On the Road – Jun/Jul 2026

After plans to cross the Simpson Desert were scuppered by flooding near Birdsville Rod VK2ZZM, Geoff VK2WA, Dom VK2JNA & Bill VK2AIY headed off on an alternate voyage to the Red Centre via South Australia! The group was on HF and in regular contact with club members all over the east coast. We regularly called into an 8am net run by Kevin VK2BKG on 7189kHz – until we strayed too far for 40m propagation to allow it. The rest of the time we were available on 7085kHz (while in NSW) or 14130kHz (SA/NT) with consistently good signal reports throughout the trip.

Sat 27-Jun

We left Sydney and Canberra, met each other in Orange and made our way to Nyngan where we overnighted at the caravan park with a great Chinese meal locally.

Sun 28-Jun

We departed Nyngan and made our way to Broken Hill, camping at the Starview Campsite north of town. The scenery changed quickly!

Mon 29-Jun

After refuelling and checking out the Line of Lode memorial and cafe (which seemed to be teetering on the edge of a huge mullock pile!) we made our way towards Yunta in South Australia. The plan was to take a shortcut through the desert to get to Hawker. Unfortunately we were thwarted in that mission because some of the roads had been closed due to the rainy weather they’ve had in the area. We had to take the long way round and then stayed in Hawker pub overnight where we regrouped and reviewed our plans.

The original plan from Hawker was to head north to Leigh Creek and Marree, then jump on the Oodnadatta Track to camp at Coward Springs. This allowed an early start the following morning for Geoff and Rod to catch a Lake Eyre scenic flight from William Creek. However, the Oodnadatta track was closed due to rain! In fact, all roads to William Creek were closed!

We opted to stick to the bitumen, planning to swoop southward via Woomera and finish the day in Coober Pedy. The scenic flight was looking unlikely, but if we were lucky and the road from Coober Pedy to William Creek might open in time.

Tue 30-Jun

We made our way down to Port Augusta where we refueled, then up to Woomera to see all the broken rocket bits.

Using the FT-891 in my landcruiser, & trusty Terlin Outreach 500, Bill VK2AIY & I moved from 40m to 20m as we hit the Stuart Highway. It is too far from the east coast for reliable 7meg daytime comms. 

We had many contacts on 14130, including Horst VK4HHL, Bruce VK4MQ, Rob VK2MZ, Andy VK2EAH, multiple QSOs with Owen VK2OL, and many others. Great sigs, typically 55 to 59+5. A great QSY was with Brian Donn VK2AXC with his new end fed antenna we really appreciate him putting it up to contact us.  Also had a great contact from VK2GN, Peter, a mate from the Goulburn club, as well as VK3LOW Richard in Melbourne.

An afternoon check of the SA Roads website showed the road from Coober Pedy to William Creek was now open! Rod and Geoff set their alarms for 5am in order to have time to make the 8am flight (estimated travel time was “at least 2.5 hours” according to local knowledge). Dom and Bill would have a chill day in Coober Pedy.

Wed 1-Jul

Geoff & Rod woke at 5am for the drive to William Creek. The first few kilometres of dirt were dry bulldust, but that suddenly gave way to slick mud. Taken by surprise, Geoff floated the Patrol through a particularly treacherous corner and issued a warning to Rod not to attempt the same! We subsequently came across a bogged Road Train – he was only 1km from the bulldust but could make no further progress in the mud. We left him to wait for the track to dry, and continued to William Creek.

Kati-Thanda Lake Eyre was a spectacular sight from the air, with the whole area looking lush, beautiful and unbelievably green.

William Creek also had some flight-tested rockets on display!

On the return journey, the whole track was bone dry with no sign of the bogged Road Train or its struggle for traction. How quickly things change! Alas, Geoff’s HF whip came clattering down onto his bonnet – the steel whip had succumbed to a fatigue-failure just above the ferrule.

Hearing this news over the HF via Rod, Dom sprung into action for a “bush fix”. He sourced some fishing rods from Cam at our Coober Pedy accommodation. We tied one on (hose clamps!) and ran a wire up it (the “lazy helical”). Dom’s antenna analyser helped retune it for 40m and 20m, perfect! Now to see if it mechanically survives.

A QSO with the club house on the Wednesday evening meeting night (1-Jul) had been planned but couldn’t get through on 20, 40 or 80m.

