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COT survey – July 2015

Our third survey trip for the 2016 Classic Outback Trial was in July 2015. Here’s some pictures from that trip…

Bill at Deep Well Station.
This is how they muster…
Shut the gate!
Roads get sandy as we head south and get nearer the Simpson Desert.
Andy and Phil at The Garden – and yes, Phil’s map has been pixellated to protect the innocent.
The old Owen Springs homestead
Amazing views as we return to Alice Springs
The Rodinga siding…
Spectacular country on The Garden
We start and finish each day under the portico at the Convention Centre – except for the start of day 1.
A beautiful gorge…
This local watched carefully as we opened a gate…
Phil with Ben and Nicole at Undoolya.
Justin at Maryvale.
Chris and Debra at the Central Australian Rally Sport Club.
mmm… this doesn’t work from this side.
Spectacular Rainbow Valley…
Yep, we’ve been made very welcome…
“I can see for miles and miles and miles…”
A spring in our path…
Undoolya Station…
Club night at the CARS club…
The might be some spares out there…
Farm transport… There’s also Cessna in the shed.
At Bushy Park, north of Alice Springs
The view of the East MacDonnells from Lasseters.
Club night at the CARS club…
At Stuarts Well…
Gem Tree will be a service break.
Carmel made us welcome at Gem Tree… The Gem room is very impressive.
There’s a postcard on every stage…
Stuarts Well specials…
Hard at work on The Garden
Phil with Sam at Bushy Park
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COT Survey – May 2015

Some pics from our event survey trip in May 2015.

Mordred Pound
Harts Range in the distance
Our hosts at the Central Australian Rally Sport Club – Chris (L) and Phil – President and Vice-President.
A bit sandy here, heading into a wide river crossing.
Great service and lunch facilities at the Off Road Club.
South of Alice, getting close to the Simpson Desert.
Heading into Mordred Pound. Wont be a COT stage, but we enjoyed exploring it.
Great roads, great landscapes…
How did they get them up there?
Ever changing landscapes. And no, not Nevada, SE of Alice
Richie at the Grape Farm helped us with a flat.
Amazing views…
At Old Ambalindum Station, making plans for the COT. LtoR: Emily and daughter, Darren. Phil and Chantal. Old Ambalindum homestead in the background.
Georgina Range, east of Alice Springs.
Phil with Ken – the President of the Off Road Club.
A bit more undulating and heading towards gold country.
An abandoned movie set appears out of nowhere…
A great stage track past the yards…
On Undoolya Station, E of Alice Springs
Route planning at Hamilton Downs LtoR Alister, Mary, Phil and Tony
Imagine this full of floodwater!
The original Old Ambalindum homestead.
Great roads… this one just south of Alice Springs.
Near Old Ambalindum Station, NE of Alice Springs
The Central Australian Rally Sport Club in Alice Springs.
Amazing landscapes… part of the MacDonnell Ranges
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June survey trip

In June, Philip and Steve did the last survey before the course check. They had a 10 day trip to tie down stages and arrangements for the 2014 event.  Here are some pics from their trip.

We spent lots of the day dodging road hazards…
They were yarding goats when we were at Broadmeadows station.
Getting advice from the locals on Wonganong.
Day 5 will be short, ending at the Silverton Hotel.
Broadmeadows, an amazing new stage for COT 2014
Bill, station owner of Broadmeadows with Julie, and Philip.
The 2014 Classic Outback Trial presentation dinner will be at the Renmark Club.
Finish of the 2014 Classic Outback Trial will be at the Angove Family Winemakers Cellar door.
A new stage for COT2014 – Viewmont.
Biiiig day checking over day 2 of the Classic Outback Trial… it was a beautiful sunset out there.
Fencing wire can be a problem… you really do need to stay on the road!
Leonie and Loraine with Philip at Angove Family Winemakers, sorting arrangements for the end of the 2014 COT.
This is the start of the last stage of day 4, Farmcote – a challenging 60K stage. This pic explains why the old hotel on the stage is made of stone… the country really changes dramatically between Ivanhoe and Broken Hill.
Lex is our host on Pine Avenue on day 2.
Another beautiful evening on the track – end of Morning Side, just before Ivanhoe.
Trish and Phil (not the one on the picture) are our hosts on El Dorado and Limby
Bob and Derryn are our hosts on Viewmont.
The 2014 Classic Outback Trial presentation dinner will be at the Renmark Club.
The prologue – a 12 k forest stage near Parkes.
The wheat was sewn 4 weeks ago… will make the tracks much better defined by COT time.
We’ve found two good short stages between the Broken Hill speedway and Silverton.
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COT 2014 March survey – pics from days 1 and 2

Parkes Nissan, venue for scrutiny on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
The Parkes Services Club, the venue for the briefing and our welcome function on Saturday evening.
Heugh, our host at Overland and Emu Chase, with Philip. That’s one of Heugh’s smaller tractors.
We always stop at Utes in the Paddock at Ootha – there is always something to see. This is a service location on the 2014 COT.
Main street of Parkes – this is our start location on Sunday 31 August.
Linda, our hostess at the Comfort Inn Bushman’s, Rally HQ in Parkes.
Saw this number plate on one of the Mercedes at the Bushman’s. We explained the significance of numbers 001, 002 and 003 to Keith.
About 100 Mercedes owners stopped in Parkes on their way to the Gold Coast for a National event. The car park at the Bushman’s was full of Benzes – and one dirty Nissan Patrol that attracted lots of attention.
The spillway below Lake Endeavour near Parkes – some powerful water has been down here. We found this while checking our prologue locations.
The Nissan Fleet survey Patrol at the Henry Parkes Centre – home of Parkes Tourism.
Elvis directing the way to the prologue near Parkes. Thank you very much…
There are some great farm gate letter boxes our here…

See the report on days 1 & 2 here.