Day 94 | Lyndon Station, out on the Lyndon Towera Road: another bush camp watching a beautiful orange sunset

81 km | zzOz total: 4,392 km

More on water, you can tell it’s on my mind.

Travelling through the dry Outback, they get about 200 mm of rain in a couple of big downpours a year out here, I’ve had a few thoughts about the water situation. After all there’s one roadhouse/“resort” at Mt Augustus in the 860 km through to Meekatharra. Gotta find ways to obtain more supplies.

The first idea was to cart a huge amount, ie, 27 litres. This works really well, if you don’t mind the weight, biut there is a downside, it runs out after 3 days.

I planned to stop in at a station to refill, they are spaced about 50 km apart, but half are well off the road, like 15km each way, not so good for making progress in the required direction.

I’ve two maps of the area, and neither is as accurate as they might be. Combine that with the lack of a road sign, most stations at least have those, and what do you know, I couldn’t find Towera Station.

OK, there’s always Plan C, flag down a passing caravan, the off-road types always have a spare 100 litres or more to weigh them down. Problem with this was that despite yesterday’s encounters with 100s of caravans whizzing past with my 34km along Highway 1, the count today was way down.

Way, way down.

Not many at all, in fact, not one caravan.

Zero.

OK, what about a car? Here I had much better luck. Early on a Dutch couple stopped for a photo, ie, of me, and offered a couple of litres, not much use really, I was looking for 16, and, at the time, I was not so far from that elusive homestead.

There were 2 other 4WDs for the day to give a total of 3 vehicles.

Hummm.

Plan D was to find a windmill pumping bore water. Seems the area has been destocked due to the 7 or 8 year drought that finished at Christmas.

With supplies distinctly at the low tide mark I spotted some cattle pats on the road, that’s good because cattle were nearby and they need water. Finally there was a windmill with the bore pumping away just 500 m off the roadway.

Loaded up 11 litres for tonight, surely Lyndon Station can’t be so well hidden tomorrow.

PS. The road is generally OK, doesn’t suffer from too much soft stuff so far, more an issue of bumpy gravel.

No complaints here though, it was me who selected this particular itinerary.