RAID
AUSTRALIA 2004
A Citroen Raid, what does that mean? Well, the French term means a
expedition, a challenge but if you go with 66 cars to places like
Innamincka, population 16 (a pub, fuel pump, General Store, tire place
and a small place to stay) it certainly is quite an invasion as well.
And this is not the smallest place you can find out there.
Australia - it is hot and dusty. It really is a challenge to drive a
few thousand miles through the outback, do all needed repairs on the
side of the road and have bushcamps somewhere out there in the company
of millions of flies. And it is fun - a lot of fun! When you are the
adventurous type of guy, this is. Nothing for couch potatoes who
prefer to watch second hand life on TV.
But this time "Raid OZ" was not as tough as the ones
before. Still it was very good, though, it showed us a wide variety of
landscapes and it offered a lot to do and to see. Even temperature
wise it was not as hot as before, never above 100 F and some quite
chilly nights.
The start was in Penola, at the border of south Australia and
Victoria in the south. One of the many good wine growing areas
Downunder and so the raid started in style with wine tasting.

Picture 1 Raid
kickoff party
Most
raiders arrived there in small groups already, coming from Melbourne,
Sydney and Perth. So it was easy to form groups of 3 - 7 cars to
travel together. This is more fun and it is also safer when you have a
problem in the middle of nowhere.
And the first problem happened the next day already - a broken
suspension arm. Someone found a big pothole, I think ... we missed it
since I flew into Adelaide that day and Axel left the raid for a day
to pick me up. We rejoined the next day after meeting our
Citroen-friends in Adelaide who couldn't participate this time. And
after seeing our first wild Koala in the suburbs there!
Day two we camped at the beautiful Murray River. What a fun to see so
many old friends and to make new ones! 66 cars (mainly 2CVs), 120
people from 10 nations but we were the only ones representing the US
of A.
From there we went to Wilpena Pound in the beautiful Flinders Ranges.
That day our 2CV had it's only problem during the whole trip - the
fuel pump gave up - more a inconvenience than a real problem. But
since the car was borrowed we were not fully equipped with spares
ourselves and so we had to wait for the Tech Team, always the last
ones to follow the raid to pick up break downs if necessary.
This time the Tech Team found a great addition in Bob and his C35,
carrying spares and tools, welding gear, generator and even a pressure
washer - whatever was needed and one could think of came out of this
truck and Bob was always happy and capable to help. If it's made from
metal, Bob will fix it.
Arriving late at Wilpena Pound first thing we see entering the
National Park campground is a badly damaged and already half stripped
2CV. Earlyer that day Herman was watching some Kangas beside the road
and stopped without pulling over to the side. Skinny Alex behind him
watched the same Roos but decided not to stop for them ... when he
realized the car in front it was too late and he smashed his front
left side into Herman's right rear end. Luckily this happened just a
few miles before the campground. Another 2CV had developed an engine
problem and another one an ugly noise from a bearing. We decided to
stay behind with the Tech Team and help fix the cars.

Picture 2 Steve
from England and Axel from Seattle doing major surgery
In the
evening we have a meeting, a get-together for story telling, to hear
what happened during the day and what lies ahead the next days.
Usually there's a campfire, wine and beer, some guitars and the
billions of stars in the great southern sky above. This time - late
fall Downunder - there's a total fire ban so instead of chatting half
the night away at the fire everyone rushes back to their cars and
tents and their little groups ... what a pity! There is no central
meeting point and also the meets are not every night, so the big group
feeling is missing. But our little group (called the "Termites")
- Raid organizer Peta and her mom Margaret from Australia, Hannes and
Evi from Austria and we, Uschi & Axel from Seattle - are having a
great time traveling together. During the raid the groups get a little
mixed, so we have another 1, 2 or 3 cars for a day or longer or one of
us travels in a different group for a short while. That's fine, just
let your group leader know what you're up to and don't travel alone!
Wilpena Pound, early next morning - like every morning - we awake
from the voices of countless cockatoos greeting the new day half an
hour before sunrise - no chance to sleep in! Another beautiful day in
paradise, many Eucalypt-trees for shade, Kangaroos watching us closely
and colorful Parakeets all around. We spend the day with our great
passion for 25 years - fixing 2CVs, followed by a lovely afternoon
hike and a BBQ with friends. Can it get any better?
