Trip down the strez and Birdsville

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

Fifteen days to do the tracks and fit in two days at Seal Rocks on the way back. We have just returned and wish we were still there. For all the people who have travelled these tracks, they are as great as others have said, and to those who have yet to travel them, do it soon before they all become simple gravel roads or tar!!

I will describe the trip here and post a link for the rest. I can't get the pictures to upload indivudally.

Firstly, my wife and I decided, no sorry, I decided that a good trip would be to go from Sydney to Innaminka via Bourke and Thargaminda, travel the Strez to Lyndhurst and Marree, then do the Birdsville, returning via Charleville to Sydney. My wife was happy to go along and leave the planning to me. All this in the Prado 05 diesel auto pulling a Trackabout Camper.

Why go? Some of the last really isolated tracks especially if the alternative (old) tracks are taken. Challenge. The desert.

Day one and two was travelling at speed to Bourke and then to Thargaminda. A dust storm came out of the desert and made our lives difficult, along with some decent heat.

On to Innaminka. The road into Innaminka had a huge variety of surfaces that included some smooth sand and was the best track of the trip. Innaminka was a surprise as it is very small but the two days by the Cooper Creek was terrific.

We took the Old Strez to the junction with the new, some 50 kms and loved it. No big wide track made for trucks, but a narrow interesting section. We took a wrong turn at a station track but it was corrected when we came to a fence blocking the way. The rest of the day to Lyndhurst was fast travelling featuring the Moomba fields. It is amazing how much activity in oil and gas there is out there.

The birdsville track was similar but then we came upon Mungerannie Roadhouse. Water in the outback is incredible when you come upon it. The bore at the roadhouse supports a wide range of birdlife and a great pub. We stayed two days.

I will leave it there for the moment and not make it too long as one read. Back soon.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mpnaylor

[Chippy Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chippy]

What and awesome trip DT and thanks for sharing the pics.

The Strez and Birdsville tracks have been somewhere on my list of things to do .... but seeing pics like these rushes them back up the charts.

Cheers
Chippy

[mototrim Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close mototrim]

Fantastic photos dirttracker you would not have board me by carrying on.
The wealth of knowlege gathered on this Pradopoint site by people like yourself is absolutely amazing.
The photots that you and others have displayed you would never get on any video or book,it really gives you an accurate picture of the true outback.

[MTpockets Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MTpockets]

Absolutly awesome pics mate. Thouroughly enjoyed looking at them, and am very jelous :wink:

[Byrnsie Member Find all posts View Profile Close Byrnsie]

Great trip report. I had the Road Atlas out following your trek and the places you stopped at. Looking forward to the next instalment.
Cheers - Byrnsie

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

Update for Strez and Birdsville trip

Part Two

The Birdsville track is more interesting than the other tracks. There is more variety during the trip, meaning that while the landscape is pretty flat in both areas, you seem to be down in the landscape on the Birdsville, rather than up above on the Strez. The Inside track is the pick of the tracks in the last section going north. The outside track is very rough as you approach the division of tracks at Clifton Hills. you might also note that the Inside track is not marked well, only a 25 liter tin lid with a black centre. Bird watches, of which there are many out on the tracks, should note that sections of Clifton Hills station are closed and public right of access is being disputed. This means that bird watches cannot get access to some premium sights.
At one billabong early on the inside track we came across a Western Taipan. The moment is captured on my photos. They are just the most deadly snake in the area if not Oz!! we had our tea sitting in the car.

The Inside track goes through the river bed of a large number of creeks and rivers and so is low to the terrain. The track is also made of river sand and dirt. If it rains it would become a problem very quickily. Hence a check of the weather before setting off. Very little information re the weather is available. The locals speak of being in a black reporting hole, but if you check at Birdsville if going south or Mungerannie going north, the locals can advise and are happy to do so.

We were happy to arrive at Birdsville, not because the track was not good, but because you have a strong sense of isolation. The more time you spend in the area you tend to loose this feeling. I think that that could be dangerous. However, help is only a satellite phone call away should you need it...at a price.

We were not disappointed with Birdsville as the guys at Innaminka had suggested, (self promotion) but found it interesting for a day. We run out of things to do and cut our stay by a day. early in the morning we went out to Big Red and made the traditional attempt. Two others were making the run but they were going on over the desert. After a look one of them, an old and I mean old F250 4x4 crawled up and towards the 1metre lip that had developed on the top via a wind storm on previous days. He bellied out at the very top and after pushing the sand away from the front and rear wheels crawled over and down the other side. All the videos that I have seen have shown 4x4s going at it at speed and getting stuck. My accent was alittle quicker in locked high and auto free to decide. Up and over with a bit of extra grunt at the top which lifted the front left 400 mm as I made a left at the very top. I witnessed this with a troopy a little later. Pretty spectacular but with three wheels on the sand, not breakage territory. Back the other way, West to East, I had to be careful that I didn't launch over the lip and so on the first attempt I slowed down a little too early, two metres from the dropoff. Damn. The next attempt was successful with the perfect slow slide over the top. great fun. For those who blow up my pics will see that I fitted an appropriate flag. It was made of an old fishing rod, carbon fibre no less, with a piece of red cloth attatched. Cost $0. The rest of the morning was spent in the working museum. Lunch at the pub then... Lets go to Bedourie! A spa, onsuite camp site. Off we go, it is only 123 ks north. Over sold I am afraid. The spa was closed, the ensuite sites are on the road and look like a truck stop. Damn. Could we make Quilpy? Yes. On we go.

