Tackling a wet Googs Track in South Australia

It was the 1970s and people were free to do much of what they wanted, so when a local farmer decided to cut a track from his property at Lone Oak, 120km north to Mount Finke, through wild and untamed land, that’s what he did. With the help of his son Martin (Dinger), Goog Denton jumped on his bulldozer and headed north through the bush.

With the help of family and friends, it only took three years to complete the track that is now enjoyed by four-wheel drive adventurers 12 months a year.

Having fuelled up at Ceduna, it wasn’t long before we turned on to the access road, stopping at the information board to check for any tips on the track. There was a lot of great advice, not just on Googs Track but also for the Yumbarra and Yellabinna parks.

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Looking forward the upcoming challenges

Once the bitumen runs out and the sand track begins, it’s recommended that you drop your tyre pressures to between 15 and 25psi, depending on the amount of weight being carried. Now is also a good time to fit your sand flag and change the UHF to channel 18 whilst on Googs Track.

With so much recent rain, it was a surprise to find the track in good condition, although the corrugations were still as bad as they’ve always been. We’d driven through a couple of shallow sections of water over the track but when we reached the third, disaster struck.

Being first through, the depth caught me out and then a step up near the end was difficult to get up, however, I had just enough momentum to escape the hole. Mick wasn’t so lucky with the Amarok unable to get over the step up, getting stuck in the muddy water. He was unable to move into reverse gear, with the auto box getting stuck in neutral.

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Dropping tyre pressures on the camper to 15PSI is a good starting point for sand towing

Water was entering the cabin through the door seals, so Mick was quick to exit his vehicle to access the recovery gear. A snatch strap was attached to his recently installed front recovery points using a soft shackle then attached to the MaxTrax recovery hitch.

A couple of snatches and the Amarok and Patriot camper were thankfully freed from the watery grave and Mick was able to get it back in gear. We later learned that many other vehicles got caught out by the puddle with one solo vehicle spending a couple of hours winching themselves out of the waterhole.

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The rain certainly made driving the dunes easier

Solid dunes

The dunes soon started, and they weren’t as challenging as the last time I’d driven them, the rain tamping down the sand so there was little chance of getting caught out and bogged. Chatting on the UHF, we picked up that a group of four vehicles was following us.

We stopped for lunch at a track junction then followed the side track out to a rock hole once used regularly by aboriginals when they passed by. This is a culturally sensitive place so take nothing and leave only footprints.

Back on the main track, it didn’t take long to reach the Denton Family Memorial to Goog, Dinger and Big Bird and the coin trees. From here it’s only 4km to Googs Lake and a plethora of dispersed campsites. For us, it was good to open up the rooftop tents to dry them out and for Mick to try and dry out his floor mats, grab bag and clothes as water continued to drip from the Amarok for the next few hours.

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This doesn't look good, but it was a quick recovery under the circumstances

Settled by the fire for happy hour, the flies buzzed us now and then. We chatted out the recovery and rated its successes and failures but given getting stuck was unexpected, the time it took to recover the 4WD was acceptable, even if the water ingress wasn’t. Rain began to fall, ending the fire session and it didn’t stop until well after bedtime.

We awoke to brilliant sunshine and cloudless sky, a nice breeze helping to dry out the tents with the heat of our prized sun. Breakfast was our version of Bacon & Egg McMuffins and although biased, ours were much better with tasty cheese, double-smoked free-range bacon and runny egg yolk.

With everything packed up, we checked out a few of the other campsites around the north of the lake before heading back to Googs Track via Childers Rockhole Track.

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The countryside is so diverse

Some of the dunes began to throw some challenges at times, being taller, very scalloped and deep sand in places. The overnight rain made it easier, so Mick was happy, only struggling on a couple of long, steep climbs. Backing up and booting the right foot a little bit more gave him the momentum to get the Amarok and Patriot up and over.

I was impressed with his concern about tearing up the dunes, so we dropped a little more air from all his tyres, making driving simpler.

At one point, an abandoned malleefowl’s nest took up the middle of the track, a lack of vehicles during lockdowns making it the perfect place to lay some eggs. There were several ‘unnamed’ camps along the track, where people had either stopped for smoko or camped for the night, so finding an open spot to have some lunch wasn’t difficult.

One thing I enjoy about Googs Track is the diversity of flora, however we hadn’t seen much in the way of fauna. I was keeping an eye out for my favourite desert lizard, the thorny devil, without much luck with only a couple of small lizards seen scurrying across the track.

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Native Grevilleas lined the track in places

Mount Finke

From the top of one large dune, Mount Finke appeared in the distance and as we closed in, the track changed to a harder base with rocks and stones taking over from the sand. The mallee scrub opens up more here too, a flock of galahs warmed themselves in a couple of gidgee trees between rain showers.

Reaching the turn-off, we soon made camp, lighting a fire to garner some coals for tonight’s camp oven lamb roast.

We were hit heavily by a brief rain shower that almost put the fire out, but Mick pulled out his trusty blower to give the fire some air that got it roaring very quickly. The resulting meal was resplendent with a tasty leg of lamb and roasted potatoes, pumpkin and carrots, and luscious gravy.

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All rockholes within the reserve are culturally sensitive so please tread lightly.jpg

Showers came and went during the night, so it was nice to wake to beaming sunshine. I was a little nervous about how the salt lake that we’d have to cross would hold up after all the rain over the last week.

After a leisurely breakfast, we followed the track past Mount Finke and soon reached the edge of the lake. There were two options in front of us, a sodden track across the middle of the salt pan or a detour around its edge that looked a lot less treacherous.

We slowly picked our way around the lake trying to stick to what appeared to be the track most travelled, it was sometimes difficult with so many diversion tracks around the softest sections. There was plenty of evidence of recent carnage, it wouldn’t be a place I’d like to get stuck. We eventually reached the main track and turned to head north again.

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Googs Track was so significant to the Denton family as shown by this memorial

After crossing several more dunes, we exited the Yellabinna Regional Reserve, taking the opportunity to collect some firewood. The corrugations that suddenly appear are like a smack in the face, unexpected and painful.

Channel 18 crackled to life as a group of four vehicles approached us heading south, even after I’d radioed our position, they were shocked when we finally met up so I’m not sure that they’d understood, even after replying to us.

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Who says money doesn't grow on trees?

Ghost town

It seemed to take ages to reach the Transcontinental rail line which is where we added some air to our tyres before jumping on the Trans Access Road and heading toward Kingoonya. Having only reopened to 4WD vehicles after heavy rain a couple of days earlier, the going was smooth and fast.

Passing the headframe of the abandoned Tarcoola Blocks Mine, we soon reached the ghost town of Tarcoola. The sign on the Wilgena Hotel suggested that the pub was going to reopen again in 2014, having closed years ago, but I think someone is taking the piss.

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It was nice to be able to laugh about the Amarok getting bogged over a beverage or two

Taking a turn-off just past the old township lunch was enjoyed before cracking on our way. We met up with The Ghan at one of the rail crossings and then spotted a fired-up sleepy lizard who didn’t think itself to be photogenic, but I beg to differ. Rolling into Kingoonya, the fuel tanks were topped up before we checked in to the caravan park.

A hot shower was enjoyed before the pub started calling us. A few cold bevvies were enjoyed on the balcony before smashing a large chicken Parmi. The completion of the adventure was toasted with a few of the locals as the sun set and the clear starry night took over. We are so spoiled in this country of ours.

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The sky exploded at sunset, spectacular

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We copped some more rain as we left the campground

Top 5 tips for Googs