Thu 2-Jul

After realising all our machines could use an oil top-up, we left Coober Pedy around 8am.  Rod had some issues with his CB speaker which we’ll resolve at camp tonight.  Geoff’s fishing rod antenna had a high SWR rolling out of Coober but quickly warmed itself up and was perfect for the run to the border.  We spoke to Rob VK2MZ, Horst VK4HHL, Owen VK2OL and Greg VK2XE on 20m.  Then a VK4 called us and it was VK4BOB, activating a beach near Townsville with his radio on an upturned bucket.

We made the executive decision to break for coffee in the NT, which survived on a technicality.  Plan for tonight is to head 30km east of Kulgera and find a nice bush camp.

We camped by a dry river bed just off the road. Great night. Geoff talked into Finland, England & Canary Islands on 20m showing the “Shimano Special” is still working well!

Fri 3-Jul

In the morning we got into the 7189 net from mobile antennas.  We left camp and drove towards Lamberts Center – the geographic center of Australia. After several corrugations and overhanging branches snatching at the antenna wire, Geoff’s “Shimano” antenna needed to be nipped up but its all working quite well. We continued to Finke and then north to Chambers Pillar.

On the way to Chambers Pillar, Doms antenna lost its stinger. Dom, Bill and Geoff retraced our steps – Geoff’s younger eyes found it, looking like a pretzel. Dom straightened it & got it back on the air.

Having made it to Chambers Pillar we set up camp and started to prepare dinner – only to be chased under cover by an approaching rain shower. We were thankful for the structure!

Sat 4-Jul

We had a fair bit of rain overnight at Chambers Pillar. The trip out was suitably hairy to Alice Springs with mud all the way.  All the boys showed remarkable driving skills to not get bogged (secretly a highlight for all of us). We have talked with Matt VK3MDC a few times & many other club members & friends, thanks from us all.  We have just done a guided tour with Danielle of the Alice Springs Telegraph Station.

Sun 5-Jul

The crew headed east out of Alice, stopping at Corroboree Rock, then checked out Trephina Gorge National Park, staying at a peaceful 4WD-only campsite. We were joined by Roman, on his way to Darwin, who was a willing ear for Rod’s stories.

Mon 6-Jul

Rod and Geoff did the stunning Trail of Ponds walk in the morning while Dom and Bill hightailed it back to Alice Springs to restock.

We regrouped and headed west of Alice, stopping to help a lady with her daughter who cooked a radiator – good deed for the day. We continued to Serpentine Gorge (beautiful!) and camped next to Finke River (nowhere near Finke!).

Tue 7-Jul

The next morning we continued our westerly direction to visit Gosses Bluff – the central spike of a previous meteor/comet impact. Dom’s car had minor misfiring issues every time water splashed up in the engine bay (will be investigated more thoroughly at home!).

We kept traveling west, then south, to Kings Canyon and beyond. Kings Creek Station was our destination for the night which promised much-needed hot showers.

Wed 8-Jul

Kings Canyon Station was a nice stay however it rained from 2:40am & we all got pretty wet. After takeaway coffees we hightailed it to Yulara, base-camp for our Uluru visit. Dom’s wife Susanne has flown in for 2 days. Geoff took these great long shots on approach to Yulara.

In the afternoon we set off to the Uluru Sunset Viewing location – but heavy cloud blocked the sun! There was a gap in the cloud cover, it was moving in the right direction, but it looked like it would be too slow. Thankfully, 5 minutes before sunset the sun broke through and gave us The Shot:

Thu 9-Jul

Geoff awoke early for a sunrise photo of the rock but it was completely fogged in! Instead, most of us checked out the 10am guided tour of Uluru.. enjoying the rock as it gradually revealed itself throughout the morning. We then took a drive out to The Olgas. Geoff shot back out to Uluru in the afternoon, this time going to the sunrise location at sunset to take photos of Uluru in silhouette. We said “goodbye” to Rod as he was joined by his wife flying in, to begin a more luxurious trip home….

Fri 10-Jul

Geoff, determined to get his sunrise photo and emboldened by last night’s unconventional photos, rose early and camped out near the sunset location. This time the sky was clear and a morning coffee atop the Patrol turned into a nice photo session. He then embarked on the 10.7km base walk of Uluru, which took about 2.5 hours.

Sat 11-Jul

On Saturday Dom Geoff & Bill left Uluru, with a fuel stop in Erldunda. We continued south to Marla, which was our decision point for “bitumen vs dirt”. We were hoping to get on to Oodnadatta track but the rain that soaked us at Kings Canyon also soaked the track and all 3 sections we wanted to see were closed with fairly dire descriptions. We continued to Coober Pedy, having decided to leave the track for another time instead of waiting and gambling on when it would open again.

