the 4wd campervan guide to

Transcription

THE 4WD CAMPERVAN GUIDE TO
Outback Touring
information and techniques
for getting the most from any
outback adventure
EVERYTHING YOU NEED
TO KNOW ABOUT
TOURING OUTBACK AUSTRALIA
•
•
•
•
•
offroad campervans
highways & tracks
remote travel
free camping
• 4WD for novices
• outback routes
• & much more
From the Publishers of Outback Crossing
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER
Copyright Notice
Copyright © 2013 Outback Crossing ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Campervan Guide to Outback Touring) may in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
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Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Who can tour the outback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
What is a campervan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Where and what is the Outback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
What do you need to bring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What does it cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Is it Safe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
What about the animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Licenses, Road Rules & the States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Driving on Australian Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
What Makes a Good 4WD Camper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Things To Do and See . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Where to Sleep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Food on the Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Remote Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Aboriginal People, Travel Permits and Indigenous Lands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Driving and Target Fixation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
How to Operate a Four Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
How to Drive on Sand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
How to Drive on Rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
How to Drive in Mud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
How to Make a River Crossing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Five Outback Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
The Tanami Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
The Birdsville Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Great Central and Tjukaruru Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Gibb River Road and Kalumburu Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Canning Stock Route . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Enjoy The Outback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Introduction
Hello and Welcome to the The 4WD Campervan Guide to Outback Touring.
Thank you for your interest, thanks for buying the guide and we hope we can answer
some of your questions and offer some insights on getting around the Australian
Outback.
The first few pages of this guide cover the basics, just a primer to explain the concept
of travelling in a campervan and more importantly, a campervan that can take you
off-road.
The next pages are to ease any fears that you may have about getting out on the open
road and getting close to the bush.
We then run through a few basics on how people actually live out of a campervan
and then go on to tell explain about travelling in remote areas and how we deal with
indigenous communities, permits or breakdowns.
There are also pages on 4WD driving techniques with the article on Target Fixation
applying to both on and off road driving.
Finally we’ve outlined five different outback tracks, routes that have become famous
journeys through different regions of the Australian interior.
Thanks again, we hope you enjoy the guide and we know you’ll enjoy touring the
outback.
© www.outbackcrossing.com.au
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Who can tour the outback
Anybody. It’s true. The Outback isn’t a scary, difficult place to place to visit. All you have
to do is walk out of your door or jump on an aeroplane and get here. It’s not exclusive,
it’s not dangerous, it’s not intimidating and it’s not formidable.
It’s a unique part of the world, relaxed, interesting and accessible.
If you can drive then you are in the fortunate position to be able to take control of your
own travel plans and create your own individual experience. In our opinion the outback
is best experienced as a self drive holiday.
You don’t need special driving skills and you don’t need to be a bush survival expert.
We meet single women
in their 70’s out here.
And
young
couples
from Taiwan who can’t
speak a word of English.
Backpackers,
retirees,
tradesmen and hawkers
who are touring around,
making a living while they
travel, and we see whole
families from snowbound
countries like Norway or
Iceland.
The outback is not exclusive. It’s for everyone and it’s easy.
People come to the outback by aeroplane and they arrive by bicycle, train, motorbike,
camel, hire car, wheelbarrow, tractor and horse. Really. If you can think of a unique
transport method then someone has probably had a go at it. There is no right way to
travel.
We like camper vans because they save money on accommodation and they help you
get close to the bush where you can sit outside your vehicle and watch the sun set
over a big red horizon.
We like 4WD camper vans because they can take you to even more big red horizons.
Even if you have never driven a 4x4 before.
If you can drive a regular car then you can drive a four wheel drive. If you can sleep in
a bed then you can sleep in a camper van and if you can feed yourself at home then
you can cook a BBQ or knock up a meal in the bush.
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What is a campervan
In its simplest form a campervan is a transit van or commercial delivery vehicle that’s
been fitted with enough facilities to get a night’s rest - inside the vehicle. Basically it’s
a bed built into a van.
The public passion for campervans began with the famous Volkswagen ‘Kombi’ van.
We assume the word ‘Kombi’ originated from the German word for Combination.
These days a basic camper usually has a sink thrown in for good measure. Common
luxuries also include a gas grill and compact refrigerator.
True camper vans don’t have an inbuilt toilet or shower, that privilege is reserved for
larger recreational vehicles such as Motorhomes.
In the interest of sales and marketing, the RV industry (Recreational Vehicle) sometimes
blurs the line between campers and motorhomes, but a real campervan requires that
you attend to your ablutions somewhere other than the car. Portable gas or solar
showers and chemical toilets (porta-pottys) are sometimes thrown in for those seeking
their own personal amenities. Personally, we’d rather swim in a creek and dig a hole
in the bush.
The key to understanding the nature of these RV’s lies in their name: campervan. If we
accept that camping by definition is to establish temporary lodgings or shelter, then we
can accept that a campervan will have some lifestyle limitations.
For the devotees of the camper van lifestyle these limitations are easily offset by, size,
fuel economy, manoeuvrability around town, price, convenience and the attraction of
combining a touring holiday with a camping style experience.
Campervans can be set up in minutes at the side of the road, in car parks, in designated
camping zones, in caravan parks and pretty well anywhere you can find a parking
space.
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4WD Campervans
4WD Campervans can do all these things and more.
They can be driven onto the soft, white sands of isolated beaches and they can
negotiate badly corrugated, dirt roads, carved away by washouts.
They can be taken up to iconic waterfalls like Mitchell Falls, off the Gibb River Road,
or they can pick their way to ‘Big Red’ - the famous sand dune in the Simpson Desert.
They can take you to places an ordinary 2WD camper could never go. They open up
a whole new world of exploring Australia that people in regular cars never get to see.
Website article - Touring in a 4WD Camper
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Where and what is the Outback
It’s a tough question and there’s no definitive answer.
The outback is generally considered to be isolated regions of Australia with wide open
horizons, sparse vegetation, terrain consisting of sand and rock, coloured by natural
ochres of reds, terracottas and sandstone. As a rule the outback is inhabited by very
few people and distances between any sort of populated locality are large.
If we examine the map above we can see that the vast majority of Australians huddle
around the southern coastal areas, predominantly the south-east coast. And why
not, the climate is moderate, crops grow easily, rain falls regularly and it’s a pleasant
existence for humans.
The real outback is to be found out in the central reddish brown region.
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This is the place where very few people live, filled with deserts, semi-arid zones, scrub
and saltbush. It also has magnificent gorges, plateaus, rock holes, outcrops, dry-asa-bone or sometimes raging rivers, creeks, waterholes, hidden canyons, monolithic
rocks, craters, tropical palms in unusual places, bananas, coconuts, mangoes, dust,
salt, kangaroo, emu, cockatoo, indigenous folk who know more about the bush
than anyone else, ancient rock art, remote bush pubs, settlements of three people,
abandoned mines, ghost towns and more. And that’s probably what you want to see.
Apart from lots of sand, rock and geological oddities, the Outback has lots of sheep
and cattle properties, called stations. Some are fenced, some aren’t. Often you can’t
tell if you’re travelling through a station or just bit of regular old semi-arid desert.
The Outback is also huge. Anna Creek station, in South Australia, covers six million
acres (24,000km²). This single station is larger than El Salvador, Israel or Kuwait.
Visitors arriving from Europe or Asia initially have trouble coming to grips with just how
far it is from one side of the continent to the other.
So that great big reddish brown bit in the middle of the map that we’re going to agree
to call ‘The Outback’, is full of a fair bit of - not much. You have to travel large distances
to get from one tourist hotspot or landmark to the next. And that’s why we recommend
a self-drive exploration of the outback.
Part of any outback experience is the journey itself. It’s about sleeping under the stars
(or at least away from the city lights that have dimmed them out). It’s about having a
swim in a peaceful waterhole in the heat of the day and it’s about preparing a meal
without every modern kitchen aid available. It’s about getting a bit closer to your roots
and stirring some of those old primal instincts. It’s about getting away from the concrete
and brick and getting back to the bush. And if you’re arriving from another country, then
it’s about getting in touch with a new and different landscape.
The Australian outback is a sensory expedition and exploring it is a piece of cake.
Website Article - Where is the Outback?
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What do you need to bring
Not much. You won’t need much. Certainly don’t dust off the tuxedo and ball gown.
The more remote a place is, the more casual it becomes.
If you feel like a night out, enjoying a nice meal, some really good imported or local wine,
great local produce or more exotic bush and indigenous foods, then it’s all possible. Not
everywhere, but there are resorts and restaurants in some of the larger centres around
towns like Alice Springs, Kalgoorlie and Broken Hill that serve up truly luxurious fare,
from chefs who have trained in top hotels around the world, all supplied by specialist
providers. You still won’t be needing the dinner suit or evening dress. Neat, casual
attire is generally the order of the day, even in many of the better establishments in the
major cities.
Out in the bush and outback you’re only really likely to find a local country pub (hotel)
serving up basic meals. Leave all the accoutrements and trappings of the civilised
world at home.
You’re going to be in the bush where most people will be getting around in shorts,
casual shirts, hats and simple footwear.
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We suggest light coloured, loose fitting clothing, preferably made from natural yarns. It
has to be assumed that at some stage you’ll encounter temperatures above your usual
comfort level. Light coloured clothing doesn’t hold heat like dark fabric. Loose fitting
apparel allows air to circulate. Turtle necks and banded sleeves act like little ovens,
holding the heat in. You’re likely to be spending a fair bit of time on your backside,
driving from place to place. Tight jeans and sweaty polyester just doesn’t cut it if you
have too spend long hours sitting down. The other benefit of lighter colours is that, in
our experience, biting insects (of which there are a few - not dangerous but unpleasant)
are more attracted to dark colours.
The same goes for hats. Light colours are cooler and vent holes allow the steam out.
Wide brim hats are great, in the sun or the rain. A decent pair of sunglasses helps a
lot with driving. The Australian light is harsher than any other we’ve seen. Maybe it’s
something to do with the reduced ozone over the continent but the natural light here
seems to have more glare than anywhere else.
Bring bathers and shoes. Comfortable, comfortable shoes. Oh, and practical. You are
going to do some walking. Most attractions involve getting out of the car and hoofing
it to the site. Sometimes it’s on sand, sometimes on rock, concrete, brick pavers or
pebbles. Often it’s just a dirt track winding through the scrub. In places like the gorges
of Karijini you often have to take your shoes off to wade through water. We like technical
sandals for this - open, strap up style footwear with non-slip soles that you don’t even
need to remove if you want to walk through water. One piece of advice. Casual or
sports shoes made from synthetic don’t tend to be as smelly as natural leather. Odd,
but that’s how it is. Reasonable sandshoes or joggers will handle the job too.
While we’re on clothes its best not to assume that you won’t be needing something
warm. The further you get from the coast, the colder the nights can become. The
desert can easily hit sub-zero temperatures at night time and daytime temperatures
can get really cool. It pays to investigate the areas you’ll be visiting and check the
average temperature for the time of year.
Bring your medications and any repeat prescriptions you may need. You’ll find a
pharmacist in most towns with over 500 people living there, but once you hit the real
remote areas, towns can be 600 km apart and consist of a dozen people.
Eftpos (electronic funds transfer - debit, credit cards) is an accepted part of life, even in
the remote bush. Carrying one to two hundred dollars in cash (Australian dollars only)
is convenient because swiping at EFTPOS machines can get expensive. A three dollar
ice-cream can cost five dollars if you pay by swipe card. Fuel, food, accommodation
and groceries can be paid by card, pretty well anywhere. We wouldn’t recommend
carrying a pile of cash.
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If photography is a hobby or a passion, then you’ll know exactly what sort of camera
equipment you’ll be toting along, but if you’re getting a camera just for the outback trip,
then a point-and-shoot that can handle a bit of rough treatment is ideal. Something
with some wide-angle ability will help squeeze in those big landscape shots.
Outdoor necessities such as sunscreens, insect repellents and water bottles can all be
had here and are made for the Australian climate and conditions. A decent water bottle
(or two or three) with good insulation is almost mandatory. As we mentioned you’ll be
doing some walking and many attractions will be solitary sites with just an information
board and no shop.
What else will you need? Just the things that you require on any regular day of your
life. If you’re lucky enough to look younger than you are then some identification will
help you buy a beer at an outback pub.
go to contents9
What does it cost
Fuel
Fuel (and possibly vehicle rental) will probably be the biggest cost you face once you
embark on an outback tour. Fuel prices are reasonable in cities and major rural centres
but once you hit the bush, especially the truly remote towns and roadhouses, prices
skyrocket. Think 40% more and up.
At the time of writing this, fuel in Perth (capital of Western Australia) is $1.40 per litre.
While 1500km away lies the indigenous community of Warburton, along the Great
Central Road. Diesel is currently selling here for $2.40 per litre. It’s a very remote town.
A little over 1600km to the north, via the Great Northern Highway (the major W.A.
arterial road north) is the town of Port Hedland. Fuel is retailing here for $1.67 per litre.
Let’s assume two people will cover about 400km a day in a Toyota Troop Carrier 4WD
camper (unloaded), and that they will use 15 litres of diesel for every 100 kilometres
they travel.
Averaging today’s price at these three locations we get - $1.82 per litre.
400km x 15 litres = 60 litres
60 litres x $1.82 = $109.20
$110 dollars a day for fuel is a very conservative figure and it assumes the average
driver will only want to drive around four hours a day with the rest of the time spent
sightseeing and setting up camp. This number also doesn’t account for a mountain of
camping gear in the back of the camper, additional people, headwinds and hills, which
will all add to the fuel consumption of the vehicle.
We have a look at ways to reduce fuel consumption at Touring and How to Reduce
Fuel Consumption.
In general, fuel in towns is considerably cheaper than on the highways - at the
roadhouses. Latest Fuel Price - www.motormouth.com.au
Buying a Camper
Long term travellers who plan to spend many months or years on the road will probably
be better off buying their own vehicle.
Cheap second hand 4WD campervans can be had for as low as $15,000. At this price
you would have to expect a vehicle with around 300,000km on the odometer.
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Heavy duty diesel vehicles can be expected to be good for another 100 - 200,000km,
providing they are in reasonable mechanical condition. However, expect things like
alternators, starter motors and other electrical components to need replacing.
Petrol 4WD’s are beginning to show real signs of wearing out at 300,000km.
These used 4x4’s may have lots of extras like winches, driving lights and UHF Radios
but they also may require lots spent on them to get them ready for a prolonged assault
on the countryside.
Mid priced campers with lowish kilometres can be had from $30,000 upwards while a
new 4WD camper can cost $80,000 upwards to whatever your wallet can bear.
Drive an average of 400km per day and you need to factor in servicing every 5,000 or
10,000km (depending on the vehicle). Allow $200 for doing it yourself and double or
triple to pay someone else to service it.
Tyres will last anywhere from 40,000km to 80,000km depending on brand, tyre pressure,
rotation and load. Anywhere from $1,200 to $2,000 for four new tyres.
Add to this any additional maintenance or breakages and things can begin to get
expensive.
Hiring a Camper
We cannot stress this point enough. If you hire a 4WD camper van, you must examine
the rental agreement conditions closely and make sure you are actually allowed to
drive the thing off-road.
As ridiculous as it seems there are some hire companies who are happy to rent you a
4x4 but they don’t actually expect you to use it as a four wheel drive. Pathetic but true.
Some companies allow you to travel certain routes but exclude certain ‘harsh’ roads
such as the Canning Stock Route or Cape York.
The other thing to check is that the 4WD you hire is actually capable of going to the
places you want to see.
Not all four wheel drives are capable of the same sort of driving and we refer to the
difference between ‘true’ 4x4 and ‘soft’ 4x4.
Soft 4x4 would refer to cars like Nissan X-Trails, Mitsubishi Delica’s and other highway
based vehicles with some off-road capability.
Real 4x4 would be something like a Toyota Land Cruiser or Hilux and Nissan’s Patrol
or Navara. More information - Different Types of 4WD Systems
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A Toyota Troop Carrier (fitted out as a camper) is going to cost you somewhere in the
region of $110 to $160 per day.
A smaller Holden Rodeo 4x4 (fitted out as a camper) will range from $85 to $130 per
day.
Prices vary as you add things like linen, camping accessories, baby seats, etc.
Hirers with Australian Drivers licenses tend to get a cheaper price than overseas visitors
and insurance excesses can be adjusted up or down depending on your requirements.
It’s impossible to accurately tell you how much it’s going to cost to hire one of these
units.
Costs fluctuate wildly with vehicle choice, level of fit-out, seasonal pricing, the strength
of the Australian dollar, local competition, pickup and drop-off points, intended destinations and just how busy a company is on any given day.
Our advice - shop around, a lot. The internet is your best friend. Search for promotional
coupons, conduct online enquiries, leverage hiring companies by telling them of their
competitors pricing and phone around.
Some well known 4WD rental companies and rental brokers (we’re not making
recommendations, just informing you) http://www.britz.com.au/
http://www.apollocamper.com/
http://www.aussiecampervans.com
http://www.getaboutoz.com/
http://www.cheapacampa.com.au/
http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/
http://www.keacampers.com/
Accommodation
If you grab a ‘Free Camping’ guide (newsagents) then you’ll find nearly 4,000 free
camping sites all over Australia. Add to these the state and national parks that don’t
attract overnight fees and then the hundreds of roadside rest areas, and you are starting
to rack up an impressive list of places that you don’t have to pay to get a night’s sleep.
On the other hand, eco-resorts and ‘glamour camps’ can cost a fortune, as can resort
style rooms at luxury bush retreats.
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Many national parks charge a basic camping fee beginning at $6 per person which can
rise considerably depending on the perceived ‘quality’ of the park in question.
Caravan parks start at around $25 a bay for a basic site (add a bit more for powered
sites) while some ambitious caravan parks will try and wrangle $40 or $50 from you.
A basic room in a roadhouse or country pub begins at around $110 for a double. As with
everything, it’s all about supply and demand. Pull up at an accommodation ‘rathole’ in
the middle of nowhere, with no competition, and expect to be stung.
