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The Big Detour

We were on our way to Lake Eyre. We weren’t even planning to go there, but just a six word message started  a 3,000km detour. The joy of unplanned vagabonding!

Our journey began right on the edge – as far from the red centre as we could get – on the most easterly point Australia at Byron Bay lighthouse.

First compass point down, three more to go

First compass point down, three more to go

We were heading north to Cape York. But one text message from Geoff’s brother, Chris, to say “there is water in Lake Eyre” – an extremely rare occurrence – and we turned left and west – direction, the aptly named Adventure Way and a 2,500km detour from the original plan.

Adventure all the way

Adventure all the way

One of our first stops was an unassuming high street with a big claim to fame:

Tenterfield - the town that launched a nation

Tenterfield – the town that launched a nation

Tenterfield is credited as being the place where the Australian nation was born, following a fiery speech by Henry Parkes, a local politician strongly advocating unity of the colonies.

Welcome to the birth of Australia

Welcome to the birth of Australia

 

Where it all began - the hall where the federation speech was made

Where it all began – the hall where the federation speech was made

 

Remembering the start of it all

Remembering the start of it all

Such was the persuasiveness of his argument that is sparked the movement which produced the federation just over a decade later.

After Tenterfield there was not so much fire, but water. And it wasn’t long before we were an integral part of nature’s story.

There's a reason there is water flowing into the Lake

There’s a reason there is water flowing into the Lake

 

Road trains stop for nothing - even the rain

Road trains stop for nothing – even the rain

 

Our hubs floweth over

Our hubs floweth over

Torrential rain at Goondiwindi meant camping was cancelled in favour of a nice dry room at the splendid Victoria Hotel and although we left in bright sunshine the boggy roadsides told a different story.

The imposing Victoria Hotel was a grand sanctuary

The imposing Victoria Hotel was a grand sanctuary

 

Even though it was high summer, the flood waters were right up to the road

Even though it was high summer, the flood waters were right up to the road

And many people thought we were crazy to do the trip in high summer. The signs were everywhere

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave

But so was the welcome.

Everyone's a joker

Everyone’s a joker

Nindigully Pub is a classic outback institution, miles from anywhere and also closed when we got there. But they opened up and offered a welcome cold beer when we pulled up.

The Nindigully pub - an outback institution

The Nindigully pub – an outback institution

They also had all the gossip despite their remote location – something we found repeated at every stop!

At Bollon the one-street town provides a beautiful free campsite alongside the river.

Free camping by the creek at Bollon

Free camping by the creek at Bollon

 

The lovely evening light on the creek at Bollon

The lovely evening light on the creek at Bollon

 

Apparently pelicans only appear when the water is set to stay

Apparently pelicans only appear when the water is set to stay

 

Cheery neighhbours in Bollon

Cheery neighbours in Bollon

When we arrived the locals had pulled up their chairs to watch the waters as they lapped at the sides of the road. We met Lonnie, the local policeman, general store-owner, gas station manager, camp oven cooking expert and world champion sheep shearer.

Next stop Cunnamulla, where we were told that the road ahead at Eulo was flooded and we couldn’t get through.

Well, there goes Plan A

Well, there goes Plan A

Eulo normally prides itself on the fact that the 50 residents share the town with 1500 lizards, but on that day it had a different claim to fame.

A proud boast that might not appeal to everyone

A proud boast that might not appeal to everyone

It wasn’t just a flooded road, but also a washed out bridge that stopped us and everyone else in their tracks.

Geoff and the locals contemplate the road less likely to be travelled now

Geoff and the locals contemplate the road less likely to be travelled now

 

The tide is high, but they're holding on

The tide is high, but they’re holding on

 

Here's one that Eulo missed

Here’s one that Eulo missed

We turned around and headed back to Cunnamulla only to discover the roadside show at Bollon had just got better and that road was now washed out too! Our only option for a bridge over the river was 300km north, and so began a 600km detour from our detour. We were starting to appreciate the trials of outback travel.

We were also beginning to really appreciate the generosity of outback communities. At Wyandra the town laid on a gorgeous free campsite, complete with fire pit, solar showers, a camp kitchen and a mob of kangaroos for company.

