EXCEED July/August 2019 Vol 36 No:4 | Page 9

TRIP REPORTS Big Red Bash 2020 10 th -20 th July 2019 Participants TL : Ed Reddick Phil & Kerrie Mercuri Peter & Sue Thomas Peter Symons & Janine Harron Andrew Williams & Ann Thomson (T) 1525 Andrew Douglas & Heide Smith Jacob Cooke & Tom Wightman (T) 1530 Day 1 – 10 July Melbourne to Mildura Meeting point was at BP Calder Park. I must say it was a short drive for me but a bit longer for others. First stop was for vanilla slices at Ouyen. They are just to die for. Pleasant night spent at Mildura Big 4. Member No. 1623 1742 1016 1577 404 1745 1861 Vehicle Details Toyota FJ Nissan Patrol Nissan Patrol 200 Landcruiser Pajero Mitsubishi Challenger Hilux campground to camp for the night and 1 day closer to the Bash. Can’t wait. Phil & Kerrie Mercuri 1742 Day 4 – Cameron to Innamincka A later start to the day. After declaring to the Border Guards that we had no fruit we continued on. We arrived Broken Hill mid afternoon. Stocked up on frit and veg. for the trip. First pub stop was at the Palace Hotel for beer and cocktails. Then a visit to Pro Hart art gallery. Spent a pleasant night at the Broken Hill race Course. So, we woke up with no diesel at Cameron’s Corner but we had plenty of jerry cans of fuel for all. We left at 9am and started our journey to Innamincka. It started very rocky and corrugated then we got to a beautiful smooth stretch of road. Then we had a blowout by Andrew and Ann. Lucky we were on a nice stretch of road to change it and. In the process we learnt how to use a Hema map. We made it to Innamincka and we all finished the night with a pub meal and a beer. Day 3 – Broken Hill to Cameron Corner Heide Smith and Andy Douglas 1745 We awoke to a beautiful morning at the Broken Hill racecourse. Anyone wake up with a sore head – too many cocktails? You know who you are. Great place to stay and good clean amenities. Took a group photo out on the track to send our “apologies”. Coffee stop at Packsaddle and it looks like a good place to say – shame about the coffee. Had a great lunch at the Tibooburra Hotel. The drive was easy with very interesting landscapes. Late afternoon we arrived at Cameron’s Corner Day 5 – Innamincka to Cordillo Downs Day 2 – 11 July Mildura to Broken Hill We woke to the sound of cockatoos and a clear cold morning. Our first stop for the day was the Dig Tree ($10 donation per car), with a brief pit stop for Andrew to repair a blow turbo hose on the Pajero. We proceeded along the Arrabury Rd for a couple of hours, which was a mixture of surfaces, until we reached the South