Attractions and Entry Fees
Lots of things are free to visit and see. Some places are so remote and get so few
visitors that it doesn’t pay to install basic infrastructure and charge basic fees.
Mount Augustus doesn’t have a ranger for three months of the year. It’s too hot and
hardly anyone goes there in summer. There is no fee to look, climb or visit it even
though its over twice the size of Uluru (Ayers Rock).
Uluru, on the other hand, costs $25 per person to drive through the gate.
Attractions like skydiving, camel riding, parachuting, hot air ballooning, white-water
rafting and other ‘adventure’ type activities can get very expensive.
Guided tours can cost as little $10 per head while a tag-a-long 4x4 tour can run into
thousands.
Food
You have to eat whether you’re on holiday or not. If you’re going to be cooking for
yourself then you know what it costs to feed yourself in the manner you enjoy.
Roadhouse food can get very expensive ($10 for a hamburger), while a premium is
paid for things like cokes, ice creams, lollies and chips.
The big chain stores like Woolworths and Coles have a national pricing policy which
makes the price of fresh groceries and supplies very reasonable if you shop there.
A steak, chips and salad at a pub (hotel) is about $18 while a serve of fish and chips
from the local shop will start at about $9 per serve.
MacDonalds is the same everywhere. There’s nowhere cheaper to eat and nothing
that tastes quite as bad. Luckily there’s no Macca’s in the real outback.
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Is it Safe
In a word - absolutely. There are no armed guards at borders, there is no militia, there
are no revolutionaries hiding in the bush, there are no crazed gunmen killing lots of
students at schools. There are occasional rare and isolated instances where a wacko
has kidnapped someone or shot up a restaurant, but in short it’s a very safe place and
the further you get from the cities, the safer it becomes.
The majority of crime occurs in the major urban centres - the cities and big towns. The
bush and rural regions are pretty safe and people in country towns often don’t lock their
houses or remove the keys from their cars. Their kids walk to school unaccompanied
and their teenage daughters can walk home alone at night.
The United Nations records and publishes the total homicide rates for all the world’s
nations. The African nation of Burundi tops the list at number 1. The peaceful little island
of Tonga is a shining example to the rest of the world at number 413. Australia sits
peacefully at number 392, keeping company with other nice places like Switzerland,
Monaco, Liechtenstein and Fiji. Comforting isn’t it.
As far as robbery goes, Australia ranks alongside Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands.
Staying safe in any country involves nothing more than using a little common sense.
Don’t walk off and leave your purse or wallet laying on a shop counter. Don’t walk down
dark, intimidating lanes or alleys in places that don’t feel comfortable. You wouldn’t do
it in Bangkok or Mexico. Don’t do it in Sydney or Melbourne, even though statistically
you’d be fine.
Don’t leave a bottle of brandy standing at attention on the camp table after you’ve gone
to bed. Don’t leave your $5,000 camera laying, in plain view, on the car seat while you
go for a quick swim.
Don’t set up camp next to twenty cowboys who are out in the bush celebrating their
team’s Grand Final win. They are probably going to be drunk and obnoxious by midnight.
Most crime arises out of simple opportunity. Remove the opportunity and, in most
cases, you remove the crime.
Official corruption is virtually invisible to the average Australian (we’re not saying it
doesn’t exist, just that you don’t encounter it) so don’t try bribing the local cop because
you broke the town speed limit by 20kph. He/she is probably very well paid and will
most likely arrest you for attempting to bribe him or her.
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What about the animals
For most visitors, Australia is considered a place where the people probably won’t hurt
you, but the animals and bugs definitely might.
If you were searching for an article aimed at scaring you about the things that bite then
you probably need to look elsewhere.
Statistically you are more likely to die in the taxi taking you to Heathrow or Frankfurt
Airports than to die from an Australian snakebite or a good tail whipping by an outraged
kangaroo.
In fact, if you are a menstruating female, you do have a very, very slight chance of
being attacked by a mature male kangaroo but again there is more chance of choking
to death on a hotdog in the airport lounge.
If you are going to meet your end while holidaying in Australia then the things that
live in the sea are more likely to hurt you than the insects and snakes on terra-firma
and even then, according to the Bureau of Statistics, you are more likely to expire by
drowning.
Crocodiles
Crocodiles kill people – now and again.
On average saltwater crocodiles kill one person a year. This happens mostly in the
warm tropical waters above the Tropic of Capricorn, but unfortunately it does happen
occasionally.
There are also freshwater crocs and while they can give you a bite if provoked, they
are generally considered pretty safe.
In most places up North you will be well and truly informed, if you are in an area that
has a danger of crocodile attack.
Sharks
More people die from eating shark (choking or food poisoning) than die from being
eaten by one.
The Great White is the obvious culprit and is normally the ‘fish’ that gets the blame for
any fatality.
With about one death a year from a population of 22,000,000 and nearly 6,000,000
visitors - ‘death by shark’ can hardly compare to tackling the freeway in a taxi.
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Jellyfish
Box Jelly Fish or “sea wasps” and perhaps the minuscule Irukandji Jellyfish have been
responsible for a few deaths in the past one hundred years.
Largely confined to the warmer, northern, tropical waters – the risk of jellyfish stings is
widely advertised in susceptible regions and seasons.
Much like crocodile attacks, jellyfish fatalities usually occur because someone ignored
the local warnings.
Stonefish
Ugly, insidious, touted as the most venomous fish in the world, and sometimes eaten
as sushi, stonefish have no confirmed record of fatalities in Australia.
Treatment is reported to consist of the application of plus 45 degree water to the
affected area and anti-venom in extreme reactions.
Poisoning usually occurs after stepping upon the venomous spines of this fish which
looks like a rock or piece of coral.
People can live their whole lives in Australia and never even see one.
Blue Ringed Octopus
One of the worlds most venomous and beautiful creatures, the tiny Blue Ringed
Octopus lives in tide pools, holes, nooks, crannies, corners, coke tins and anywhere
there is a place to hide until a tiny crab or shrimp walks by.
There have been only three known Australian deaths from Blue Ringed Octopus bites.
Don’t poke it and it won’t poke you.
Snakes
Australian snakes have a habit of producing scary statistics. Numbers like 6 out of the
10 deadliest snakes in the world or 15 of the 23 most venomous known snakes etc.
The world’s deadliest snake the Oxyuranus microlepidotus, does reside in Australia,
but it lives in the deserts of central Australia and there are no recorded deaths from it’s
bite.
Growing up in Australia ingrains a natural respect for snakes and a simple understanding
of live and let live. You learn to be careful when moving things snakes may be laying
under and watching where you walk in the bush.
Snakes have killed 41 people since 1980 the most dangerous being, overwhelmingly,
the Brown Snake, then the Tiger Snake, Taipan, Adders and various Sea Snakes.
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Spiders
The most common, semi-dangerous, spider encounter anyone is likely to have would
be with the Red Back. Apply ice if bitten. No one has died from a redback bite for well
over two decades.
Immortalized by Slim Dusty’s song and the line “ - There was a redback on the toilet seat
- when I was there last night,
- I didn’t see him in the dark,
- but boy, I felt his bite.”
Redbacks are found lurking in dark corners and holes. Other more dangerous spiders
include the Sydney Funnel Web but like most creatures, it is again mostly a case of
common sense.
Cover your boots at night and look before you poke inside things.
Summary
Most Australians manage to get through their whole lives, apparently surrounded by the
world’s deadliest creatures. Yet ask any one of them and the chances are most people
won’t know anyone who has had a life threatening encounter with a shark, crocodile,
sea snake or stonefish. Many learned to swim in the ocean and the worst they ever
got was a mild scrape from a passing ‘stinger’. Farm kids dodged snakes and spiders
by the thousands and the people that chose not to swim in, or camp beside, crocodile
infested waters, did not get eaten by crocodiles. Remarkable.
One now famous Australian, Steve Irwin, spent his entire life provoking, tormenting
and taunting every deadly animal on the Australian continent and finally died in the
most unlikely manner. He was killed by an animal considered potentially dangerous
but unlikely to harm. By reputation, a dozen other animals that he annoyed should
have caused him more damage.
So if you are considering an Australian holiday don’t be put off by the wild life. Avoid
the mosquitoes in areas known to have Ross River Virus, look out for pick pockets and
‘drink spikers’ in major cities and avoid koala urine if you feel the need to cuddle one.
These are the real dangers.
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Licenses, Road Rules & the States Overseas Visitors
As a general rule, you are able to drive in Australia, as an overseas visitor with a valid
overseas driver’s licence that covers the same vehicle class, for a maximum of three
months after arriving in Australia. If your licence is in a language other than English,
some states require you to carry a recognised English translation of your drivers license
when driving.
Basically, while in Australia, you must only drive the class of vehicle you are licensed
to drive at home and you have to comply with any special conditions required by your
home license: i.e. the requirement to wear eyeglasses while driving.
It’s that simple. Save your time and money and don’t worry about getting an ‘International
License’ just to drive in Australia.
The States
There are six states and two territories in Australia and they all have slightly different
versions of the same basic set of road rules. You don’t have to learn eight different sets
of rules. Really, all you need do is pay attention to changes in speed limits and follow
the directions on the signs that line the highways.
You don’t need to do anything special when you cross borders between the states.
There are no checkpoints, fences or boom gates. No one staffs the borders.
There is often a police station close to the border on major highways.
For all intents and purposes you would hardly know you have crossed a state border
apart from a welcoming sign.
Some states require you to dispose of any fruit or vegetables at a special roadside
bin before entering the state. It’s simply designed to stop the spread of parasites like
fruit fly. It’s not unusual to see someone from South Australia, parked at the Western
Australian border, stuffing the last handful of grapes down, just before they cross the
border.
Basic Rules and the Police
Australian police are generally well trained, well paid and are seen as a public service
rather than some sort of enforcement bureau. They are usually well informed, helpful
and friendly. Don’t hesitate to ask for directions, information or assistance. The police
have the right to pull you over and ask to see your driver’s license.
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It’s a simple procedure that doesn’t occur often and usually begins with - “Good morning
Sir/Madam, can I see…’ and finishes with - “Thank you Sir/Madam and have a good
day.”
They also have the right to test you if they suspect you have alcohol and drugs in your
bloodstream while you are driving.
Virtually all police vehicles have the capability of recording the speed of your vehicle
and of administering a roadside alcohol breath test.
There are 4 main rules that are heavily enforced by all the states. Don’t break them
and you won’t have a problem.
• Drink Driving
• Speeding
• Seatbelts
• Mobile Phones
Drink Driving. The police have long had a vigilant campaign against drink driving. In
most states you are not allowed to consume more than a couple of standard drinks
prior to driving. Having a blood alcohol level of 0.05% or more is a criminal offence and
the penalties are severe. For probationary drivers and some occupational drivers the
blood alcohol limit is nil.
Speeding. Limits vary from state to state and police use a variety of methods to catch
speeders including handheld radar guns, aeroplanes and the much despised speed
cameras. Country cops often have little local crime to look after and will monitor the
speed of passing traffic. They feel much better about handing a fine out to somebody
passing through than giving one to their neighbour.
Seatbelts. Just wear them. Fines for failing to ‘belt up’ can be substantial.
Mobile Phones. In recent years there has been a dedicated campaign to stop
people using their cell phones while driving. You can belt along the highway eating a
MacDonalds burger, fries, apple sundae and coke, but don’t get caught driving with the
phone to your ear or madly typing a text message. Hands free is OK.
You’ll probably have no reason to interact with a policeman or woman and if you do,
it’s probably because you want directions.
Local police do, however, have a grip on the local road conditions and what’s happening
in the community and can be a wealth of local knowledge.
In general the police are a reasonable lot, who won’t take any notice of a van full of
tourists going about their business.
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Driving on Australian Roads © www.outbackcrossing.com.au
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There is nothing difficult or unusual about driving in Australia, in the bush or in the
outback. If you can drive in Melbourne, London, Moscow, Berlin or Tel Aviv, then you
can drive here. In fact, if you are capable of driving a car, then you are capable of
driving on outback Australian roads.
It’s simple. Drive on the left hand side of the road. Give way to traffic on your right hand
side and take notice of the abundant signs.
What you’ll probably notice is that there is a lot less traffic in the bush than what you
are used to and that most country towns aren’t big enough to warrant traffic lights
or roundabouts. In most cases passing through a small town involves reducing your
speed and nothing more.
The Map
The map above shows the major sealed highways of the outback region while the blue
dotted lines are some of Australia’s iconic 4WD tracks.
There are hundreds more dirt tracks of varying degrees of difficulty out there. This
handful are well known off-road routes and there’s a mountain of information available
about each of them.
There are times of the year when some of these tracks are able to be negotiated with
a 2WD vehicle and there are times when nothing can get through them at all.
Some of these tracks are closed for the ‘wet season’ and some can close at intermittent times during the year.
Information about road conditions should be sought prior to undertaking a crossing of
any of these tracks.
We take a more detailed look at five of the outback tracks shown here, at the end of
this guide.
The Highways
Getting around the outback involves lots of driving. The National Parks, tourist hotspots
and natural attractions are separated by large distances, in many instances hundreds
of kilometres apart.
Because there’s not a lot of people living in the interior of the country there’s not a lot
of roads and they’re shared by trucks, road trains, motorbikes, bicyclists, wheelbarrow
pushers, pedestrians and thousands of people with caravans, camper trailers and
campervans.
There are three major hazards on Australian highways © www.outbackcrossing.com.au
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1. Roadtrains. The term is not widely used outside of Australia and describes a prime
mover (truck) towing two, three or four trailers and can be up to 54 metres long (175
feet). They travel at 100kph, they’re big, heavy and they can’t stop in a hurry. Give
them some room, show them some respect and don’t pull out in front of them or cut
them off.
2. Animals. The livestock and native animals are free to wander all over the roads.
Most of the time they are heading for a drink at one of the infrequent waterholes or
creeks that may still contain a puddle of water. They are most active at dawn and dusk
when they’re looking for the first and last opportunity to drink for the day. This is how
we deal with roadside animals “Constantly scan the edges of the road for animals, especially near
water, and understand if you’ve passed a single kangaroo or cow that
there is probably another one right up his backside. Don’t swerve to avoid
animals. Swerving to avoid collision is a natural reaction and requires
a conscious shift in attitude to overcome. Nobody wants to end up in
hospital or worse, saving the life of a rabbit or bird.
If you are going to collide with an animal apply braking force to slow the
vehicle without losing control and keep travelling in a straight line. Be
prepared to hit the animal.
Striking animals like kangaroos and emus while decelerating is messy,
but not normally fatal. Swerving off the road and rolling over can be.
Larger animals like cows, horses, donkeys and camels are a different
proposition. Running into a heavy, long legged horse presents a whole
different set of parameters than hitting a kangaroo. The suggestion here
is to drive within controllable limits and treat every situation on its own
merits. Again running into anything whilst braking is generally better than
swerving at high speed.”
3. Fatigue. If you’re not used to long distance driving then it takes a little while to get
‘driving fit’. Eyelids get heavy and you want to wind the window down to get some fresh
air onto your face to liven you up.
Symptoms like these are sure signs that you’re tired and fatigued. When you start
seeing things like cows on the road that aren’t really there, then you’re really in trouble.
Guess what? You’re in a camper van. Pull up and grab 40 winks.
Website Article - Driving on Australian Roads
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Gravel and Dirt Roads
In Australia driving on gravel becomes a real possibility the minute you decide to visit
any area that is even slightly remote. Access tracks and entrance roads to major tourist
attractions are often unsealed and may involve travelling 50 metres or 500 kilometres.
Gravel or hard compacted dirt roads generally have a firm base and a loose surface
that can change the way a vehicle turns and brakes considerably.
Do your braking before you enter corners. Slow down enough so that you can exit
the corner while applying gentle acceleration. This enables the suspension to remain
loaded and drives the vehicle through the corner in a controlled manner. Avoid coasting
around corners or braking midway around.
What is true for animals on the highway is doubly true when you’re on a gravel road.
Swerving for animals is a sure-fire way of putting your car on it’s roof.
Most government organisations, mining companies and car rental firms recommend
driving with high range 4x4 engaged, headlights turned on and travelling at no more
than 80kph (or whatever lower speed you’re comfortable with.)
Relax, there’s no rush and no one will be pushing you to go faster.
Website Article - Driving on Gravel Roads
Driving a Four Wheel Drive
If you are capable of driving a car then you’re also capable of driving a four wheel drive
car. Usually a 4WD has better all-round visibility and has a higher vantage point so you
can see more of the surrounding landscape.
Most 4WD Campervans are the same size or marginally bigger than a regular car and
require no more skill or effort to drive than anything else. On the open roads they instill
a sense of confidence because of their solid look and build.
Four wheel drives differ from two wheel drives in one small area. 2WD has either the
rear or front wheels propelling the car forward. On the other hand, 4WD’s have the
option to engage all four wheels to propel the car forward. It means that 4WD vehicles
can drive over rougher terrain without getting bogged.
Many modern vehicles are full-time 4x4 anyway, meaning you don’t have to do anything
extra to engage 4WD.
Most 4WD Campervans are part-time 4x4, meaning you select the option to put the car
into four wheel drive. The car operates in 2WD most of the time.
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Engaging 4WD is a simple operation that may involve the pushing of a button or you
may need to operate a second gear stick. You may also have to get out of the car
and ‘lock’ the free-wheeling hubs. It’s a simple action that involves nothing more than
moving a ‘key’ in the centre of the two front wheels. There’s nothing technical or difficult
about it and you can’t really fail or do it incorrectly. Our kids have been doing it since
they were five years old while we sat on our bums in the car.
True four wheel drives have one additional feature. They can be driven in High range
4x4 or Low range 4x4. High range is the regular gearing at which the car is normally
driven.
Low range uses a lower gear ratio. Again, it’s is selected by a button or by a different
position on the gear stick. It’s used in conditions where extreme traction and control is
required. The car accelerates at a much slower rate and moves in tractor-like fashion,
crawling over the terrain. Low range 4WD is really only used in extreme off road
conditions.
