The
photo heading on top of this blog was
taken more than 1200 km north-east of
Perth and very close to the Great
Victoria Desert. The camels are crossing
the Great Central Road, also called the
Outback Highway, which stretches from
Laverton in Western Australia to Winton
in South-West Queensland via Alice
Springs and Uluru/Kata Tjuta National
Park in the Northern Territory. The road
serves a few smaller communities and
Aboriginal settlements, which are among
the most isolated places in Australia.
They include Cosmo Newbury, Tjukayirla,
Warburton and Warakuna in Western
Australia.
The Great Victoria Desert is
called a desert, but is far from what we
usually perceive as the desert landscape. You
cannot compare it to the Sahara Desert, in
Africa, where there are more or less only sand
dunes.
If
you drive on the red dirt road, which is
called the Great Central Road, to
Tjukayirla Roadhouse, (some say it's
Australia’s most remote roadhouse), you
have this beautiful desert at an arm's
length. It may cost you for the trip, but
once there, you are free to admire the
fantastic scenery and paint pictures,
either in your mind, or, even better, on
canvas.
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RED PINDAN where the red dirt meets the writer |
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