I decided to take a different tact this week. Instead to riding out to Mantaru, I thought accompany Mish in the 4WD, and start cycling from the campsite..
Struck out from camp following a camel track across the sand and spinifex plain towards the Mountain. Camel tracks make radical ‘singletrack’, smoooOOooth traveling.
As I got closer to the mountain the terrain got progressively rougher… My tires looked like pin cushions by this point, so many three-cornered jacks and bindies. UST rocks.
Made it up this outcrop by carefully picking my way through the sharp (prickly!) spinifex. Awesome view back to Kata Tjuta. The descent back to the valley was very loose and sketchy.
Made it to the head of the Gorge and where I was instructed to stop by Senior Anangu Men. Beautiful location and a little surface water still in the creek. From here I turned back and chased the remaining daylight back to camp…
Was pretty stoked to make it back to camp. A couple hours of riding through this ‘untracked’ country was taxing. My tire pressure had dropped from the usual 12/8psi to 5/4psi from all the punctures (again UST rocks). The night was capped off with a mob of Dingoes stalking our camp. We heard them howling off in the distance (think Dracula’s Castle style) and gradually moving closer.. about 1am I ‘felt’ a presence and awoke to see a pair of Dingoes 3mtrs away. They weren’t scared of us but we were a little nervous. As Mish said, it’s hard not to be scared of something hungry with sharp teeth.
Next week, a few destination yo!
Awesome bro
Bet you were thankful the elders had told you to stop at the gorge! i dont reckon there would have been much left of the surly if you’d continued into that eh!
Loving your bush trekking dispatches bro. Keep ’em coming!
(L-Dub) Mate, come up in July and I’ll take you out there.
I’ll whack you on the Surly 1×1 and I’ll throw the ‘cross tires on the Surly Steamroller and we’re there!
Better be careful what you ask for Benny! Tickets booked. Keen for some desert adventures.