We vagabonds are very grateful to towns like this for facitilities like these

We vagabonds are very grateful to towns like this for facilities like these

From Wyandra we continued our northern loop around the floods, through Charleville, where appropriately, the summer heat started to crank up again. An average day was topping 40 degrees. Charleville was most memorable to us for the marvelous Clement Wragge, the self-styled “rain-maker” who tried in vain to bring water during one of the worst droughts in the region.

The Vortex Canons in Charleville

The Vortex Canons in Charleville

 

The Vortex Canons are still not showing any sign of rain

The Vortex Canons are still not showing any sign of rain

His fantastic Stiger Vortex rain canons designed to fire gases into the atmosphere that create clouds and therefore rain. The guns failed and the drought continued for many more months. We could have done with a few canon firings that day, as the mercury continued to rise. We stopped counting at 48.5degrees during the day and a balmy 37 degrees overnight, in a nylon tent!

Even the locals look a little frazzled by the heat

Even the locals look a little frazzled by the heat

 

The heat shimmer on the road ahead

The heat shimmer on the road ahead

Next stop Eromanga – a town whose name has made it famous in Japan for meaning cartoon porn or erotic manga.

The least likely place to be a Japanese porn capital, but there are surprised everywhere

The least likely place to be a Japanese porn capital, but there are surprised everywhere

It’s dusty, deserted streets didn’t feel erotic, but there was something cartoonish about the Canadian campsite manager who was deeply suspicious of our intentions, claiming no one had passed through the area in a month.

Eromanga maybe the most inland town, but it was looking pretty wet

Eromanga maybe the most inland town, but it was looking pretty wet

Onward we pressed heading toward Innamincka. It was not far from this isolated hamlet that two of Australia’s greatest failed adventurers, Burke and Wills met what some would say was their inevitable end. It is a story worthy reading and remarkable in it relentless hopeless endeavour. You can find our short version of it in The Long March to Failure.

Spectacular but threatening skies

Spectacular but threatening skies

Full of stories of disaster we modern-day adventurers were painfully aware of the darken skies above us and set out for Innamincka – which boasts a pub, an hotel and that’s about it. It was also our starting point for the Strzelecki Track.

It was just a clear run into town - or so we thought

It was just a clear run into town – or so we thought

Burke and Wills may have planned badly, but even they couldn’t be blamed for the brutal nature of Australian outback in the summer. We soon came to appreciate some of their pain.

 

There may be trouble ahead

There may be trouble ahead

What started out as a hot, clear blue day soon became iron-dark and brooding.

Red sky in the middle of the day - outback warning

Red sky in the middle of the day – outback warning

 

The gathering storm

The gathering storm

Before long the last bit of tarred road had given way to dirt and we were facing dueling storms – with half the sky blackened with thunder-clattering clouds and lightening bolts and the other a red-earth mass lifted off the ground more than a kilometer high and tens of kilometers wide.

Alone on the road we could see nothing all around, but had no choice but to keep going. Bad as the dust storm was, getting stuck on a dirt road a long way from nowhere in a thunderstorm was worse. The mud-sucking qualities of an outback track are as legendary as the tracks themselves.

The pictures tell the story better than we can

The wind starts to pick up ahead of the storm

The wind starts to pick up ahead of the storm

 

The tar is rapidly becoming the dirt

The tar is rapidly becoming the dirt

 

The road is fast disappearing

The road is fast disappearing

 

What few landmarks we had were also fast disappearing

What few landmarks we had were also fast disappearing

 

Completely enveloped in the red earth

Completely enveloped in the red earth

We finally punched through the dust storm and landed in Innamincka. Geoff poured kilos of dirt out of the air filter and the landlord poured cold beer.

More than a kilometre high and tens of kilometres wide

More than a kilometre high and tens of kilometres wide

 

The line on the horizon are full-grown gum trees, dwarfed by the storm

The line on the horizon are full-grown gum trees, dwarfed by the storm

 

Thanks for the welcome South Australia

Thanks for the welcome South Australia

All of that and we still hadn’t even got to the Tracks. But next stop and next story – we will take you down two of the classic Australian outback tracks roadtrips.

