Thurs, 22nd June, 2023 Bush camp on Binns Track, 40km north of Plenty Highway to Bush camp by Arthur River on Plenty Highway, NT

Woke at 4.30am to spits of rain on the roof but it didn’t last long. Some more spits at 5.30am but only light. Still too dark so went back to sleep.

Woke at 7am to half clear sky and half cloud and no more rain so all good to continue on the dirt road. 15.3 degrees so not too bad.

Continued southward on the good wide gravel road. Turned off and then through a gate to check out the Boxhole Meteorite Crater before Dneiper Station homestead.

Along a two wheel track through low hills for a while till we came to a big open bowl that is the crater. Googled up some information as there is no signs here. It was discovered in 1937, is 178 metres in diameter and 16 metres deep. Photo from this side.

There is a track going around it so we pulled up and went for a walk. From the other side.

Then we walked down to the bottom - didn’t find any black meteorite rocks!

Back out and through the gate and continued down the road past Dneiper Station homestead which is tucked away in the trees.

Across Little Frazer Creek. Flat open country.

Harts Range appears a dark blue in the distance to the south.

Across the dry Plenty River.

Bit of sun shining on a section of Harts Range now.

Passed the turn off to a community - a dead landcruiser near the entrance! Road is corrugated now - must get a lot of use from the community vehicles.

We reached the Plenty Highway. End of the Section 3 of the Binns Track. It continues westward of here then down towards Alice Springs. Will have to do the other bits another time.

Left for us onto the bitumen heading east to the border which is 330km away. The bitumen didn’t last long though so there was no need to put any air in the tyres.

Two vehicles had pulled over to let air out of their tyres so we gave them a wave as we passed.

The range is on our right now. Mt Eaglebeak stands out. There is a community below it.

The road is corrugated but we could zoom along on top of them so it wasn’t too bad. Further along a smaller group of flat topped hills appear with rocky tops - one looked like a round fort.

More clouds have come over. A reprieve for 15km as we zoom along on bitumen through flood plain area. Though one causeway was still covered in dirt from recent rains.

Another hill range on our right. Onto the next bitumen section which was completed in Dec 2022 according to the sign. Through some more rocky hills.

The two vehicles we passed are catching us so Steve pulled over on the bitumen to let them pass so we don’t get showered in rocks when we get back on the gravel.

Further along we spotted a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road.

The other cars slowed then continued past them but Steve pulled up behind them to make sure they were ok. They had a flat but the chap couldn’t get a plug into the tyre and was just changing it over to the spare. Unfortunately he couldn’t get the car high enough on the jack to get the spare on. The road was rock solid so Steve couldn’t even did a hole underneath the tyre to help get it on. Steve gave him a hand and they got it sorted in the end. They were from Fremantle and heading to Birdsville for the Big Red Bash then touring for 9 weeks. We were amazed at how many RVs passed us while we were parked there for half an hour - going in both directions. Sadly though a few caravanners didn’t even slow down as they passed - very rude.

Once they were right we continued on and the parade of RVs continued heading westward. Wonder to see so many people enjoying their own back yard instead of going overseas.

Over a rough section of corrugations then back onto the bitumen for a short section to provide a truck stop! Back on the hard red dirt - quite bumpy then corrugations again.

Across a wide causeway through the dry Marshall River then we turned into a rest area on the other side for lunch. Another couple from Perth stopped and joined us under the shelter for lunch. Gordon and Sheila are from Perth heading to Gympie where he will crew for a rally car. Then they will continue on to the next one in Gippsland the next month and sightsee along the way. They are Scottish but have been in Australia for 40 years and their accent is still very strong.

Across the road is the turn off into Jervois Station homestead that has fuel and campground. We watched as the diesel tanker turned in from the east then 5 vehicles towing Bushtrackers and 1 Spinifex caravans turned in. It wasn’t long before they came out again as obviously the tanker was unloading the fuel. As they pulled in for lunch we packed up and headed out.

We drove in to the homestead for a look (diesel $2.80/L) and the fuel chap said he would be another half hour so we had a look around at the info boards about the bomb shelters from the Woomera Rocket Range days. You can still see one of the bunkers further over. There was a mine here too which was for copper.

We had enough fuel to get to the next station so we decided to head off. 219km to the next station near the border. Passed a drill rig sign - maybe they are back looking for more copper to mine.

The sky is clearer as we continue east over the corrugations.

Tall fat termite mounds appearing here and there and then there was a huge one right beside the road by a tree - nice of them to build it there for tourists to stop and get a photo. I wonder how long it took to build it.

Across a wide dry sandy Arthur River (though in my book it says Creek). Turned down the track to camp areas along the high edge of the river. A few black cockatoos are eating the grass seeds or something on the ground. Plenty of cattle about further over heading for a water point further along.

We chose a spot and set up then had a cuppa. 

I worked on my blog while Steve got under the truck to check out the sway bar that has broken again - another upgrade needed when we get back to Cairns. It is quite warm now with the sun out, 32 degrees in the camper so I had to put the fan on.

Steve stuck his head and said we have a problem - he found a small crack in the chassis. He had cleaned up some rust on the other side when he set up the truck but this side had been ok but obviously there was a weakness and now the crack has appeared. He has welding rods etc and has read about using two batteries to power it so will give that a try tomorrow morning as he doesn’t want to chance it in case the crack gets worse and then we are in real trouble. All else fails we could see if we can get it welded at the next station. We have certainly taken the truck over some ‘interesting’ roads but luckily Steve tries to prepare for breakages and he has the knowledge and skills to try and fix most problems.

While we were discussing it Gordon and Shiela drove in to park up for the night too so they parked near us. Steve dug a fire pit and they collected some timber so we got out the chairs and spent the afternoon chatting while we enjoyed our drinks. The stars came out and then the satellite spotting started - it was a busy sky tonight.

Back into the camper for a later dinner as we were all enjoying being outside chatting.