The next morning we follow the raid through gorgeous Gorges on dusty
dirtroads and catch up with them at Arkaroola where they stayed 2
nights.
Heading north on the Strzelecki Track the most spectacular breakdown
happens to Joe and Helen: They loose a complete rear wheel in full
speed! Their group stops and a little later Swiss Marijuschka comes
back from "going bush", rolling a 2CV wheel: "Hey, Joe,
I found this over there - is this yours???"

Picture 3 Joe's
lost wheel
Like
some other cars, this 2CV has been on several Raids AUS before and
after thousands af miles on bad dirt roads with corrugations and
potholes it develops metal fatigue. At those cars suspension arms
break, chassis' crack, suspension rods break. But never before a
complete wheel including the break drum simply sheared off. The Tech
Team carries spares, so they just have to prepare the car for the new
arm and wait.
A little later everyone who is not with the breakdown car finds
refreshment in a borehole with hot ground water and a shaded picnic
area.
In the afternoon we reach the oil and gas fields of Moomba and take
the turnoff to Innamincka, the northernmost point on this trip. Our "campsite"
is beside the dry riverbed and to reach it we have to cross a mud
puddle. This adds some mud to the dust we shovel out of the cars every
few days.
Mark's Traction conveniently dies just 100 yards before the pub so
they push it the last bit and have a party and a short night before
finding next morning at daylight that the fuel line had just slipped
out of a connector. Those Outback-pubs are always a welcome stop to
refill man and machine! 
Picture 4
Innamincka
Innamincka
has a comparably big store and they stocked up expecting us. So we
shop - the last chance for the next 2 days! Fill all your gas cans as
well, there's a long stretch of nothing ahead of us ... but before
leaving we have to look at the other end of "town" where the
Cooper Creek has flooded a road 3 m high (10 feet!) due to heavy
rainfall far north from here. Luckily our road is open.
Soon we leave the main road and continue on small tracks through the
bush. Tim from England decides to drive alone and promptly manages to
take a wrong turnoff. When he finally finds out he is lost he is
clever enough to return to Innamincka to fill up again before
following the raid. Hours later he catches up with the "Camels"
and the Tech Team is very surprised to see one coming from behind!
We find Roy and Esther at the road side, a rear suspension rod
broken. The Finns have a great idea: They tie nylon rope between the
suspension mount and arm and twist it with a screw driver. This holds
the car up - sort of - and acts as a spring. Esther and their entire
luggage get into the cars of their group and ours and very slowly they
carry on.
Just before it gets dark we arrive in Cameron Corner where the states
of South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales meet. We have a
meal in the pub (the only building within a hundred miles) and find
out that they are almost out of gas. Yes, they received the mail
telling them that 66 cars were coming today and also the confirmation
2 weeks ago, but they simply did not believe we would really show up
there ... just as we are ready to leave Roy and his group arrive, the
rope still in place and working!
Just 15 more miles to the campground at Fort Grey Natl. Park. And
when Roy finally arrives and collects all their luggage and camping
gear he tells us that the gas pump at Cameron Corner now is bone dry
and not everyone could fill up, the Camels had not even arrived.
The next morning brings the Tech Team and a suspension rod for Roy to
the camp site. After they found out the gas was empty they tried to do
the same to the beer but did not succeed. An Aussie pub without fuel -
ok - but an Aussie pub without beer - impossible!
Well, everybody carries gas cans so there is enough fuel for all cars
to make it to Tibooburra. Another hot and dusty day out in the bush
and we are looking forward to see the opal fields and township of
White Cliffs and a proper campground with a little swimming pool where
we stay 2 nights.
But - 30 miles before town all of a sudden Hannes stops. The Acadiane
felt like having a flat tire and the rear wheel seems to scratch in
the fender ... we suspect the suspension arm bearing to be the culprit
and drive the car to the other side of the road where it is flat and
wide enough to park safely beside the road. Off comes the arm and
shows a bearing in bits and pieces! The sun is setting and we send
Peta and Margaret off to White Cliffs. No need to return, driving in
the dark is dangerous, you see potholes and animals too late or not at
all, even if someone there has a bearing better return in the morning.
