The start of Old Telegraph Track, at Bramwell Junction
I knew that the Old Telegraph Track, with its numerous creek crossings, would be harder going than the Telegraph Road which I'd been on for the last 2 days, and also that there were no further food supplies available until the Jardine Ferry crossing, some 125kms north. Water would be plentiful in the creeks, so no problem there, and I thought 2 days worth of food should be enough, reckoning I should be able to cover 125kms in that time.
Wrong!
Within 2 kms from the start of the day's ride I reached Palm Creek, where there were 2 possible ways of getting across.
The first had a very steep drop into a muddy pool:
...and the other, though slightly less steep, was slippery mud all the way down:
After some deliberation I managed to walk the bike, minus its luggage, along the bank of the second approach without getting too muddy. Once across, the ground was very bumpy and it was tough pushing the bike over this terrain:
Large termite mounds continued to be a prominent feature of the landscape:
Occasionally you can see one of the old telegraph poles still standing. Most were removed when the line was decommissioned in 1987:
Next obstacle, some 10kms further on, was the Dulhunty River:
...closely followed by Bertie Creek:
All the rivers and creeks here potentially contain crocodiles. But they have to be crossed somehow and there aren't any bridges. It's just a matter of keeping a very close watch on any movement within the water, and getting across as quickly as possible.
The vegetation changed abruptly from forest to scrub bushland, and the road became covered in deeper and deeper sand, which was impossible to ride through.
I was pushing the heavily laden bike through the deep sand, making very slow progress, when a convoy of 3 4WDs passed by, and one of the occupants handed a cold can of beer to me out of the window. That certainly tasted good.
I caught up with them not long afterwards at Gunshot Creek, probably the most notorious crossing along the whole Track.
There are several approaches available to take across Gunshot Creek, of which only one is really steep and dangerous. Of course, that's the one all the 4WD nuts want to take. The first vehicle I saw coming across, a very new looking Chinese Great Wall, got away with just losing its near side door mirror:
But the next, a Nissan, wound up with a big dent along its side and also frontal damage, having initially got stuck:
It was certainly entertaining watching these idiots trashing their vehicles, and apparently during the June and July peak season the banks of Gunshot become thronged with spectators.
Despite all the traffic, the water in the creek remained quite clear so I decided to cool off for a bit and set up camp for the night in the adjacent site. It had been a tough day with a lot of walking and pushing the bike.
There are easier approaches to Gunshot Creek.
Distance today just 48kms, total so far 962kms.
Very amusing account of people trashing their cars here! But you are a nutcase yourself dragging your bike through rivers that contain crocodiles!
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