Gareth R and I met at Tailem Bend on Monday, 5th of June for the beginning of our extended version of the Moonambel Muster weekend. We set off around 9:30am and travelled via Lameroo and Pinnaroo to Murrayville, not far over the border into Victoria. Turning South we travelled along a sandy, dirt road into the Great Desert State Forest, arriving at the Big Billy Bore Campground around mid afternoon. We set up camp and had a bit of a look around. The Campground is excellent with good facilities, gas BBQ’s and a lookout platform on a nearby hill. We settled in around the campfire with light rain falling on and off throughout the night.
Tuesday was overcast but the rain had stopped so we packed up and headed further South to the Wyperfeld National Park and the start of the Milmed Rock Track. We lowered tyre pressures and set off along the track. The sand was deep in places but firm underneath, so we made steady progress and Gareth had no trouble towing his offroad camper. Our morning tea stop was at Milmed Rock, roughly 28km along the track. Milmed Rock wasn’t quite as spectacular as I had imagined but is probably the only rock amongst all the sandy terrain.
Not long after morning tea we paused to remove the stone guards from the rear of Gareth’s car. They were dragging in the deep sand and acting like a grader blade digging into the sand. Once they were removed the going certainly got easier for him. There were a few places along the track where it became quite muddy and occasionally rocky but in the main it was sandy, not unlike the Border Track at Ngarkat.
The Round Swamp Campground was the next stop for lunch. Here we met up with three vehicles travelling in the opposite direction to us. One of the guys came over for a chat and told us about the track conditions and a good lookout, on top of a sand dune, not far along the track.
We soon arrived at the lookout turnoff and ventured in for a look. The guy we met at lunch time gave us the heads up that the lookout wasn’t a good place to take the camper trailer, so Gareth jumped in with me and up we went. It was soft and deep sand, but the rain helped to firm it up and we made it to the top without any drama. The lookout is the highest point for as far as you can see in any direction and gave panoramic views of the terrain that we had just traversed.
From here the track became quite muddy, slippery and had some very large ruts in places. We made it through and continued to the end of the Milmed Rock track, arriving at the Western Beach Campground later in the afternoon. The campground is on the edge of Lake Albacutya, a lake that is usually dry but does fill with water every few decades. This campground also has good facilities and plenty of room. We chose our spot and set up for the night. Around 3am the rain began to fall and continued to get heavier as time went by. We had intended to drive the Pella Track and explore around Lake Albacutya but the rain was getting heavier so we decided to stay put.
Around lunch time I received a phone call about a family medical emergency, so I packed up in the rain and headed home. Unfortunately, that was the end of the trip for me. Gareth decided to continue on to Moonambel and see out the rest of the trip as planned.
Gareth ventured into Rainbow on Thursday to fuel up and have morning tea at the bakery. The rest of the afternoon was spent by the campfire relaxing and waiting for everything to dry out. On Friday he packed up and headed out around 9:30am, stopping for morning tea at Warracknabeal and arriving at the Moonambel Recreation Reserve around 1pm. He set up camp and spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening getting to know some of the people from the other clubs.
Saturday Gareth went out on the “medium+” trip with ten other vehicles. The driving was interesting but very challenging, due to the slippery conditions caused by the rain over the previous week. He was able to complete the day without needing to be recovered, which was nice, and a great day was had by all.
On Sunday most went out on another day trip, but Gareth decided to stay back at camp and enjoy a relaxing day. He rounded out the night with a club dinner with the Tanya L’s family. On Monday he packed up and headed for home around 10am, arriving home around 5pm.
Tanya, David and Rhys L also joined the Moonambel Muster and Tanya has put an excellent write up, with photos, on the Overland Club Facebook page. It’s well worth a look; thanks Tanya.
Also, a shout out to Greg D for his help with the trip planning. Thank you – very much appreciated.
On a personal note, the family medical emergency worked out OK in the end albeit, after a few days in hospital and a couple of weeks recovery, my Dad is back to his old self.
Next year I hope to make it all the way to Moonambel…
Bruce C