Detailed instructions are found in the owners manual and are often on a placard under
the driver’s sun visor.
There is nothing technical or challenging about putting a car into four wheel drive. It’s
not a complex process and once you’ve done it once, you’ve mastered it. You may
never even use 4x4, but it’s nice to have it available.
Summary
Driving in the outback is simple. Respect the road trains, watch out for animals and pull
up when you’re tired. Driving in Australia is no more difficult than that. It’s easier than
driving around a city with a thousand distractions and a thousand other drivers to worry
about, and it’s easier than driving on a freeway with ten lanes and forty exit ramps.
Driving on dirt and gravel just requires a little more concentration and it’s often more
comfortable and more interesting than the highway.
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What Makes a Good 4WD Camper We can’t lie, we have a strong affinity for Toyota Land Cruiser Troop Carriers (Troopys),
anything from the 1984 ‘70 Series’ on.
They’re built like tanks, last forever and are one of the biggest 4WD wagons on the
market.
From the factory they could seat three people in the front and eight in the back. This
massive cargo area translates to enough room to fit a double bed (sometimes a
single as well), storage space and a kitchenette while still maintaining excellent 4x4
credentials.
They’re used for everything from mine site personnel carriers to outback ambulances
and police cars. The army had dozens for years and every indigenous community in
Western Australia and the Northern Territory have a couple for transporting people into
town.
Troopys are modified and commonly used by hire companies as their ultimate 4WD
camper and conversions include a ‘high-top model’ and a ‘pop-top’ version.
Given a choice we’d go for the pop-top roof variety everyday. The lower centre of
gravity and lower wind resistance mean a more economical and more stable vehicle.
Nissan no longer makes a troop or personnel carrier but aftermarket, or ‘slide-on’
campers are available that fit their patrol utes. The Nissan Patrol enjoys a similar
reputation for toughness, durability and reliability as the Land Cruiser.
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The Land Rover Defender is large enough to be turned into reasonable camper van
but doesn’t share the same reputation for reliability and spare parts (at least way out
in the bush), as the Land Cruiser and Patrol.
Slide-on Campers can be retro-fitted to a wide range of vehicles and this has allowed
some of the smaller four wheel drive models to enter the camper van market.
Toyota Hilux, Nissan Navara, Ford Ranger and Holden Colorado have all found
themselves candidates to have an aftermarket camper unit bolted on, and some of
these smaller vehicles end up having more usable room than the big Toyota Troop
Carriers mentioned in the beginning.
What they may miss out on is the really robust drive-train of the bigger four wheel
drives and the additional ground clearance of the taller cars.
Moving up to bigger rigs sees you getting into truck like characteristics as built into
units like the Australian made OKA. We’re really talking motorhomes with this larger
class of vehicle and they usually come with a shower and toilet.
Japanese and European 4x4 trucks are converted by specialist vehicle builders who
use the drivetrain and chassis from well known manufacturers like MAN, Unimog,
Isuzu, Fuso (Mitsubishi) and Iveco.
What these 4x4 trucks add in comfort and appointments, they lose in manoeuvrability
and off-road prowess.
We did a comparison of the major styles of RV, both 2WD and 4WD at Caravan, Motorhome or Camper Trailer?
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Things To Do and See You become an explorer, a nomad, a wanderer. You shrug off the confines of your
everyday, regimented life and you hit the road intent on divesting yourself of the daily
grind and settling into a minimalist life where the big open skies are your wall hanging.
You etch out a simple plan, an outline of the areas you’d like to see and you come to
realise that touring Australia in a 4WD campervan, is a lot like taking an ocean cruise
- the ebbing of the oceans and the company of the mutton birds above, are just as
important as the ports you visit.
You consider what experience you want to have and what sights you’d like to see and
you build a rough plan of achieving it. You don’t bite off too much and try to cover too
much territory in a single trip. You can drive around Australia in two weeks but you
won’t see a damn thing.
Your simple plan is flexible. You meet a couple in Kalbarri and they tell you that the
whale sharks are in the bay at Ningaloo, so you alter you plans and head for the reef,
when your initial intentions were to head for the desert and see Uluru. You still manage
to get to Uluru but you end up taking a different road, and you spend a night at a
glorious desert waterhole along the way, and no-one has ever heard of it.
You select a section of the country that you can reasonably expect to cover and you get
a detailed map that shows the waterholes and old ghost towns and points of interest
that regular highway maps don’t show.
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Maps like those from HEMA, ‘The Great Desert Tracks’ for example.
You study the map as you drive along on an seemingly, featureless bit of road and
you see there’s an old building that none of the tourist brochures mention. You call
in and spend four hours ruffling through the old bits of metal and tins and broken old
trucks and you wonder who lived here and how they ended living in this hopeless part
of nowhere that couldn’t support a lone cacti, never mind a family of six. You like it so
much that you set up camp in the ruins and spend the night, and when you’re late and
miss the tourist show and gold panning display at the next town, you realise that you
didn’t miss anything at all.
You fill up on brochures from all the tourist information offices but you assume that
they don’t know or won’t tell you about all the other good things to see nearby. You
assume that if one area has a particular geological oddity, then there’s likely to be
others nearby.
You talk to the people on the road, at the roadhouse, in the shops and in the caravan
parks and you just ask them what else there is to see. Locals know where everything
is. Older aboriginal locals know even more. Tourism offices tell you about the places
they want you to go - the ‘safe’ places where there’s a park ranger in case you twist
an ankle. They tell you about the local businesses and museums, who all charge a fee
and help keep the local economy running (fair enough), but they don’t tell you about
the swimming hole in the old jasper quarry a kilometre out of town.
You start with a rough plan and you create your own itinerary as the moment takes
you.
You spend a night in a caravan park to see if you like the social banter around the
grass common. You decide that’s OK, but you don’t want to do it every night, so the
next night you book into a classic old bush pub and have a laugh and a few beers and
a steak and salad.
The next day you pull up at a semi-dry river bed and there’s a caravan 400 metres
further up and you give them a wave and you see they have a fire going, so you
organise yourself some wood. They seem to want a bit of solitude too, so that’s OK
with you. You spend a magnificent evening as a red sun melts into a stand of salmon
gums and the cockatoos and kangaroos take their last, furtive drink for the day.
You wake up early, earlier than you are used to, and you’re happy about it. You’re
amazingly refreshed because you slept like a baby and the night noises were relaxing
and not disturbing. Your back feels great because your muscles were relaxed and
the balmy 25 degree night has cleared your nostrils and you feel like you can breathe
properly for the first time in years.
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The sun is just poking it’s head over the trees, on the opposite side of where it went
down, and you’re lucky enough to glimpse a suspicious dingo snatching a drink from
the river, warily eyeing your camp off the whole time.
The white cockatoos see him and set up an awful cacophony of squawking to let
everyone else know he’s there, and he sees you move and he vanishes. Just then a
big wedge-tail eagle looms over the sky, looking for his first lizard of the day, and every
bird on the planet goes quiet, hoping it’s not them he’s seen.
The plan had been to pull in to the next roadhouse and pay $2 for a shower but the
water in the river looks so inviting you decide to have a swim. Which ends up being
about the most refreshing bath you could of had. You drive right on past that roadhouse
with it’s $2 showers and it’s ordinary coffee because you just had breakfast over the
freshly stirred embers of the campfire and you figure that there is nothing, absolutely
nothing, that can add anything to this newfound feeling of freedom and wellbeing.
A shabby poster, nailed to a tree, catches your eye and you take a 300km detour along
a gravel back-track for the annual race day in a town of 200 people.
The place is barely a dot on the map but the town numbers have swelled to around a
thousand people, accompanied by their kids and dogs.
It’s free camping at the racetrack which consists of an oval of dirt and a dilapidated
fence and you make camp and wander through the half dozen market stalls and buy
some local honey.
After the horse racing, which has been a confusing kaleidoscope of dust, yelling and
beating hooves, the sack race, goat race, toad race and three legged races are held
and the night turns into some sort of ball, with a live band (country of course) and all
you could possibly eat and drink.
Someone hands you a bacon and egg sandwich the next morning and you spend an
hour laughing about the previous night, holding your thumping head the whole time,
and seeing as you ended up 300km inland you decide to carry along the track that
brought you here to see a remote gorge you read about.
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Where to Sleep Here’s the real beauty about travelling in your own self contained house-on-wheels,
you stay wherever you choose and pay whatever you want
Caravan Parks
There are thousands of people who spend months, and even years, at a time, hopping
from one caravan park to the next. In Australia there are over 1,600 caravan parks
(known as RV Parks and Trailer Parks in other parts of the world).
Most have both powered and unpowered sites, meaning you can plug in regular 240
volt domestic electricity to power all those gadgets or just ‘camp’ on a patch of grass.
As well as the choice of having electricity, parks also have public toilets and showers and
usually have a coin operated laundry attached to the ablutions. Some more exclusive
parks have private ablutions for each site but these places are usually confined to the
larger urban areas.
Camp kitchens are a common park amenity - a roof, BBQ and sink where like-minded
travellers can share a story and a beer.
Swimming pools are another common drawcard, used to pull in the tourists off the
highway.
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Caravan parks can also have on-site cabins with en-suites and cooking facilities and
may also provide permanent caravan sites and workers accommodation.
There is virtually a caravan park in every town in Australia and roadhouses often have
similar facilities.
Prices range from $10 a night for an unpowered camping site to $25 for an average
caravan bay.
Motels, Roadhouses and Pubs
The highways and towns are full of motels and pubs (hotels) offering rooms by the
night. The word ‘tavern’ usually indicates an establishment that serves drinks and food
only and has no accommodation.
It’s also common to find a roadhouse offering rooms to rent.
Prices range from $90 - $130 for a double room with an ensuite, although older pubs
and roadhouses may only have communal facilities.
National and State Parks
Camping is often allowed in State and National Parks (camping is what you’re doing in
a campervan). It’s discretionary and dependent on the park and the season.
Some parks are free, some require a fee paid into an unmanned ‘honour box’ and
some are manned by a park ranger who comes around and collects fees. It’s worth
investigating seasonal and yearly passes for the National Parks if you plan on visiting
lots of them http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/national-parks
Staying in parks is a great option if you plan on spending some time in a particular
park. The campground could be a single patch of dirt or it could have a picnic table and
chairs, a fireplace and BBQ (with firewood supplied if you’re lucky) and even a long
drop toilet and solar shower.
Roadside Camping
Not common in the south of the country, pulling up by the side of the road is increasingly encouraged the further north and more remote you travel.
State and Federal governments are increasingly providing ‘roadside rest areas’,
resplendent with all the amenities you may find in the national parks - BBQ’s seats,
toilets and rubbish bins.
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Some have a bore that provides water via a windmill and tank, although actually
drinking the stuff isn’t completely encouraged. It’s good enough to have a bath and
wash up the dishes though. Oh, and it’s completely free.
More information at Roadside Camping
Station Stays
Entrepreneurial station owners sometimes advertise camping grounds and basic
accommodation right at the homestead.
It’s a chance to have a look at a working cattle station (or sheep) and spend a night
somewhere off the beaten track.
Rooms are often the old shearing quarters and facilities can be downright basic. The
opportunity often exists to join the stain workforce in a community meal for a few
dollars.
Wherever I Lay My Hat
If you’re out in the desert, in a remote place, or somewhere where grabbing a night’s
sleep isn’t going to offend anyone or break any obvious laws, then setting up camp
doesn’t usually present a problem.
If the location has a lake, small dam, rock pool or billabong (water pool by a river) then
so much the better.
Simple guidelines and basic bush etiquette is - don’t set the bush on fire, don’t camp
on top of the waterhole (allow animals to come in and drink - you want to see them
anyway) and leave the place as you found it i.e.: dig a hole for your toilet, take your
rubbish out with you and extinguish your fire properly.
Many gazetted roads run right through station properties. Farmers and station owners
have a reason for leaving gates open or shut.
Shutting a gate that has been deliberately left open may isolate stock from a vital water
hole. Leaving gates open that were originally closed may mean the mixing of herds or
of stock wandering onto roads.
Basic rule of the bush - leave gates as you found them.
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Food on the Road Touring around the bush doesn’t mean you have to exist on a diet of barbecue and
deep-fried roadhouse poison. Part of the touring experience is cooking for yourself and
getting back to the bush.
Hone up the campfire skills and plan on a variety of healthy meals. Night after night of
BBQ, followed by hours of driving, tends to leave you feeling pretty lethargic when it
comes time to take a walk up a scenic hill.
Healthy food also gets the plumbing working a whole lot better, making for a more
pleasant toilet experience - which is not always going to be luxurious. A holiday can be
a great excuse for a lifestyle adjustment.
Refrigeration and storage space is limited in campervans so a bit of forward planning
regarding meals and supplies helps when it’s comes time to fire up the burner.
Get It While You Can
We have a simple policy on the road of ‘Get it While You Can’.
Any fruit or vegetable that can be found anywhere in the world can be had in Australia.
...if you’re in a major city with a buying public of a million people or more.
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In the outback and the bush, where towns can consist of 30 people, there’s not always
a lot of demand for fruit like rambutan, mangosteen, jakfruit of lychee. Likewise you’ll
probably find one variety of potato, one variety of onion and if you’re really lucky, some
fresh garlic.
Bread will often arrive to remote roadhouses in frozen form and standard green
vegetables will be frozen or tinned.
Plan to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables whenever you’re in a large town. If
something looks good and fresh it pays to get it there and then, not hope there’s going
to be something better and cheaper further up the road, there’s probably not.
Australia is beef and sheep country and if meat looks good - it probably is. Chicken
is common and plentiful and fresh fish is easily found near the oceanside towns, but
generally is only available in frozen form in the smaller inland towns.
Keep an eye out for travelling fish merchants - freezer trucks who buy up on the coast
and run seafood inland to sell at roadside bays. Prices are generally good, as is the
quality.
Also look out for roadside stalls, local farmers who sell anything from rock melon,
apples, bananas and mangoes and rely on an ‘honour box’ system of payment at the
front gate.
If you’re in a region that specialises in particular produce e.g.- crayfish in Dongara
(W.A.), mangoes in Katherine (N.T.), pineapples in Townsville (Qld), bananas in
Carnarvon (W.A.), wine in Eden Valley (S.A.), coffee in Mareeba (Qld) - then take
advantage of ‘cellar door’ sales, where you can purchase straight from the producer.
Never miss a chance to visit the local markets of whatever town you happen to be
passing through.
It’s amazing the things people grow in their backyards and the quality of homemade
pickles and jams is usually really good.
Roadhouses
While we are quick to condemn roadhouse food, many of these highway establishments can make a decent (read: excellent) hamburger or steak burger. You just have
to look past the deep-fried bain-marie and the pie oven.
Roadhouses exist by dragging a few dollars from the passing tourist and feeding and
showering the army of truck drivers who thread the highways.
If a roadhouse has half a dozen roadtrains parked up for lunch then it’s a pretty good
indication that the food is OK.
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Catch Your Own
Take advantage of the thousands of kilometres of coast line. A fold up fishing rod takes
up little room, can be a great way to watch a sunset, and can fill the pan with a fresh
fish.
Inland rivers are filled with perch, bream, barramundi, red claw and yabbies.
Fishing is one of Australia’s most popular activities and it goes hand in hand with a
touring holiday.
One Dish Meals - Recipes
We’re big fans of ‘one dish meals’ - fare that contains everything you need or want in a
single serving. Here’s a few of our favourite road recipes for a bit of inspiration.
Gozleme - Spicy Turkish Wrap
Prawn and Chorizo Paella
Moroccan Chicken with Spiced Toasted Couscous
Savoury Baked Potatoes
Spiced Pork Tortillas
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Remote Travel
Travelling in remote areas means you must be self-reliant and you must be prepared
to travel without the backup of things like ‘roadside assist’ , mechanical workshops,
mobile phones, shops, fuel stations, water supplies and hospitals.
In short you have to be independent and prepared to extricate yourself from any drama
you may encounter.
What is a Remote Area
If we examine the map of ‘Outback Highways and Classic Outback Tracks’ (page
20 - Driving on Australian Roads) then we have to conclude that the vast majority
of Australia is in fact - remote.
However, those solid black major highways are all busy arterial roads with a never
ending stream of tourists, trucks and travellers.
Breaking down or having any sort of problem on one of these highways means it won’t
be long before someone comes along that can assist.
Outback routes such as the ‘Gibb River Road’ and the access roads into Cape York
also receive plenty of traffic and providing you’re on a commonly used section of road,
it’s unlikely you would wait for more than a couple of hours before seeing someone
else. These days even the iconic ‘Canning Stock Route’ is traversed by over 3000
vehicles a year.
Seasonal changes, like extreme summer temperatures or wet season rainfall, sees
traveller numbers decline dramatically, but for all intents and purposes there’s usually
someone out and about on the major tracks.
That doesn’t mean that you don’t have to properly prepare - just that it’s unlikely you’d
be stranded for days. There is an unwritten rule in the bush that everyone assists other
people in trouble. That everyone includes foreign travellers, city folk out for an outback
experience and working travellers and station employees.
That assistance comes a lot more gracefully if you’ve done everything you can to
prevent silly incidents and have prepared properly.
The interior of Australia is crisscrossed by a maze of isolated bush tracks that are the
remnants of old stock routes, mail runs, mining tracks and access roads.
If you’re on a track with a defined start and finish point, then it’s unlikely you will wait
for long periods of time (over one day), before you encounter someone else.
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It’s when you detour off these known routes that you put yourself in a place where
people may not venture for weeks at a time. For instance, when you go searching for
a landmark that’s marked on a map some 5, 10, 20 or 30km - off the main route.
1. When you are travelling remote outback routes you have to put yourself in a position
where you can get yourself out of trouble.
2. You need to carry the correct equipment to enable self-recovery of the vehicle and
so other people can assist you get out of trouble.
