Easter in the Great Victoria Desert

RED DIRT BECKONS

Easter in the Great Victoria Desert

BY PHIL BIANCHI

It had been more than 12 months since my LandCruiser’s wheels had seen serious action. What better than an Easter trip to the Great Victoria Desert to break the drought.

Armed with the latest track information from Laurinda and her crew at the Laverton Visitor Centre we set off on a trip to Burtville, down to Lake Minigwal, Queen Victoria Spring, Pingin, Kanowna and Perth via Kalgoorlie. A visit to the Burtville cemetery was very depressing. It’s very sad to read the tombstones, so many deaths by suicide, especially using dynamite. We will never know what made these people commit such desperate acts. Following the Coglia-Merolia Road towards Coglia Well we were able to travel on an unused haul road, and although it was rough in patches it allowed reasonable speeds. At the well we took a track that headed directly south and kept us close to the eastern side of Lake Minigwal. The drive through the woodland was superb - it was like driving through a mosaic of everchanging woodland. Fluctuating between mulga, mallee and majestic marble gum, this is superb country. At Granite Hill, we went in search of explorer Frank Hann’s inscription. Hann visited here on 14 October 1907 and noted that although someone had camped on the corkwood flat years earlier, the soakage at the time of his visit was dry. Nevertheless Talbot inscribed FH on a granite surface facing the soakage area.

Frank Hann's inscription at Granite Hill vandalised by changing the F to B.

Locals are a regular sight. Surprise Granite Rock Holes.

Surprise Granite Rock Holes.

The tracks in general are easy to follow, but numerous, so it’s easy to miss turnoffs. Pulling up on the western side of the hill, we went in search of the inscription. I walked up and down and along the rock face and couldn’t find the inscription. It had been some ten years since my last visit and I started to think my memory was shot. We had been searching for about 90 minutes when, with dusk approaching, most of the group headed off to find a camp. I put in another 30 minutes before giving up. As I walked back to the vehicle, I saw it. It was plain as day and right near where the vehicles were parked. The reason we hadn’t see it earlier was that a low bush had covered the inscription with its shadow. Once the sun lit up the inscription it was easy to see. Sadly someone had defaced the FH inscription by changing the F to a B so it now reads BH. The ugly Australian sure gets around, even way out here. We returned in the morning to have another look at the blaze and wander around the large corkwood flat near it. Hann’s Surprise Granite Rock Holes was our next stop. We could see why Hann called these rocks Surprise Granite; they were almost level with the ground. The rockholes are situated on a corkwood flat, the woodland around the rockhole

Talbot inscription at Surprise Granite Rock Holes.

was sparse and mainly corkwood trees with a scattering of native apricot trees (weeping pittosporum), some of which were flowering. Talbot’s name is inscribed near the largest rockhole. As the track heads further southward, it closely follows the lake, the vegetation becoming sparse with open eucalypt woodland and low salt bush. Crossing the neck of Lake Minigwal our trek took us westward to some rockholes on a low granite and a nearby dogger’s camp. The camp is situated at the northern end of the PNC Baseline Road. The camp has a three-walled corrugated iron shed with an earth floor, a rainwater tank with an inverted roof for capturing water, and a rustic no-roof enclosure in which one could shower. On past visits I saw a large coil of steel cable that featured a sign saying please use with respect because the next person getting bogged on the lake will need it. Again, the ugly Australia raises his head and burns the steel cable in a campfire, thus destroying its strength. Why? Our next destination was to be Queen Victoria Spring. We headed south-east on the PNC Baseline Road toward the Nippon Highway when at the 29km mark we came across the Tropicana Mine access road.

Who was the PNC?

The PNC was the Pacific Nuclear Corporation, a Japanese-owned multinational, that in the 1980s, explored in various parts of Australia for uranium. The PNC Baseline Road and Nippon Highway were named after the work they did in the Great Victoria Desert. The PNC Baseline Road is a 147km long unsealed road that connects with the Cable Haul Road and the Nippon Highway. The Nippon Highway is a 130km long unsealed road starting near Kirgella Rocks.

At this junction was a large plastic sheetlined dam and pump. Crossing the haul road and continuing for another 16km along the recently cleared four-lane wide unsealed PNC Baseline Road, we came to newly installed gates, fencing and video camera on a pole. A sign on the gate told us the track was closed and to go back. Using a satellite phone, we rang the Vimy Resources phone number on the gate, and were told, "No exceptions." We had to go back. Had there been a sign warning us back at the Tropicana access road, we would not have wasted our time and fuel. In the heat of summer, this stuff up has the potential of someone dying should they be ill, low on fuel or water and in need of rescue, by driving down this dead end. Discussions at a later date with DBAC Kalgoorlie revealed they knew nothing of the road closure. They pointed out that it was a recognised road and as such the mining company should have made alternative arrangements, such as creating a diversion around the area, for travellers using that portion of the PNC Baseline Road. Vimy Resources lift your game, put up proper signage and build a diversion road around your exploration area. I suspect the reason for the Vimy Resources cloak and dagger stuff is they are seeking to mine uranium. Fortunately, we had prior permission to use the Tropicana access road. We followed it south west and turned off at the junction with the Nippon Highway. Near this junction are the Mulga Rockholes, one large and four smaller ones. It’s been a popular camping spot over the years, evidenced by rubbish scattered throughout the area. Heading south east on the Nippon Highway, the vegetation was changing to mallee woodland with occasional marble gum patches. At Argus Corner we turned southward toward Queen Victoria Spring. Just as well that was our intention because Vimy Resources were at it again - they had closed the Nippon Highway at that junction, preventing anyone travelling further eastward. The woodland south of Argus Corner had been completely burned out by a series of bush fires in recent years. It was desertlike, no animals were seen while we were in the area. The spring, named by explorer Ernest Giles after Queen Victoria in 1875,

Kirgella homestead ruins.

was completely dry, not the slightest trace of moisture in the middle was found. When Giles found this soakage, he remarked: "On our arrival here our camels drank as only thirsty camels can, and great was our own delight to find ourselves again enabled to drink at will and indulge in the luxury of a bath." Returning towards Argus Corner, we stopped on a large dune about one kilometre from Streich Mound. Consensus determined we wouldn’t attempt to drive closer to the steep dune. Explorer David Lindsay, in 1891, named the mound after Victor Streich, the geologist on his expedition. With our trip almost finished, we returned to the Tropicana access road and then headed for Kalgoorlie, but not before stopping off at Kirgella Rocks abandoned homestead. Lots of ingenuity, fencing wire and tin was used to create buildings and fencing that would have made Salt Bush Bill proud.

INFORMATION BAY

TRIP PREPARATION

This trip is not suitable for soft roaders. This is very isolated country, so plan thoroughly and be well prepared and totally self-sufficient. Ensure your vehicle has been serviced and thoroughly checked over with a special emphasis on tyres, shock absorbers, springs and batteries. Two spare tyres is a must out here. You would be very fortunate to come across someone else travelling in this area to provide assistance. Plan your fuel needs carefully. Expect up to double your normal consumption rate.

COMMUNICATION

A HF Radio or satellite phone is also a must out here. Your mobile phone or UHF radio are useless if seeking help in an emergency - the signal from these will not carry.

BEST TIME TO GO

The cooler months April to September.