Coober Pedy, Painted Desert, Breakaways - Mar 2012

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Thats why you should be in the shed making more rock sliders

Don't worry the thought has more than just crossed my mind!

Cheers Andrew

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

Amts

We did that part fo the trip last October and it was hot then, the flies were incredible. One of the most memorable days for us was the trip from Oodnadatta to the Painetd Desert, across the Moon Plains and then onto Coober Pedy for an afternoon dust storm. The roads are all fair apart from the road into the Painted Desert from the "main road" which can be quite rocky and may be hard on a RAV's tyres.

We use the same fly cream, it is also available as spray from horsey shops as it was originally made for horses!

See ya on the tracks (possibily at the 2012 GTG), Richo.

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Thanks Richo for confirming the issue with the flies. Will let the better half know about it. The conversation might go something like this:

Me: Hon, the guys on that forum that I spend a lot of time on, you know the one, yeah, they said that there's going to be a lot of flies up there.

Better half: Oh, maybe we should go somewhere else.

Me: well they also have a solution for the flies and it's this really nice sweet smelling cream, and they swear it works.

Better half: Maybe we should get some. After all,they're just some random guys on the internet and the internet is the information super highway.

Me: Rolls eyes, walks back to the PC....

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This trip didn't go ahead last time but is now back on the cards. Travelling in winter this time taking note of what you guys said of the heat in March.

Can I get some idea on trip times/distances:
1. Coober Pedy to The Painted Desert (Is there a 'shortcut' at the Mt Barry turnoff?)
2. Coober Pedy to Halligan Bay @ Lake Eyre

Is it possible to head out to The Painted Desert, then come back towards Coober Pedy and to the Breakaways loop heading west from Oodnadatta Rd to check out the dingo fence then Breakaways for sunset and back to Coober Pedy on Stuart Hwy?

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

This trip didn't go ahead last time but is now back on the cards. Travelling in winter this time taking note of what you guys said of the heat in March.

Can I get some idea on trip times/distances:
1. Coober Pedy to The Painted Desert (Is there a 'shortcut' at the Mt Barry turnoff?)
2. Coober Pedy to Halligan Bay @ Lake Eyre

Is it possible to head out to The Painted Desert, then come back towards Coober Pedy and to the Breakaways loop heading west from Oodnadatta Rd to check out the dingo fence then Breakaways for sunset and back to Coober Pedy on Stuart Hwy?

Just got back from that area today amts.

We left Oodnadatta one morning after having breakfast at the Pink Roadhouse, travelled to Coober Pedy via the Painted desert, Arckaringa and Mt Barry and had plenty of time to settle into underground lodgings in the afternoon. Longest distance was Mt Barry to Coober Pedy @ about 100km.

Coober Pedy to William Creek is about 165km, I haven't driven that road. The Halligan Bay track is improved out of sight compared to last time I drove it in 2009 - it's like a highway now! About 70km. Wood fires are banned out there now due to irresponsible use of fires and local timber. There are some roadworks north of William Creek which could cause trouble for low clearance vehicles but basically the roads were in excellent condition for our trip.

Yes, you can head from the Oodnadatta road along the dingo fence to the breakaways and then head out to the Stuart Hwy back to Coober Pedy. Permit is available from the Coober Pedy council to do the breakaways if you want to do it legal.

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Just got back from that area today amts.

Thanks for the info below.

We left Oodnadatta one morning after having breakfast at the Pink Roadhouse, travelled to Coober Pedy via the Painted desert, Arckaringa and Mt Barry and had plenty of time to settle into underground lodgings in the afternoon. Longest distance was Mt Barry to Coober Pedy @ about 100km.

So possibly 2hr Coober Pedy to Painted desert?
Which underground lodgings did you stay at?

Coober Pedy to William Creek is about 165km, I haven't driven that road. The Halligan Bay track is improved out of sight compared to last time I drove it in 2009 - it's like a highway now! About 70km. Wood fires are banned out there now due to irresponsible use of fires and local timber. There are some roadworks north of William Creek which could cause trouble for low clearance vehicles but basically the roads were in excellent condition for our trip.

So at a guess, assuming that Coober Pedy to William Creek is also highway like, then trip time would be about 2.5 hours

Yes, you can head from the Oodnadatta road along the dingo fence to the breakaways and then head out to the Stuart Hwy back to Coober Pedy. Permit is available from the Coober Pedy council to do the breakaways if you want to do it legal.