3. And you need an emergency plan if all else fails.
The Five P’s
PROPER PLANNING PREVENTS POOR PERFORMANCE
You need to understand exactly where you intend to travel and what conditions that
you should expect, including a worst case scenario, i.e.: floods, breakdowns, getting
lost.
You need to understand what services are available or, more importantly, what
services are not available. Things like fuel, mobile phone reception, water supplies
and mechanical backup simply may not exist where you plan to travel.
You need to understand what weather conditions are forecast for the time of your
journey, and what may happen to the location if a severe weather event occurs.
Your vehicle needs to be properly prepared and in A grade mechanical condition with
any known mechanical issues sorted out prior to leaving. Day time temperatures of
forty five degree and dusty, corrugated roads will quickly reveal any faults in your car.
You need to know how to drive it, including in 4x4 and how to extricate if from being
bogged or how to recover the thing if it becomes stuck somewhere.
You may need travel permits to cross indigenous lands.
Prior To Leaving and On Arrival
The single most important thing you can do to aid in your rescue should you encounter
difficulties in remote areas is tell someone of your intended travel plans. No one will
look for you if no one knows you’re missing.
The first opportunity arises if you call or visit the local police station to check on road
conditions but don’t rely solely on them.
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Tell someone you trust of your departure and intended arrival times and then inform
them as soon as you complete your journey. It would be highly embarrassing (and
potentially costly) to be sitting in the Sydney Hilton, re-living your trip, while five
aeroplanes searched a remote outback track looking for you.
Navigation
GPS (satellite) navigation has become highly sophisticated in the last ten years and
can provide extensive and detailed information about the remotest areas in the country.
Combined with computer mapping these are powerful tools that can tell you exactly
where you are and where you want to go.
Of course they are also electronic devices which can fail, malfunction and get lost or
broken.
Take a quality map of the area and a good compass and spend half an hour learning
how to read both.
We like the detailed maps supplied by HEMA. - http://www.hemamaps.com.au/
Emergency or Backup Plan
With good preparation, and the required skills to tackle your intended route, then
travelling on remote outback tracks is a rewarding and safe experience. But sometimes
things go wrong and you to need a backup plan in case an emergency arises. Yours
or someone else’s.
The simplest methods to alert emergency assistance if things turn bad is by satellite either satellite phone or EPIRB.
Regular cell or mobile phones don’t work very far from towns and many communities
and roadhouses in remote areas have no mobile phone reception whatever.
UHF radio is a great tool for local communication but it only works over short distances.
Satellite phones can be hired for short term or purchased outright. They aren’t cheap
but they work virtually anywhere.
EPIRBS (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) are also known as ‘distress
beacons’ and they’re used widely by the marine industry. They work simply by activating
a button which causes the EPIRB to bounce a constant signal to satellites and then to
monitoring stations who can determine the position of the distress signal.
They transmit a genuine distress signal that initiates a rescue operation to the area of
the signal. They’re not used to get someone to come and help you change a flat tyre
on the Pacific Highway.
Prices begin at $250 and we like them a lot - because they work.
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What To Take
This lists below are by no means all-inclusive or exhaustive. The first list is the gear
that we carry on a day-to-day basis and it’s what we’ve found works for us.
There are times when we add items like hand winches, bog mats, shock absorbers
and additional spare tyres and fuel.
As a rule we prefer not to carry fuel unless we absolutely have to, even if it means
paying $2.80 per litre at an isolated station. We achieve 1,200km on a full load of
diesel and it’s enough to get us to most places. If you’re driving in constant 4x4 then
allowances must be made for up to 40% more fuel consumption.
We’re not big fans of electric winches, viewing them as potentially unreliable and
dangerous pieces of equipment but some people swear by them.
We tend to travel alone, not really enjoying the democracy and dust-eating involved
with travelling in convoys, but it is the safest way to travel.
We also tend not to take driving risks way out in the bush or ‘outback’. Severe hill
climbing and extreme river crossings are fine when you’ve got a ‘get out clause’ i.e:
when help is close at hand. When we are a thousand kilometres from anywhere we
prefer to drive around an obstacle rather than smash through it.
We recently encountered an article written by a well respected motoring journalist
stating that you should leave the hi-lift jack behind when venturing into remote locations.
His reasoning is that there isn’t jacking points on many modern vehicles.
For us it is the single most vital piece of recovery gear after a long handled shovel and
we don’t go anywhere without a quality model.
We don’t scrimp on recovery gear. It’s not there for show and we need to know it will
work if called upon. Budget ‘K-Mart’ style recovery straps and air compressors are fine
until you have to rely on them.
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Basic Equipment For Remote Travel
• 10 litres of drinking water, per person - per day, (in more than one container in case
of leaks)
• Long range fuel
• 2 spare tyres
• Tubeless and tube repair kit including a tube, patches and plugs
• Tyre Levers
• Long handled shovel
• Hi-lift jack
• Rated Snatch Strap, tow rope, tree protector and minimum 3.5t clevis shackles
• Detailed maps and a quality compass
• Multitool or Swiss army knife
• Torch and gas lantern
• Waterproof matches
• Spare key securely attached to the car somewhere
• Spare cash for emergencies
• UHF Radio
• EPIRB
• Comprehensive first aid kit including a thermal shock blanket
• Tool kit enabling most roadside repairs (if you can’t fix something a passerby may
be able to)
• Spare fan belts, radiator and heater hoses, oil, coolant
• Quality 12 volt air compressor and tyre pressure gauge
• Windscreen repair kit
• Plenty of dried and tinned food, additional to food for regular meals
• Self-Fusing ‘rescue’ tape
• Radiator Patching Putty
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Additional Items for Convenience or Necessity
• Dual battery setup with smart controller
• Camp lighting
• 12 volt fridge/freezer
• Face wipes
• Toilet paper and toilet wipes (seriously good things in the bush)
• Sleeping kit, swags, stretchers, tent etc.
• Warm clothes, just in case
• Insect repellent and mosquito coils
• ‘CamelBak’ - drinking water backpack
• Inverter and battery charger
• GPS and computer
• Waterless hand cleaner
• Cooking facilities, gas stove
• Portable gas hot water system
• Awning for Shade
• Radiator Guard for protection from spinifex and native grasses
• Driving Lights and spotlights
• Deflector or ‘water-blind’ for river crossings
Related Pages From the Website
• The Hi-Lift Jack
• Mobile Communication in the Bush
• Survival Aids
• 4WD Trip Preparation
• Windscreen Repair Kits
• Basic Daily Inspection
• Beating the Dust
• Power Winches
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Aboriginal People, Travel Permits and Indigenous Lands Many people visiting the outback are wanting to experience varying degrees of
Aboriginal culture. Whether it’s viewing and buying traditional art, such as carvings and
dot paintings, or learning how to make and play a didgeridoo, or sampling traditional
bush tucker (food) - the range of experience on offer is wide.
There are about fourteen regional groups of Australian Aboriginals that can be further
divided into several hundred different language and clan groups and there are distinct
physical and cultural differences between groups.
The places and ways indigenous people live in the outback are just as diverse. Groups
in the tropical north eat lots of seafood, water snakes and other animals that don’t exist
in central Australia. They know where to swim to avoid crocodiles and where to go
when the big rains come.
Central Desert Aborigines can walk incredible distances, barefoot over hot sand, to
find a rock hole with a trickle of water in it. They know how to stay warm on those cold
desert nights and they know how to stay cool in the midday sun.
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Their respective art displays their differing ways of life. Aboriginal art is more than just
decoration, it’s life instructions and road signs, it’s a manual for survival about good
things to eat and places to find water. And it’s a way of passing stories of morality and
caution to the generations that follow.
Indigenous people who live mostly traditional style lives know more about the bush
than anyone else.
The more time you spend in the outback, the closer you get to it. After a month of
camping out you’ll start to be able to predict the path of the moon and stars because
you’ve been seeing a lot more of them. You’ll begin to recognise the patterns of the
birds and animals, their calls and nocturnal habits and where they go to find water.
You’ll start to work out exactly where the sun is going to go and how to set up your
camp to maximise or minimise it’s effect. Spend long enough in the bush and it
becomes second nature, people don’t even register why they do the things they do, it
just happens. And there’s no one better at it than an aboriginal person who has lived
the majority of their life hunting and eating traditional food and adjusting their life to the
ever changing nature of their country.
There’s a lot of value and learning to be had from Aboriginal culture but it’s not all beer
and skittles.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Not all indigenous people live in the remote outback of Australia, but those that do live
a very different lifestyle to those that live in the towns and cities. Aboriginal groups in
the southern coastal regions are much more likely to be a mixture of races including,
Aboriginal, Anglo-Saxon, Chinese or Asian, Italian, Slavic or any other cultural group
that mixed at the time of white colonisation. And of course that blending of races goes
on today. It is rare to see a true full blood Aboriginal person in the major cities and large
rural towns of the south.
Head to the north and the red centre and things begin to change. In the tropical north
there is a mixing of the continent based indigenous groups and the island groups.
The people from the islands of the Timor Sea and Pacific Ocean, although claiming
aboriginality, have distinct physical differences and consider themselves an entirely
separate group. There is, on occasion, friction between island groups and land groups.
The last aboriginal group to come out of the desert, where they were living a completely
traditional life (including animal hide genital coverings and spears), were the Pintupi
with nine people finally entering conventional society as late as 1984.
Many indigenous people living in remote communities are living a combination of the
old aboriginal traditions and what they want to take from western culture.
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Motor vehicles, clothes, European style housing and western food all form a part of
remote aboriginal culture as do undergoing traditional ‘law’ rituals, initiation ceremonies,
tribal scarring and hunting food like kangaroo and bungarra (big sand lizards).
Another western tradition that has been wholeheartedly embraced by some aboriginal
people is alcohol.
The Needle and the Damage Done
Drugs, glue, solvent and petrol sniffing have all had an impact on some parts of the
aboriginal community but, without a doubt, alcohol abuse has had the most dramatic
and devastating impact on large sections of indigenous communities and the results
are as bad as anywhere in the world where similar issues exist.
We’ve personally witnessed kids with a cut-off can hanging from a string around their
neck, who have half-filled the can with petrol and spend hours with their nose dangling
above the constant vapour. Brain damage is the inevitable result.
Some mining companies have had to change their policy regarding paints and solvents
because people were rummaging through their rubbish tips in search of empty paint
cans.
Alcohol abuse is most commonly seen in the towns of the north and around central
Australia. Communities are often welfare dependent and live in sponsored government
housing. Alcohol fuelled parties, funerals, weddings, anything can turn into violent all-in
brawls and the verbal abuse is something to behold.
Babies born with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, intervention by government
departments, children in foster care and having the army ‘babysit’ isolated communities, are all representative of the size of the problem.
When you travel through the outback you will see the best and very worst of Aboriginal
life.
The Folk in the Bush
As we said, many of the indigenous people who choose to live a more traditional
lifestyle are along the remote outback tracks you may choose to journey down, and the
way of life out here is different to that of town.
Alcohol (and sometimes pornography) are legally banned on the majority of these
communities. Large signs inform you of the fact in no uncertain terms.
These type of indigenous lands have been handed back to the traditional owners who
have chosen to run a ‘dry’ community. The government rightfully acknowledges their
right to do so and places a legal ban across the traditional lands.
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The bans vary from state to state and community to community. Some bans prohibit
alcohol within the confines of the dwellings. Some prohibit alcohol on all the lands and
even the road you drive on which means, technically, you are not supposed to even
carry grog with you, even if you are just passing through.
Many of the roadhouse/shops along these outback tracks are owned by the community
itself and they generally employ non-aboriginal management to run the place. Logically,
you can’t buy booze in a dry community either.
Penalties for noncompliance are severe. We’ve never been checked to see if we’ve
been carrying anything and we don’t know of anyone else who has. The bans are
really in place to combat the residents within the communities and sly grog operators
who sneak in booze at a huge profit.
These community peoples choose to live out in these remote places. You won’t see
much of the communities from the road and being away from prying eyes is the choice
of the people who live there. You’ll often need a travel permit to pass through traditional
lands and sometimes this covers the road and road verges, designated camping areas
and nowhere else. That’s a pretty good indication that the prying eyes of tourists aren’t
really welcome inside.
If there’s a sign welcoming you in or advertising art for sale (often a car bonnet with
a few daubs of paint), then go get a dose of community hospitality and see what’s on
offer.
If you want interaction with a community then the best place to initiate it is at the
roadhouse/shop. Some of the most entertaining conversations we’ve had have been
sat-down under a tree, on a bit of dirt, outside these places. It’s from here that you
may be encouraged to have a look around inside the community or you maybe able to
find out if there’s things for sale. It’s a pretty normal thing, for anyone, to want to know
something about a stranger, before inviting them into their home.
If you’re not familiar with aboriginal people then we’d be reluctant to blindly enter a
closed community that doesn’t have an alcohol ban in place. If you need assistance ,
then by all means enter and ask.
Encountering Groups of People
There is an unwritten rule in the bush that strangers help strangers in need of assistance.
The more remote a place is, the greater the assistance that may be required.
Members of different communities travel widely between their own homes and to the
communities of friends and family (including across states, remember white fellas drew
the lines, not black fellas).
People travel for funerals (big occasions), parties, private business, community
business and sometimes just to get out of a dry community and let off steam.
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The hastily guzzled mountains of empty beer cans, at the edges of community
boundaries, are a dead giveaway.
These outback tracks are littered with car wrecks, mostly smashed and burnt out.
Sometimes all that was wrong with them was that they ran out of fuel. An abandoned
car is lucky to last 24 hours. Anything of value will be gone on the first day. The windows
will be smashed, roof caved in and finally when it’s completely wrecked, someone will
throw a match into the vapours in the fuel tank. Makes quite a spectacle. Also lets the
owner know there’s no point going back for it.
If we encounter anyone broken down on remote back roads, be they black white or
orange, we are immediately alert. Not because these roads are fraught with danger,
quite the opposite, there are more idiots on highways, but simply as a matter of caution.
You’d be amazed at how many people can fit into a family sedan and if it’s a group of
people from a community, then standard practise is to jump out into the middle of the
road, arms waving and doing anything to get your attention. Which is going to be pretty
hard to ignore anyway.
Our standard practise when dealing with such situations is to pull up well short and
leave the car running and begin the initial conversation over long distance. We want to
know the exact nature of the problem and exactly how many people need assistance.
It’s possible that ‘Uncle’, ‘Aunty’ and a cousin are having a nap in the bush.
Sometimes we’ve had to give fuel, sometimes water, sometimes a loan of tools, if we
have any lollies we make sure all the barefoot kids, with no shirts and noses you just
want to wipe clean, get one each. We don’t kick the two mangy dogs who are sniffing
our legs and we are polite and firm.
We make it quite clear that we don’t have any cash, that we only use cards (even if it’s
not true), and that we can’t afford to donate any more fuel than is absolutely necessary
to get them to the nearest roadhouse or community.
We also make it quite clear that we are in a hurry (bad family business for instance)
and we can’t sit by the side of the road until another form of help arrives.
We make sure that everyone has enough water (not at our expense if we where to
break down) and we immediately inform the next roadhouse or community of the
predicament back down the highway.
Every situation is different and every person is different and no single incident can be
used as a reference for another similar situation. You have to assess the situation and
make a call based on the information you can ascertain.
Don’t be pressured into doing something you don’t want (like giving a lift to 8 people
when only 1 really needs to go). Remember you’re on their traditional lands and they
know their piece of bush better than anyone.
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On the other hand, you can’t leave someone stranded in the desert without making
sure they are going to be alright (at least we can’t). We won’t be conned either.
Photographs
Let’s debunk a myth straight away. Most traditional aboriginal people do not believe
that having their photograph taken is equal to someone stealing their soul. No more
than the average non-aboriginal does anyway.
However, it is culturally improper to view or circulate images of dead people.
Aboriginal people in remote areas have (potentially) had very little contact with people
of different ethnicity and may be naturally shy or uncomfortable in the presence of
strangers.
Taking a photo of anyone without asking first, whatever ethnic group or culture they’re
from, is just plain rude.
If you spend some time getting acquainted before asking permission you will probably
be pleasantly surprised.
Permits for Travelling Through Aboriginal Lands
If you intend travelling through the remote desert regions of Western Australia and
the Northern Territory you should assume you require travel permits and will need to
investigate further. Some areas of South Australia and North Queensland also require
permits for traversing indigenous lands.
The W.A. Department of Indigenous Affairs has some basic information and links to
the other states regarding travel permits http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/en/Entry-Permits/Other-States/
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Remote Breakdowns and Stranding Sometimes cars break down. It doesn’t happen often and it usually happens to vehicles
in poor condition or those with a maintenance issue.
It’s rare that you would be on any road in Australia where you don’t see another soul
for a whole day. There’s a lot of people out and about touring, sightseeing or just taking
a shortcut to somewhere else. And then there’s the thousands of station workers who
drive all over the country side fixing windmills and checking fence lines and stock.
There’s untold numbers of geologists, surveyors and other mine employees looking
to see where their mining company is going to dig next. And then there’s trucks, 4WD
postmen and road trains running supplies out to all these other people in the bush.
There’s Telstra employees checking on optic fibre cable and there’s people checking
on remote meteorological stations. There’s also remote communities of aboriginal
people who are constantly on the move between one community and the next.
Let someone know where you plan on travelling and when you expect to reach your
destination and then let them know that you’ve arrived. On some very remote tracks
this is done at the local police station.
The most important part in the following excerpt is to remain. Remain calm and remain
with the car.
How and Why Outback Strandings Occur
A common scenario is a couple of people who decide to visit a remote inland location
and set off only to have their vehicle break down midway through the journey. Ill
prepared and with diminishing supplies they set off for a track that they passed a few
kilometres back, rationalising that it must go somewhere. Of course it doesn’t really
have to go anywhere - an abandoned homestead, a broken windmill or a thousand
kilometre sand track into the Simpson desert.
