The plan for this Road Trip was to follow Hunt Track to Kambalda, transition to Kalgoorlie and then follow the Trans Australia Railway access track to the WA/SA border.

We would meet up with Kalgoorlie identity and prospector Scott Wilson at Gnarlbine on Saturday afternoon.

Scott Overstone planned to join us at Weebubbie, just north of Eucla on Wednesday.

For younger readers and those who missed the movie, the title of this Road Trip was inspired by the 1987 comedy-drama Planes, Trains and Automobiles.*

Karagullen to Mindebooka

Gary, Jeff and Micaela, and Kim departed Karagullen just after midday.

En route to Mindebooka we visited Quajabin Peak and Toapin Weir before crossing salt lakes that on previous Road Trips had caused a detour.

On arrival at Mindebooka It was hot, and the flies were bad.

Zeljko arrived at Mindebooka later, Steve later still.

Mindebooka to Gnarlbine West

As we were leaving Mindeboka we picked up a track that we believed would lead up to Darening Well.

Our foray (and consequent delay) to discover this well created some angst with Jo and Andrew with whom we had arranged to met at Merredin on Saturday morning. After our reunion and purchases at Merredin Bakery, the delay became perfectly clear. Wells are important!

The country to Gnarlbine via Merredin, Southern Cross and Yerdanie had been traversed many times and we didn’t make any stops/visits to highlights.

There were numerous trees down on Hunt Track between Yerdanie and Gnarlbine – the aftermath of a recent storm. A flat tyre delayed our arrival till after dark. Then it started to rain.

Fortunately, Scott had arrived at Gnarlbine mid afternoon and had a great fire going with a good size pile of wood stacked nearby.

Day 3 Garlbine West to Cardunia Rocks

The track from Gnarlbine West to Gnarlbine East is indistinct and while it would be difficult to actually get lost, attention is needed.

We visited Gnarlbine Wells 1 and 2. Both are beautiful examplars of the craft of dry stone construction.

Heading north on Victoria Rock Road from the second well I had to find the track that eventually leads to the Nepean Mine Road. While not a major road it is the only track leaving Victoria Rock Road in the vicinity so it is not a great navigational challenge – provided it is spotted.

Partway along this unnamed track is a navigational challenge as the route seeks to avoid low ground.

We arrived at Nepean Mine so clearly we were on the right track.

Scott had an appointment in Coolgardie and left us at Nepean Mine. We were attempting to follow Hunt Track through to the Goldfields Highway and then to Stoney Tank.

After trying two tracks that clearly were not going to lead to where we wanted, time got the better of us and we headed to Kambalda on the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway.

We replaced a wheel because of a flat tyre on Kim’s Patrol just out of Kambalda (tyre that was plugged yesterday) and then headed north towards Kalgoorlie.

King Battery

If in this vicinity a visit to King Battery is a must and so it was for us.

After a three hour break at Kalgoorlie we departed from the Superpit Lookout, headed out on the Trans Access Road for Cardunia Rocks, where we spent the night.

Day 4 Cardunia Rocks to Rawlinna

Early morning, just as we left camp some people claiming to be the owners of the place stoppd to chat. They were pleasant enough and were probably tenement holders (certainly not owners) worried about rival prospectors on their lease. They made no demands and we left to visit Cardunia Dam.

An early morning walk around the dam area and water harvesting infrastructure is always interesting.

Zanthus

We stopped at Zanthus for a break and a look around.

Zanthus is an important service centre for ARTC, the manager of the Trans Australia Railway.

The attention given to a passing train seemed a bit unusual given that we were standing alongside an operating railway but, hey, whatever pulls your carriage, I suppose.

Lake Boonderoo

Our push eastward took us to Boonderoo Station – ‘stony country’ in the Tjeraridja  language. We turned off the Trans Access Road and headed to Lake Boonderoo, scene of an historic power dinghy expedition in 1995 after the lake flooded for only the second time since white settlement. Unfortunately, at the time of our visit, the lake was totally dry.

Rawlinna

We left Lake Boonderoo on an unnamed track heading due east. It hadn’t been used for a considerable time and was slow going so when we came across a relatively new, unmapped track heading north-east I took a punt that it would intersect with the Trans Access Road and turned onto it. As expected (hoped for) it came out onto the Trans Access Road about 50 kilometres west of Rawlinna.

Rawlinna is a maintenance centre for ARTC and the setting for the annual Nullarbor Muster.

The Rawlinna Station Homestead is 11 kilometres west-south-west of the settlement. Rawlinna Station covers more than 1,000,000 hectares and is Australia and the world’s biggest sheep station.

I drove through Rawlinna at a speed low enough to not kick up any dust. It gave me plenty of opportunity to see everything I wanted to see in one pass. I propped at the first crossing east of the settlement, waiting for others. No matter how many circuits of Rawlinna were made it was not going to get any bigger nor was there going to be anything more to see.

We drove five kilometres north of Rawlinna on the Connie Sue Highway and camped at the first stand of trees. Zeljko’s shower was put to good use at a tank with a plentiful supply of water.

