Steep Point

[roscoFJ73]

Hi,I havent been around much lately,a little busy and a promise to stay off the puter has kept me away.

I took a trip to the Shark Bay area last week,about 900klms north of Perth in Western Australia.
Its a huge area,largely untouched except for fishing ,sheep and some salt and shell mining.
The highlight of the trip was the day I spent at Steep Point ,which is the western most point of the Australian mainland.
Most people go out there for at least one night as its a gruelling 3 hr drive each way,but my timetable didnt allow it.

First the vehicle ,for those who have not seen it before.
1995 HZJ75 with dual factory tanks ,factory bullbar,dual batteries,uhf radio.
Tyres are light truck bridgestone d694 ,235/85/16 on ROH H/D rims
The camper is a custom made alloy box with 80 litre fridge on a slider ,40 litre water tank,100 amp deep cycle battery with ample lighting and spare 12v outlets and Apollo camper up top.
The awning is a Black Widow and is the best as far as Im concerned.

Map of the area. Im travelling from my camp at Nanga Bay with the last 50 klms being a 4wd trail(in blue) that deteriorates to a well worn track through the dunes

 

[roscoFJ73]

Road started off ok

Then went to bad corrugations that would have shaken lesser vehicle to pieces. At this stage I had about 30psi in the tyres but soon went to 25.

Getting narrower and softer,dont you just love exploring tracks for the 1st time?

 

[roscoFJ73]

I stopped and aired down to 20 psi as the track was getting softer and also put the sand flag up.
The ranger can impose a fine for those who try this on hard tyres.
My travelling companion,she is a photo whore,always pops up when the camera comes out

Im getting some great views of Shark Bay although the proper name here is Henry Freycinet Harbour. My camp at Nanga is over there somewhere.

One of the worst parts of the track but only a newb could go wrong here.
Low gear,foot off the brake ,both hands on the wheel with the nose pointing down and thats it.

 

[roscoFJ73]

I see these tracks heading west just begging to be explored,but time does not permit .Another day maybe:drool:
I suspect they will take you to the Zuytdorp cliffs,named after the Dutch East Indies ship that ran aground here in 1712 with 200 on board. Some are believed to have survived and inter married with the local indigenous population. Little is known about them except for the location of their campsite and a few relics they left behind.
The area has no fresh water and the terrain is hot and arid with only spiky stunted vegetation.

I finally reach some friendlier scenery. The land in the distance is Dirk Hartog island,named after the dutch explorer who landed here in 1611 and left a lead plaque proclaming the land to be New Holland in the name of his king:sombrero:

Dog jumps out and has a swim. She earlier laid in a muddy claypan and has covered the landcruiser cab in white clay:coffeedrink:

 

[roscoFJ73]

First sign of life for 2 hrs. The beach becomes the track to Steep Point which is in the far distance.
Some sections of beach are closed due to Loggerhead and Green turtles nests.

There are about 4-5 camping areas along this section with a max of 5 days allowed after obtaining permits from the on site Ranger.
They say the fishing is superb :chef:

I dont know much about this house. Its 250 klms to the nearest fuel depot/shops and the only road is the one I have come in on, he does have a nice boat though.
I think the section of house on the right is old and has been restored with the other parts new and built in the same style.
My friend says its part of some new eco style resort.
Its hard to describe the 270 degree view of the entrance to Shark Bay here,except its breath taking.:Wow1:

 

[roscoFJ73]

I made it:victory::victory::victory: The sign says "Steep Point Westernmost point of Australia"

There's that damn camera loving dog again:sombrero:

Here is where I fawked up. I hit the back/white button on the camera and these are the only pics I have of the edge of Australia.
Its about 20 metre drop to the ocean below and these are the northern end of the Zuytdorp cliffs I mentioned earlier
I didnt have the time,but they say you can normally sit here and watch all sorts of large marine animals including whales,whale sharks,normal sharks and manta rays swim past.

One of the most satisfying trips I have done

Only damage was an earth for the headlights broke off and they wouldnt work when I tried to leave for home at 4am and the power steering return line come loose and I lost most of the fluid.