Some days later, suffering from exposure and with crippling dehydration, unable to
walk on, they settle for a shady gum and wait for help to arrive, finally expiring two days
later. They end up doing exactly what should have done in the first place. Wait.
What To Do
Regardless of the amount of water you have, the outside world’s knowledge of your
whereabouts or your perceived abilities as a bush craftsman, there is one attitude and
five basic rules to maximise your chance of survival in a dire situation.
In most cases the body dies through dehydration, exhaustion and exposure - exposure
from either heat or cold. Medical experts will tell you that the body eventually kills the
brain and life expires. In reality the brain kills the body. The body expires through poor
decision making processes. The minds natural tendency is to react rather than think
things through in a calm and realistic manner.
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The very first thing to do when things turn sour is to recognise the problem for what it
is and then plan accordingly.
Remain calm and don’t underestimate the seriousness of your situation. From the
outset understand that any stranding in a remote area of Australia has the potential to
be disastrous. Assume that you may be in a very serious situation and plan accordingly.
Stay With The Vehicle
People’s cars break down and they get lost in the bush all the time. In most cases they
stay with the car and get rescued. Their story makes one paragraph on page eight of
the newspapers.
People who get stranded and abandon their vehicles often die. They end up with a
coronal enquiry and a front page story. These are just facts.
Other people travel on roads and tracks and search parties begin a sweep of the roads.
This is where people travel and this is where search parties first expect to find people.
Cars are bigger than people - they are easier to see from an aeroplane or helicopter.
Push the vehicle into the open, pull the hood, open the doors - make it visibly large.
Aim the mirrors upwards to catch the sun’s reflection. Get noticed.
If you absolutely must abandon the vehicle leave a note with the car, indicating your
direction of travel.
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There are certain things the human body simply must have to survive. These are the
survival priorities IN THE ORDER OF GREATEST IMPORTANCE.
1. WATER
Without water the human body expires in 2 - 3 days. It can last 2 weeks without
food. When the body becomes dehydrated the brain starts to make poor decisions.
Decisions like abandoning the vehicle. Ration your water, stay out of the sun and
don’t exert yourself any more than absolutely necessary.
2. WARMTH
The deserts of the world can be extremely hot by day and mind-numbingly cold
by night. People who get lost in places like Victoria’s ‘Grampions’ usually die from
exposure to the cold. Get warm and everything, especially the brain, works better.
3. SHELTER
Shelter, like warmth protects the body. Whether it is shelter from blistering sun
or biting cold, a roof or covering protects and reassures. Bodies exposed to the
elements lose moisture fast. By avoiding direct exposure to the sun, moisture is
better retained. Similarly, covering naked skin helps keep everything cool.
4. SIGNALS
After everything has been done to protect the mind and body signals can be used
to attract attention. Whether it is noise, reflections or fire, anything that gets noticed
may work in your favour. A regular camp fire will burn a rubber tyre and create a
massive black cloud of smoke. Car mirrors will reflect light and a pile of rocks saying
S.O.S. will attract the attention of an aeroplane pilot looking for other signs.
5. FOOD
Last and least is Food. There is an abundance of bush food in the outback. Any
recognisable insect or creature has the potential of providing sustenance and
keeping you alive. You don’t need Mars Bars. Providing it’s not a spider, snake or
brightly coloured insect it can probably keep you going long after your water supply
is depleted. An ant colony can keep you alive for weeks.
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Driving and Target Fixation Wikipedia defines the term ‘Target Fixation’ thus - Target fixation is a process by which
the brain is focused so intently on an observed object, that awareness of other obstacles
or hazards can diminish. Also, in an avoidance scenario, the observer can become so
fixated on the target that they will forget to take the necessary action to avoid it, thus
colliding with the object.
Target fixation is a negative response that can affect many day to day activities including
golf, tennis, skiing, mountain bike riding and motorcycling - virtually any activity where
the participant is penalised for missing his or her target.
Golfers are a good example as they are particularly susceptible to the vagaries of poor
concentration and the penalties that arise from target fixation. The golfer stands on the
tee, ready to drive the ball deep down the fairway. To the right is a large dam and the
golfer knows that if his ball finds it’s way into to the water he will incur a penalty and
may ‘lose’ the hole.
He becomes so fixated on the negative target and of not driving the ball into the dam,
that his concentration on the positive target, the fairway, is virtually nil.
The golfer is doomed from the start. His concentration, his target fixation on the dam
and his subconscious all conspire against him and as sure as certain he plonks the ball
right in the middle of the water.
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Target Fixation and Driving a Car
The penalty for target fixation in golf is a lost ball. The penalty for drivers may be
buckled four wheel drive vehicles and broken bones.
Many rear end collisions can be attributed to target fixation. The eyes lock onto the red
brake lights of the car in front, the driver panics, having never anticipated an escape
route and slams into the car in front.
Had the driver observed the whole line of forward traffic and anticipated interruptions
to the flow then that driver may well have been on the brakes before the car in front.
Our hands are trained from an early age to follow our eyes.
Whether we drive in tight traffic, on long outback highways or over rocky four wheel
drive tracks the art of seeking out positive, rather than negative, targets will make us
better drivers.
Reacting Normally Under Stress
Accidents and mishaps occur when we fail to react normally in stressful situations. They
arise because we are unprepared for new developments in the driving environment
Highway drivers need to constantly scan the verges and sides of the road. The road
is an ever changing scenario and the brain requires constant information updates so it
can be prepared for arising developments.
Many people don’t look far enough ahead when driving on highways. After the brain
has absorbed the facts about the road surface and assimilated any information about
potholes etc. it is time to see the bigger picture.
The bigger picture includes the bends and dips of the road all the way to the visual
vanishing point. These bends and dips usually correspond to the surrounding countryside which is where most of the danger on Australian roads arises.
Animals wander on and off the road surface, especially around water. Being aware of
this means being prepared.
Big trees on the side of the road or oncoming trucks are just obstacles that require
a mental notation. The tree won’t move so there is no need to focus on it once it has
been locked into the mental picture of the driving environment.
The truck is a moving obstacle that we need to constantly monitor and recheck position
but only in the context of constantly updating our brain to our situation.
We certainly don’t want to target fixate on the centre of his grill because that is where
we may end up.
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This is especially important at night when our vision is greatly reduced and a set of
headlights become the most available target.
Avoiding target fixation and consequently avoiding accidents is a matter of constant
assessment of the driving environment and the constant notation of dangerous
elements and the planning of escape routes.
Target Fixation and Four Wheel Driving
When we leave the bitumen and head out onto the gravel roads, sand tracks and rocky
trails of outback Australia the need to develop this constantly adaptive mental image of
our environment is equally important - especially on gravel roads.
Vehicles lose traction and move around on the loose surface offered by gravel. Our
need to be aware of our surroundings, the turns and camber (the way the road ‘leans’),
dips, potholes and washouts is vital.
It is counter-productive to concentrate on the mere 20 metres ahead (target fixation)
that the vehicle is about to negotiate.
We need to drive to a ‘bigger picture’ and see the whole road ahead and it’s surrounds
as the target.
Once this ability is developed the journey becomes smoother and more relaxed.
Anticipation and forward planning means we are able to make the necessary judgements
to overcome surprises and compromising situations.
Of course this mental imagery happens in mere nanoseconds and is really a
subconscious action. The fact that we may be covering ground at 110 kilometres per
hour means our environment is in a state of constant change and our perceived route
is also fluid and constantly altered.
Driving on difficult, rocky terrain presents much the same scenario. If we focus too
much on each individual rock we have to negotiate we are unable to develop a rhythm
for the course and anticipate the best line of travel. We end up bouncing from one
obstacle to the next.
It sounds tiring but in effect it is actually a more relaxing way to travel. Target fixation
is stressful and focuses on negative imagery. By developing a keen sense of our
route and environment we begin to understand and control it. We can relax our ‘white
knuckle’ grip on the steering wheel, rid ourselves of ‘white line fever’ (target fixation)
and enjoy the ride
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How to Operate a Four Wheel Drive We’ve included this section for those people who have never had any off-road driving
experience. Driving a 4WD (also called ‘4x4’ and ‘four wheel drive’) isn’t particularly
difficult. It requires a couple of actions to ‘engage’ the 4WD system and not much more.
If you can drive a car then you can drive a car over difficult terrain - with 4WD engaged.
There are no special skills required.
The information here is provided to give you a very basic understanding of the function
of the car when it’s in 4WD as well as some good driving practises. Most of it is common
sense. Much of it is taken from a guide from the Toyota Motor Corporation and while
it’s a little dated the principles remain the same.
Precise instructions for the specific vehicle you drive will be available in the owners
manual.
If it’s your first time driving a 4WD then we encourage you to take it off-road as soon
as you can. You’ll quickly realise that driving off road is not difficult and the new found
confidence will inspire you to explore more great locations.
How 4x4 Works
Most cars on the road today moving by using two wheels, either on the rear (RWD) or
on the front (FWD), of the vehicle.
4WD, on the other hand, uses all four wheels. By mobilising all four wheels, it can
move the vehicle even if one of the wheels doesn’t have traction.
4WD gets more traction than RWD or FWD and ensures stable driving off-road - on
sandy, muddy or slippery surfaces.
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Types of Four Wheel Drive
1. Full Time 4WD: Permanent 4WD - all 4 wheels propel the car all the time, on-road
and off-road.
2. Part Time 4WD: Usually 2WD - becomes 4WD by the drivers choice.
3. All Wheel Drive: Usually 2WD, automatically becoming 4WD as necessary.
We’re really concerned with the first two categories here, full time 4WD and part time
4WD. All wheel drive are sometimes called ‘soft’ four wheel drives. Most AWD vehicles
are really designed for highway use.
Engaging or Selecting 4WD
With full-time 4WD, no action is necessary. With part-time 4WD, drivers must lock the
front free-wheel hubs and shift into four wheel drive.
Sub-transmission
There are two common methods to engage the sub-transmission and select 4WD.
1.
Gear Lever Selection: Shift the lever to H4 or L4
2.
Switch Selection: Push a switch button.
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Locking the Free-Wheeling Hubs
Shifting the gearbox to 4WD mode is only half of the procedure to actually engage all
of the wheels. The front drive shaft has to be connected to the front wheels, too. There
are three different types of connectionsManual: Rotate the dial of the front free-wheel hubs into “lock” position.
Power Locking: Push the hub-lock switch button. Some 4WD vehicles with
power-locking connections require the vehicle to be in reverse motion to do this. So it
is not possible to do this if the car is stuck. These vehicles require the driver to lock the
front free-wheel hub in advance.
Automatic: The locking of front free-wheel hub is done while the diver shifts into 4WD
mode.
Note: As a general rule, shifting into 4WD is to be done while the car is parked. Yet,
there are types of 4WD that allow the shifting to be done while the vehicle is in motion.
Confirm the appropriate procedure (by consulting the operation manual) so as not to
damage the vehicle. When the shift is made, usually an indicator lamp lights up to
confirm the shift.
Basic Off-Road Driving Selections
2WD - H2 (lever at ‘H2’ position): Highway, high speed position - two wheel drive.
Use this position for normal driving on dry, hard surfaced roads. This potion provides
better economy, a quieter ride and the least wear.
4WD - H4 (lever at ‘H4’ position): High speed, four wheel drive.
Use this position for driving on gravel, dirt, icy, loose surface roads. This position
provides greater traction than 2WD.
4WD - L4 (lever at ‘L4’ position): Use this for maximum power and traction. Use L4
for climbing and descending steep hills, extreme off road driving and hard pulling in
sand, deep snow or mud. This position is designed for the car to driven at slow speeds
requiring maximum control.
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Driving Techniques
Hill Climb:
Assess the angle, length, surface (hardness, solidity, gap, slipperiness), any drop or
curve at the top of the slope.
Gear Selection: Gear which requires no shift change.
If the slope is steep or has a slippery surface, making an approach run could reduce
slip while climbing. If there is no room for an approach run, an alternate route should
be used. However, an approach run should be restrained to gapless surfaces. When
there is a gap on the surface it is better to climb slowly and steadily to reduce the shock
to the under body. Considerations for making a hill climb• Speed, distance and direction: Make an approach run at an adequate speed and
from sufficient distance. Climb the hill straight towards the top.
• Long climb: When climbing a long hill, keep the speed steady.
• Clutch operation: It is best not to shift. However, if a change is required on the way,
do it quickly and with little clutch use to avoid losing momentum and traction.
• Acceleration: Use a steady acceleration up the hill and back off the acceleration
towards the top to avoid shooting over the top. If the wheels lose traction because
the surface is slippery, slightly decelerate to bring the traction back.
• Recovery: If you slip before reaching the top, back up using the engine as a brake.
This is your recovery. Keep the steering wheel pointed toward the top of the slope
and use the rear-view mirror to guide your descent. It is best not to use the foot
brake to avoid tyre-lock. However, brake gently to keep the vehicle under control*
in cars with automatic transmissions due to the lack of enough engine braking.
(*Vehicles with ABS allow the application of even full-braking though full-braking may
require a longer distance to come to a full stop. The ABS (Anti-lock Braking System)
prevents wheel lock-up allowing the driver to take evasive action while braking.)
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Down Hill Driving:
Assess the angle, length, surface (hardness, solidity, gap, slipperiness).
Gear Selection: Use a lower gear to get the maximum engine braking effect.
• Gear selection and braking: Choose a low gear to take advantage of engine braking
and to be able to avoid using the brake. On a steep or slippery slope, choosing “L4”
to get the maximum engine brake is appropriate. Of course the conditions and type
of vehicle (manual or automatic, etc.) may necessitate foot braking.
• Maintain the direction: Down-hill driving should aim straight down the hill. If the tyres
lose traction, slightly accelerating can help regain traction and steering control.
• Long Slope: Vehicles tend to gain momentum as they go down-hill. Regardless, try
to maintain a steady speed.
• Clutch Operation: When driving down-hill, don’t clutch, as it will nullify the engine
brake. This causes loss of traction and accelerates the vehicle. It is one of the most
dangerous things to do when driving downhill.
Driving Over a Ditch:
Assess the width, depth, angle and surface (sand, stone, mud, solidity).
• Approach angle and drive path: Approach ditches/holes at an angle for maximum
control. Direct approaches could result in hitting the bumper or underguard against
edge of the ditch. The angled approach increases clearance. The angled approach
also forces tyres into the ditch one by one, reducing the impact to the body. It is
important at this time that at least three of the tyres maintain traction. Be sure to
use full-time 4WD with center differential activated when driving in these conditions.
Note: If your angle is wrong, two tyres may enter the ditch at the same time, which
could cause you to get stuck. Drive carefully.
• Driving Speed and Acceleration: Slowly enter one tyre at a time into the ditch/gap.
Then, accelerate a little until the tyre starts to pass the lip and decelerate right
after the tyre clears the ditch. Repeat this process for all four tyres. On a slippery
surface, increase or decrease speed as needed.
• Mitigate Depth or Slope: When the depth or the angle is too great, adjustments
could be made by placing a rock or other object where the tyres hit.
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Driving Over a Slope:
Assess the angle, width, distance, surface (hardness, solidity, gap, slipperiness).
• Approach Angle: Different approaches should be applied depending on the
circumstance. Given a choice, however, keeping the driver’s seat closer to the
mountain side gives the driver an increased sense of security.
• Driving Speed and Acceleration: Steady acceleration or a constant speed is best.
Driving on a Rocky Surface: Assess the gradient, distance surface (solidity, gap,
slipperiness).
Gear Selection: L4 is generally correct for steep and rocky surfaces
• Drive at a walking speed. Fast driving kicks up stones which can damage the vehicle,
while impact from driving over a gap could damage the wheels or suspension.
• Driving Path: It is often best to have an assistant guide the driver for safety. Look
for sharp rocks which can damage the wheel or burst a tyre. When driving over
rocks, make sure they can’t move. If a rock tilts when initially touched, it could
lodge under the body of the vehicle or could give way.
• Tyre Pressure: Lowering the pressure is an option when better traction is required.
However, higher pressure is required most of the time in order to minimise the
possible damage by the rocks to the tyre and wheel.
• Steering Operation: In preparation against the kickback from the rocky surface,
place your thumbs on the steering wheel. A firm grip is necessary to avoid straying
from the chosen path.
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How to Drive on Sand In deep hungry sand, the absolute key to maintaining forward movement is tyre
pressure. Understand how tyre pressure works in sand and you vastly improve your
chances of staying out of trouble and driving out of trouble.
Inertia
Essentially a car struggles to drive in loose sand because of inertia. Inertia is the
tendency of a moving object to keep moving and a stationary object to remain stationary.
Sand gets pushed away from a rotating tyre because the tyre finds it easier to move
the sand away than to move the vehicle forward. Hopefully four rotating tyres become
enough to swing the balance in our favour and generate enough momentum that we
begin to move forward. We can easily swing the balance in our favour by the simple
act of letting some air out of the tyres. Look at the simple diagram and you begin to
understand how this works and why.
By decreasing our wheel height by 25% (by deflation) we can increase our tread
footprint by up to 200%. Our tyre becomes similar to the tracks on a bulldozer. We end
up with a massive increase in surface contact which means it becomes easier for the
rotating tyre to push the vehicle along rather than to push the sand away.
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How To Determine Correct Tyre Pressure For Sand
Assuming your tyres are at the correct pressure for driving on the street we can approximately determine the right sand pressure this way.
Park your 4WD on a hard flat surface and measure the distance between the bottom
of the rim and the road (a.).
Reduce tyre pressure until this distance is 75% of the original height (b.). For instance
if your distance at (a.) was 100mm then your distance at (b.) becomes 75mm.
(a.) is your street pressure and (b.) is your sand pressure.
Measure and note this pressure and use it as a starting guide next time you drive on
sand. No two driving environments and no two vehicles are the same. Factors like the
type of sand, vehicle weight and the tyre in particular all play a part in selecting correct
tyre pressure and no single formula can work in every situation.
Many people use a rule of thumb approach and drop their pressure to somewhere
between 18psi – 22psi as a starting point for sand driving.