They leave and we set up our little camp on the side of the road. The
UHF radio is still switched on but 2 hours later instead of the "camels"
we hear Margaret's voice - they got a bearing and decided to return!
Unfortunately the bearing is only half what we need, the counterpart
is missing. Peta is pitching their tent. During the night the wind
picks up and tries it's best to blow down our tents. Early up in the
morning to get ready and have breakfast finished before the "Camels"
arrive so they don't have to wait for us. And it works - almost. The
Tech Team decided to bush camp when it got dark, some 30 miles behind
us. Of course, they carry a complete bearing and pretty soon the
Acadiane is back on all 4 wheels, Peta did not even have time to
finish her traditional raid breakfast in the middle of the road.
The campground in White Cliffs looks like a giant garage. Everybody
uses the extra day to check and service and repair if necessary. Bob's
truck is completely unloaded and all around it are huge piles of tools
and stuff. How does all this fit into it??? And how does he always
know where everything is??? 
Picture 5 Bob's mobile shop
Welding is needed but first the welding gear needs repair itself.
Axel spends hours until it finally works again - more or less. Some
cracks in suspension arms are found and welded, a ripped off bump stop
in a Belgium car and a front axle which is almost broken in half.
Tonight we'll have a special treat: The raid is staying in a
underground motel! Those "dugouts" were popular dwelling
units in the opal fields. Digging into a hillside the miners
discovered that it is much cooler on hot days and warmer in cold
nights in those self-made caves than in tents or huts. So mines that
did not contain opals became homes and today hotels or motels are
offering such special accommodations to tourists. Nothing for
claustrophobic people - the rooms are just rock walls and since they
are built inside the hill they have no windows.
The raid has booked the complete motel and so nobody can complain
about the party.
Before heading on next morning we visit the opal fields: Deep shafts
dug into the ground with big molehills of gravel in between. Only a
few hundred people live in the area today, the high time is long gone
here. But one of them is photographer Otto Rogge (www.ottophoto.com)
and his nature pictures are quite impressive.
Our initially planned route is flooded and so we take a detour on the
major HWY. Hard to believe since we haven't seen a single drop of rain
or even a gray cloud so far! But rain a thousand miles north in the
tropics floods the rivers down here, which are dry most of the year.
We stop in Wilcannia to visit Anthony, a architect who met Peta when
she did the raid survey a year ago. He loves 2CVs and is excited to
see so many out here. We invite him to join us for the BBQ which will
be held for the raid in Tilpa tonight, just 80 miles from here and he
promises to come.
We follow the Darling River east on a lovely most sandy road and
reach Tilpa (the outback-pub called "Hotel" with gas pump
and a tiny store) just in time to get our tents up before the BBQ
starts. Anthony shows up and through the radio we can hear that the "camels"
have found the "waterhole" - so they are in the pub already
and everyone has arrived. 
Picture 6 The Tilpa "Waterhole"
The BBQ turns out great. Really good food and plenty of it. Pork,
Lamb and Goat, tasty and tender and all kinds of sides and salads.
Finally, back at our tent Markku tells us he just saw a snake
disappearing into a hole in the ground, only two or three yards away
... there are many holes and who knows what else lives down there,
after all Australia has lots of poisonous snakes and spiders and all
sorts of little critters ... but so far we never had problems with any
of them.
Before leaving the next morning I do what every traveler out here
does: Leave a donation for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and sign
our names on the walls inside the pub. It's not easy to find even a
small empty space somewhere, including the ceiling!
About 10 miles before Wilcannia Gerry & Gwenda's GS has a serious
breakdown. Nothing we can help with and GS-expert Bruce is already on
his way back - only to find out there's nothing what can be done out
here. Gerry has to call a tow truck from Broken Hill over 100 miles
away.
Two nights in Broken Hill give the opportunity for servicing the cars
and do some shopping and sightseeing. It's a nice old mining town and
there are some interesting and unique places to visit like the base of
the Royal Flying Doctor Service which provides medical help to the
small communities, farms and travelers in the huge and vast outback or
the School of the Air where children on remote stations (farms) are
taught via satellite radio.
Of course, Bob's traveling workshop is open all day and some
neighbors on the campground enjoy the live entertainment of all sorts
of repairs, including a 2CV resting on it's side on a stack of tires
so the broken chassis can be reinforced to get it home on it's own
wheels. 
