THE THINGS YOU SEE! with (TRUTHFUL) PHIL BIANCHI
FOUR DAYS OF 'RELAXATION' The bogging of a WA family of four in the Simpson Desert in November 2021, reminded me of a similar incident that befell me in 2008.
O
n a trip to the CSR Rudall River NP area, our party of two vehicles was camped west of Hanging Rock. The weather during the trip had been terrific; blue skies every day, it was shorts and tee shirts weather. While driving out of camp one morning a rain shower came out of nowhere. Within minutes big black clouds appeared, there was thunder and lightning and heavy rain started falling. It became heavier and heavier; the wipers couldn’t keep up. In an hour, and after travelling only 15km, a muddy flat stopped us. Thinking we could easily get out of this situation, out came the shovels and two sets of bog mats, a set of Maxtrax and a set of 'bottom of milk crate' style bog mats I had been asked to trial. We managed to gain a couple of metres each time before bogging again, all the while the heavy rain kept falling. After what felt like some 20 debogging efforts, and totally exhausted, we gave up.
had filled with water and mud and were a hindrance, so I took them off and did all of the unbogging work in bare feet. Our friends set up their tent on higher ground in a patch of mulga, some 100 metres away. To improve our spirits, and because we had nothing else to do, we lit a fire. After creating a mound of mud that was above the water line, we placed some spinifex on it and then some wet wood. Using a gas blow torch and keeping the trigger pressed open we eventually got the spinifex and
Forlorn camp.
The Maxtrax were fantastic compared to the milk crate style bog mats. They quickly cleared of mud for reuse, whereas the milk crate type remained clogged, impossible to clean, were slippery and very heavy. We would have paid a king’s ransom for two sets of Maxtrax! Realising we needed shelter, a 3m x 3m canvas tarp was set up off the side of our Cruiser and our tent was set up on a tiny bit of high ground. By now my feet were suffering from hypothermia. My boots 132
| Western 4W Driver #121
Another metre gained.