Moisture content, sand temperature and compaction all play a part in traction and
if this initial pressure drop doesn’t get you moving, then reduce pressure until you
are travelling comfortably. Reduce in 3 or 4 psi increments at a time. It is possible to
reduce down as low as 10psi without risk of tyre damage. While not recommended for
extended driving, it is generally better and safer to drive out of soft sand than to be
recovered.
When accelerating, braking and turning with low pressures - do so smoothly and
carefully. Over enthusiastic driving makes it possible to roll tyres off rims when running
lower pressures.
Likewise high speeds and driving on bitumen are to be avoided if possible. If you
must drive on bitumen with reduced air be extra cautious when changing speed and
direction.
Equipment
While it is possible to get by without any equipment and hobble to a service station to
re-inflate afterwards, a tyre pressure gauge and compressor make life much easier.
If you intend driving on lots of sand you’ll want a decent one. While a $50 cigarette
lighter model will do the job, it will be slow and as often as not will eventually give up
the ghost. Good tyre gauges are cheap and a quality unit will probably outlast you.
Reducing tyre pressure is the single most effective method to maintaining positive
forward motion in the boggy stuff.
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How to Drive on Rocks More than any other type of four wheel driving, picking and climbing through rocks
requires a real feel for the vehicle. For some people ‘Rock Crawling’ is a competitive
sport and an opportunity to customise a vehicle specifically to challenge the toughest
of terrain.
For most people driving over large sections of good size rocks will simply be about
getting from point A to B and many people would prefer to take a longer route than
subject their bodies and vehicles to the rigours of bundu-bashing. With a little patience
driving over rock doesn’t have to be an experience that leaves your passengers
regretting the trip or your car battered and bruised.
Thrashing It and Control
This is precisely the time a little self control and planning needs to be employed. The
take a run-up and thrash-it-over-the-hill approach just doesn’t cut it on the rocks. Most
likely the car will end up stuck, with at least one flat tyre, probably some panel damage
and possibly a fair bit of damage to the undercarriage.
Select low range 4x4, first or second gear, and choose a driving line. Think constantly
about where each individual tyre will be placed and where the highest ground is so as
to keep the car from bottoming out. Avoid having the car wedged atop a mound and
see-sawing unable to move on. Likewise deep gullies are great places to lodge your
front and rear bumpers and leave all four wheels swinging in the breeze.
Avoid dropping both front wheels over ledges together and approach them at an angle
allowing each wheel to enter and depart the obstacle individually.
Focus and Rhythm
Don’t focus your eyes on the two metres at the front of your car. Because of your slow
speed you have plenty of time to scan the route and modify it as you go. With practise
you will always have a solid path picked out and the actual driving is just a matter of
going through the motions.
Torque and rhythm are the keys and by selecting a low enough gear small throttle
adjustments are all that is required to maintain smooth movement. The brake will really
only be used to wash off momentum after surging over a larger obstacle while the low
gearing nearly makes the clutch redundant. You certainly don’t want to be coasting
over rocks with the clutch depressed letting the car drive itself. You need to propel the
vehicle.
The aim is to maintain a forward rocking motion, ‘stepping’ from one rock to another
and letting each individual wheel find traction. This is the ‘feel’ component.
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This combination of gearing, throttle control and wheel placement results in what can
be a quite boring and hypnotic drive – albeit one that can involve quite a bit of rolling
around from the occupants. It is about constant weight transfer and changes in traction
while allowing the car to do its job.
Hills
Even the steepest of hills can be ascended and descended safely providing the car is
not allowed to achieve such extreme angles as to roll. Because each wheel is involved
in the climbing process it virtually wedges itself between each rock providing a sort
of anchor for the next wheel to take over. Water, mud and loose rocks all change
the dynamics of this situation and care and good judgement should be used before
tackling any large slope.
Drive vertically up and down steep hills. Much like driving in sand dunes the constant
weight shifting involved can present problems if the vehicle is driven across the face
of hills.
Available ground clearance is vital when driving over rocks and if you are attempting
to climb boulders larger than the gap under your car you are probably going to end up
in trouble.
Tyre pressure can also play an important role in climbing rocks. We are trying to achieve
a soft, flexible reaction from the tyres and by releasing some air we can get them to
mould and grip the rocks. Reduced pressure also has the effect of making the tyres act
like shock absorbers rather than a fully inflated tyre that bounces off the rocks.
Care should be taken not to pinch the vulnerable sidewalls between rocks and to not
slam wheels into rocks and damage rims.
Driving through rocks is not the most comfortable way to travel but sometimes it is the
only route to a destination. The key is care and control - bashing your way through
eventually leaves bodies sore and 4WD’s broken.
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How to Drive in Mud
Driving in mud. No other type of four wheel driving can deliver so much fun and so
much misery in one day. From tears of laughter to tears of frustration in seconds - there
is no other medium like the sticky stuff.
Understanding that mud varies from location to location means approaching each
situation with an open mind. Whether it is brown clay, black silt or salt pan mud - at the
end of the day it is simply a combination of soil and water. Each muddy rut and every
watery hole has the potential to offer varying depth and adhesion. If something looks
nasty, your senses are probably right - it probably is. Investigation is always easier
than having to make a plan while your pride and joy disappears.
It should be safe to assume that if you are in a 4WD vehicle you will have engaged
4WD. Every bit of traction is going to help.
The Slick Stuff
There are basically two types of mud you are most likely to encounter. The first is the
shallow but extremely slick layer of mud that can cover the surface of a poorly draining
road and make travel treacherous. Hard packed underneath, these type of roads can
become like ice skating rinks when deluged with water. Anywhere from an inch to a
foot deep, the aim here is to cut through the surface of the mud and find the firm ground
below. Reducing air pressure may or may not assist on this type of surface. There a
very few loss-of-traction situations where a lower air pressure won’t help. However,
care is needed not to deflate so much that the tyres aquaplane and cannot cut down
through the mud and find traction.
Steering and throttle control become vital on slick surface mud. Understand the direction
your front wheels are aiming the entire time. If the car begins to slide then gently turn
your wheels in the direction of the slide. If the car begins sliding off to the left, steer left
to resist the tail of the car trying to overtake the front. In slippery conditions the rear of
the car attempts to pivot around the steering tyres. The aim of steering a sliding car
is to continually redirect it back to the driving line and prevent the rear from coming
around the vehicle. If the car refuses to turn when the steering wheel is rotated then
the front wheels are sliding or planing across the mud. Again, attempt to steer the
vehicle down the driving line.
In either situation gently decelerate, easing off the throttle to allow the tyre to find some
bite. Speedway Solo Motorbikes have no brakes installed on them. Riders slow down
by accelerating and spinning the rear wheel so fast the bike has no traction and it loses
momentum. Likewise to go faster they decelerate until the tyre bites and grabs the
track and shoots them forward. By easing off the accelerator you are doing the same
thing – constantly adjusting the revs to find maximum traction.
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Jumping on the brakes is most likely going to get you into trouble but smoothly pumping
them on and off can aid the slowing of the slide and help gain traction.
Going up and coming down hills requires the same technique and feel. Feeding the
right amount of power to the wheels to maintain traction is key. Gear selection is crucial
on slippery downhills. Low range should enable you to crawl down most surfaces in a
controlled fashion. Sliding is far more likely when slopes become involved, the loss of
traction amplified by the pull of gravity.
In Deep
Deep sticky mud is a different proposition altogether. Letting some air out of the tyres
is definitely going to assist here for the same reasons it aids the car in sand. We are
getting more rubber down to the ground, we have a bigger footprint and the car wants
to float across the surface.
Picking a line and choosing the high ground is a good option if it can be maintained. If
it’s a well worn track water will always gravitate to the low wheel ruts first and this will
be the section that turns to soup first. However, sometimes it is possible to find a hard
surface at the bottom of these wheel ruts that will propel the car along.
The higher ground in the centre and at the edges can often provide a better footing
but if the ground is really thick gravity will usually see you sliding into the lowest hole
regardless.
Rapid acceleration and stomping on the gas is rarely useful in either slick surface
mud or bog holes. Momentum is the key here, and again, finding the engine revs that
deliver the best traction is the key. Establish forward momentum and maintain it by
constantly altering the throttle position in line with feedback from the tyres. A higher
gear and gear range may help to avoid excessive wheel spin. We aren’t looking for
a quick throttle response here but making the vehicle ‘lumber’ along slightly without
labouring the engine. Almost like the car is ready for a downshift.
A little continual wheel spin while you move forward can often help to clear the tread
of mud build up. Maintain speed and momentum through the section. If you are going
forward – keep going. Don’t stop for a look around and then find you just can’t resume
where you left off. Momentum in mud is precious. A mild see-sawing action on the
steering wheel can help the front tyres get a little side tread involved almost like they
are biting from side to side while chewing the car forward. This technique can be
invaluable in sand as well. All around it’s usually great fun until its time to clean up.
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How to Make a River Crossing Water crossings require a different approach than any other form of off-road driving.
With real potential to cause injury or worse and with a highly increased chance to
damage your vehicle, crossing rivers and creeks should be approached with respect.
Planning
Most people are happy to ‘walk’ the crossing before driving through, checking the
depth and feeling for dips and holes and establishing how much traction is on offer.
This time also gives components like the differentials, gearbox and transfer case an
opportunity to cool down. Dunking any hot metal straight into cold water is rarely a
wise decision. The rapid cooling produced lowers the air pressure inside the diff and
axles and encourages water to be drawn inside these components.
This time also allows an inspection of the 4WD and the chance to establish where
the engine air intake is located. The air intake is a direct route for water to enter the
engine. A 4WD fitted with a ‘snorkel’ enables the air intake to be lifted above the engine
bay and out of harms way. If your vehicle isn’t fitted with a snorkel care must be taken
to never submerge the air intake. Drawing water into the engine via the air intake will
nearly certainly cause expensive, terminal damage. Your four wheel drive will most
likely remain stuck in the water crossing until such time as recovery is completed.
Vulnerable Bits
An inspection of the radiator fan should be made with the engine turned off. If the fan
‘freewheels’ when turning it by hand then it is a viscous clutch unit and its generally ok
to proceed. If the fan is a fixed unit meaning it turns full-time corresponding to engine
revolutions the fan belt should be disconnected before crossing. It has the potential to
bend and propel itself into the radiator.
This is a good time to spray under bonnet electrics with a liberal dose of CRC or
similar water repellent especially in 4WD’s with petrol engines. Diesel engine vehicles
aren’t installed with the more vulnerable electrical ignition systems that petrol comes
supplied with.
A tarpaulin stretched across the nose of the car can aid in acting as a buffer, generating
a bow wave in front of the vehicle and diverting water away from the engine bay.
Escape Route
Windows, especially electric, should be wound completely down and seat belts
unfastened. This allows for an easy exit in the event of a mishap. If you have come to
a stop in a water crossing it is often advisable to disembark via a window rather than
open a door and allow water inside.
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Position valuables and your recovery equipment in a location that makes them easy
to get to. No point having a recovery strap if its locked in a toolbox 2 feet under water.
Because the ground isn’t visible we need to make a mental picture of our intended
driving line based on what we learned from walking the crossing. Entering the crossing
gently in low range 1 or 2 gives good responsive control over the four wheel drive and
allows the car to generate a nice rolling bow wave. This bow wave, pushed by the
correct momentum of the car helps to drive water away from the engine bay and can
be maintained as long as momentum is kept up.
Don’t change gears while traversing a water crossing. This will allow water to get
between the clutch plates and flywheel and may affect the ability of the clutch to propel
the car.
Rhythm and Control
Maintain a steady rhythm while keeping control over the vehicle. Big increases in
acceleration only serve to shower the engine bay with water. Much like driving on
rocks this type of blind driving is about feeling what is beneath the wheels and how
they are responding.
If the vehicle stalls disengage gears without using the clutch and try and start the
engine. If it restarts then you have no real choice but use the clutch and try and drive
out.
If the engine won’t start and regular recovery isn’t possible, then as a last resort, the
vehicle may be able to be cranked out on the starter motor. Engage the gearbox with
the clutch fully out and turn the ignition key. With enough battery power and a robust
starter motor it is possible to move the car along in this manner. Not recommended,
but possible.
A good practise when exiting a river or creek is pull up on a slope and drain the water
away. It’s also a good time to evaluate your braking capability after the drenching. Post
river crossing inspections should include a check on differential, gearbox and transfer
case oils for water contamination.
When making any type of water crossing to is prudent to remember that rainfall can
make yesterdays knee-deep creek into today’s raging river.
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Five Outback Tracks The final pages of this guide are devoted to five of the best known outback tracks in
the country.
They’re mostly old stock routes, dating back to the early pioneer days when drovers
pushed large mobs of cattle to the southern markets.
• Tanami Track - Best described as a great shortcut through the Tanami Desert,
this route is about the wide open spaces and isolation often associated with the
outback.
• Birdsville Track - A comparatively short route and a chance to get acquainted with
the history of the droving and pastoral pioneers who forged the Birdsville/Marree
route.
• Great Central and Tjukaruru Roads - A great way to get from the historical W.A.
goldfields to the red centre along 1,,100km of remote road.
• Gibb River Road - A visual overload with the rugged beauty of the Kimberley
landscape and the tropical vegetation and water features of the Mitchell Plateau.
• Canning Stock Route - A real 4WD test for those wanting to push their vehicles and
themselves along 1,800km of remote and disused stock route.
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The Tanami Track
Once derided as the worst road on the planet, today the Tanami Track (also known as
the Tanami Road or McGuire Track) is regarded as a fairly tame affair that even the
NRMA recognises as being capable of being traversed in a conventional 2WD car.
Mild sentiments indeed, for the Tanami Desert was once regarded as a hostile place
with little known about it until the 1920’s.
For many people traversing the Tanami Track, is an off-road rite of passage, something
to tick off the to-do list, and a challenge based more on reputation than reality.
In reality the Tanami is a great (if not bone-jarring) shortcut from Alice Springs in the
Northern Territory to the Kimberley in Western Australia.
It’s just over a thousand kilometres of corrugated, often shockingly corrugated, dirt
road coursing through a fairly barren and dry environment.
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Requirements
Crossing the Tanami needs nothing more than a reliable vehicle, food and drinking
water to see you through, the ability to take care of a couple of potential punctures and
enough fuel range (or extra fuel) to cover nearly 600km.
If you have got long range fuel tanks you won’t have any issues but the iconic Rabbit
Flat Roadhouse has closed down and it’s 586km between Yuendumu and Billiluna.
Balgo has fuel but it’s a round-trip detour of 70km and it’s so close to Billiluna as to
render it nearly useless as far as fuel stops go.
What you’ll probably want with you is a reasonable conversationalist and a good supply
of music to help break up the longish, slightly monotonous stretches of - not much,
occasionally punctuated by some interesting places.
The Tanami Track has had it’s harsh edges washed off by the mining companies in
the area, who have helped with the maintenance and up-keep in order to keep their
operations running smoothly.
Apart from the Granite and Tanami gold mines, the road is used by transport trucks
servicing local indigenous communities, tourists and locals.
It can be a fairly solitary driving experience.
Refreshingly, you don’t require an Indigenous Land Council permit to traverse the
track.
The Route
Beginning just north of Alice Springs, the road heads in the Tanami Desert and the low
ranges around the southern part of the Northern Territory give way to a flat horizon,
peppered with saltbush and spinifex.
The horizon doesn’t get a lot better until you begin to get close to Halls Creek in
Western Australia and the geology of the East Kimberley region starts to form the
landscape.
There are occasional tracks forking off the Tanami and they generally lead to a small
indigenous community. If they don’t look well used then they may well be old mining
exploration tracks, worth a visual enquiry. Of course it’s not a great place to get lost
and technically you may need permits to stray too far from the road corridor.
Generally, remote aboriginal communities that welcome curious tourists will advertise
the fact proudly on a sign at the entrance to the township.
If a community doesn’t advertise fuel or supplies for sale then it doesn’t have the
facilities, although you could ask for help if you were having problems.
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Our experience is, that if you’re not obviously invited in, then stay out. There is aboriginal
art for sale at Tilmouth Well Roadhouse, Yuendumu, Balgo and Billiluna Communities.
Billiluna is also the intersection of the Tanami Track and the Canning Stock route so if
you’re not sick of the desert you can always carry on down the Canning.
If you aren’t carrying enough fuel to cover the 1,053km track, then Yuendumu is a
compulsory stop.
The condition you find the Tanami Track in will depend on when it was last graded. A
freshly graded track can be a joy to negotiate while a badly corrugated surface, with
floury ruts of bull dust, will see your teeth rattling from your skull.
Reducing tyre pressure is the key to minimising the impact of corrugations. The driving
guides contain more information.
Attractions
The single standout feature of travelling the Tanami is the chance to visit Wolfe Creek
Meteorite Crater. In places it’s close to a kilometre in diameter and 60 metres from the
floor to the rim making it the second largest crater in the world.
Of course, it can be accessed from Halls Creek in Western Australia with a mere
150km drive.
This end of the track is also the access point for Lake Gregory, an unusual wetland with
a surprising variety of waterbirds. Camping permits for Lake Gregory can be organised
at Balgo and Billiluna.
Most people travelling the Tanami take the opportunity of finding a secluded spot just
off the road and then go about enjoying a desert sunset, quite possible the highlight of
the trip.
Good practise is to find a hill or interesting feature, something with a little elevation for
views, and get yourself out of sight - off the road. It keeps nosy enquirers at bay and
keeps you out of the settling dust clouds if someone happens to pass.
Keep your fire small and clean, no need to advertise your presence unless you want
company.
Best Time To Travel
In reality the Tanami is a shortcut rather than a destination, although those seeking a
genuine, remote and desolate, outback experience may well get a lot more value from
it (we can think of a lot better roads to have this sort of experience on).
For this reason you’re unlikely to spend more than a couple of days covering it, so in
essence the time of year is irrelevant.
