Let There Be Mud

we came back onto the road at left

I traveled to South Australia for work this past week. It was clear and dry when I left Alice Springs, but by the time I arrived in Umuwa on APY lands, it was pouring rain. Several other workers were still on the roads, and two arrived at Umuwa just before dark, having braved the slipperier than snot roads. It poured all night long and into the morning before finally clearing away to bright blue skies in late afternoon. We didn't venture further than Watinuma, which is about 20kms away and the nearest store. Two of us had only planned on one night in Umuwa, so brought just a little food. I was expecting to spent the next 3 nights in Marla where I eat at the roadhouse, or buy things from the small supermarket to eat in my room or on the road. I also brought a few things for road snacks. On the road to Watinuma we went through this terrifyingly large puddle that was up to the doors I'm sure. Soaked the land cruiser I was driving in red mud! Before the week was through, my work vehicle was absolutely filthy with red mud, caked on in layers. 

building our own road

The following day we all decided to head out first thing in the morning. There were several equally large puddles, and bigger still to drive through or around. Sometimes the shoulder wouldn't be too high to drive on to skirt the worst of the puddles rather than having to plow right through them. We are told in 4WD training that just because we have a snorkel on our vehicles, it does not mean we are driving a submarine...there was a road train, however that didn't get the memo. He tried to plow through a particularly long puddle and must have lost momentum or something and bogged, They had to bring in the grader to rebuild the road, and several trucks to try and tow him out of the mud. It blocked the only road for many hours, so I teamed up with an Aboriginal family in a Ford Falcon to build our own road and bypass the bog site.

following the Ford Falcon

bogged in the mud

I started by driving up and down the shoulder bank of the road, packing it down, and making it lower. Then one of the fellas borrowed my shovel and dug out the stumps. I packed it once more, and then the Falcon flew up over the bank and into the bush. Not wanting to look stupid, I powered up over the bank without a hitch, and followed that Ford Falcon into the bush. We skirted the bog site filled with trucks, containers, heavy equipment and several men for about a kilometre, and then bumped back onto the road again. The Falcon suffered a flat tire, but was otherwise unscathed. He poked a hole into the sidewall with a tree branch. My vehicle was built for this stuff and sailed through the bush. I loaned them my jack and shovel so they could change their tire, and we were all on our merry way. 

long puddle goes around the corner

I learned a lot about bush driving this week. Some of the knowledge was similar to driving through snow, but after crossing through/around over 100 huge puddles, I feel much more comfortable on the roads after a rain. It happens so seldom in central Australia, it was the first time I had to drive in such muddy conditions. I had driven through floodways, but they weren't the problem this time around. It was the puddles, some of which could classify as a pond or lake I was told. It was both thrilling and terrifying at times!

muddy vehicle

I saw hundreds of cows, dozens of horses, no camels, one kangaroo and a dingo. I may have missed more as my eyes were focused more on not drowning in the puddles. One of my coworkers expressed concern at finding herself between two gigantic puddles, so my reasoning was - if there are tire tracks both in and out of the puddle, and there are no cars currently floating in the puddle, then you can make it through in a 4WD. She believed me and made it through her first muddy bush trip as well. At first it's a confidence thing, and driving alone makes it even more worrisome, as you could be out there alone for hours waiting for help. We all carry satellite phones and EPIRBs so wouldn't be alone forever, but it could take awhile. No one wanted to rollover or get bogged in the middle of a gigantic puddle of mud in the cold. My father would be proud - I did it! I did find myself mowing down bushes a few times as I avoided big puddles and found the slant of the bank too steep to just put one tire on it. Thankfully the shoulders are usually quite soft and sandy, so simply settle down and the tires climb easily up over them.

rainbow sky

I saw so many starving dogs in the communities. No birth control in force as skinny female dogs run around with dangling nipples from raising puppies constantly. Open wounds, broken limbs, lame limbs, blind eyes, tumors hanging from them, ribs showing drastically thin bodies, and sore paws. They all crawl with fleas/lice and roam in packs. Show no fear is my motto, and skirt them with as wide a berth as possible. I've been chased and bitten in the past, so one learns from such experiences. And when they fight, clear out of the way. What starts as two dogs scrapping can easily turn into a dog riot. It's criminal how pitiful these creatures look.

sunset near Indulkana

I visited the local cemetery at one community. Simple plots with white crosses marking them, very similar to remote community cemeteries in Canada. There are also flowers shrines along the highways where people have been killed on the bush roads, and paved roads. There are also several around Alice Springs, one just down the road from me at the end of a friend's driveway. She no longer lived there at the time. It happened on New Year's Eve, someone was run over by a motorbike...they were laying in the road, passed out.

Anyhow, it was a successful bush trip. I'm heading back again in early June, this time with another worker to follow the court circuit. Hope it doesn't rain, but if it does, I'm ready for it.