Connie Sue / Anne Beadell - Pt 2

Sep 24

5 min read

Updated: Oct 4

Attendees:

Penny and Spence - LC 200 (trip leaders)

Ivo and Lucy - LC 300

Kelvin - Pajero

Sandie – Patrol

Sean - Triton

Shane - Triton

Rob - Prado

Ron - Pajero

This second trip report for the Connie Sue / Anne Beadell trip takes us from Yeoh Homestead on Anne Beadell to Neale Junction, North on Connie Sue, West on the Great Central and then a trip up David Carnegie Rd and a small part of the Gunbarrel before turning for home.

First stop on Anne was Bishop Riley's pulpit for a bit of rock climbing.

Anne had its expected corrugations. These took a bit of a toll on some of the vehicles and trailers and some repairs were necessary on arrival at Neale Junction, including Sandie's water tank and Spences trailer steps.

Neale Junction campsite was pretty crowded with a large Tag Along group staying the night so we hooked in at the back of the camp. At night we could hear the dingos howling.

The next morning we set off from the junction north along Connie Sue. Sean's great drone shots really bring home how far from any form of civilisation this place is.

First stop on Connie was Point Lilian and a chance for a bit more exploring on foot, and some more drone shots.

Day 6 began as most days did, a cuppa round the fire talking about the day ahead. We had woken to

a crepuscular sky dusted in pink with evidence of a now visible front, oncoming from the north.

The group left Mt Lillian early continuing north on the Connie Sue to Hanns Tabletop Hill. We

trekked across rough track conditions that included ongoing corrugation, tight and squeezy tree

tunnels, sand dunes, spinifex plains, wash-aways, creek crossings and wombat holes.

About half way up Connie we stopped at Hann's Table Top Hill. This is a great little camp at the base of the hill. We had the place to ourselves. On arriving to Hanns Tabletop Hill half the group set off exploring before rejoining the group for a Mexican Fiesta and an amazing camp fire. Unfortunately our fiesta evening was cut short, the overcast conditions we encountered all day had finally produced rain. It was an early night that led to anticipation and trepidation for the track yet to be travelled.

At one point we met a young Frenchman who was walking with a small hand cart. He had started at Alice Springs and was headed to Broome. We had a chat, donated some food and beer and left him to his long trek.

Day 7 began with concern to track conditions. It had rained all night which probably meant

challenging wet muddy terrain. Again, we set off early wanting to reach Warburton before 3pm to

access fuel.

The track proved exhilarating, there were many chicken tracks around gnarly corrugation splitting off both left and right, spinifex plains, sand dunes and the low lying flood plains. The flood plains

proved to be the most challenging, dodging water courses and finding ways around the track that

appeared impassable.

We arrived in Warburton with all vehicles coated in mud. We turned back onto the Great Central and headed East to Warburton to get fuel and water. Its a small world - we ran into Rob M there doing the Great Central crossing on his motorbike.

Our overnight stop was Desert Surf Central - a set of breakaways on the Great Central Road where we set-up and continued with our Mexican Fiesta following an abundance of food from the previous evening. The next morning we had to say goodbye to Sean, Sandie, Ivo, Lucy and Ron. They were returning home via the Great Central while the remaining 4 of us headed up David Carnegie Rd.

After a Big Breakfast of bacon and egg sandwiches at Shane’s Grill the group divided and bid a sad farewell to those leaving the group. It would be a two day drive back to Perth for half the group, and another week for those who continued to the David Carnegie Track.

David Carnegie was designated as "Open to 4WD with extreme caution" on the Wiluna Road Report. It did not disappoint. After exploring the breakaways at Breaden Bluff and the caves at Empress Spring the track deteriorated.

There had been heavy rains in the area and we needed to take care to avoid some interesting washouts. Spence gained some dents in the front wing and door at a particularly tight section, but unfortunately there is no photographic evidence of the gnarly parts of the track as we were all too busy driving (or in my case hanging on and possibly using some inappropriate languages (It was definitely a multiple F trip). The track was also quite overgrown and scratchy in some areas and required regular spinifex checks.

It is quite hard to find a place to stop once you get to the middle of David Carnegie but we found a small clear area for the night and then headed off to join the Gunbarrel Highway at the end of the track. This section of the Gunbarrel is very easy driving. We found a nice area by the side of the track to camp. On leaving the next morning Rob and Shane had gone for an early walk and created their own rock art on the track. - much appreciated guys!

Our overnight stop was Carnegie Station where we enjoyed hot showers and some of us had a meal cooked by the station. As with the last time we were there, the sunset was stunning. They were mustering at the next station and we had to watch for the cattle on the track.

Rob left us at Carnegie Station and headed home via Wiluna - Then there were three! Leaving Carnegie station we stopped for a look at the old Mingol Camp. This would be a great place for an overnight stop if the showers at Carnegie Station were not calling to us.

Rather than going to Wiluna we took the Lake Darlot Rd. This is a wide, well maintained gravel track and we made excellent time. We looked at some of the spots on the Darlot Loop, and stopped at the Granites for the night. The old cemetery was a reminder of how tough life was for the pioneers of this wonderful country.

The next night we found a lovely little camp site at an old dam a few kilometres from the Broad Arrow Tavern.

Last stop was Jaurdi Station, there was rain on the way so we were only able to stay 1 night but will definitely be back to explore that area more. Kelvin made sure we always had enough wood for a great fire and Jaurdi was no exception..