Madi’s Manoeuvres. Mt Dare Hotel to ‘Somewhere’ on the Madigan Line. Day 8- 8 June 2024.

Up and at it early this morning as we needed to get moving to fuel up and head for the desert.

For brekkie I had porridge which was quite nice and filling.

Camp in the morning sun.
Porridge. One pot meal.
Old vehicle in Mt Dare yard.
The Mt Dare Hotel
Watching Phil fuel up.
Another truck in the beer garden.
Mt Dare toilet sign.

Over to the fuel line, which wasn’t too bad, to top up and get the jerry cans off the roof ready for filling. All filled and paid for $230 and thanks to the fellas milling around for helping getting the jerries down off the roof rack and more importantly thanks for putting them all up while I waited to pay. $3.06 per litre which isn’t too bad considering we are in the middle of the outback.

Coffees were very good while waiting for everybody else to fuel up and we rolled out of Mt Dare about 9:20.

A dingo posing for Mary.

We headed out North towards Old Andado Station and crossed the border into the Northern Territory before 10 o’clock. This is the home of Molly and Mac Clarke. After Mac died Molly continued to live out here and eventually went to a home in Alice Springs before returning to the property to be buried in 2012.

As she left it.
The gate and sign
An old port-a-cot. It has wheels
The kitchen. The decoration above the stove is cut from newspapers.
Old tractor manual in the shed.
Washing machines through the years.
Molly’s Grave.

First dopey person to get bogged would be me. I did manage to extricate myself before help arrived. Just took the wrong line around a corner and ended up with a bit of mud down the drivers side.

Mary and Phil coming to my rescue but I got myself out.
My muddied car. Oops!

Lunch at Mac Clark Acacia Puece Conservation Reserve. Beautiful Waddy trees in the middle of a plain.

Mary’s drone shot. Eating lunch at back of cars and the Acacia Puece forest in the background.
Lunch time.
Mary driving the drone for the shot.

3:15 we stopped to let down our tyres and to turn left off the track and up and over our first dune onto the Madigan Line and into the desert.

My first dune this trip.

The desert is green, more than anyone has seen before and lots of different flowers and foliage everywhere.

Poached Egg Daisy
Ptilotus green pussy tails.
Rattlepod Grevillea.
Cricket
Cows under a tree.

The dunes caught a few of our number needing more than one attempt. Thankfully after my dopey effort to get bogged I made it over today’s dunes on first attempt.

We pulled up to camp nice and early and had some time to phaff around. Phil, Mary and Kate put some fuel into their tanks. I will do so tomorrow. We all attached our sand flags ready for more of the Simpson Desert and sand dunes tomorrow.

Unpacking at camp.
Sunset
Or moonrise
Where we are
Using satellite Google

Kate cooked a nice pasta tonight and Mary started a cosy little fire. So nice to sit around and watch the stars and a few were enjoying marshmallows toasted over the fire.


Hot water bottles filled and into bed by 10:30.


It’s fabulous to be out on the red sand again.

Nicola Stuart

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