On the trail ... few vehicles are using the Gibson desert at this time of year / File
TWO men whose bodies were found in a West Australian desert up to two weeks after they had died had been ill-prepared for their journey, police say.
A stationhand found the men's bodies, along with that of their dog, on April 8, next to their broken-down Land Rover on the Talawana Track, 51km east of the Cotton Creek turn-off in the scorching Gibson Desert. But police retrieved the bodies only yesterday because of the time it took the stationhand to get back from the site - on the famous Canning Stock Route - to raise the alarm.
The men, aged 21 and 40, and believed to be nephew and uncle, were from Carnavon on the WA coast but were originally from New South Wales.
They had left the Pilbara town of Newman after refuelling on March 28.
Inspector George Putland of police communications in Perth said the men were ill-prepared for their trip, with an old, run-down vehicle and little water.
He said it appeared they died from exposure to the harsh desert conditions after running out of water.
Temperatures in the area had reached into the 40s and it was believed they had not told anyone of their intentions.
Senior Sergeant Geoff Stewart, from Newman police, said the men had left a note before searching for water but had returned empty-handed.
He also said the men's vehicle had broken down. The vehicle was also understood to have had flat tyres.
"No one knew they were missing - simple as that - and people really do underestimate the State that we live in, especially out there," Sen Sgt Stewart told the West Australian newspaper.
"They were only 9km from a fully operational water bore which was on the same track they were on but further from where they were.
"They didn't know that because they hadn't been there.
"All indications are that they were ill-prepared, ill-informed and didn't notify any agencies what their intended travel was."
Snr Sgt Stewart told the newspaper that, at this time of the year, the area was coming out of the wet season.
"One of the things that has counted against them is there is no real vehicle traffic in that area whatsoever at this time of the year," he said.
"The occupants have chosen to go out there at a time when there is not a lot of vehicle traffic at all.
"The indications are that the vehicle they used was not equipped enough.
"We have since found out their intended destination was further north but they would not have had enough fuel or water to traverse the type of desert areas out there.
"The Talawana Track goes on the Canning Stock Route and then they would have turned left and headed north and the vehicle wasn't up to that sort of journey."
The 2000km Canning Stock Route is described as the longest and most remote stock route in the world, and it is the longest heritage trail in Australia.
The route, which traverses the Great Sandy Desert, the Little Sandy Desert and large portions of the Gibson Desert, is connected by a series of wells.
The historic wells were first dug in 1906 by a party under the leadership of A W Canning, a noted surveyor who pioneered stock roads in WA.
