Our Trip

Day Seventeen

Part One

Our last day on the Canning!

(due to the internet going into meltdown

over the size of my posts, I have decided to

divide this post into 2 parts in hopes 

that it will be kind and share it with everyone)

So, day 17 started out cold. We were

down to 1.3 deg. The area we had camped

in was more open and so we had a lot of dew

on the tents, but it dried up quickly.

As we were packing up,

2 ladies walked into our camp from

their camp 3 km away. They were on their

morning walk and their husband's were coming

to pick them up. We got to talking and found

out that one of the ladies was from Atherton, Qld. 

Small world out there! 

The terrain was changing into more open plains

and rock shelves. There were very bare patches and 

burnt out areas. 

And then back to the 2 wheel tracks in the grass

and some winding through wooded

areas once more. 

We came to Well 2 which had quite 

a lot of signage on the history of the area.

Some really interesting reading and 

a fun place to explore. Dave and I could

have spent a day there fossicking around

for relics of the past, but we had to press on. 

 If you can read the information

in these photos, you'll find it quite interesting. 

At just after 10 am,

after travelling along through

the desert and winding in between

the trees, following the 2 wheel tracks left

behind by other travellers and breathing in 

the clouds of dust from those ahead,

low and behold, we came to an intersection

and a highway!! A big yellow sign

pointing to where we had just come from,

warning us of the dangers of travelling

the great Canning Stock Route. 

We were at the end! 

It really was a highway to us. 

Wide, open, flat, graded, smooth.

What a difference from all the corrugates

and sand dunes we had experienced in the last 17 days.

 Maddy and Chloe had to straighten 

the sign as it was pointing in the wrong direction.

With our old girl still blowing clouds of blue smoke,

but no worse for the wear, we headed down

the wide open road to come to Well no. 1,

which strangely enough was another 20 minutes away.

So, technically, not the end of the Canning exactly,

until we visited Well 1. 

We finally saw a couple of clouds in the sky,

the first for the whole trip. 

We took some time exploring around Well 1,

took photos, then headed back to the highway

to properly finish the Canning with official signage. 

Sorry, but I just can't get enough

of these beautiful old troughs with their

rustic timber frames and rusting tin. 

At last, we came to the official

End of the Canning Stock Route sign,

where I set up the tripod and camera

and we all got in the photo to prove 

that we had completed the epic journey

through the Australian Desert!

It had been an amazing 17 days.

Memories made and so many stories to tell.

Stories that maybe I can tell my grandchildren

one day, while sitting around a smoky campfire,

drinking billy tea and eating a crusty damper,

baked in the coals of a fire being fed

by mulga trees and spinifex. 

It makes me kind of sad to think that

the trip is over, but excited and grateful,

that we could take our family and friends

on such a phenomenal journey through

the great Australian Outback. 

A trip that so few are able to do. 

We are so blessed. 

If you think that I'm done,

think again. Remember, this is part one of 

day seventeen, so be watching for part two

and also for the long trip home. 

Many more adventures to come on the 

journey back to Katherine and a whole 

lot of photos! Why am I not surprised? 

To be continued...…………….