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The Long March to Failure

Robert Burke and John Wills’ ambitious expedition to map Australia from the south to north coasts in 1840 is a classic saga of bad planning, worse leadership and fatal consequences. Yet the two men are still memorialized in Australian history.

Robert Burke and John Wills

Robert Burke and John Wills

Finding a way through Australia’s harsh terrain from Melbourne on the south coast of the continent, to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north – more than 3,000km – was a much prized goal.

The planned route of the mammoth expedition

The planned route of the mammoth expedition

Every colony, which have since become states, was considering the attempt and putting up considerable money for the victorious team.

So today it would seem strange that the financial backers of the Victoria expedition committee still chose the entirely inexperienced Robert Burke to head it. But factions within and dislike of “foreigners” on the committee, despite their expedition experience, meant local policeman Burke got the gig. It was a decision that proved fatal.

The signs were there from early on. Burke’s team of 19 men left the Royal Park in Melbourne in August 1860 with six wagons of supplies to last two years.

The overladen expedition leaves Melbourne

The overladen expedition leaves Melbourne

The committee had also decided in their wisdom that dried meat carried in three extra wagons, was a better idea than the normal practice of herding live cattle, which can move on their own and be slaughtered en route. Apparently an oak writing desk was also amongst the necessities loaded onto the creaking vehicles. One broke down before it even left the park; a second was lost within a few kilometers.

It took the team two months to travel 750km to the edge of what was still the colony of Victoria. The postal service usually took a week to travel the same route. By that time two of the expeditions five officers had resigned because of Burke’s leadership, making John Wills second in command; 13 men had been fired and 8 newly hired. It wasn’t looking good!

The deadly dash for the north, with John King

The deadly dash for the north, with John King

Because of fears that other explorers may beat them to the coast and claim the prize money, Burke decided to make a dash to the Gulf with Wills and team member John King, despite the journey being through the worst of the Australian summer in the outback. The rest of the group was left behind at a depot camp near Innamincka.

Visiting the Dig Tree 150 years later

Visiting the Dig Tree 150 years later

More bad decisions, illness, failing supplies and impassable swamps meant Burke’s team never made it to the coast and only three of the four made it back to the original camp, only to find the remaining team had left hours earlier. They had waited an extra month for the men to return, but finally given up hope, leaving supplies and instructions to “Dig” for them.

The Dig Tree is the last story in their catalogue of failings.

The historic Dig Tree

The historic Dig Tree

 

The Dig Tree is now a national parks reserve

The Dig Tree is now a national parks reserve

After using all the supplies, Burke and Wills made the final fatal judgement – deciding to make a 250km desert trek west to a stock station instead of retracing the steps of the depot party heading south. They left no message at the tree, so when the depot party returned with fresh supplies they did not know that the two men were only 35km away in the wrong direction.

John Longstaff's painting of the arrival of the two men at the Dig Tree

John Longstaff’s painting of the arrival of the two men at the Dig Tree

 

The drama of the Dig Tree story was enhanced by nature the day we visited

The drama of the Dig Tree story was enhanced by nature the day we visited

Burke, Wills died within a few days and a few kilometers of rescue, ten months after they set out from Melbourne. In all seven men perished in pursuit of the prize. Perhaps the final insult of their failed endeavour is that the rescue party sent out to find the two men from competing colony of Queensland, because there was no sign they had been at the Dig Tree, kept on going north on their search and went on to successfully make the north-south trek and claim the prize money.

But because history and people are strange, it is still Burke and Wills who are remembered, despite their failure, and not that other guy who actually completed the mission.

Burke's image was carved into a nearby tree forty years later as a memorial

Burke’s image was carved into a nearby tree forty years later as a memorial

 

Forever etched in the bark by the trees that could have saved him

Forever etched in the bark by the trees that could have saved him

Thousands lined the route for their funeral procession.

The funeral route for Burke & Wills

The funeral route for Burke & Wills

 

A dramatic representation of the scale of the funeral procession

A dramatic representation of the scale of the funeral procession

Their names are in every Australian history book. Statues, memorials, roads and monuments carry their story

Burke and Wills monument in Melbourne

Burke and Wills monument in Melbourne

their faces even ended up on the nation’s stamps.

Burke and Wills stamps

Burke and Wills stamps

So perhaps in some perverse way, they succeeded after all.