Destinations > Canning Stock Route, Part 2

There are tracks that bypass Wells 43 and 44, but if you are keen and there's been no recent rain, it's worth trying to visit all the wells. The track can be overgrown to the point of giving the side of the 4WD a real workout and broken side mirrors are common, as are UHF aerials so always carry spare aerials on any trip. After you cross Gravity Lakes you will reach a T-junction. Wells 46 and 47 are to the left and the track to the right leads to the magnificent Mt Ford. Follow the track to Mt Ford. As you approach this imposing pile of rock the horizon provides many opportunities for more photo opportunities. The climb to the top of Mt Ford is by foot but it doesn't take long and the view is worth it. There is a cairn of rocks, a trig point and various plaques at the top left by modern-day explorers.

Continue to the north for another 11km and then turn left to Well 46 where there is good camping and water at this restored well. On a previous trip we then headed north towards Well 47 but the track was severely overgrown, we pushed through 2m high scrub, had difficulty finding the track at times and were constantly stopping to clear dry spinifex from around our hot exhausts to avoid fires. This was tough going and if the track is like this when you travel it, forget about your paint work and your timetable. There is an easier route back towards Mt Ford and then north to Well 48 which bypasses Well 47 and

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its undergrowth.

The next stretch of the CSR will take you to another of the outstanding landforms for which the CSR has become famous, Breadon Hills. As you approach the low lying hills on a good level track the horizon is jagged and torn by the outline of these imposing hills. The closer you get the more impressive this landscape becomes and numerous stops for photographic memories will occur. There is a track on your right that leads 4km into the heart of the Breadon Hills and it is well worth the time. The camping is limited but worth the crowding, especially to catch a blazing sunset refecting gold and orange off these massive rocky hill sides. A short walk at the end of the vehicle track will take you through rugged stony country to Breadon Pool, which usually has a small amount of water. Godfreys Tank is a little further on foot in the hills. Above Breadon Pool look for the rock overhang with the manmade rock pile, this is said to have been used by Aborigines who lay in hiding for wallabies and other small animals to come to the water for a drink. Godfreys Tank, despite its name is not a man-made structure but a natural rock pool. Explorer David Carnegie discovered this area during his 1896-97 expedition across the Gibson Desert. Joe Breaden after whom the pool and the hills are named was a member of Carnegie's party. Godfrey Massie, also a member of Carnegie's team, discovered the rock pool that now carries his name. Just imagine for a moment the hardships and difficulties that those men must have faced over 110 years ago as they tramped through the spinifex and sand of the great deserts of WA. No tracks, no maps, no idea where their next water supply would be found. You realise why a discovery of a water source like Breadon Pool and Godfrey Tank were so important.

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