Getting picked up ...

Day 2 … we work out the respective time of each of the major players … Brisbane … Melbourne and Halls Creek … three different time zones … we ring the insurer first … hi ... we've been sitting on the side of the Tanami Track since yesterday ... ohh … pause … are you still there? We have you listed as already been retrieved … ah no … ok … I need to check this out and call you back … it will be 5 minutes … a long 5 minutes later … ok he left at first light this morning from Halls Creek … it is a 7 hours drive time …

1.00pm … we do the calculations … we were told that the tow truck left Halls Creek at first light this morning and it would take 7 hours drive time … sun comes up at 5.30am … plus 7 is about 12.30 … yeah but what time are they working on?  Sunrise is sunrise … maybe he broke down … maybe he picked up someone else by mistake … that would explain why the case was closed ...

2.00pm Is that dust? Nah … just another willy willy … ohh and some smoke

3.00pm how about that?  Nah … just another willy willy … ohh and some smoke

4.00pm is that dust?  Yep … it could be him … its pretty big … mmm … over the horizon it comes … gets closer … it's big ... could be him ... a caravan … followed by another one … are you guys ok? We proffer our spiel … just waiting for a tow truck … what happened? Blah blah … are you ok for food? Water? Do you want a beer? A bottle of wine … that’s just awful … off they go … dejected we sit …

4.30pm is that dust? Yeah … it’s getting late … ok maybe we’ll be here again tonight … maybe … want a gin? Sure …

4.40pm look … it’s a truck … probably just a double B for the mine … yeah … it gets closer … he drives slowly past us with a beat up dual cab ute strapped to the back … one smashed headlight and a bullbar ... lights on the roof ... typical mining car … he pulls up past us … I tentatively wander over to him … gidday !  I’m here to get you! A giant of a man descends the steps of the MACK … I’m Gordon … they call me flash …

What’s the problem? I've seen plenty of these ... I've just retrieved a vehicle from the Canning Stock Route ... got paid $6000 for it ...

Over the next 20 minutes we pack up … we get things that we might need for 1-2 nights and anything of value … he reverses our limousine from the Double B and parks it nearby … I drive the Cruiser and Tvan up onto the tray … just like going up a steep hill … 4WD low range … perfect fit …

Hitching a ride

Okay … he tells us you can stay at Blago  overnight … it’s an aboriginal community about 130kms from here … I will camp up for the night and see you at the depot in Halls Creek … by the way … I hit a cow in the ute last week and one of the headlights is not there … and if you pass me … I’ll run you off the road …

But how are you going to turn around … I want you to drive to the top of that hill there and wave to me if somebody comes along … I am going to reverse all the way … ok … that he does … off we go … it is after 5.00pm … the sun is setting directly in front of us … the windscreen makes it look like we are driving in fog … I can’t see the road at all … I simply drive between the silhouettes of the trees and bushes on both sides of the road … thankfully the road is reasonably wide … and practically no traffic … the sun gets lower it gets harder to see … it's like a giant white laser pointing at me ... the corrugations and sand drifts are still there … so is the odd cow on the road … it is a noisy jalopy … lots of rattling panels … rocks ricochetting under the vehicle … there is no synchro on 2 gear … and no top on the gearstick to say how many gears there are … or even where reverse is …

Ok … this getting  hairy … Cate finds a can of Windscreen cleaner in the footwell … we find a rag and pull over … spray spray … off we go … that’s worse … the rag was dusty … now I am peering through the clean strips of the windscreen … we pull up again and use some drinking water … oh shit … he’s right behind us … off we go again … oh dear that is 3^rd gear … rumble rumble as the engine coughs and splutters ... back into 1^st … into 2^nd … I cant find 2^nd … ride the clutch into 3^rd and away we go … eventually we lose him and the sun is now sitting on the horizon … a magnificent sunset it is … but the lights are like candles … we stop again … they are yellow with dust … the driver’s side is missing but there is a light bar … high beam all the way … which is pretty useless until it is dark … so Cate is leaning out the window … you are getting close to the left … left hand bend … there’s a big … too late … bang … there’s more sand coming … finally it is dark and we reach the turnoff to Balgo … 35kms to Balgo … dip the lights … car coming … OMG … it is like driving with a yellow candle on one side … back to 30kmph … it takes an eternity for the other car to pass … we get to Bralgo … it’s typical of a lot of aboriginal communities … we cruise around looking for the motel … not a good thing … not a good vibe … a bit like watching a gangster movie as they cruise around the Bronx … the car fits the local area … complete with roof rack and yellow light on the roof and a few dents … like a car used in the mines … we can’t find the motel … we drive to the edge of the community … this looks very suss … out with Starlink … we cruise back into town with Starlink on the dashboard so we can use google maps … there it is … we cruise around the block … how do you get into this place … but there are no signs … maybe this isn’t it … we cruise around the block again … lets call them … Mr Google help us here … we ring the number … it doesn’t connect … let’s get out of here … random cars appear and disappear … we head the 35kms back to the main track.

