2013 Alice Springs Touring Trip

[Sean Parky Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Sean Parky]

As the time is fast approaching, I'd thought I'd throw this out there...... Has anyone recently climbed Ayers Rock?

The info I have says that they would "Prefer" you don't climb the rock and respect their traditional beliefs but there is no band on climbing it yet..... has anyone been out there recently ???

Gday mate dont be put off by this. I used to be a guide out the rock and its the national parks way of being safety concious. If you want to climb it then climb it. Thousands of people after you will. But they will close the climb at every oppurtunity. Oh when in alice as i lived there for 26yrs in some of the caravan parks keep an eye on your belongings. Not scaring you but its realality. Alice and the surrounding areas are fantastic (especially after rain), be carefull on the road out to kings canyon on the dirt as its very rough. Its not reccomended for caravans. All in all enjoy your trip to the red centre sound like an awesome trip. (jealous)

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

As the time is fast approaching, I'd thought I'd throw this out there...... Has anyone recently climbed Ayers Rock?

Yep, climbed it again about an hour ago, body is starting to stiffen up nicely now

Cheers Andrew

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

Yep, climbed it again about an hour ago, body is starting to stiffen up nicely now

And the photo...?

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

And the photo...?

I have them, wait for the trip report on my return! Letsgoplaces also climbed with me, heading to his place in the APY lands tomorrow.

Cheers Andrew

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

Yep, climbed it again about an hour ago, body is starting to stiffen up nicely now

Cheers Andrew

Lucky Bugger there Andrew.... we ended up staying another day in hope of being able to climb it as the missus really wanted to climb it. She actually shed a tear when they closed it the 2nd day, so being the good husband, I told her we will stay another day to try again..... but again w/o luck as there was a bit of a breeze..... Needless to say the missus wasn't happy. Last time I climbed it, there was way more wind and we didn't have any problems......
One of the guys we spoke to told us that a couple of fellas ignored the closed signs and climbed it.... but when they got back down they were hit with a $5000 fine.....not sure if that's a slight stretch of the truth or not.....

Anyhow, we headed off to Kings Canyon, then up the Finke Gorge Track (found the best campspot of the trip) then into Palm Valley and then onto Goose Bluff and worked our way back to Alice where we restocked and headed off nth and onto the Sandover Hwy, then onto the Binns Track and into Davenport Ranges NP and Frew 4WD Track into Old Policemans Waterhole. Got to say, we've had the worst windy weather for the past 2 days which made this section a unpleasant part of the trip.... The dust was really bad & our tent blew down twice..... needless to say we couldn't wait to get out of there..... With good weather it would be a nice place but there was little to no grass and the littlest bit of wind makes it a bit of a dust bowl..... We had to bypass Whistleduck Waterhole.... Has anyone been there and is it a nicer place than Policeman's W/H?

Currently we're in Tennant Creek resting/cleaning up b4 making the long trip back home.....

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

The climb was actually closed when we got to Yulara due to wind, even though it was dead calm. We drove out to the rock and they had just opened the climb, so we headed up while we had the chance. This was my second visit and the second time the climb was opened just as I arrived

I would have been pissed if it stayed closed.

Sounds like your enjoying your trip anyway, which is the main thing.

Cheers Andrew

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

Left Windy Tennant Creek, NT behind today and had a good run and was able to cover some 800kms and make it to Cloncurry..... Getting closer to home now...... Got to say the weather out here in Cloncurry is great, no too cold or hot....

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

Hey Rob,

It was good we weren't in Palm Valley on Monday as it got 40mm of rain - not sure if we would have got out with that much. Now in Boulia on the way home so we'll keep an eye out for you again.

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

Hey Rob,

It was good we weren't in Palm Valley on Monday as it got 40mm of rain - not sure if we would have got out with that much. Now in Boulia on the way home so we'll keep an eye out for you again.

Hey Gary...


We ended up getting home Thursday Night around 6pm.... would have earlier, but for the multitude of roadworks along the Warrego Hwy that held us up for a good 2+hrs.... We put in a couple big days driving and managed to get from Tennant Ck on Tuesday to home Thursday night....


Yes, it would have been very interesting if we had rain at Palm Valley..... Davenport Ranges was not all that pleasant due to the high Winds we had.... Blew our tent over twice and it was a bit of a Dust bowl as well. We had planned to stay 2 nights but with the wind we got out of there after only 1 night. Would be a nice place w/o the wind though....


Hope u got home safe and sound......Talk to u soon..... Let the clean up begin

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

It is a long drive home from the NT - glad you made it back safely.

We Made it home last night - Augathella to Brisvegas. Got stuck in road works from Mitchell to Marburg which added about 2 hours to the trip. It was a great three week trip with many firsts for me including Simpson crossing and seeing the Rock. Was very impressed with the Red Centre and will make it there again one day.

For now, there is one very dusty vehicle that needs unpacking, cleaning and returning to a daily drive rather than an outback tourer.

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

It is a long drive home from the NT - glad you made it back safely.

We Made it home last night - Augathella to Brisvegas. Got stuck in road works from Mitchell to Marburg which added about 2 hours to the trip. It was a great three week trip with many firsts for me including Simpson crossing and seeing the Rock. Was very impressed with the Red Centre and will make it there again one day.

For now, there is one very dusty vehicle that needs unpacking, cleaning and returning to a daily drive rather than an outback tourer.