Many great hf contacts including Horst VK4HHL, Rob VK2MZ, Denis VK2TDB (Goulburn club), Matt VK3MDC, Owen VK2OL. Owen tested Geoffs codan sellcall to get that sorted. Geoff=3445. 

Sun 12-Jul

We continued our bitumen-bashing from Coober Pedy to Quorn, enjoying the Quorn Silo Light Show and then catching up with Dom’s friend Margo at the pub.

An odd thing we saw whilst travelling south on Stuart Hwy from Coober Pedy: a dead kangaroo by the road with a yellow helium balloon saying “Get Well Soon”. We saw 2 or 3 of these.

Mon 13-Jul

Rod & his wife Sandy planned to leave Uluru on Monday driving east before heading south to Kulgera. We managed a great HF contact with them on 14130, at 1200km range. We left Quorn, passed through Hawker again, and stopped at Parachilna for lunch. We did our best to eat our way through the Australian Coat of Arms then continued east to Blinman, and then south to camp in Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park. The weather turned on us yet again with a windy, drizzly night. Dom and Geoff deployed awnings, tarpaulins and fire in equal measures to fend off the elements.

Tue 14-Jul

We drove from Koolaman camping area, north of Wilpena, into Wilpena Pound. Very good coffee at the shop.

Geoff helped two damsels in distress, but only because they had two dogs. Blat fattery & no alternator charging. Charged their batt enough to drive to Hawker mechanic. 

Had a quick contact with Chris VK2YY (remote) whilst we are driving out if Hawker, Flinders Ranges. We heard everyone on 7189 net this morning.

Drove into Orroroo for lunch & found a TS-430 on display in clothing store.

Drove on to Waikirie, having dinner at club (best chips of the trip!). Free-camping on the Murray river bank tonight. Geoff had ongoing “choppy audio” (intermittent RF connection) issues which was diagnosed that evening as a bodgy right-angle PL259 adapter.  The adapter was disposed of appropriately to be sure it was not accidentally reused!

Wed 15-Jul

Dom, Geoff and Bill met up with Paul VK2JGT in Loxton SA, Paul had some issues with intermittent RF as well which was traced to a sad PL259 termination on the antenna end of the cable run.  Dom and Geoff quickly reterminated the cable and also retuned Paul’s whip for resonance on the preferred part of 40m.

Will now be on 7085 during the day from Wed onwards as we get closer to home.

Dom VK2JNA, Geoff VK2WA & Bill VK2AIY visited David Carson in Mildura at his comms shop DCE (David Carson Electronics). We had a great time catching up & telling stories. DCE was a customer of Doms quite some years ago.

Heading east, will be camping along the Murray River near Robinvale, about 80km from Mildura. Unfortunately 7085 has been problematic all day with S9 interfering signals.

Wednesday’s our regular club meeting, and we managed a nice QSO on 40m (59) talking to Greg VK2XE, Carmel VK2NO and Tim VK2TIJ at the clubhouse. It was great to chat with the Scottish visitor as well. Geoff retuned his antenna for 80m and checked into a VK4 net at 8pm from VK3 (not a bad hop!).

Thu 16-Jul

We checked into our normal 7189 net, sked was difficult. we could hear all stations however they often couldn’t hear each other. 
Geoff could faintly hear Florida on 40m. We packed up and are now heading in vaguely in the direction of Hay, NSW.

Today on the Hay plain where it is *very* flat we found the limit of our UHF CB radios to be about 12km. Geoff’s antenna on bull bar, Dom’s on roof. Both antennas are 5dBi.

We stopped at Balranald Bakery for coffee & pies, recommended on 40m by Matt VK3MDC. Pretty good. Matt lives on a property a bit north of Swan Hill & is member of radio club at Mildura where he will catch up with David Carson who we saw yesterday. Its been nice as Matt has been chatting to us daily. He also gave us a relay to be Rod in William Creek. 

We plan to overnight east of Wagga, at The Shanty Reserve.

Fri 17-Jul

Camping by the river (this time, the Murrumbidgee) was once again a wonderful experience but the morning dawned cold, windy and unpleasant. A heavy frost blanketed open grassed areas and a bitter fog blew through our camp. We abandoned our attempts to make coffee, shoved everything into our cars and took off for the final run home. A final check-in to the 7189 net propped up our spirits until real coffee could be sourced.

Back home, with Dom’s APRS demonstrating a lasting bond with the mud (most likely in the wheel arches, hi hi)

Epilogue

The total distance traveled was 8,350km in 21 days, with a total of 104 hours of seat time! That seems like a lot but we’re already looking forward to tackling the Simpson next year…