The Limo and the overnight accommodation

It is now close to 9pm … we drive for about half an hour … at least the lightbar is working and the vision is not too bad … pity the road isn’t too bad … it’s rough … we can see the lights up ahead … tail lights … it’s going pretty slow … oh shit … it’s him … he said he’d run us off the road if he saw us … we are right on his tail … we can see the Tvan on the back of the semi … there’s a side road … exit stage left … the only exit point … it’s a small turnout area … probably used by trucks … ok … this is bed for the night … we rearrange our stuff in the car … dinner … corn chips and a rice bowl … we forgot to pack spoons and forks … but we do have our  tooth brushes … we attempt to sleep … Cate in the front passenger seat, me across the back seat … get leg cramps every time I am comfortable … we wake from a restless night at sunrise … just after 5am …

Off we go … I wonder where he is … we travel the 233km to Halls Creek along the same bit of road we had now done 4 times … in fact we could’ve completed the entire Tanami Track from the kms we have already done going back and forth with this darn tyre.

Expecting to see Flash Gordon along the way … we surmise that if he is doing 30-40kmph and we are doing 70-80kmph we should catch him about … we reach Halls Creek just on 9am … the Cruiser and Tvan are sitting unloaded at Halls Creek Toyota … Flash drove all night and arrived at 3.30am … along the way I discover that we are driving a 6 speed manual ... not a 5 speed ... not that it is of any use with the corrugations ...

We are the next ones to have our car repaired … after the guy with the broken windscreen … the manager is going to Alice Springs in the truck with her partner to the Red Centre Nats (like the SummerNats in Canberra) and she is leaving shortly … her highlight for the weekend … going to Hungry Jacks.  They are shutting the shop for the weekend.

I seek out the mechanic who was the same guy that tested the new tyre when we previously returned to have it checked.  While we wait, we ask where the best place to get a coffee is … the Shell Express … we walk up the road to the Shell Express … $2, $3 and $4 for a large … but a tour bus has just pulled up when we are 100m from the Shell Express and they all want coffee … finally we get  coffee … we visit the IGA on the way back to the Toyota dealer … they sell Kangaroo tail … skin on or skin off … your choice!

By the time we get back … the mechanic is ready … gee I didn’t realise that you had a 300 series … they changed the studs and I don’t have any … we don’t see many 300s here … can you order some? … it’s above my pay grade … and the boss has gone to Alice Springs for the weekend … so can’t do anything until Monday … mmm … then it’ll take about a week to get them … this is not looking good …

Meanwhile, Flash is wandering around waiting for the next phone call for a retrieval ... these Landcruisers are no good for this type of country up here ... they are only good for going to the supermarket in the big smoke and picking up the kids ... and prams ...

Are you sure you haven’t got anything?  I’ll have a look … I’ve got a tin of mixed studs … he disappears then returns with a box of studs … tens of them … I’ve found one … but we need 4 more … yeah this one fits … hammer hammer … out comes one of the broken studs … hammer hammer bang bang in goes the new one … mmm … we probably need a couple more … hang on … I’ve got a couple of other boxes … he disappears again … these might fit … out comes the vernier tool … pretty close … yep they’ll fit … more hammer hammer and bang bang … an hour later and new studs are fitted … unbelievable! 

Ok … whadya reckon is the problem with the tyre?  Dunno … cracked rim?  But it hasn’t leaked before the new tyre was put on … they spray it again with soapy water looking for bubbles … nothing … hey we’ve got a kids bathing pool why don’t we put the wheel in the pool?  I follow them through the workshop and am bailed up by a snarling junk yard dog chained under a car … don’t worry about him … that’s security … ahh on second thoughts don’t move till I come and get you … he doesn’t know you … Fido stay … they put the wheel into the bathing pool … still no bubbles … just put in the car as the spare … have you got any wheel nuts for it?  They aren’t genuine Toyota rims are they? No … no we don’t …

The mechanic knocks off early and heads to the pub … it is 1pm ...

We hitch up, thank them, offer them a beer, and head off up the highway to Kununurra which is 358kms away.  We arrive at 5pm and get a powered site at one of the Caravan Parks … a much needed shower and dinner at their Restaurant … a couple of glasses of wine ...