Entry 17 – 2026 – August – Rain in Out Back Australia = travel disruption.
It was the day prior our departure date from the Kennedy Ranges.
The Bureau of Meteorology were predicting the possibility of 0-1 mm of rain during the day.
The reality was around 40 mm of rain fell from the sky, resulting in the closure of our near 70 kms of dirt surfaced exit road. The road subsequently remained closed for a period of four days.
There were nine other couples in the campground, none with bookings to stay over the duration of the road closure period. One car-based couple had planned for a single night stay with no reserve provisions or water.
Most had other commitments down the road a bit during the period of the lock down.
There was a need for on-going welfare checks on everyone in the campground. It was interesting to see how the effects of some unexpected imposed restrictions with freedom of movement impacted people. Even when it was known the restrictions were to be for a short period and in place for their own safety.
We noticed a few people were showing signs of anxiety and others were becoming excitable.
The campground hosts (people volunteering their time to assist campers with information on the National Park and any other minor enquires,) were under duress with fellow campers imposing pressure on them, to resolve subsequent issues.
We were lucky, with no other immediate commitments and we always travel with a supply of backup food if required. It seemed we may have been the more “chilled,” couple present.
Later when we were at Gascoyne Junction, we spotted some signage we thought might have been helpful to be on display nearby the campground. Steve could remember it was once a $1,000 fine per wheel to drive on a closed road. Someone at the campground thought the current fine was $2,500 per wheel.
It would have been easy to sit back and enjoy our beautiful surroundings of the Kennedy Ranges. We both decided to be a bit more social, with ongoing conversations with other campers to help relieve the tension in the air. We also gained from this activity. Every single person had a different personality, with their own unique take on life.
One afternoon we sourced enough wood from other campers to light the communal fire for a group gathering with an enticement from Mary. She offered to make a fruit damper to be shared with everyone. We noted every person was delighted to accept a second serving. With a second serving of fruit damper everyone felt a lot happier.
The Rangers were at their base at Gascoyne Junction about 70 kilometres away, unable to attend due to the road closures. We found out later the rangers had been regularly communicating with the campground hosts, monitoring the action in the campground, assisting as much as possible with information and advice.
The campground host thought it to be a good idea to obtain the above picture of everyone at the campfire. We utilised our photographic equipment for ease of obtaining the photograph. The campground host provided the group photograph to the Ranger who dispatched a copy to everyone, ensuring protection of personal information. We thought this to be a very professional touch and was much appreciated.
When the sun came out, we stretched out, participating in a few short walks. We were not inclined to head deep into the gorges, generally avoiding scrambling across wet slippery rocks.
The day of the expected road reopening, everyone had packed up with some sitting (for hours) in their vehicle seats waiting for the announcement. When the official notification of the road reopening arrived, the campground became deserted within 20 minutes, possibly less. It was a bizarre sight, quite amusing to watch.
The official notification of the road reopening came with a caution. There were several sections along the road with water still flowing through wash aways. We decided to err on the side of caution and put our departure off for the following day.
We notified the campground hosts of our thoughts to depart the following day. Shortly after, we were notified the Ranger had appreciated our assistance during the road closure period and had addressed the required computer booking system for our additional night’s stay with no fee required from us.
It was a nice finishing touch for our time at the Kennedy Ranges, unexpected and gratifying.
The dirt road did have sections with water over it. Each time we came across one of these sections we propped to assess the best route to negotiate the wash away and the tow tug was placed in low range 4wd to maximise traction.
At one of these wash aways a vehicle came up behind us and drove through the soft muddy section without assessing the hazard. We could hear its engine revving loudly and it appeared they were trying to spray us with mud from their spinning wheels. Thankfully the proceeding flying mud missed us, just. We obtained footage from our vehicle dash cam. “Bogans,” is another good word to describe people with mischievous thoughts.
We arrived back onto a bitumized road surface at the town of Gascoyne Junction where we spent an hour or so reinflating our tyre pressures to normal operating pressure. When off road we find it beneficial to lower the tyre pressures by about 50% on the tow tug and caravan, especially when negotiating poor road surfaces. Returning to bitumized roads it’s best to re-inflate the tyre pressures to normal operating conditions. This minimises the risk of tyres overheating, resulting in a blow-out and the subsequent consequences. It is a valuable and annoying exercise.
We had originally planned to continue south from Gascoyne Junction along a dirt surfaced road. Due to the water-soaked landscape we decided it best to travel on available bitumized road surfaces. We propped at Carnarvon to replenish our supplies after spending 18 days “off grid.”
We continued south with sections of the landscape still covered by water on the road sides. It was delightful to see sections of the landscape covered by wild flowers.
The night was spent at an official road-side stop with a bitumized surface.
The last three weeks we had slept at quiet locations. We were back on the main highway and experienced a restless night, disturbed by noisy vehicles travelling nearby.
Continuing south we were entertained by a large group of old, colourful vehicles travelling in the opposite direction. It appeared to be one of the organised “variety bash,” events.
There was a night spent at Gladstone Bay. It was a drive around 6 kilometres off the highway.
Gladstone Bay was a nice, rustic setting. It had views across the much publised Shark Bay. Unfortunately, it rained overnight and we woke to a cool windy morning. We decided to continue onwards.
Driving out of Gladstone Bay we recognised a caravan coming in and stopped. It was a couple we had chatted with at the Kennedy Ranges. It was a random spot to continue with a chat. They had spent the previous night at Wooramel Station. We had decided to miss this location after hearing negative comments with its overcrowding.
We were informed there weren’t many people staying the previous night. This sparked thoughts with us, perhaps the crowds of people were diminishing. Previously when we had been in the top end of Australia, most tourists head south around mid-August to avoid the humidity with the approach of the wet season. Wooramel Station promotes some hot artesian baths. We had a weakness towards hot artesian waters. Wooramel Station was about 25 kilometres back up the road.
Our weakness got the better of us and we were in one of Wooramel Stations hot artesian baths by 12.30 pm.
The water temperature was a bit cooler than our preference. Though, just the thought of being in artesian waters was quite satisfying. The cooler temperature equated to a longer session in the water. Around 1 ½ hours of soaking time and plenty of conversation with other participants.
Of interest, the above two couples on Mary's right we encountered again, about 300 kilometres down the road on a random walking track. And more conversation followed.
From our caravan we could see a constant stream of new arrivals over the day. We thought around two hundred or so. The place was packed, unenticing to venture out.
The following morning, we watched a busy stream of departee’s. Around 9.30am we were back in the artesian pool with different people. The cheerful conversation continued. After a couple of hours soaking, we decided it was time to move on.
Our bodies were spotlessly clean, though appearing rather wrinkly.
Back out on the highway our tow tug engine was lacking in power. We stopped at a safe parking area. It was in the afternoon, and with “murphy’s law,” it was a Friday. The nearest Toyota dealer was around 300 kilometres down the road. A phone conversation showed the service department to be fully booked for the next 3 weeks. Luckily a service technician was able to talk with us. They assessed our description of the issue, advising it sounded like a hose had become loose from a gas filter. If we were mechanically minded we most likely could perform the fix ourselves.
They provided us with a brief description and we watched a couple of U-tube videos showing the process to access that section of the motor. True to our modern vehicle complexities, there was a requirement to remove other parts to access the faulty part. About 3 hours later the fix was complete as the sun disappeared for the day.
Steve was feeling his age. His body no longer had its youthful flexibility. He was sound asleep for the night by 7 pm.
It had been a week full of unplanned goings-on.