Day 5 Rawlinna to Forrest

Permission to Use Access Track

There is a lot of chatter on various websites, forums and groups about permission to use the Trans Australia Railway Access Track. If only they correctly explained the layout of the two tracks that follow the railway the answer would be clearer. Most, if not all, of the discussion is totally irrelevant because it is unwise in the extreme to use the railway access track for these reasons:

The track is littered with dog spikes and other metal nasties and you WILL get a puncture.

The service track is immediately adjacent to the railway and any loose straps from the railway trucks flailing about (happens) could have devastating consequences.

The owners/managers of the track, ARTC, state that they don’t want travellers/tourists driving on it.

Telstra has built a track parallel (sort of) to the south of the railway. It is crap but there is no issue in using it. When you are bouncing around at 10 km/h –  suck it up. Stay on this track.  You will get to Forrest and beyond.

It was a difficult day following the Telstra Track.

Prisoner of War Camp at Nurina

Nurina was one of six World War II Prisoner of War sub camps along the Trans Line, headquartered at Cook. It was officially known as the Cook POW Labour Camp No. 3 POW Labour Detachment. In April 1942, approximately 300 Italian prisoners of war/internees were put to work on the Trans Australian Railway to expedite sleeper renewals between Watson and Rawlinna. More information.

World’s Longest Stretch of Straight Railway

The longest straight stretch of railway line in the world – 478 kilometres –  is between Nurina, WA and Watson in South Australia.

We passed the turnoff to Kybo Station where there is a ‘Museum of the Nullarbor’, however, time constraints precluded the 12 km detour and visit.

Lynch Cave

Four kilometres south of Loongana is Lynch Cave, a small difficult-to-locate hole with an obstructed entry.

Look carefully and the word ‘Mundrabilla’ can be discerned. This Siding was named after Mundrabilla Station, established in 1872 many kilometres south of the railway – the first sheep station on the Nullarbor.

Rain started as we neared Forrest. There was lots of water on the track from previous rain, however, none of water on the track presented any issues.

The Manager of Forrest Airport directed us to disused airport buildings that had showers, toilet and a kitchen. Importantly, they provided shelter from the cold, biting wind, ideal for our pre planned community dinner.

Micaela’s efforts ensured the success of this initiative.

Day 6 Forrest to Weebubbie

Time was against us, as was the condition of the track, so I made the decision to head to Eucla from Forrest rather than continue to the WA/SA border and connect with Eucla from there. This meant that we would head south on the Forrest-Eucla track – but which one of the three options should we take?

While refuelling ($3.15 per litre) the Manager advised which track to take. It was an easy, casual day.

Nullarbor Plain

A drive across the Nullarbor Plain, the world’s largest limestone bedrock (karst), is unique. Depending on which sources are used the Nullarbor covers an area somewhere between 200,000 km² and 270,000 km². The former seabed Nullarbor karst has around 10,000 caves.

Knowing there would a firewood shortage at Weebubbie we collected sufficient before arriving.

Scott joined us, having driven out from Perth on Eyre Highway for two days. Our campfire group swelled when travellers from the Esperance area returning home from a tour of the eastern states joined us. It was a good night.

Day 7 Weebubbie to Eucla

Eucla

We drove into Eucla to refuel.

Mindful of the fact that we were going into South Australia (for less than one kilometre) and would then be returning through the Quarantine Station whose Officers would want to confiscate all our (WA) fruit and veggies we went into bureaucrat mode and placed all out ‘prohibited’ items in Steve’s vehicle that was left at Eucla.

Steve was intending to return directly to Perth on the blacktop as he was out of spare tyres. While it was highly unlikely that he would suffer a puncture on the  beaches/tracks we would be tackling, it was the right choice. All that apart, it gave us somewhere to leave our ‘contraband’.

Into South Australia

We crossed the border, immediately parked off the road, and walked back into WA to find a blowhole in which an animal had fallen. The unidentified animal landed on a ledge 700 mm from the surface and was unable to exit the hole. It died insitu. Whether this occurred 50, 60, 100 years ago or even 3000 years ago is impossible to discern.

Douglas Cairn

Next up was a visit to Wilson Bluff to locate Douglas Cairn. Along the way we located an unofficial, unnamed, reasonably modern cairn of unknown significance.

In our search for Douglas Cairn we came across a very official cairn commemorating Eyre’s 1841 trans-continental expedition, erected in 1991.

Despite having a grid reference for Douglas Cairn (31°41’05″S 128°59’44.4″E) we were unable to locate it. We continued on the track through the Eucla National Park and connected with the Eyre Highway, making our earlier precautions in placing fruit and veggies in Steve’s vehicle unnecessary.

Eyre Telegraph Station Ruins

The second phase of our Road Trip was to return to Perth from the South Australia border along the beach as much as possible.

• Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a 1987 American comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes and starring Steve Martin and John Candy.

The Trains, Planes and 4WDs Road Trip started on Friday  22 September 2023.

Download GPX files for Trains, Planes and 4WDs.

Check out Gary’s You Tube video of the trip.

 

 

© Kim Epton 2024
2175 words, 37 photographs, two images.

Photographs
Kim Epton
Micaela Anderson
Scott Wilson
Gary Arcus

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