In the saddle again

Pictures & Trail Reports

In the saddle again

Postby nugget » Mon May 04, 2009 12:31 am

A friends birthday in Adelaide, about 1,200 miles from Brisbane gave me the excuse to plan another trip and test out the latest mods on the H3….supercharger, new rear suspension, low profile shock mounts, snorkel, Sy Klone pre cleaner, custom air box and few I have probably forgotten.
The trip down was mainly getting there and the trip back the fun part, but the trip down still produced a few interesting side stops.
The typical Aussie “long road”

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150 miles from now where, we suddenly came across some typical Aussie bush humour. On the side of the road was Ted’s TV. Locals had put an old TV and a big brown Teddy bear in a chair on the side of the road and then invited travellers to add to it….

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The trip back was taking us into some of Australia’s remotes areas.

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We were heading for Woomera and then north of Coober Pedy. Woomera was originally built in 1947 to launch British test rockets. The original test range area was 167,000 square miles of prohibited area!

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The Australian built Ikira anti submarine missile was also tested here

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H3 Adventure. Vortec Supercharger, Custom exhaust, 4" Rancho lift with extended shackles & military wrap heavy duty rear suspension,HD Sway-A-Way torsion bars,35" MTZ's,Rock Sliders, UHF radio, Cargo Barrier,UHF ariel custom side mounted, Pioneer AVIC Nav, draw system, dual battery, 500w inverter, custom roof rack with 4 IPF 800's, custom ARB bullbar, Mile Marker V-Winch 10,000lb, snorkel with custom airbox and K & N filter, TD low profile shock plates, ARB front Air Locker
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby nugget » Mon May 04, 2009 12:37 am

That night we camped in the Woomera caravan park and I did a bit of work..well drinking!!

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I love Aussie signs..the last line is…Germans 4 ½

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Next stop was “The Breakaways” and the scenery was just magnificent

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Coober Pedy is a modern day Dodge City in a way. The premier opal mining town in the world, fortunes are made and lives are lost. It is so hot out here that most people live under ground..and I am not kidding. We did not have time on this trip to explore the town in detail but it is on our list of places to go back for a better look.
The hole country side is like Swiss cheese…every mound of dirt has a mine/hole along of it.

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H3 Adventure. Vortec Supercharger, Custom exhaust, 4" Rancho lift with extended shackles & military wrap heavy duty rear suspension,HD Sway-A-Way torsion bars,35" MTZ's,Rock Sliders, UHF radio, Cargo Barrier,UHF ariel custom side mounted, Pioneer AVIC Nav, draw system, dual battery, 500w inverter, custom roof rack with 4 IPF 800's, custom ARB bullbar, Mile Marker V-Winch 10,000lb, snorkel with custom airbox and K & N filter, TD low profile shock plates, ARB front Air Locker
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby nugget » Mon May 04, 2009 12:47 am

Of course our Indigenous brothers prefer to lead a somewhat less stressful life. This was lunchtime out of a brown paper bag containing a bottle. Lunchtime is little different to any other time in reality!

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Next stop was Lake Eyre which is a massive area, 50 feet below sea level but in the almost middle of Australia. Early explorers were always looking for the “inland sea” as it gets some water in it every 10 years or so. It floods every 40 to 50 years which is the reason for our visit. This is seriously remote territory and the signs should not be ignored!

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German tourists did ignore the signs in the middle of summer in 1998. They got bogged in sand and tried to walk the 37 miles to petrol station/hotel at William Creek. He returned to the car but she decided to continue with 9 litres of water. Out here, summer temperatures often reach 120F. She made it about half way and when they found her, the soles of her shoes were melting according to local folklore.

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The region is just so desolate and has this black rock…you can just imagine how hot this gets in summer. Of course the H3 made it to the top easily.

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We then followed the Oodnadatta Track which runs along side of the old Ghan railway. We first saw it 12 years ago and there is a lot less of it today. Originally finished in 1929 it went from Adelaide to Alice Springs up near Ayres Rock…1500kms or 935 miles.

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There are some great ruins of the old stops along the way

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H3 Adventure. Vortec Supercharger, Custom exhaust, 4" Rancho lift with extended shackles & military wrap heavy duty rear suspension,HD Sway-A-Way torsion bars,35" MTZ's,Rock Sliders, UHF radio, Cargo Barrier,UHF ariel custom side mounted, Pioneer AVIC Nav, draw system, dual battery, 500w inverter, custom roof rack with 4 IPF 800's, custom ARB bullbar, Mile Marker V-Winch 10,000lb, snorkel with custom airbox and K & N filter, TD low profile shock plates, ARB front Air Locker
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby Sewie » Mon May 04, 2009 12:52 am

Great photos and trip report, as always. 8)
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby nugget » Mon May 04, 2009 12:57 am

At Marree we turned left onto the Birdsville track. Out here things are big..one of the local cattle stations (Anna Creek)is 15,000 square miles..bigger than Belgium!! Even the signs are big!

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It was about here that things went slightly pear shaped. We stopped for a comfort break and as I went to the back of the car I noticed a bit of smoke..not good as the engine was turned off. A quick look underneath soon confirmed that leaking brake fluid was finding its way onto the hot exhaust and copious amounts were dripping from the union where the flexible line joins the hard line above the rear axle. The broken bracket that secures the lines to the diff housing looked like it might have something n to do with it all!

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A check under the hood confirmed that the dripping fluid problem as about to be solved as the master cylinder was almost empty. Of course the resultant problem was no brakes and as we were still 80 miles from the nearest town, and it was approaching dusk, the trip was going to be slow. Wendy was fantastic…every corner was suddenly somewhere between and instant death and 5 miles per hour maximum, every ripple in the road would plummet us into oblivion, and every shadow on the side of the road was a 2 ton bull ready to charge into our path. Miraculously we made it to Birdsville in one piece and her world looked significantly better after 2 scotch and cokes!
Next morning it was to the mechanic who is a legend in these parts who diagnosed a broken brake line which he fixed in no time at all.

