millsy
4x4 Earth Contributer
Tiny and myself had a great trip around the three Victorian deserts over the last week. They being the Murray Sunset National Park, the western and eastern ends of the Big Desert and the two western blocks of the three parts of the Little Desert.
We entered the Sunset country midway down the western edge, on Pheeneys Track, and then drove down the Border Track, refuelling at Pinnaroo, before camping at Pine Hut Soak in the north west corner of the Scorpion Springs section of the Big Desert. The next day we did the Border Track, which was quite easy after the recent rains, but bumpy as usual. By the time we reached the Shaugh Track it was getting late enough in the day to escape out west to the bitumen, and make a dash for a camp ground on the north west edge of the Little Desert, in the western block.
This is where we had our first bit of fun in the mud! We actually had a bit of 'excitement' on the farm tracks as we headed down between the wheat fields, trying to find our camp site.
And then more strife as we skidded and slid to a stop in the muck just inside the park boundary an hour later. We finally found a great spot to bed down, but a lot later than planned. All smiles, but filthy cars carrying 'hundreds' of extra kg of mud plastered all under the chassis!
I would have to say the next day's driving through the middle of this Little Desert, west to east, revealed a variety of the most beautiful scenery. Completely different to what you would see in the rainforests of the Ottways, or the grand forests of the High Country. It really is worth a visit. Hard to describe, and unfortunately I cannot add pictures at the moment because my camera battery had gone flat at this stage. Hopefully Tiny will post some for us!
And that morning, in the western part of the Little Desert we had more 'fun in the mud', with a few close calls. I managed to extract myself each time, but I was glad I had the big Toyota '80 series standing by, with the snatch straps, and electric winch if needed. I quickly worked out that yelling out "Yaaaahhooooo" just before plunging head long into a lengthy puddle of muddy water usually ends in disaster, and much jibing from my mate for the rest of the trip!
Will continue the report with another post, so that I can get 10 pics up for the first two days of the trip. Hopefully Tiny will add a few more to cover the last three days shortly.
We entered the Sunset country midway down the western edge, on Pheeneys Track, and then drove down the Border Track, refuelling at Pinnaroo, before camping at Pine Hut Soak in the north west corner of the Scorpion Springs section of the Big Desert. The next day we did the Border Track, which was quite easy after the recent rains, but bumpy as usual. By the time we reached the Shaugh Track it was getting late enough in the day to escape out west to the bitumen, and make a dash for a camp ground on the north west edge of the Little Desert, in the western block.
This is where we had our first bit of fun in the mud! We actually had a bit of 'excitement' on the farm tracks as we headed down between the wheat fields, trying to find our camp site.
And then more strife as we skidded and slid to a stop in the muck just inside the park boundary an hour later. We finally found a great spot to bed down, but a lot later than planned. All smiles, but filthy cars carrying 'hundreds' of extra kg of mud plastered all under the chassis!
I would have to say the next day's driving through the middle of this Little Desert, west to east, revealed a variety of the most beautiful scenery. Completely different to what you would see in the rainforests of the Ottways, or the grand forests of the High Country. It really is worth a visit. Hard to describe, and unfortunately I cannot add pictures at the moment because my camera battery had gone flat at this stage. Hopefully Tiny will post some for us!
And that morning, in the western part of the Little Desert we had more 'fun in the mud', with a few close calls. I managed to extract myself each time, but I was glad I had the big Toyota '80 series standing by, with the snatch straps, and electric winch if needed. I quickly worked out that yelling out "Yaaaahhooooo" just before plunging head long into a lengthy puddle of muddy water usually ends in disaster, and much jibing from my mate for the rest of the trip!
Will continue the report with another post, so that I can get 10 pics up for the first two days of the trip. Hopefully Tiny will add a few more to cover the last three days shortly.
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