116 caravanworld.com.au
TOP DOWN Brad's 6X6 LandCruiser was
basically unstoppable; a simple solution for
levelling; Brad after a minor mishap in the
Polaris UTV buggy; Cruisemaster's DO35
withstood it all,and did it wellEXPECTED ISSUES
Until now we had been lucky with no
breakdowns or mishaps aside from an over-
friendly roo that pushed in the driver’s door
of one LandCruiser. Until we left Baxter Cove.
First was Scott’s maiden puncture on an
expedition — in the middle of the Tele was
a good a spot as any. With no one seen in
days, we could take our time without some
hoon tooting horns at us to move. Almost
immediately after, Brad tore a sidewall on his
LandCruiser and the Polaris UTV, doubling as
a scout vehicle, suffered the same fate. Three
punctures in a few hours reminded us why we
took no less than three spares per vehicle.
The day went slowly, as you’d expect with
breakdowns, but it was fun to spot the old
telegraph line poking out of the track and
find ceramic isolators when stopping for a
toilet break. Passing Toolina Cove late in the
day, we realised how hard it would have been
to make it here sooner. When 10pm rolled
around we were still driving, still following
in the footsteps of Eyre, now without his
companion, Baxter. We were all quiet on the
radios; partly from exhaustion and the need
to concentrate in the dark on the narrow track
but also in reflection of what we had managed“Further along at Fowlers Bay we put
our newfound confidence in sand
driving to the test in the dunes that
make the region famous”
Down to Kanidal Beach and west are marked
tracks to Twilight Cove. Here we slept the best
between the dunes under towering limestone
cliffs with the sound and smell of the sea, and
a clear starry night. A warning: the tracks
down and out are marked as hazardous and it
is not advised you take a trailer as we did. We
managed but only through good driving, clear
communication and a bit of luck.
Our plan was to head to Toolinna Cove via
coastal tracks but a lack of easily identifiable
tracks meant we were slow going so we
turned back to the Old Telegraph Track
running Madura to Isralite Bay plotted by
Eyre. We were following in the footsteps of
Eyre and companion Edward John Baxter
who was killed during their expedition to
Albany. It was surreal hearing tales of the
journey through what felt like the harshest
environment in Australia. The patch of
land between Toolinna Cove and Baxter
Cove was the most desolate I've seen. Dry,
dead-looking scrub for miles and no wildlife
bar the occasional bug. How anyone found
enough water to manage weeks on end
marching across it beats me. Pushing past the
monument to Baxter, we had a rough night’s
sleep at the cove named after him.