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The Tanami route closes just about every year because of rain and torrential cyclonic
storms from the Kimberley can destroy the road surface. It’s necessary to check
weather forecasts if you’re not familiar with the area or weather patterns.
Summer temperatures can be extremely hot, averaging 39 degrees Celsius and
peaking above 45 degrees. It’s the desert so winter days are pleasant but can bring
bitterly cold nights.
Useful Tanami Contacts
• Shire of Halls Creek website - http://www.hallscreektourism.com.au/
• Shire of Halls Creek - telephone (08) 9168 6262
• Alice Springs Town Council website - http://www.alicesprings.nt.gov.au/
• Alice Springs Town Council - telephone (08) 8950 0500
• Main Roads Western Australia telephone information - 1800 013 314
• Main Roads Western Australia website - http://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/
• Department of Indigenous Affairs (permits) - http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/
• Balgo Community - telephone (08) 9168 8900
• Billiluna Community - telephone (08) 9168 8988
• Yuendumu Store - telephone (08) 8956 4006
• Tilmouth Well Roadhouse website http://www.tilmouthwell.com/
• Tilmouth Well Roadhouse - telephone (08) 8956 8777
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The Birdsville Track
The Birdsville Track is one of the oldest and most famous outback routes in Australia
and it’s evolved from the life-endangering passage of the nineteenth century, to a user
friendly trek that can be accomplished by anyone with a scrap of common sense.
It’s a relatively short dash of 519km when viewed against other desert tracks, and
today it’s often used as thoroughfare for people attending the famous Birdsville Races.
Beginning in the interesting South Australian town of Marree, the Birdsville Track runs
in a northerly direction, across the Sturt Stony Desert and fringes the Simpson and
Strzelecki Deserts.
The history of the Birdsville Track extend back as far as the 1860’s when it was used
to drive northern cattle down to the railhead at Marree.
The track claimed the lives of stock and men alike and it was once considered a
journey only the hardiest could undertake.
Today it’s more of a novelty than a test of man and machine, and providing your vehicle
is mechanically sound and you treat the conditions with the respect they deserve, you
won’t have any problems.
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The Route
Marree in South Australia is the launch pad for most travellers crossing the Birdsville,
with many attending one of the outback racing carnivals or carrying on to visit Big Red
(Nappamerri) - the Simpson Deserts famous sand dune.
The track itself is reasonable hard packed road coursing through the gibber plains of
the Sturt Stony Desert. Gibbers are the shale, rock and pebbles that litter the sand
plains (hence ‘Stony’ desert) and there are places where they can cause the track to
be quite loose.
Tyre pressure and controlled driving are the order of the day, but there are also quite
long stretches where highway speeds are safely achievable.
The Birdsville Track passes through station country and wandering cattle, kangaroos
and emus are always one of the major road hazards. As usual they tend to congregate
around and move towards local watering points.
The Birdsville Track is more about the history of the old time travellers and the ruins
of pioneer buildings than it is about any grand vistas of rock monoliths or sweeping
desert ranges.
In fact, rain plays a more important role to these desert areas than one would imagine.
Normally a dry region, rainfall can cause the famous Cooper Creek to flood and make
the Birdsville Track impassable.
Traffic can be diverted through Etadunna Homestead where the Cooper Creek Ferry
fires up to float traffic across the river.
Just over two hundred kilometres north of Marree is the Mungerannie Hotel where
you can refuel if your vehicle can’t make the full 519km trip. You can also get a tyre
repaired, have a swim, grab a camping spot or rent a room. And of course you can
have a beer and a meal.
About two thirds of the way up the track, at Clifton Hills, you need to make decision
about the final leg of the trip.
The track forks with the left or ‘Inside Track’ crossing the flood plains of the Diamantina
River. It’s the original droving path and considered the ‘adventurous’ and more
interesting route.
The right branch or ‘Outside Track’ was developed to avoid the flooding problems
on the Inside Track and is a better and more widely used choice. Our advice - you’re
already there, take the Inside, the original.
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It’s possible to traverse the Birdsville Track in a single day but that would mean
bypassing many of the historical locations and missing the chance to spend a night
under the colours of the desert sky. Well used camping grounds include Clayton
Wetlands, Cooper Creek, Mungerannie Wetlands and Tippipilla Creek.
The ‘Birdsville Track Guide’ from HEMA maps can direct you to the features and
locations you may miss out on if you were to travel down the track blind. It’s also useful
for finding your own unique camp site.
Preparation
The Birdsville Track is a surprisingly busy strip of dirt and it’s crossed by 4WD’s, buses,
2WD Campers, bikes, pedestrians and all other manner of ingenious transport.
Your vehicle needs to be in good mechanical condition with any suspect mechanical
issues attended to beforehand.
Tyres and cooling systems need to be in good order and a check of expected road
conditions and a weather forecast should be sought out prior to leaving.
The basic provisos regarding remote outback travel should be understood and adhered
too. Take plenty of drinking water and the food you require and understand that mobile
communications can’t be relied upon in the bush.
The Birdsville Track requires that you be self sufficient for the majority of the journey
but as we mentioned it’s capable of being completed in a single day with a roadhouse
nested around the midway point.
What it basically requires is a respect for the desert environment.
Best Time To Visit
As is typical for most of the Australian desert interior, the summers are hot while winter
days are pleasant with the potential for very cold nights.
April to late October are considered the prime desert travelling months. They’re also
the months with the busiest roads and the most crowded campsites.
Stretching your visit outside of these months means a more peaceful, less dusty trip
while the height of summer can be considered off-season.
Travelling the Birdsville is considered a privilege if there’s been enough recent rain to
bring the wetlands and Cooper Creek to life, without completely stopping all traffic and
isolating Birdsville itself.
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Useful Birdsville Contacts
• Bureau of Meteorology (BOM - weather) http://www.bom.gov.au/
• Dept Planning Transport and Infrastructure S.A. (road reports) - http://www.dpti.
sa.gov.au/OutbackRoads
• Queensland Govt. Travel Information - http://131940.qld.gov.au/Regions/
CentralWest/Road-Conditions.aspx?regionid=106
• Mungerannie Hotel - http://www.mungeranniehotel.com.au/
• Mungerannie Hotel - Ph: (08) 8675 8317
• Birdsville Hotel - Ph: (07) 4656 3262
• Diamantina Shire Council (Birdsville) - http://www.diamantina.qld.gov.au
• Birdsville Wirrarri Information Centre - Ph: (07) 4756 3300
• Marree Police - Ph: (08) 8675 8346 for enquiries or 131444 for assistance
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Great Central and Tjukaruru Roads
It’s one of the least appreciated shortcuts in the country and many travellers heading
from the west to the red centre don’t even consider taking it.
The Great Central Road and Tjukaruru Road are essentially one and the same.
The Great Central begins in Western Australia at Laverton and runs right through to
Petermann (The Olgas) in the Northern Territory.
At the W.A. and N.T. border the road changes it’s name to Tjukaruru Road and at
Petermann it becomes the Lasseter Highway, for the last 52km run into Yulara and
Ayers Rock.
Travellers are often put off from choosing an outback route like the Great Central and
Tjukaruru Road because of daunting reputations of remoteness and environmental
hostility.
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The Route
The Great Central and Tjukaruru Road is certainly remote, but it’s not as hostile as you
might think.
It’s one of the better maintained roads in central Australia, big wide and open with good
visibility, plenty of long straights that enable easy overtaking, and slight, undulating
terrain that gives good views to the horizon.
The majority of the route lies in Western Australia and our experience suggest that
W.A. outback roads are some of the best maintained in the country. Part of the reason
is because there’s not a lot of roads out there, mining revenue ensures there’s plenty
of road maintenance funding and the small population means there are fewer travellers
on these back roads.
For all that, it’s estimated that 10,000 people use the Great Central and Tjukaruru
Road every year.
The length of the route is reported as various distances but it’s generally accepted as
around 1,130km from Laverton through to Yulara.
The road is wide and the surface is mostly gravel and hard packed dirt. It’s a dusty,
loose surface that’s quite accepting of 2WD cars in good condition.
This is evidenced by the fact that the majority of the cars owned by people in the local
communities are two wheel drive vehicles.
Another thing to realise is, that the standard treatment of a vehicle left over night,
abandoned on the side of the road - is usually terminal.
Passing locals will remove every viable part, wheels, radio, even the engine. Every
window will be smashed and the final, glorious swan-song for that particular vehicle
will be to have a lighted match tossed into fuel tank.
It makes for a great bonfire and the black tower of smoke can be seen for miles. If your
car breaks down - don’t leave it alone and find a way to get it out of there.
The endless burnt-out car shells that pepper the sides of the road will quickly paint the
picture for you.
There is no danger to yourself on the Great Central and Tjukaruru Road, on the contrary,
the locals can be downright friendly and helpful. It’s simply that abandoned vehicles
don’t attract the same sort of respect that you or I may pay them.
There’s not a lot of wildlife out here because there’s no stations or farms to speak of.
It’s indication of the harshness of the environment but it also means you stand less
chance of running into a one tonne cow.
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What you will encounter on the road is groups of camels and bush turkeys (Australian
Bustards). Camels are quick to move off the road once they hear an approaching
vehicle but always assume there are more lurking at the road fringe. Bush turkeys are
large, ungainly birds, who are slow to take-off and quite capable of veering back into
your windscreen once they’re airborne. Don’t trust them.
The Great Central and Tjukaruru Road usually closes at least once a year because
of rain, but it’s mostly a very dry environment and dust will be a far greater hindrance
than boggy conditions. For all that, it still pays to check the weather forecast before
heading off.
There’s not a lot out here for those looking for big tourist attractions and unusual
geological formations.
The Great Central Road begins at the W.A. gold mining town of Laverton which has a
pretty uninspiring landscape but plenty of goldfields history.
Highlights
There’s not a great deal that greets the eye until you get close to the W.A and N.T.
border around the Warburton Ranges and then the Docker River Community, where
the landscape forges into the attractive Petermann Ranges. From there it’s a 230km
run to Uluru with the next big visual attraction being The Olgas or Kata Tjuta.
The trip is not what you’d call exhilarating but it can be interesting nonetheless. There’s
plenty of indigenous communities peppering the route, but access to most are off-limits.
Highlights are refuelling stops such as Tjukayirla, Warburton, Giles and Docker River.
Tjukayirla Roadhouse has some caves and rock art and Giles (Warakurna) offers a
tour of the weather station and local indigenous art. Camping or accommodation is
available at most of the roadhouses.
Roadhouses along the Great Central and Tjukaruru are owned by the local indigenous
communities and usually administered by white managers.
Of interest is the fact that most of the communities and roadhouses will be based near
some sort of permanent water supply which arrives courtesy of a geological deviation
such as a small range, river or spring. There are often lookouts, rock holes or places
of interest nearby.
Lasseters Cave on the Hull River N.T. is an interesting historical location. The exact
facts are disputed but it’s generally accepted that Lewis Lasseter discovered a huge
reef of gold in central Australia. He died in 1931 after separating from a party attempting
to re-locate the reef. His camels bolted and he spent nearly 60 days stranded in this
cave before setting out on foot for The Olgas. He died in the attempt.
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Preparation
Depending on the maintenance schedule the road can be either very good to drive on
or corrugated with washouts after heavy rain. In general expect good conditions.
Driving on corrugations is greatly helped by reducing tyre pressure by about 15% but
all vehicles respond differently depending on tyres and load. More information on tyre
pressure is available in the driving guides.
Vehicles need to be mechanically sound as mechanical repairs are difficult to source.
If your tyres are in good condition and you drive appropriately, then punctures aren’t a
real issue. We always have two spare tyres and a comprehensive repair kit on hand.
Repairs can be sourced from the roadhouses although we understand Warburton may
be reluctant to perform them.
There is limited water along the Great Central and Tjukaruru Road so we suggest
taking plenty with you. It’s possible to bounce from roadhouse to roadhouse for your
food requirements although don’t expect anything out here to open early and close
late.
The roadhouses have a captive market and, in general, you need to plan to visit them
between 8am and 5pm.
Fuel
Expect to pay 40 - 60% more than you’re used to paying on the highways. Diesel is
available at all fuel outlets while unleaded fuel is unavailable. Opal fuel is an unleaded
fuel substitute, used on the Great Central and Tjukaruru Road, to minimise the impact
of petrol sniffing in the communities.
Fuel bowsers are locked in cages and you’ll often have to request that someone assists
you to get fuel. Don’t be surprised to find heavy bars across the shop windows and
finding yourself locked in if you stay the night at Warburton.
Permits
Permits are required for every traveller that transits Aboriginal lands on both the
Western Australian side and the Northern Territory side of the journey. These are free
and can be obtained online by following the links in the Useful Contacts section at the
end.
Of note is the fact the permit from the Central Land Council for the Northern Territory
side will grant free access to Uluru, saving you $25 dollars a head.
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Useful Contacts
• Department of Indigenous Affairs (W.A. Permits) - http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/
• Central Land Council (N.T. Permits) - http://www.clc.org.au/
• Laverton Police - Ph: (08) 9088 2777
• NT Police - Ph: 131 444
• Tjulyruru Cultural and Civic Centre (Warburton) - http://www.tjulyuru.com/
• Main Roads Western Australia Road telephone information - 1800 013 314
• N.T. Road Reports - http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/roadreport/
• Warburton Roadhouse - http://warburtonroadhouse.com.au/
• Warburton Roadhouse - Ph: (08) 8956 7656
• Tjukayirla Roadhouse - http://www.tjukayirlaroadhouse.com.au/
• Tjukayirla Roadhouse - Ph: (08) 9037 1108
• Warakurna Roadhouse (Giles) - http://warakurnaroadhouse.com.au/
• Warakurna Roadhouse (Giles) - Ph: (08) 8956 7344
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Gibb River Road and Kalumburu Road
An old stock route that winds through the western part of Western Australia’s Kimberley
Region - the Gibb River Road is a must-do destination for anyone who wants to
experience the rugged, red terrain of the Kimberley punctuated by gorges, rock-holes,
waterfalls and water holes.
It’s accessible, within reach of inexperienced off-road drivers, and it’s so good that one
day the road will be paved into every scenic location there. Get in before that happens
and driving the Gibb River Road becomes an over-run, commercialised fiasco like
Ayers Rock.
The Gibb River Road is 660km long and runs between the town of Derby and a junction
on the Great Northern Highway.
The left spike of this junction leads to Wyndham and the right to Kununurra, both
deserving locations in their own right. Derby, too, has some commendable attractions
and a visit to the Gibb River region can encompass an array of Kimberley sites.
Kalumburu Road branches off about 400km east of Derby and runs into the Mitchell
Plateau and Mitchell Falls, one of the most stunning waterfalls in the country. Carry on
and you get to the indigenous community of Kalumburu.
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The Route - Gibb River Road
0km- Derby
6km
- The start of the Derby Gibb River Road (official name)
16km - Bunguran Rd. turnoff. Birdwood Downs Station (camp, accom, tours, horses)
125km- Fairfield-Leopold Downs Rd. 25km to Winjana. 55km to Tunnel Creek N.P.
126km- Lennard River Gorge turnoff (not to be confused with Lennard Gorge)
126km- Lennard River Bridge (picnic area)
127km- Turnoff to Lennard River waterhole (veer left)
190km- Turnoff to Mount Hart Station and Wilderness Lodge(50km, camping, accom)
197km- Lennard Gorge Turnoff (10km, no ‘official’ camping)
220km- Bell Gorge and Silent Grove (30km, camp, Gibb River Highlight, busy)
228km- Imintji Store (fuel, accomodation, roadhouse)
254km- Turnoff Mornington Wilderness (camp, accom, food/bar, gorges, fees)
257km- Turnoff Charnley River (Beverley Springs, camp, accom, tour, canoe, gorge)
274km- Turnoff Adcock Gorge (5km, no official camping)
293km- Parking Bay Galvans Gorge Walk (1km walk, no camping)
306km- Mt Barnett Roadhouse (fuel, store, showers, water, laundry, accommodation)
306km- Manning Gorge (access fee to roadhouse includes camping)
335km- Turnoff Barnett River Gorges (veer right, no ‘official’ camping)
344km- Mount Elizabeth Station Road (30km, camp, station stay, meals, gorges)
414km- Kalumburu Rd Turnoff (to Mitchell Plateau and Falls, see Kalumburu Rd)
483km- Turnoff Ellenbrae Station (4km, camping, accommodation)
503km- Durack River (may involve driving through flowing water)
531km- Turnoff Jack Waterhole (may have no access here, see Home Valley Stn)
588km- Turnoff Home Valley Station (camping, resort style accommodation)
597km- Pentacost River (may involve driving through flowing water, crocodile risk)
621km- El Questro Station/Resort (16km, fuel, store, camping, accom, restaurant)
631km- Turnoff Emma Gorge (2km, accommodation, no camping, part of El Questro)
654km- End Gibb River Rd (Gt Northern Hwy. 53km - Wyndham, 54km - Kununurra)
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If you could only drive one of the iconic tracks we’ve listed here, you don’t want to do
too much difficult driving and you want see a truly spectacular part of the world - we’d
say go see the Gibb River Road.
One thing is certain. When you’re on the Gibb River Road you won’t be alone. With
20,000 visitors in a few short months the place gets busy.
The other certainty is the corrugations and potholes. They can be severe and you will
get sick of them. However, they are easily offset by the stunning scenery.
Hazards throughout the drive include dust, road trains and wandering stock. Some
sections of the Kalumburu Road can get narrow.
Road trains are constantly moving cattle throughout the area, they’re big, heavy and
take a lot of stopping. Give them right of way whenever they want it and move over
and let them pass from whatever direction they’re coming. Not slowing down when
travelling near road trains is virtually not an option. They will kick up so much dust that
it will be impossible to see properly for some distance after they’ve passed.
The Gibb River Road can be approached from either Derby end or the Wyndham/
Kununurra end. If you arrive just after the opening of the season it may pay to begin
at Derby as this is when the Durack and Pentacost River Crossings will be at their
highest. The Pentacost is near the Wyndham/Kununurra end of the Gibb River Road.