Picture 7 Serious underbody work
Steve Hill has a breakdown so we have a broken Hill in Broken Hill
and it happened at Steven's Creek!
Another relaxing day. Just a short drive to Kopi Hollow where we camp
at the Menindee Lakes. Green grass, a lake and mosquitoes are the
total opposite to desert, dust and flies.
Back into the desert again to reach Mungo Natl. Park, a world
heritage area. The lakes here dried out some 15,000 years ago and the
old sand dunes preserved traces of humans and climate changes since
60,000 years.
It's still early afternoon when we arrive and we decide to do the
scenic 50 mile roundtrip after we visited the museum at the parks
headquarters. We spend a lot of time hiking on the huge sand dune
called "The Wall of China" and doing some short nature
trails. It's getting late and the sun is setting. In the low light
we're driving on a very dusty track across the dry lakebed. This must
be the Australian version of the famous "autumn mist over the
lake" ...
Next morning we leave this fascinating place and head back to
civilization. Driving south the scenery gets more populated, more
roads, more farms, more towns and villages. We meet the vintage car
club of Swan Hill in Kyolite where we have a nice pub lunch together.
Later in Swan Hill we find a good Chinese restaurant for my birthday
dinner and even some friends from Adelaide show up. We recruit them to
take the raid group photo and so they end up with all the cameras and
a lot of work. We find out that there are just 6 all time raiders, who
did all 5 "Raid Australia", Steve Wedell, Ralph Hibble,
David Gries, Ian Gamble (all Australians) and us, Uschi and Axel. 
Picture 8 All time raiders From left: Steve Wedell (Sydney), Ralph Hibble (Perth), Uschi Walter (Seattle), Axel Kaliske (Seattle), David Gries (Melbourne), Ian Gamble (Canberra)
Two nights in town and off we go for another bushcamp. This time it's
on a farm, owned by Peta's cousin. The whole family and friends come
to look at our cars in the evening and we're the talk of the
neighborhood for sure. Thank you for having us, folks!
We continue on small roads through farmland and reach the Ettamogah
Pub. No wonder it's looking weird - it was built after a popular
cartoon! Not far away we have a good lunch in a old woolshed converted
into a nice pub.
Driving through a village we almost run over a bird sitting in the
middle of the road. We stop and discover it's a Kookaburra and it's
not moving at all but seems to be alert. We manage to get it to sit on
a piece of cardboard and carry it away - just in time before a huge
truck rushes by, the wheels right where the bird was sitting a minute
ago. It seems not to be injured or frightened and we don't know what
to do with it. Steve finds someone working in his front yard and talks
to the man. He looks at our bird and thinks it might be a young one,
maybe on it's first flight. He puts it into a cat carrier and promises
to take it to the vet to get it checked out. Let's hope it's well and
people there can enjoy its happy laughing song. 
Picture 9 Rescued Kookaburra
We visit the impressive dam of Lake Hume and drive all the way around
the lake and up a mountain pass on a narrow winding road. The last
dirt roads for us, tomorrow it's time to leave the raid to go home. We
reach Myrtleford just as it's getting dark.
A meeting in the morning and time for us to say good-bye. The raid
will stay here another night and then go on for another week through
the southern Alps and to the sea and end at the Capitol Canberra for
the Cit-In, the big Easter meeting of the Australian Citroen Clubs.
A last check on Peta's car by her "personal mechanic" Axel
and - hey - there's a crack in a rear suspension arm! So we stay
another half day to repair it.
Some people come walking by: "Hello - remember us?"
Unbelievable! It's Michelle and Christian Police from France,
participants of the last Raid Australia in 2000 with their wives!
Finally we leave and rush down the Freeway to Melbourne. We clean the
car and the day we fly home Sue takes it to catch up with the raid and
her husband. So "Valerie the brave Tassie Duck" only missed
a few days and even finishes the raid with the others.
It was a great trip and we had a good time! A great big THANK YOU to
everyone who made this raid possible, the organizers, the Tech Team,
Mark and Sue who loaned us their car, all our friends. Looking forward
seeing you all again! Maybe on our "Raid North to Alaska" in
2006?
|