We had planned to go diagonally down to home, Sydney, but we looked at the map, the time available and decided that it was possible now that we had shortened our stay in Birdville, to get to the coast and make Seal Rocks with a few days spare. Off we went through Quilpy to Windorah for the night. Through Charleville to Warialda for the next. From there through Barrington down Thunderbolt Way and to Forster and then Seal Rocks. What a contrast? Assure water and mild temps. Three days and two nights at Treachery Camp. A wonderful way to end a great trip. Half a day home to Sydney to finish after spending the morning cleaning up the camper.

15 days 5500kms

A few comments about the Prado and gear.

No probs with the car, it went very well although I have permission to get a power module for the diesel at some stage as pulling the trailer of 800 kgs or so sucked the life our of the economy, 15 - 17 l per 100 kms, the result of pushing the car into 4th when possible and using the torque to sustain speed. On the last day on very steep terrain, I let the auto do its thing and let it rev more and returned 14 L per 100 kms!! Go figure.

Tyres - Coopers LT 265x70. Lowered the pressures from 38 rear to 32 and 36 front to 28. rears chipped alot. The locals say this is normal.

LArge rear mudflat or stone deflector - worth the effort. No chips on the back door and no broken rear window.

Trackabout camper, great once again.

OME suspension - essential and although I got one ding on the lower section of one rear shock, no probs.

Lift - essential for peace of mind in desert areas.

The most essential gear for peace of mind in all isolated areas is the hired Sat phone.

Link at the bottom for Big Red and Corrogations.

I would encourage all who are adventurous and those who dream, to have a go at this trip or a variation of it. It is possible to do it in 10 to 12 days ex Syd without any trouble. We took 15 days and went to the beach as well. One caution that I would put here. When we went into isolated areas when crossing the Savannah Way in 2005 and again experienced this trip, your tolerance for isolation and self sufficiency increases markedly the more time you spead out there. The trap is that it can seem normal and no problem. No one has died on these tracks for some time but it is not a place to do foolish things or to test your bravado. It doesn't impress the locals, the ones who will have to help you, and it could cost you a lot of money or even your life. But considering the reliability of vehicles nowadays and the amount of time and money most put into prep for these trips, an adventure even with the kids is something that will build wonderful memories. I commend it to you.

Regards
Martin (Dirttracker)

Youtube link for Big Red -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poaiefot0VM

Youtube link for corrogations -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7s_Mngyh6U

Pics -
http://picasaweb.google.com/mpnaylor

[plucker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close plucker]

Dont wish to alarm you but I used to use a sat phone regularly near Cloncurry and was amazed at the amount of times at different spots on a clear sunny day that it was out of range. We could still see the sky too.
Could never rely on the stupid thing.
Sounds like the trip was great though.

[Guest Close Guest]

Which satphone though, there is two main ones and one is not that good :wink:

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

I can't recall now what the brand of Sat phone it was and do not have the receipt, but it is the one that ARB hires out. We got good coverage but preferred the Next G phone when we could use it which was all but the most remote areas. A good thing because the next G cost an arm and a leg in call rates. We found with the Sat Phone that we did not have the use the external aerial but could rely on the one attached to the phone. The external allows you to put it in the middle of your bonnet for a better base. If it was not good signal we walked around a bit and hey presto. Call rates are $2 for thirty seconds or part thereof. So it is just insurance. Plucker commented that he would not rely on one. I would not rely on one either and take unnecessary chances but it is an essential back up out there.


Just another aside - I made a bash plate before I went ala forum plates. Took half a day of fiddling and bending to shape. No large movement holes or the like as it is attached to the chasis. Went very well. Minor movement due to vibration on the corrogated roads, no sound, great protection from sticks and sand on Big Red. Aluminium cost $20. Recommended.

And another -
Homemade roof rack - Carried the second spare very well and a load of fire wood which we did not use until Seal Rocks. I heard a sound one day, a strange tapping. I reached out of the window and felt for the screw that holds the the Rhino cross bars to the roof. Loose! Again, it is worth going over nuts and bolts on occasion to check for tightness. This one was a special allen key, luckily kept in the centre console. As in the second battery plug, it interesting what comes loose.
Regards

[plucker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close plucker]

cant remember which brand of sat phone it was but it was permanantly mounted in the vehicle with proper antenna. Another problem we had was if you were working in a remote spot and had stopped for a while, it would flatten the troopies battery and you would become stranded.
Personally when I go to remote spots I take my epirb. Handy for me cause I need one in the boat. At least help is eventually on it's way.

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

Interesting Plucker because I have one too from the same source- my boat and it is now mounted on the cargo barrier. Your sat phone seems to be faulty. We used the hire phone each night in the middle of the trip and never had to charge it!

[plucker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close plucker]

I think that you will find that very much like mobile phones, if you are searching for network coverage they will consume huge amounts of power. The sat phone was mounted in a communications technicians car moved vehicle to vehicle by a qualified tech. They knew what they were doing. And the phone was operating correctly.
In my time offsiding the techy's there was a role change 3 times and all techs said that is what happens.
We clamp metered the power cables and they were drawing 4-5 amps at times and simply wired them to accecories for that reason.
Perhaps newer models are more efficient, as this model was about 10 years old.