Preparing for a trip to Innamincka in May

Knock-up rack that should bend rather than break ...





New Heidenau Tyres front and back from the guys at RPM

How did your ride to Innamancka go?

Hi Derek,
The short version of the story is we didn't make-it!

However, the long version of the story and the fun we had trying goes something like this ....


Three bikes and one 4wd started from Chadstone ...


Less than one hour from Melbourne we pulled over to put on wet weather gear ...


A quick squirt through the Grampians lifted everyone's spirits ...


We spent the first night in a pub at Bordertown, before heading towards Morgan ...


Travelling along side the Murray River provided no shortage of side tracks ...


We reached Morgan and settled on this particular pub for our 2nd night on the road ...


After a few quiet beers on the bank of the Murray and lovely meal at the pub, everyone was getting excited about hitting the dirt roads sometime on the next day ...


However, the road to Yunta was long, flat and the wind chill factor meant everyone still kept their wet weather gear on ...


We stopped at Yunta for lunch and fuel before finally hitting the dirt roads ...


The initial contrast between riding on tar and maintaining the same speed on gravel (and sandy) roads quickly sharpened our reflexes ...


Stopping briefly at some old ruins, you can understand how unforgiving the outback can be ...


Not much protection from the elements out here ...


The old ute is the "focus" point for some travelers ...


Initially we didn't mind the rain, because it kept the dust down.  However, by mid afternoon the road conditions had become very slippery and tricky without the right tyres ...


Not wanting to push our luck and risk injury we pulled off the road and camped in the middle of nowhere ...


It rained most of the night and after a hearty breakfast it was decided that we'd double back on our tracks and try to reach Arkaroola via Blinman ...


The rain continued to fall as we headed towards Rawnsley Park Station ...


We arrived at Rawnsley Park Station at dust and were treated by spectacular views of the Flinders Rangers ...


The following day we continued north and greatly appreciated the warm temperature inside the Wilpena Pound Cafe ...


We reached Blinman at lunchtime and the weather was cold and bleak ...


After a middle of the road meeting (and road closure signs being erected) we decided to head south and postpone our plans of reaching Arkaroola and going onto Oodnadatta for another time! ...

Everyone had a great week away, but dream of more outback adventure.

Cheers,
Ross

A good read. If that's the "failed attempt", the "we made it" should be a ripper! I was particularly interested in around Wilpena Pound as we'll be coming back that way after next year's AGM.

Thanks for the report Ross.
I'll be going through there in a couple of weeks, so I've put in an order for better weather. Hoping the wildflowers will be out then too.