There is plenty to see and do along the road. Unlike many outback treks the Gibb River
Road has attractions and sights that pop up at regular intervals and distances between
them can be as little as 5 or 6km.
The Route - Kalumburu Road and Mitchell Falls
If you’ve made the effort to get to the Kalumburu Road turn-off then we highly recommend
making the extra effort of driving out to the Mitchell Plateau and walking to the falls.
The walk is a three hour slog (helicopters are available, many people walk one way
and fly the return). Visiting the falls adds nearly 500km to the Gibb River Road trip.
The four-tiered Mitchell Falls are spectacular and unique and getting to them takes you
past a host of smaller falls, swimming holes, caves and aboriginal rock art. It’s worth
every aching muscle.
Once you turn onto the Kalumburu Road it’s about 55km to Drysdale River Station and
homestead where you can refuel, buy some bread, grab a room, have a beer, pitch a
tent or take a scenic flight.
From here on in you need to be fully self-sufficient, food, water, fuel, everything. From
Drysdale it’s another 100km to the Mitchell Plateau Track, over plenty of small creeks,
and winding through stands of Eucalypt.
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Turning onto the Mitchell Plateau track may be the first time that you really need to use
four wheel drive. It’s about 85km to the Mitchell Falls campgrounds. There’s a couple
of hills that can be slippery after rain, nothing treacherous, just an obstacle.
The major hindrance on the Mitchell track is the King Edward River Crossing which
will be quite high (perhaps headlight height) at the start of the season. It dries up and
reduces it’s depth pretty quickly once the rains have stopped.
If you’ve made the effort to get to the falls early and find the crossing is too high for
you to confidently attempt it, then it may pay to camp for a day or two to see if the level
drops off sufficiently.
King Edward River has numerous campsites and some interesting aboriginal art. The
indigenous sites here are actually burial grounds and need to be treated with some
respect.
After the King Edward River the scenery begins to alter as you approach the Mitchell
Plateau and the track is lined with stand of Livistona Palms with some great views over
the scarp.
The campgrounds are managed by rangers, who arrive early in the season to clear the
jungle-like walking tracks and get the facilities ready for the tourist onslaught. Camping
fees are less than $10 per person.
Up to three helicopters can be operating over the falls in peak season, with others
arriving from cruise ships anchored off the Kimberley coast.
Further Along the Kalumburu Road and Permits
Once you leave the falls and make the return trek back up the Mitchell Falls Track, you
can turn left back onto the Kalumburu Road and carry onto the Kalumburu Community.
It’s another 100km to the township of Kalumburu which is an indigenous settlement
that’s had long influence from Benedictine monks.
It’s the only place in the Gibb River district where you are required to obtain an
indigenous land council permit to enter. You are supposed to organise this permit prior
to entering the Kalumburu community but we have heard of people who have driven
into the township and organised one on the spot.
Kalumburu has an interesting history dating back to 1908 when the first monks arrived.
It was used as a base in World War 2 and was bombed by the Japanese.
It also hosts a museum, opportunities to engage with local people and some tremendous
beach fishing.
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Of interest there is also a back track that takes you into Wyndham but using it will
require permission and advice about road conditions, from the locals at Kalumburu.
Other places of interest are Surveyors Pool, Port Warrender, Point Walsh, Walcott
Inlet. All require research into accessibility prior to visiting them.
Requirements
Anyone can drive the Gibb River Road. The powers that be will always recommend a
high clearance four wheel drive, but that’s simply to cover themselves in case someone
got bogged and tried to sue them.
In reality the Gibb River Road is a dual lane gravel road that can be negotiated by a
two wheel drive. Without a 4WD you’d be unlikely to get to Mitchell Falls as entering
the park means crossing the King Edward River, which still runs quite high at the start
of the season - when the ‘wet’ has just abated. But lots of the places along the Gibb
River are easily accessed.
The real limitation to 2WD cars on the Gibb is not traction, but ground clearance. If
you intend to get to Mitchell Falls and do the whole road, then you will be crossing the
King Edward, Durack and Pentacost Rivers. All have rocky solid bases but when these
rivers are running, you need the weight and higher ground clearance offered by four
wheel drives. Of course, making water crossings in a 4x4 adds another level of safety.
We’re not saying get out and drive all over the Kimberley in a 2WD, just that people
have done it.
Many of the access roads are lumpy, rocky tracks that a regular 2WD will struggle with.
The heavy corrugations mean that anything on you car that’s not bolted on properly
will fall off.
Some preparation and planning needs to be made regarding fuel, food and accommodation but, all in all, driving the Gibb is something achievable for everyone.
The toughest part is getting the timing of your trip right. Too late in the season and
much of the water has dried up, the corrugations are bad and school holidays means
the camping grounds are overrun.
Too early and it may still be too wet to cross the King Edward River and you may not
see Mitchell Falls. The roads may not yet have been repaired of all the washouts and
potholes (which may be a positive as it keeps people away).
Tyre pressure makes a huge difference to comfort levels when rattling over the corrugations of the GRR. Get those air pressures down by around 15% and the ride becomes
a whole lot better (see the driving guides).
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Time your visit perfectly and you’ll be rewarded with low visitor numbers, great water
spectacles and quiet roads.
We’d recommend taking the majority of your food and camping requirements in with
you. Services are limited, expensive and unreliable. Pre-booking accommodation at
station stays is mandatory in the high part of the season.
Best Time to Visit
The Gibb River and Kalumburu Roads closes for the wet season, usually from December
to late April. There is no fixed date as it is weather dependent. May through November
is generally the accepted tourism season.
For us the best time is as early as possible in the season, as the rains are contracting
and there is still plenty of water in the rivers and falls.
The river crossings are high and running, it’s still very hot and humid and this deters a
lot of visitors, meaning the roads are quiet and the campgrounds are not overcrowded.
It’s possible to enjoy many of the gorges and locations by yourself if you’re one of the
first visitors along the GRR.
We avoid any tourist destination like the plague during school holidays.
Late season visitors will miss out on the really spectacular waterfalls and swimming
holes but they’re generally assured of access.
Rangers man the campgrounds at Mitchell Falls from May to November although they
are usually there much earlier to undertake maintenance on the campgrounds. They
decide when the park officially opens although their main base is at DEC Kununurra
and estimated opening times and enquiries can be made there.
We’ve personally seen tourists from the Netherlands, who had made the trip just to
see the falls, turned away because the rangers ‘hadn’t finished’ their preparations.
Main Roads Western Australia controls the opening and closing of the Gibb River and
Kalumburu Roads. We’ve also seen Main Roads neglect to retrieve ‘Road Closed’
signs after roads have been officially opened. This leads to visitors turning away when
in fact the road is open.
When visiting the Gibb River Road it pays to check the official status of the locations
and roads. The locals at the station homesteads often have the best knowledge of
road conditions and status. They don’t have to obey official closures because they live
along the roads and require year round access.
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Useful Gibb River Road Contacts
• Main Roads Western Australia telephone information - 1800 013 314
• Department of Conservation and Environment (DEC) - http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/
• DEC Kununurra Office - (08) 9168 4200
• Department of Indigenous Affairs (Kalumburu permits) - http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/
• Imintji Store/Roadhouse - telephone (08) 9191 7471
• Over the range Mechanical Repairs, Imintji - telephone (08) 9191 7887
• Mount Barnett Roadhouse - telephone (08) 9191 7007
• Birdwood Downs Station - http://www.birdwooddowns.com/
• Drysdale River Station - http://www.drysdaleriver.com.au
• Drysdale River Station - telephone (08) 9161 4326
• Mount Elizabeth Station - http://www.mountelizabethstation.com/
• Charnley River Station - http://www.charnleyriverstation.com/
• Mornington Wilderness Camp - http://www.australianwildlife.org/AWC-Sanctuaries/
Mornington-Sanctuary/Mornington-Wilderness-Camp.aspx
• Mt Hart Wilderness Lodge - telephone (08) 9191 4645
• Ellenbrae Station - telephone (08) 9161 4325
• Home Valley Station - http://www.hvstation.com.au/
• El Questro - http://www.elquestro.com.au/
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Canning Stock Route
The Canning Stock Route (CSR) is recognised as one of the world’s iconic off-road
treks and it’s considered by many Australian 4WD enthusiasts as the ultimate overland
adventure.
It’s generally accepted that a crossing of the CSR be undertaken by suitably experienced
outback travellers, in vehicles of the highest mechanical order, and with scrupulous
preparation.
Sadly we live in a world of fear and doom and much of the information regarding a
crossing of the Canning may leave you with the feeling that you’re about to ‘attempt’ a
feat that rivals the summiting of Everest or a cross-continent hike over Antarctica.
Anyone with reasonable 4WD experience, who understands their vehicle’s capabilities, and who is self-sufficient enough to administer a bit of mechanical first-aid, if
necessary, can make an enjoyable and successful navigation of the route. The vehicle
must be in good mechanical order and the occupants need to have researched and
understood the basic preparation and requirements.
It’s not recommended for complete novices or those that aren’t prepared to ‘rough it’
and get a little dirty, but it can definitely be accomplished by those with the confidence
and preparedness. Naturally, having put some outback ‘miles on the clock’ prior to
driving the CSR will help out immeasurably.
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A Brief History of the Canning Stock Route
In 1906 the Western Australian government commissioned Alfred Canning to survey
a route that would enable cattle from the East Kimberley region to be driven to the
southern markets. Previous expeditions in the region had failed, with lives lost, but 14
months later Canning returned and reported that a route could be established.
He returned two years later and his party dug 51 individual wells for watering the stock.
Canning was reputed to have dealt harshly with his aboriginal guides and although the
local indigenous people helped him find suitable watering locations, many of the wells
were later subjected to vandalisation.
The CSR didn’t end up being the highly successful stock route that was envisioned at
the outset. The trek accomplished it’s main goal - to get northern stock from Halls Creek
down into Wiluna, and have the desert crossing kill the parasitic ticks that infested the
northern stock, but the early days of the CSR were blotted by attacks from the local
Martu indigenous people and bloodthirsty reprisals.
The route fell into disuse for twenty years, was resurrected and used intermittently until
around 1959 when the final ‘mob’ of cattle was pushed down the track.
These days the route attracts 4WD enthusiasts and adventurers from across the world.
It’s interesting to note that a full crossing has been made on horseback, camel, foot
and bicycle.
Services
Liquor restrictions are in place in all Aboriginal communities along the Canning Stock
Route. Wiluna and Halls Creek are smallish towns with a large aboriginal population.
They are both considered to have substantial social issues with alcohol and solvent
inhalation and local liquor restrictions apply. They are not ‘dry’ towns but quantities and
availability of liquor purchases are subject to periodic restrictions.
Both towns have fuel, water, accommodation and grocery stores although availability
of produce and grocery lines is somewhat limited.
Fuel is a scarce commodity along the CSR and those without long range tanks and
additional drums need to plan carefully in order to make it through. Not so long ago you
needed to be able to make the whole track on the fuel you carried but these days fuel
is available at the Parnngurr, Kunawarritji and Billiluna Communities.
Opal fuel (unleaded substitute used to reduce petrol sniffing in isolated indigenous
communities) may only be available for those driving unleaded petrol vehicles.
It may be possible to obtain a fuel drop near well 23 from the Capricorn Roadhouse telephone (08) 9175 1535.
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Credit Cards cannot be relied upon when paying for fuel. Eftpos payments and cash
may be the only viable form of payment at some locations. Carrying some cash is
strongly recommended in case of electronic communication failure.
Small luxuries at the communities such as showers, rooms and washing machines
aren’t cheap.
Parrnguurr, Kunawarritji and Billiluna all have small shops where basic supplies can
be replenished.
Don’t expect a gourmet delicatessen with eighteen varieties of continental cheese.
Think potatoes, onions, frozen vegetables and lots of canned stuff.
Pre-planning your water needs, meals and fuel supplies is an essential part of driving
the Canning Stock Route. These communities have communication facilities (phone
and internet) so calling in to them enables you to advise your contacts of any changes
in your travel plans.
The use of camper trailers and off-road caravans is heavily discouraged (rightfully)
due to the additional damage they cause to the track.
Trailers and wide track vehicles are banned between wells 2-5 and an alternative route
via Glen-Ayle or Granite Peak Stations must be taken.
The Route
The region has been described as a vast, howling wilderness, the longest historic
stock route in the world and some of the harshest country that’s ever been inhabited
by humans.
It runs from Halls Creek in the Kimberley to Wiluna in the mid-west of Western Australia
and it covers a total distance of 1,820km, although visiting each well and making
sight-seeing detours will increase this travelling distance.
The CSR crosses 800 sand dunes and four deserts - The Little Sandy, Great Sandy,
Gibson and Tanami.
The track is not maintained and driving it involves traversing hard packed sand tracks,
deep sand and many dunes, rocky sections and corrugations, and more corrugations.
The CSR punishes suspensions and shock absorbers in particular.
Adjusting tyre pressure is essential to maintain track and comfortable travelling
conditions as well as finding traction in the sand dunes. Not all of the wells can be
counted on to contain water and those that do are wisely treated with suspicion. The
opportunity to top-up with any quality drinking water should not be passed-up along
the CSR. Boiling the water (for drinking) taken from suspect wells is recommended.
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The CSR can be comfortably covered in two weeks although allowing a couple of extra
days for detours or delays is wise. Three weeks affords a more relaxed trip and more
time to detour. Fuel and water are the main considerations when travelling the CSR.
Best Time To Travel
The recommended time for travel is May through September with July and August being
the optimum time to go. Overnight temperatures can still be cool at the southern end
of the route. Summertime temperatures are intense and rainfall can cause indefinite
track closures due to boggy conditions.
Conditions change seasonally and can be affected by late winter rains in the south and
tropical cyclones in the north. Any planning needs to take into account the weather on
any given day.
Permits
Travelling the CSR requires travel permits from the Tjurabalan, Ngurrara, Martu and
Birriliburu indigenous councils who have the legal right to withhold permission for
access to native lands but the general public has a legal ‘right of access’ over the
Canning Stock Route, including a 4km corridor either side of the track.
The Canning has numerous sites of cultural significance to the various local aboriginal
groups and some areas are out of bounds while access to other areas is under revision.
Access to other areas is granted under additional permit systems other than the two
main permits normally issued for access to the track.
The CSR is beginning to be recognised as being located within areas of important
cultural and anthropological importance and there have been instances of desecration
(intentional and unintentional) of sensitive sites and the removal of artefacts. Penalties
for breaches of the permits are severe.
See - http://permits.canningstockroute.net.au/ and http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/en/
Entry-Permits/Travel-Information/
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CSR Etiquette
Leave No Trace Australia is a non-profit group who promote responsible outdoor travel
and recreation and their guiding principles are pretty straight forward and sensible 1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
4. Leave What You Find
5. Minimise the Impact of Fires
6. Respect Wildlife
7. Be Considerate of Your Hosts and Other Visitors
Other Relevant Points
• Don’t contaminate waterholes with soaps, detergents, body lotions, insect repellent
and sunscreen.
• Bury toilet waste deep enough to prevent it being dug up by native animals.
• Completely burn or take all rubbish out with you (don’t bury).
• Extinguish campfires properly.
• Travel in small convoys to reduce impact on other track users and the environment.
• Replace lids/caps on wells to prevent evaporation, animal drownings and
contamination.
• Try and use existing campsites
• Don’t helpfully fill drinking troughs for the wildlife.
• Sand flags are recommended for traversing dunes.
• Be courteous, slow down when passing moving or stationary campers and travellers.
• Don’t cut down trees for campfires
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Useful Canning Stock Route Contacts
• Weather forecasts for the remote areas can be obtained by telephone - 11698.
• Bureau of Meteorology (BOM - weather) http://www.bom.gov.au/
• State road condition reports can be obtained on 1800 013 314.
• Road Conditions - http://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/
• Email WDLAC (permits) [email protected]
• Website for WDLAC - http://www.wdlac.com.au/
• Capricorn Roadhouse - telephone (08) 9175 1535.
• Wiluna Shire - telephone (08) 9981 8000
• Halls Creek Shire Council - telephone (08) 9168 6007
• Wiluna Police: (08) 9981 7024
• Halls Creek Police: (08) 9168 6000
• Jigalong Police (08) 9175 7143
• Newman Police (08) 9175 1201
• Cunyu Station (no access): (08) 9981 2934
• Glenayle Station: (08) 9981 2989
• Granite Peak Station: (08) 9981 2983
• Kunawarritji Community (fuel 7 days): (08) 9176 9040
• Billiluna Store (fuel 5 days, limited hours): (08) 9168 8076
• Jigalong Community (08) 9981 8000
• Parnngurr Community (08) 9176 9009
• Royal Flying Doctor Service 1800 625 800
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Enjoy The Outback
We put this guide together in response to the number of requests we get for printed
information from the website.
We try to ‘tell it as we see it’. Too often people with knowledge of a subject attempt to
mystify it and pretend the activities they engage in are akin to belonging to an exclusive
club.
The outback isn’t like that. It isn’t exclusive and it isn’t daunting. It’s for everyone and
everyone can get out there and enjoy it. You don’t need to be superman, you need a
little common sense and when you go out to the remote parts, you need to do some
research and preparation. That’s all.
We hope you get some value from the guide and that it inspires you to take yourself off
somewhere that may have once overwhelmed you.
The last photo here is of Robyn Davidson. In 1977 twenty seven year old Robyn set
off from Alice Springs, leading her dog and four camels on a nine month, 1,700km trek
across central Australia.
She did it solo, sleeping in the deserts, visited only occasionally by a National Geographic
photographer, and alone apart from visits to remote aboriginal communities.
If you know someone who may get some value from the guide you can send them an
email and give them this web address for the guide at the Outback Crossing website.
It’s: www.outbackcrossing.com.au/Campervan_Touring_Guide_shtml/
Thanks and Enjoy the Outback!
Ed and the Team.
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the 4wd campervan guide to

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