Off to see Lake Eyre and on to NT/WA

[Allfour4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Allfour4x4]

Well, we're off to see some sights tomorrow.
Have the good ole TD 95 loaded up to roll, changed every fluid in it, greased up.....
All pigs fed and ready to fly.
Basic route is leave from Tassie, up to NSW Central Coast to see the outlaws, over to Marree and from there up to top end for a squiz.
Hope to keep this thread updated with some pics, but we'll see how it goes.
Will keep a lookout for stray Prado's!

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

Good luck and enjoy the trip

[MUMSRIG Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MUMSRIG]

Sounds like a top time to be checking out Eyre.. One of the girls I work withs parents live out there and are flatout doing tours everyday...

[Allfour4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Allfour4x4]

Yeah, sounds like there should be plenty of water at the moment.
This is about as clean as she'll be for a while!

[johnv Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnv]

Have a great trip. Look forward to your report. Did similar trip a few years ago.

johnv

[Way2go Member Find all posts View Profile Close Way2go]

Looking forward to the report too.

Just got made redundant at work, so we're taking off for a few weeks late Aug/start Sept to see water in Lake Eyre (it was dry last time we were there years ago) - hence particular interest in that part of the report.

I hear the mice are shocking around that area at present though......

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

Just returned from Simmo (and Lake Eyre).

Mice are bad (little field Mice) from about when you reach the Oodnadatta Track, so from Marree on....we stayed at Farina (just before Marree and a great bush camp)...mice were bad there...Then to William Creek (worse there)...then to Oodnadatta (about the same...and got my first Mickey in the back).....then to Dalhousie (more there as well)...then the Rats started......it's not as bad as it sounds, they simply eat a bit of bread, some rice and the rats chewed three holes in my tent and ripped apart my camp oven cover (as I was silly enough to leave it out).

Pack EVERYTHING away, don't leave any food out...and you'll be right....Lake Eyre is something special!!

[Allfour4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Allfour4x4]

Lake Eyre was great! Flew over from Marree..stayed in the hotel grounds (Free) lots of mice scampering about, and the hotel itself smells rather mousy inside!!
Haven't got the pics sorted yet, but have travelled up from Yunta, Arkarroola, over to Marree then up to Oodnadatta, over to Alice. Have just arrived at Halls Creek after a couple of days crossing the Tanami.

[Allfour4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Allfour4x4]

OK, then back to basics.
On the way through NSW, there seems to be a bit of water in the Darling river, last time it was nothing but a few puddles.
Shot at Wilcania..


Trip started proper at Broken Hill. Skies were very dark heading into Yunta, but we missed the bulk of it. Track up to Arkaroola was muddy for a couple of kilometers from Yunta but all good from there.



Never been to Arkaroola before but it's a great place! did a few of the walks etc.
Typical scene...

Sunset on arrival...

[Allfour4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Allfour4x4]

Managed to find a Sturts Desert Pea in flower


From Arkaroola it was off to Marree for a flight over Lake Eyre. Camped at the Marree pub...free and set up the tent on nice green strip of grass!!!
Lake Eyre had peaked a couple of weeks before we got there but heaps of water still. You don't realise just how BIG it is.




Most of the birds are up on the creeks as said elsewhere, but we did see a couple of hundred Pelicans at least.

[Allfour4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Allfour4x4]

Travelled from Marree up the Oodnadatta Track to yep....Oodnadatta! Had a piece of steel or some such go through the tyre on the way...nothing to show for it but a flat....fixed at the Pink Roadhouse.
From Oodnadatta over to Alice then on up the Tanami to Halls Creek. Was a little concerned about the Tanami Track, but it's a breeze. Road is quite good from Alice to the Granites Mine but gets fairly corrogated from there on in places on the way to the Halls Creek. Camped over night down off the road...thought we were the only ones there, but it turned out a 120 series and trailer had turned up later a bit further up. Onlyx heard a couple of trucks which was a bonus as well.
Sunrise on the Tanami..


Bought a carved Boab nut from an old fella called Bob at the old Fitzroy Crossing Inn, probably paid him more than the gallery would have but well worth it, great momento...only wish we could have talked to him more than we did
Currently in Derby and about to head into Broome before heading up the Gibb River Road.

See ya there

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

We too did a Lake Eyre flight and were suprised by the lack of birdlife....HOWEVER on the way home we camped beside the Cooper Creek at the Burke and Wills Dig Tree site...and there were GAZILLIONS of them........and I do mean a lot...thousands of Pelicans, Ducks and heaps of birds that we didn't know what they were....bloody Pelicans made the fishing impossible!!

But incredible to see, never seen anything like it ever!!

[photoprado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close photoprado]

heaps of birds that we didn't know what they were.

The most amazing for us were the kites. They just hovered up there in the hundreds, occasionally swooping down on some poor hapless fish. (and then fighting over it)

[kav Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close kav]

great pics ,always good to see

[Allfour4x4 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Allfour4x4]

Forgot to mention we came across this little fella smack bang in the middle of the Tanami...on his last legs, lucky we came along.

Well Broome is busy...damn busy!
Basically as one leaves another arrives. Ended up camping in the overflow area (Pistol Club grounds) Nice place in fact, shady spot under the trees with good facilities....if your there on Thursdays you can squeeze a few shots off (50) from a pistol for $25!!!
Did the tourist thing at Cable Beach...again BUSY.


Nice sunset though



From Broome up the Gibb River Road...not as bad as we thought (Again) though we did manage to punch a hole in the sidewall/tread area of a Cooper tyre...apparently unrepairable..sigh. running with 28lb in the rears at no more than 60/70kms/hr, damn sharp shale road.
Some great places along the Gibb,
Winjana Gorge - if you want to see freshies, this is the place!