22/10/16 - Boggy Hole - Running Waters

30 Oct 2016 by Stephanie Dominguez

14 vehicles met at the roadside near Flynns Grave, including some visitors from out of the country, and we set off for Hermannsburg.

Upon arriving at Hermannsburg, some participants topped up fuel for the long day ahead, and tyre pressures were lowered for the expected sand driving to come.

As we made our way in, it was clear that some environmental changes in the area had altered the expected sand levels, but it wasn’t until the whole group was most of the way in to Boggy Hole that we realised that the terrain was not as treacherous as it has been in previous visits to the area. Most of the and had been relocated further downstream following recent weather events in the area, and travel was quicker than anyone could recall. We made it to Boggy Hole camping area within 1.5 hours of entering the trail from the north (it was expected to take a couple more hours to reach this point) and lunch conversation ensued for the next 1-2 hours.

After we were all fed and watered, drivers made their way south to Running Waters, and across ‘the steps’ a rocky creek bed that typically provides some terrain and clearance challenges for vehicles – surprisingly completely dry on this trip.

One vehicle suffered a tyre puncture and was able to change it out quickly before heading out the southern edge of the NP and making our way to Illamurta Springs, and the ruins of the old police station on site.

As we made our way out to the highway via Ernest Giles road, the dwindling sunlight behind us reminded us that dinnertime was fast approaching, and several participants opted to stop at Stuarts Well roadhouse for a meal and a few drinks before heading home, whereas others felt better moving on and making their way home a bit earlier.

A big, successful trip, where plans were made to visit the area again for an overnight stopover in future.. via a different track to the one we took.. stay tuned for more details about this upcoming event.

Comments --

Loading...