An April Fool does Kalumburu

Hello all
April has not been kind to me.............I have been driving 4x4's for 43 years, completed 3 laps of this great country, visited most of the dream locations at least once, but on April 13 .....I made a mistake.

I had been to this location 4 weeks prior and took a wrong turn. A dumb mistake a brain fade, call it what you want.

My point is.......no matter how much experience you have, how careful you are mistakes can happen.

My wrong turn ended with my hilux neck deep in water on the passenger side and chest deep on the drivers side. The dash was completely underwater, my phone, camera, hema navigator and drone was on the passenger seat.
The vehicle I was travelling with pulled me out and the decision was made to get the chairs out, have some lunch and assess the situation.
While having lunch, we heard a vehicle approaching pretty fast, and around the corner came an old Prado with 9 backpackers on board. Without hesitation or a snorkel they hit the same hole at speed and promptly sank.
Recovery number two within an hour.........

The decision was made to tow my hilux out with the 100 series turbo diesel Landcruiser, loaded with two friends plus an additional 8 backpackers, towing me with a backpacker and all the gear from the Prado and the Landcruiser in the back of mine.

The 17km trek back to the road is a mixture of steep rocky climbs, tight maneuvering between trees, and very soft sandy sections. It was not easy...........with no power steering, no lights, and bugger all brakes it was a nightmare tow in the dark.

It was 10pm by the time we arrived back in town.

A huge shout out to the guys at work..........with 5 days until a Kalumbaru trip 3 turned up on Sunday to help out. By 10am they had the engine running, albeit with computer issues.

A new computer (ECU) and turbo driver was required, which were supposed to turn up on Tuesday morning..................they finally arrived at 1pm thursday before easter. Things didn't look good for Kalumburu.
At 5pm on thursday evening, I had lost all hope, as the new ECU would not communicate with the immobilisation system.

At 7.30pm, after persistent efforts by the guys from work Pheonix rose from the dead........

Good friday, two others from work came in to put the final bits back together and get it on the hoist to check underneath and check all the oils.

After a couple of good runs Good friday and Saturday, to make sure everything was OK before going remote, it was 6am Easter Sunday departure to Kalumburu.......better late than never.

Welcoming Committee

During the week the grader had been through, and the Gibb River Road was like a Highway, as was the Kalumburu Road as far as Theda Station.
The Shire had opened the road as far as the Mitchell Falls turnoff, we had 'closed road access permits' to continue the rest of the way.

Carson River Crossing

From the Carson, it was onwards to McGowans Island Sunset Beach for the rest of the week.

Sunset Beach, Mc Gowans

I will add at this point the vehicle performed faultlessly.

World War 2 Wreckage at Kalumburu

Next day it was a run in to town to have a look around and visit some of the sights.

Mc Gowans

Midweek we teamed up with some other visitors for a trip to Wongalala Falls, only opened up to tourists in August last year.

Wongalala Falls

Wongalala Falls

After Wongalala it was off to Pago Mission ruins

Pago mission ruins

Pago was established in 1908 but was later moved to Kalumburu as there was a more reliable water source in the King Edward River.

Mc Gowans Sunset Beach

Mc Gowans Sunset Beach

All too soon it was time to start thinking about the journey home.

a couple of friends I met along the way

After a stop at Theda Station to say hello to friends I headed to King Edward River Campground.

King Edward River

I saw lots of Dingoes

The trip was excellent and the ute performed faultlessly. The best part was no traffic and no tourists, as the road was still closed to traffic.

expenses from the dunking,......camera, phone, ECU, turbo controller, starter motor.
things that came back from the dead......HEMA navigator, GPS stereo system in dash, UHF radio, IPOD and drone (saved by carry case)

The tourists have started arriving in town and the busy time has begun, I will be visiting some special 'off the beaten track' locations over the Dry season and will post on those accordingly. My new phone has arrived also, so I can now operate the drone again.

Bye for now.....Unbreakable Hilux..........I'm a believer