Destinations > Canning Stock Route, Part 2

The actual CSR is signposted around Lake Disappointment and there are other tracks that lead out to its shore line. It is worth following these to the edge of the lake, which at these locations will appear as a huge expanse of white salt. Don't drive on it, but walk out a hundred metres or so to experience a landscape like few others, sunglasses on a sunny day will be necessary as the reflection off the salt is blinding. There is a cleared area near the lake where you could camp and if your trip coincides with a full moon, make sure you stop here to experience a moonlit salt lake at night, a truly eerie experience.

Once you leave Lake Disappointment the country initially consists of wide dry clay pans, which you have to cross, some are up to 3km in length. But then you come back into the sand and spinifex country but there are lots of desert oaks scattered along the route making for a beautiful drive. The sand dunes present a bit of a challenge but with your tyre pressure down to 20psi you should be OK. There are great views up and down the swales between the dunes and the track meanders down these, turns abruptly to cross the dune in a rocking and rolling fashion, and then meanders back up the next swale before crossing the next sandy crest. It is obvious that if the CSR followed a more direct path you would cover much less a distance.

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Your next major feature off to the left is Georgia Bore where there is plentiful water and camping nearby. This also marks an escape route for those that have found the CSR too tough. The Talawana Track leads off to your left all the way to Newman. So if you have had enough or want to explore the remote Rudall River National Park this is where you say goodbye to the Canning.

For those continuing their adventure turn right at the T-junction and follow what is also known as the Talawana Track for 21 very corrugated kilometres to Well 23 and your fuel drop. Well 23 marks the location where Capricorn Roadhouse in Newman brings fuel in for adventurous travellers along the CSR. You need to carry your own implements for opening the 44 gallon drum and pumping the fuel into your vehicle.

A further 17km of hard packed corrugated road leads to the intersection where the Talawana Track leaves the CSR and continues to the east to Windy Corner. I drove this track in 2001 and it is an equally isolated and overgrown trail that holds its own enticement, don't worry you can come back next year and explore it.

After this intersection the track suddenly turns to rock and you make a sharp climb. You get the feeling you have passed into another land and you wonder what awaits you over the crest. More sand and spinifex, the rocky section is only short lived. However, there are the occasional clay pans and some of these are quite large and may contain crazy cracked clay sections where the water that laid in puddles has long since dried up and the wet clay has baked bone-dry.

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