Would this be the same permit to visit Lake Eyre at Halligan Bay?
We're thinking that as option 2, we don't do Halligan bay but head east to Maree and have a look at Lake Eyre South instead. Then we'll need to stay somewhere at Flinders Ranges.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Last time I drove Cooper Pedy to William creek the road was pretty good, most of the roads in that area usually are.

As for the painted Desert, I was under the impression that you really want to be there for sunset!

Cheers Andrew

[OziOffroad Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close OziOffroad]

As for the painted Desert, I was under the impression that you really want to be there for sunset!

Or really early if you're keen!

Mick

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I figured I will go to the Breakaways for the sunset shot. Not too keen driving in the dusk back to Coober Pedy from Painted desert. if we were able to camp, then I would plan to camp at Arckaringa and do either sunrise or sunset.

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

We stayed at the lookout cave: http://www.thelookoutcave.com/index.php/find-us I would go there again. Friendly, interesting rooms and not a tourist rip off merchant. Nick is the owner and is most helpful as is his wife and staff.

I've had a look at our GPS trace and we left the Arckaringa area at 12:02PM. We arrived in Coober Pedy before 2PM. I think we only made one stop to look at Lollypop Lane.

Arckaringa offers camping facilities, we didn't check them out but we will visit the area again one day to be there for sunset/sunrise. There are signs around the painted desert saying no camping so you would have to drive out a bit to bush camp.

If the road from Coober Pedy to William Creek is like the other highways in the area, yes. 2Hrs should do it. According to my Track Guide, there are a number of bores and one lookout at Lake Cadibarrawinnacanna.

Unfortunately, the permit for Halligan Bay is not the same as the permit for the Breakaways. There is a self-pay station at the start of the Halligan Bay track. I can't remember the fee, but not a lot $10 or so each. Are you camping at Halligan Bay?

Lake Eyre South has about 20% water in it at the moment, and apart from the interest in visiting the shore of LE North, the South Lake is more interesting at the moment. If you are heading south there is a lookout area but you can get closer to the lake about a km further where you can drive down to the old Ghan track and walk onto the lake. You cannot walk to the water (ask me how I know) but you can get close enough so you can tell it isn't a mirage.

We visited Lake Gairdner on the way home and it blitzes both north and south LE for me. It has strong sand colour around it and a firm salt crust you can walk on without it collapsing. It has a lot of water in it at the moment, and if you walk in the water like I did, the salt crust still does not collapse under your weight.

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

Wow perfect timing, I'm doing Oodnadatta 'track' in a few days. Some good info here.

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We visited Lake Gairdner on the way home and it blitzes both north and south LE for me. It has strong sand colour around it and a firm salt crust you can walk on without it collapsing. It has a lot of water in it at the moment, and if you walk in the water like I did, the salt crust still does not collapse under your weight.

Was there access to the lake from the North along Stuart Hwy? It looks like the usual access is through Mt Ive Station south of the lake.

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

Arckaringa is a good spot near the painted desert. Power is available till 10:00pm. The showers are cold after that till morning. You camp on a fine pebbly paddock. There is a campfire pit and as I recall a shelter for eating. Very friendly farmers. Its only 10 min to the painted desert. You do need to do a drive up to the end of the track at the desert and then a stroll through the walking tracks for the best views. My Avitar was taken there. Its a great spot

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

Was there access to the lake from the North along Stuart Hwy? It looks like the usual access is through Mt Ive Station south of the lake.

Yes and yes, but not directly from the highway, you travel down the west side of the lake.

To access from the north you take the Kingoonya turn off from the Sturt hwy or you can also head out that way further south from Glendambo. You then take the road south between lake Gairdner and Everard/Acraman. It's signposted and there is only one junction to watch for the Mt Ive turnoff. There is a National Parks camping spot near the lake (walking distance) called Waltumba Campground Lat: -32.121845 Lon: 135.894800 Good views of the lake there. Travel time from Glendambo was less than 3 hours.



From Mt Ive to the lake is about 45 mins. The water in the lake was deeper at the Mt Ive access (25cm or so) than at the west side camp area (1-3cm) but that is probably dependant on the wind at the time of your visit. The water is very cold, If you want sunrise shots from the Mt Ive access, take some gumboots!

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Thanks Corigator and photoprado. Your info has been very helpful.