Yes as the blog title suggests we didn't make it onto the Gunbarrel despite our best efforts. The actual road is very little travelled these days and the entry point we had hoped to start on - somewhat inappropriately called the Heather Highway - was no more than an overgrown track with branches lashing at the car as we drove and the wing mirrors looking slightly dishevelled in the process. The road was one of the many Len Beadell roads made out here and he named this one after his wife, Heather. Travelling on our own and without high frequency radio or satellite phone we thought better of the idea and returned to the more travelled dirt tracks of the Great Central Highway. We were slightly disappointed but the route we took provided plenty of highlights and the Gunbarrel can wait for another day. The first pic shows the entrance to the unmarked "highway"
Lasseter's cave was intriguing. People still today come in search of the fabled reef of gold that he so clearly wrote of in his diary.
Lasseter's view from the cave of the river - which was flowing while he was there - his eyes would scan for the rescue party that never came
The magnificent Petermann Ranges - we didn't really know what to expect of the countryside here but there were stunning mountain ranges, arid countryside but with patches of green here and there and of course with some recent rain the beautiful wildflowers which just make the countryside smile
We can hardly help being taken with the Sturt's Desert Pea - coming up to them along the road they reminded me of little red soldier crabs huddled together
The Giles Breakaway - these escarpmetns are caused by erosion - the harder cap on the top resists the erosion while the softer sandier soil breaks down and forms the basin which is filled with many different types of vegetation while on the top only the hardy mulga can survive.
A familiar sight on these roads
Some industrious animal laboured long and hard to build this asthetically pleasing home - would love to know what it was - thought possibly a spider.
London Bridge but this time near Sandstone on our way west - it used to be the scene of picnics and sports days for the nearby town which boasted a population of 8000 in the early 1900s in the goldrush days. They arrived in horse drawn carts and there are photos of them going over the bridge along with camel teams as well!!! This formation is also part of an escarpment. The picture which shows a mulga tree at the left is the same tree in the early 1900s photo we saw. These trees grow about 2cm every ten years so even smallish trees can be over 100 years old.
The Great Central was littered with dead cars as well as many dead animals - we saw some massive eagles along the road but all very camera shy.
This was a car graveyard - we figured about 14 here but more than 200 along the road.
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