Way out West 2025. 31st of July.  Day fourteen.

Camp on the Connie Sue 84.5kms later to another Connie Sue camp 98.3kms later.

Away at 8:40 this morning, flat battery for me. Using the heated blanket might have been a bit too much luxury. Jump start by Phil’s ubeaut jump starter.

Overcast with blue sky patches and thankfully blue sky and fluffy clouds prevailed once again.
We met our first vehicles on the track since leaving Warburton they were heading north – two vehicles from Victoria.
Once again a mixture of red sand and corrugated sections with trees and vegetation growing close to the size of vehicles.

Stopped to check out benchmarks 3 in a triangle. These are survey markers along the track.

Some fabulous flowering gums.

We drove off to the left into by Hann’s Tabletop Hill. Beautiful reds, burgundy, yellow, white in the rocks. Caves, bird nesting sites. Plants clinging on in the windy and dry conditions. We climbed to the top and walked around, looked into caves etc.

Then another left detour to look at Woods Pass or Point Wood or Woods Gamma Hole. Whatever the name it was yet another awe inspiring jump up escarpment looking over the landscape (Think scenes from Australia – The Movie).

Another left detour to a landing strip was adventurous with the track hardly used and Stef making his way on fairly sketchy tracks. Good fun and gives a perspective on what Len Beadell was pushing tracks through back in the 50s and 60s. After losing the track and finding the landing strip we wended our way back to the Connie Sue Highway.

Then after a little while another viewpoint – Syke’s Bluff. This was really the path less traveled. – 8kms in and out. Stef had to do something track clearing with help occasionally. We made it eventually with some new pin stripes on the vehicles and a few wayward leaves and branches in the car. We lunched at the bluff. I walked over for a look, the others drove up but the turn options up there weren’t great. Got a bit of blog written and a loo stop. (Few pics as it was tricky driving and I’ve muddled the pictures up)

Then back the way we came over our own tracks – back to the corrugations of the Connie Sue.

I spotted an owl in a tree beside the road. A Southern BooBook we think. Got one poor shot.

We drove till about 4pm and just shy of 100kms, found a campsite and set up.

Curried snags for our crew, steak and rice and veg for Ann and Brian and Steve had a tuna mornay thing.

The fire was amazing and we were all ready for bed early.

The stargazing was great tonight. With just Mary, Phil, Stef and I still up we had the hot coals glowing and providing a nice heat and we were looking to the heavens for some shooting stars. We saw a few and it was a first that all four of us confirmed seeing the same shooting star – a record for us to all see the same star.