Outback Adventure Trip – A Step Closer
The outback adventure and photography trip planned for April 2010 came a step closer with a practice load up of the ute and trailer.
The ute, loaded up with the two motorbikes and the box. It all fits well.
Looks like everything will fit OK. The two bikes and the box fit on the ute tray without too much trouble. It’s a relief to find Nicky’s bike fits in the available space with no trouble.
The box has been welded up to get it in good order and now needs only a few little jobs such as painting.
The box, having been bought from the recycling depot for ten bucks, has about two thirds the capacity of a 6 x 4 trailer filled to water level.
With a measure of security and weather proofing, the box will house the stuff we’ll need for camping during the trip to and from South Australia. It will be somewhere for gear that just won’t fit in the cab on such a long journey. A ute does have it’s drawbacks and this box overcomes some of them.
Inside of the box that will carry quite a bit of our gear.
The small trailer has come together well. I’m keen to have a camping trip to test out it’s loading capability. I’d like to see how easy it is to get loaded up securely. Can’t afford to have things falling out or getting damaged during the trip.
The green trailer is heavy on the draw bar as it is with the orange trailer unloaded, so I’ll need to reorganize that.
With the box right on the back of the ute tray there will be a fair bit of weight on the rear axle so can’t afford to have a heavy draw bar as well.
Two trailers, critical to the photography adventure trip.
The trip, of course, is another of my wilderness photography trips in the South Australian outback, traveling on the ATV (quadbike) with a small trailer for the camping gear.
But on this trip, I’ll be taking Nicky, my grandson, on his 80cc, two wheel bike. It’s quite an exciting time, getting ready for such a great undertaking. I bought Nicky the bike with this trip in mind, some time back and he’s been learning to ride as well as learning to handle the hardship of adventure travel in rough country. Nicky is going well!
We’ll start off at Kootaberra Station, about an hour north west of Port Augusta and head east, past the southern tip of Lake Torrens, via Swindens Crossing, toward Mount Eyre, picking up the track of the explorer John McDouall Stuart.
From Mount Eyre, we’ll follow Stuart to Stuart Creek, near Lake Eyre South, visiting the explorer’s campsites and camping in them where it works in with our travels.
At some campsites I hope to make a cup of tea from Stuart’s waterholes and thus identify with him, Forster and their aboriginal guide.
We’ll be riding about 800km, mostly on station tracks with some cross country.
It really is a thrill to travel country that has changed little since the first white men saw it in 1858.