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With brakes fully functional again, and Wendy’s stress level returning to earth, we headed out to Big Red, a 300 foot sand dune on the edge of the Simpson Desert. This is the run up…

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This is the cresting

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Last edited by nugget on Mon May 04, 2009 1:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
H3 Adventure. Vortec Supercharger, Custom exhaust, 4" Rancho lift with extended shackles & military wrap heavy duty rear suspension,HD Sway-A-Way torsion bars,35" MTZ's,Rock Sliders, UHF radio, Cargo Barrier,UHF ariel custom side mounted, Pioneer AVIC Nav, draw system, dual battery, 500w inverter, custom roof rack with 4 IPF 800's, custom ARB bullbar, Mile Marker V-Winch 10,000lb, snorkel with custom airbox and K & N filter, TD low profile shock plates, ARB front Air Locker
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby nugget » Mon May 04, 2009 1:01 am

And this is the celebration

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All the bouncing around broke the mounting bracket again so it was back to see Barnsey the mechanic again…appears that I might have made 1 mod too many without extending the bracket or lines!!

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Whilst waiting for the brakes to be fixed, Wendy was having a look around town and found that there was a new bakery whose specialty was..wait for it….Curried Camel Pie!

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Wendy said it tasted fantastic. Unfortunately it did not agree with her in the long term and she was doing dunny sprints for the next 2 days.
It was time to turn for home with plenty of dirt roads in front of us…

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The scenery out here is just something special

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H3 Adventure. Vortec Supercharger, Custom exhaust, 4" Rancho lift with extended shackles & military wrap heavy duty rear suspension,HD Sway-A-Way torsion bars,35" MTZ's,Rock Sliders, UHF radio, Cargo Barrier,UHF ariel custom side mounted, Pioneer AVIC Nav, draw system, dual battery, 500w inverter, custom roof rack with 4 IPF 800's, custom ARB bullbar, Mile Marker V-Winch 10,000lb, snorkel with custom airbox and K & N filter, TD low profile shock plates, ARB front Air Locker
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby nugget » Mon May 04, 2009 1:07 am

We even found some Aboriginal Wells where the nomadic tribes would dig holes in the ground which would then fill with water during the rains. The small opening would restrict evapouration and leave water for the returning tribe.

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Last night on the road and it was with some sadness that Wendy and I climbed into the swag for the last time on this trip. What we do know is that there is still plenty to return to see!

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The rig ran like a dream and the supercharger gave me heaps under foot when I needed it without missing a beat. All the mods worked out really well…especially now the brake bracket is extended!!!!
H3 Adventure. Vortec Supercharger, Custom exhaust, 4" Rancho lift with extended shackles & military wrap heavy duty rear suspension,HD Sway-A-Way torsion bars,35" MTZ's,Rock Sliders, UHF radio, Cargo Barrier,UHF ariel custom side mounted, Pioneer AVIC Nav, draw system, dual battery, 500w inverter, custom roof rack with 4 IPF 800's, custom ARB bullbar, Mile Marker V-Winch 10,000lb, snorkel with custom airbox and K & N filter, TD low profile shock plates, ARB front Air Locker
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby Mark » Mon May 04, 2009 8:04 am

Yet another great trip report. Looks like a fun time even with the brake issues 8)
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby big2dabank » Mon May 04, 2009 8:50 am

Great trip and report. Looks like you also modded the snorkel intake from the last pics I saw.
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby nugget » Mon May 04, 2009 3:44 pm

Sy Klone saw the pics on here and have included my rig on their web site. I have not had a chance to take the cleaner out and see how it looks but I am expecting it to look like new. No noise when travelling so it was great from that point of view.

Stuff like the brakes are what make the trip fun..for me anyway!!! 8) 8)
H3 Adventure. Vortec Supercharger, Custom exhaust, 4" Rancho lift with extended shackles & military wrap heavy duty rear suspension,HD Sway-A-Way torsion bars,35" MTZ's,Rock Sliders, UHF radio, Cargo Barrier,UHF ariel custom side mounted, Pioneer AVIC Nav, draw system, dual battery, 500w inverter, custom roof rack with 4 IPF 800's, custom ARB bullbar, Mile Marker V-Winch 10,000lb, snorkel with custom airbox and K & N filter, TD low profile shock plates, ARB front Air Locker
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby Seth » Mon May 04, 2009 4:03 pm

Great times down under. Those are some beautiful views. Do you ever get concerned being out in the bush alone?
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Re: In the saddle again

Postby nugget » Mon May 04, 2009 5:01 pm

Seth wrote:Great times down under. Those are some beautiful views. Do you ever get concerned being out in the bush alone?


This time of year when the weather is milder, and with the self sufficient set up we have, I am comfortable going it alone. Having said that, all things being equal we would go with another vehicle if friends are available to go..just not always possible.

In the hotter months and even more remote areas, I wouldn't do it alone..just too dangerous and unfair on locals if they have to come and drag you out.
H3 Adventure. Vortec Supercharger, Custom exhaust, 4" Rancho lift with extended shackles & military wrap heavy duty rear suspension,HD Sway-A-Way torsion bars,35" MTZ's,Rock Sliders, UHF radio, Cargo Barrier,UHF ariel custom side mounted, Pioneer AVIC Nav, draw system, dual battery, 500w inverter, custom roof rack with 4 IPF 800's, custom ARB bullbar, Mile Marker V-Winch 10,000lb, snorkel with custom airbox and K & N filter, TD low profile shock plates, ARB front Air Locker
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