From HEMA Maps, Goldfields, Esperance & the Southern Coast of WA (1st ed.)
Today's little trip involved going to Victoria Rock and Cave Hill then taking the Woodline 4WD track at Cave Hill and exit Higginsville, an abandoned mining town. Didn't take many pictures this time.
The moment I got on the dirt road, I lowered the tyre pressures to 28 psi. I usually lower them to 30 psi but wanted to see how the car reacted to 28 psi. Lower tyre pressures help with traction heaps on the dirt road. The road today required a bit more traction (sliding around quite a bit even with lower tyre pressures at 60km/hr) than usual and normal highway tyre pressures would have been hell on the tyres and possibly the suspension/shocks. Benefits of lower tyre pressures include improved traction, prolonging the life of the tyres, a smoother and more comfortable ride for people in the car. I do this every time I hit get off the bitumen roads and spend a fair amount of time on the dirt roads.
Anyway, started off on Victoria Rock Rd and it's amazing to see how the vegetation is well and truly alive after bush fires coming through this area.
Marsh flies were invading Victoria Rock and the ankle was still painful to go for a walk so on to Cave Hill!
On the way to Cave Hill, a ute came roaring behind me out of nowhere. But then again, I was kicking up a ton of dust anyway so couldn't see what or who was behind me. Don't know where that guy was rushing off to but he was quick. It's a work ute so who cares. Company will fix anything that's broken. I like to take my time to enjoy the scenery and look after my car.
Came across the Coolgardie entrance for the Holland Track. Couldn't resist and when for a bit of the drive to check out the first bit of the track. For those who don't know about this track, it was built as a shortcut from Albany to the Goldfields led by John Holland during the gold rush years. It is about 732km long which means you'll need to camp along the way. There is a 2WD track that sort of bypasses the Holland Track but in reality, if you're on dirt road, you're better off in a 4WD.
Bypassed Cave Hill and went straight to Woodline 4WD track. A track I started after the rains and almost got bogged on. So this time with the dry track and beautiful weather, I went all the way to Higginsville where this track ends
The thing about ruts is that some are ok to go through but some are too damn deep for Bossy so we had to drive over them. I don't have a winch and if I do get stuck and the chassis is dragging the dirt between the ruts or the wheels aren't touching the bottom of the ruts and chassis is "hanging" on the dirt between the ruts, oh yea, I'm in a ton of trouble.
If in doubt about the softness or hardness of the sand, walk it. Had to walk this part to see how soft the sand was because the plan was to drive over the ruts. There were many more ruts towards the end of this track and some of them were absolutely terrible!
On the way out, a 4WD towing a camper trailer came from the other direction and I met as he coming out of a bend and I was about to go into it. It was a surprise for both of us but we just waved. I had my lights on so he saw me first. He didn't have lights on so I didn't see him until he was coming out of the bend. Lesson here ladies and gents, leave your headlights on even when you think you are alone.
On my map, this place is called Sunday Soak. Probably another one of the many ghost towns in the region.
Got to Higginsville Pump Station and the town was probably here. Gone now.
Decided to go to check out Lake Lefroy in Kambalda East to see what it's like and the view from Red Hill Lookout overlooking the lake was amazing! The salt lake, when dry, was used for land sailing. Not sure if they still do that because the main road (St. Ives) that leads to the lake itself is closed. Didn't bother looking for a back way if there is one.
It had been a wetter summer than usual so the lake has some water.
Parts of the tracks (2WD and 4WD) were unbelievably smooth and flat and would have put the bitumen roads to shame. Sometimes you can't believe it's actually a 4WD track. Corrugations were a pain as usual. Some of them you needed to drive fast to reduce the shaking but others needed a slow drive. Then again, a reduced tyre pressure will make the ride a bit more comfortable (hint!).
No doubt a 2WD car can do most part of the tracks but unless it has good suspensions/shocks and a damn gutsy driver with willing guinea pigs, a 4WD car is the way to go on the non-black stuff. Even though I was in 2WD for all of the tracks, it helps when the car is actually built to do stuff offroad.
***I'm still a newbie to 4WDing but learning every time I go off road!***
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