b'CLUB SPOTLIGHT LAND ROVER OWNERS CLUB OF GIPPSLAND Finke. There is a chapter in Jennys book titled, Land Rovers. If you are a fanatical Land Rover owner dont read that chapter. I will quote 50TH ANNIVERSARYone line, We eventually worked out the sensible thing to do was buy Toyotas. Lois and I were fortunate to be OF GOOGS TRACK able to spend a morning at Jennys Ceduna home, at Thevenard, out BY: GREG ROSE near Pinky Point. Thevenard is a suburb of Ceduna and has a PHOTOS: GREG AND LOIS ROSE well-stocked small supermarket and a lookout point near the loading facility for larger ships transporting grain, salt, gypsum and mineral sands. Over coffee and biscuits Jenny imparted some of her knowledge of the country and told us tales of cutting the track. Jenny can be contacted using the details on the Googs Track F ifty years ago, when Johndunes. We spent a whole day on theJohn Denton, who had theFacebook page. from the rock holes. Lois Rock isbins and remarkably we found no Base camped at a beautiful spot, overlooking the 15 kilometre long Googs Lake, which was holding some water, we had glorious days. It was warm and still, and a full moon rose just before dusk. There were no flies, no mosquitos. Surprisingly there was very little bird life, but we did find a large mallee fowl nest. And at night, (Goog) Denton started hisfascinating excursion to the rocks. nickname Goog as he used tototal silence. On our last night we tractor and began whatMany of you who read this willsell eggs as a boy, cut the trackhad a light sprinkle of rain. From is now known as Googshave ventured along Googs Track.from his property Lone Oak, norththat base we explored the area Track, the task must have seemedIt is often referred to as a miniof Ceduna in the west of Southon foot and in the Land Cruiser. daunting. Even now, 2023, weSimpson Desert. Apart from theAustralia. It is the 50th anniversaryThe driving on the main track is had that screeching sound offact that you negotiate hundredsof the commencement of the tracknot particularly difficult if yoularger and Nalara Rock is a massiverubbish at all. fingernails being drawn across aof sand dunes, the two are quitecutting this year. Googs dreamremember the basics of sandoutcrop of granite that rises wellOn this occasion we did not blackboard (if you are old enoughdifferent. In some sections thewas to have access to the transdriving and reduce tyre pressures.above the surrounding country. Ittravel the full distance north along to remember that from your schoolmallee scrub, multi-stemmed, lowcontinental railway line from hisSome of the minor tracks are a bitis worth climbing to the top for aGoogs Track to Mount Finke days) as branches brushed downgrowing, Eucalyptus vegetation,property. The story of Googs Trackmore technical, the short track toview across a seemingly endlessand the railway line, Tarcoola, the side of the Toyota and thereis very thick and getting off theis told in the book, My MemoriesLois Rock, which is off the moresea of green to the distant GawlerKingoonya, etc. A disappointment was the patter of shredded leavestrack is impossible. There are a fewof Pushing Googs Track writtendefined track to Nalara Rock, hadRanges. was the appalling state of the track falling on the roof rack. We wereplaces where you can pull off theby Jenny Denton. Another bookplenty of twists and turns, wasWe were fortunate during ourthe further north we ventured. The on the track from Googs Lake easttrack and have a cuppa and wanderwell worth reading is Our Life Atquite overgrown in places andtime on Googs Track that thereschool holidays had just ended over low sand dunes through thickaround looking at the plants andNullarbor by Coral Beatie, Jennyshad some deep water ruts nearwas almost nobody else about.and I assume there had been mallee scrub to Lois Rock andanimal tracks. If you do have tomother. The two books give thethe end. On the Westprint GoogsWe had the whole of the extensiveconsiderable traffic. It was obvious Nalara Rock. I suspect that only adeviate off the track, perhaps toreader a fantastic insight into theTrack map there is a rock holecamping area, with its one toilet,from the chopped-up dunes that small percentage of the travellersallow a vehicle to pass, be mindfulhardships and humour associatedindicated before arriving at theto ourselves. There are a couplepeople were in too low a gear so who drive Googs Track take thethat there are tyre piercing brokenwith life in that part of the world.Goog family memorials. It is anof picnic tables. You can havedigging in rather than staying on time to negotiate the 60 kilometresmallee stakes hidden in the grass.With temperamental machinery,easy side track to an example ofa campfire when its the righttop of the sand, not reducing tyre out to the two granite features.Being sandy for most of its lengthvery limited finances and greatthe random granite features withseason but must bring in your ownpressures and rather than tackling Jenny Denton Price, John (Goog)the track is driveable after smalldetermination the family and theirdepressions that hold water afterfirewood. If the main campingthe dunes at sensible speed had Dentons widow, had advised usamounts of rain, however there arefriends forged the track throughrain. Jenny had told us how thesection near the toilet is toobeen spinning wheels and digging that the track was tight and hadsome places where if wet, smallthick scrub and over sand dunesnomadic indigenous people ofcrowded there are many spots asmassive holes. Towing trailers plenty of corrugations between thebog holes would develop.joining existing tracks at Mountthe area used to travel after rainyou follow the track along the lakealong Googs is not recommended using bailer shells to collect waterperimeter. There are no providedbut Im sure many people do, that 20 TRACKWATCH|September 2023 TRACKWATCH|September 2023 21'