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- Doolgunna to Skull Springs Map.
Leaving our bush camp we turned left onto the Great Northern Highway.
After a short break at Kumarina the road trip north continued. I located the turnoff to Yannerie Pool and we left the highway to see this beautiful outback waterhole.
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- Yannerie Pool looking east.
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- Yannerie Pool
Kirk got out his drone for a fly around. A slight misjudgement sent it into the trees on the far side of the pool.
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- Scott set off to retrieve drone.
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- Scott retrieves drone.
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- The drone is cactus.
We refuelled at Capricorn Roadhouse and then took the obligatory photographs at the Tropic of Capricorn.
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- Carrie at the Tropic of Capricorn.
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- Kim at the Tropic of Capricorn.
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- Shire of East Pilbara
Shortly after we turned onto the Nullagine Road and not long after that we turned into the Opthalmia Dam on the Fortescue River, one of Newman’s most popular recreation spots.
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- Unknown cross on hill on the way in to Opthalmia Dam.
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- Eugene and Corey Surfed across the Fortescue River.
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- Greg and Margot in their Colorado.
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- Mike takes his Patrol through the Fortescue River.
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- Nick and Carrie take their Jeep through the Fortescue River.
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- Opthalmia Dam
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- Vehicles at Opthalmia Dam.
Roadworks between Opthalmia and Nullagine seemed to be interminable. The dust was terrible.
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- Between Opthalmia and Nullagine.
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- Roadworks on the Nullagine Road.
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- Near Roy Hill.
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- Roy Hill Mine Village.
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- Roy Hill
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- On the way to Nullagine.
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- Sturts Desert Pea (Swainsona Formosa).
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- Desert Pea
The Sturt Desert Pea is the subject of an aboriginal legend where a young girl was promised to an older man she did not want be with so she eloped with a younger man from a neighbouring tribe. The old man attacked and destroyed the younger man’s tribe and when he later returned to gloat over the bleached bones of his victims he found only carpets of brilliant flowers with ebony eyes that had grown from the blood of the people he had killed. Every season the flowers of blood spread their brilliance over the arid plains of the outback as the Sturt Desert Pea.
We met Phil and Peter in Nullagine. They had taken a break from prospecting to join us for a couple of days. After refuelling and a visit to Lynas Lookout we headed off towards Running Waters, our planned overnight stop.
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- Nullagine General Store
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- Fuel price at Nullagine.
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- Nullagine from Lynas Lookout.
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- Nullagine River from Lynas Lookout.
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- Drill rig outside Nullagine.
A few kilometres out of town Eugene got on the radio to announce he was experiencing mechanical difficulties – steering problems. The initial diagnosis was ball joints but Garry and Joe determined it was a tie rod end. It seemed like it would be the end of the Tour for Eugene and Corey – but not before a visit was paid to the stockpile of wrecks at the ‘village’ in Nullagine.
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- Track out of Nullagine to Skull Springs.
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- Track to Skull Springs.
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- Kim at water pump.
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- Steve and Greg at water pump.
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- On the Skull Springs Road.
Joe, Garry and Kirk stayed with Eugene and Corey in their stricken Hilux Surf and the rest of us continued our road trip. The delay meant that I had to change the overnight stop to Skull Springs.
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- Australian bustard
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- On the way to Skull Springs.
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- At the turnoff to Skull Springs.
There were no sites suitable for the size of our group close to the Spring. Just on dusk, Scott located a large cleared area a few hundred metres away.
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- At the turnoff to Skull Springs.
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- Prado kicking up dust on the way into Skull Springs in the last light of the day.
The remainder of our convoy arrived 45 minutes later. We were surprised to see the Surf with them. They had located a tie rod end from a Pajero that fitted perfectly and the Surf was as good as new.
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- Eugene’s turn at Pictionary.
Go to Day 4 – Skull Springs to Carawine Gorge.