EXCEED September/October 2018 Vol 35 No:5 | Page 59

Friday 3 August 2018, CSR Day 3 Stats -198km, 16lt/100km average 26 km/hr. The fire was still alight when I rose, we packed up quickly as we had a long way to travel. The drive around the lakes was interesting as we left the rugged track and drove on the smooth dry lake beds of White Lake and Lake Aerodrome. The road was rougher than the previous two days with plenty of corrugations. Towards the end of the day we were greeted by the spectacular escarpment of the Durba Ranges before we entered the Durba Springs Campsite for the evening, a great camp spot with soft grass and water pools. Saturday 4 August 2018, CSR Day 4 We had a lay day washing clothes, showering, looking at the Aboriginal rock art and fixing the trip leader’s fridge slide. Sunday 5 August 2018, CSR Day 5 Stats -161km, 16lt/100km, 22km/hr. Left the beautiful Durba Springs and were unable to access Well 17 due to the installation of a large gate. We had a slow journey over the dunes with a couple of very soft ones and on to Well 18 for morning tea. More dunes took us to Well 19 which was a bouncy road where Trip Leader destroyed his wine glasses and cups. Well 19 was not very inviting for lunch, so the Trip Leader found a shady lunch spot under a Desert Oak tree surrounded by blooming wild flowers. Then on to Savoury Creek with its beautiful blue water and stunning views over Lake Disappointment where the road improved. The final dash was made to Well 20 and camp was established for the night. Unfortunately, the Trip Leader lost his rear number plate at the Savoury Creek water crossing. Monday 6 August 2018, CRS Day 6 178 km, 15.8 lt/100km average speed 28km/hr. Left Well 20, morning tea at Well 21 after drive over interesting sand dunes and then the view over Lake Disappointment. Then on to Well 22 for lunch which was also a disappointment as we discovered that the Trip Leader had a broken LDS rear strut. This was removed, and we then drove to Georgia Bore where it was decided to drive to Parngurr to sees what facilities existed there. We arrived as the store was about to close and we had a discussion with Mark the store manager. There was an option of finding a second-hand strut from the scrap heap and Mark volunteered to drive us around the scrap heap but unfortunately there were no suitable struts. So, we left town and set up camp about 20 kms south of the town on the advice of Mark. Tuesday 7​​ ​ of August 2018 CSR Day 7 157km. Rod packed up his car up and filled up with petrol before heading off to Newman to buy a new strut. We filled up, bought an ice cream and some groceries and headed off into the Randall River National park. We raided some wheel nuts from an abandoned car by the side of the road and had lunch at the Watrara Pool which is a beautiful camping spot by a large pond. As the Canning Stock Rout was flooded we took the 500km detour via the Rundal River National Park taken by most other people and we then drove onto the Desert Queen Pool where we set up camp for the night and joined some people for drinks around their enormous campfire. The scenery driving in was stunning with the sun setting on hills lighting up the beautiful colours. They had also picked up Rods number plate which we will hand back to him in due course.