 

[4Rescue]

LOVE the truck mate. Good to see you back on the boards, I know the feeling, I hadn't been on in months and now I just can't break away from the boards... I love this place more then any toher web-board out there and there are certainly some good ones.

And BOY do I miss living in Australia. I litteraly have dreams about being back there almost every week at least. SUch an awesome country. I never got out far west but I really want to next time I get to go back... I could hide out in the Kroombit Tops forever and noone would ever find me . Maybe this time I'll just dissapear into the Bush and never come back to the states. It's the one place that could make me leave Oregon wich I love with all my heart as well. I just miss being out on the station among the Bluegums, Iron Barks and Tee trees...Drinking Bundy adn going to B/S balls, listening to Cicda bugs and getting to go 4wheeling for WORK every day. To me it's valahlla. I gotta stop talking about it I'm getting sad to not be there now

Cheers

DAve

 

[adventureduo]

Awesome, thanks for sharing. A mod should put this in completed adventures for all to see, not just us LC guys.

 

[mires]

Great looking truck, great looking dog and a fun looking trip. I'm jealous!

 

[goodwoodweirdo]

Awesome trip and truck !! .... one day I would love to visit Oz with my troopie…

Just a question, what’s the purpose of a sand flag ?

 

[roscoFJ73]

LOVE the truck mate. Good to see you back on the boards, I know the feeling, I hadn't been on in months and now I just can't break away from the boards... I love this place more then any toher web-board out there and there are certainly some good ones.

And BOY do I miss living in Australia. I litteraly have dreams about being back there almost every week at least. SUch an awesome country. I never got out far west but I really want to next time I get to go back... I could hide out in the Kroombit Tops forever and noone would ever find me . Maybe this time I'll just dissapear into the Bush and never come back to the states. It's the one place that could make me leave Oregon wich I love with all my heart as well. I just miss being out on the station among the Bluegums, Iron Barks and Tee trees...Drinking Bundy adn going to B/S balls, listening to Cicda bugs and getting to go 4wheeling for WORK every day. To me it's valahlla. I gotta stop talking about it I'm getting sad to not be there now

Cheers

DAve

Thanks Dave. You should get back here,economy is booming and unemployment is about 5%
A lot of folks from overseas miss WA when they visit Oz ,but if you want 50 miles of beach to yourself,long straight lonely roads through deserts and warm weather,its the place.
There is places in the outback that have freshwater bores,you just need a good map and a GPS to find them.
You could last there for years with no one knowing if you hide from the windmill mechanic when he comes past every year or 2:coffeedrink:

 

[roscoFJ73]

Awesome, thanks for sharing. A mod should put this in completed adventures for all to see, not just us LC guys.

Its a pleasure
I thought about contacting a mod after the cruiserheads have had their fill.:costumed-smiley-007

 

[roscoFJ73]

There was one photo that may interest cruiserheadsI took,but it was at more touristy location.

Ive heard camels being called "the ships of the desert" but so has the landcruiser.
This HJ45 tows the 3 camels out to the tourist resort at Monkey Mia every day.

 

[4Rescue]

Thanks Dave. You should get back here,economy is booming and unemployment is about 5%
A lot of folks from overseas miss WA when they visit Oz ,but if you want 50 miles of beach to yourself,long straight lonely roads through deserts and warm weather,its the place.
There is places in the outback that have freshwater bores,you just need a good map and a GPS to find them.
You could last there for years with no one knowing if you hide from the windmill mechanic when he comes past every year or 2:coffeedrink:

Sounds great mate I know all about fresh water Bores, we drilled several of them when I was living on a cAttle Station out in QLD in the Banana Shire near Biloela... God I love your country... Neat pics too mate, gotta love all the (to me) oerfect trucks just running around everywhere. I swear I took more pics of Cruisers and what not then anything else while I was the HAHAHAHAHA. Anyway lovely thread that makes me miss the best place I've ever been.

Cheers

Dave

 

[defrag4]

Sand flag

A Sand flag is a flag designed to be fitted to the front of off road vehicles during operation on sandy or dusty terrain. It is mounted on a long pole that projects high enough from the vehicle to be clearly visible above the dust or sand cloud generated while the vehicle in motion. The flag indicates the actual position of the vehicle within the cloud which can be important for safety reasons.