Yep, we struck the same flamin road works as well and delayed us by a few hrs too..... Just finished cleaning the Prado and putting away some of the camping gear.... still more to go though

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

Here's some brief info of our 2013 Central Australia Trip

Pictures can be seen here (I will add pics when I get time): 2013 Central Australia Trip Pics

or try this link for a more detailed Trip Report plus the Tracklog of where we went: Trip log and Pics of 2013 Central Australia Trip

Day-1: (21-Jun)
Left HOME @ 2.45; stopped around 4.30pm
Refuelling: Blackall - BP: 119.35 ltrs // $167.26 // 995 kms // 140cents/ltr
Stopover: Blackall Free camp site
Distance: 988kms
Driving Time only: 10.93hrs

Day-2: (22-Jun)
Left Blackall at 8.35am and stopped About 122kms from Winton, found a place to camp on the side of the road around 4pm.
Refuelling: Winton - Caltex: 48.37 ltrs // $74.44 // 402 kms //153.90 cents/ltr
Stopover: On the Road between Boulia and Winton (122kms from Winton)
Distance: 524kms
Driving Time only: 5.97hrs

Day-3: (23-Jun)
Up early again & pulled up at Arthur River at 16.00 (qld Time)
Refuelling: Boulia - Choice: 47.29 ltrs // $83.18 // 370 kms // 175.89 cents/ltr
Stopover: Arthur River along the Plenty Hwy
Distance: 655kms
Driving Time only: 7.08hrs
 
Day-4: (24-Jun)
Left 08.30am and then headed to our campsite for the night - Heavitree Gap Outback Park at around 3pm
Refuelling: Alice Springs - Shell: 103.37 ltrs // $175.63 // 827 kms // 169.90 cents/ltr
Stopover: Alice Springs - Heavitree Gap Outback Lodge/Caravan Park
Distance: 423kms
Driving Time only: 4.80hrs

Day-5: (25-Jun)
Left Camp at around 10am and headed out to the National Truck Museum (4hrs well spent, could have been more); then went next door to the Ghan Train Museum - bad mistake and not worth the $$ to get in. Headed off towards Chambers Pillar arriving at the campgrounds at 5pm
Stopover: Chambers Pillar Campgrounds
Distance: 164kms
Driving Time only: 2.42hrs

Day-6: (26-Jun)
Did the usual look/walk around Chambers Pillar and The Castle. After Morning Tea, our next destination Rainbow Valley. Turned off onto the Hugh River Stock Route and travelled along this road until half way and decided to take a side track that would hopeful bring us into Rainbow Valley from the eastern side and not the usual way from the Stuart Hwy. As it turned out, this was definitely a more direct route but also rough & corrugated in places & we had to ask for directions in the aboriginal community we passed through. We did the usual walks and looking around, etc. and had Lunch there as well. After Lunch headed off down Hwy via Henbury Meteorite craters, then backtracked out to the Hwy and down towards the T/O to Ayers Rock. Found a nice little secluded area along the Stuart Hwy for the night as it was starting to rain.
Stopover: Along Stuart Hwy - 36kms Nth from Erldunda
Distance: 276kms
Driving Time only: 4.15hrs

Day-7: (27-Jun)Left our roadside camp at 9.22 and headed sth to refuel at Erldunda b4 heading west towards Ayers Rock. Finally reached the Yulara Resort campgrounds around 13.00. After lunch, etc. we headed off to the Rock to do the walks & pics (almost lost my SLR camera when I accidently left it on the bonnet and didn’t realise until we were some distance down the road). With time & light running out we headed back to camp realising that there would be no sunset photo opportunity due to cloud cover. Made it back at around 6.45pm (QT)
Refuelling: Erldunda - Shell: 66.69 ltrs // $131.38 // 480 kms // 197.00 cents/ltr
Stopover: Yulara Resort Campgrounds
Distance: 343kms
Driving Time only: 4.43hrs

Day-8: (28-Jun)
Stopover: Yulara Resort Campgrounds
Distance: 145kms
Driving Time only: 2.03hrs

Day-9: (29-Jun)Refuelling: Yulara Resort - Shell: 54.62 ltrs // $118.38 // 453 kms // 216.73 cents/ltr
Stopover: Roadside Camp 11kms from Yulara Campgrounds
Distance: 53kms
Driving Time only: 0.93hrs

Day-10: (30-Jun)Refuelling: Yulara Resort - Shell: 14.52 ltrs // $31.46 // 102 kms // 216.67 cents/ltr
Refuelling: Kings Canyon Resort - Shell: 39.25 ltrs // $91.47 // 327 kms // 233.04 cents/ltr
Stopover: Kings Canyon Resort Campgrounds
Distance: 376kms
Driving Time only: 4.37hrs

Day-11: (1-Jul)
Stopover: Finke River Gorge Track - Along the banks of the Finke River
Distance: 230kms
Driving Time only: 3.00hrs

Day-12: (2-Jul)Stopover: Palm Valley Campgrounds
Distance: 88kms
Driving Time only: 3.60hrs

Day-13: (3-Jul)Stopover: Glen Helen Resort - campgrounds
Distance: 159kms
Driving Time only: 2.72hrs

Day-14: (4-Jul)Stopover: Namatjira Dve - 5kms East of Point Howard Lookout off the side of the Road
Distance: 88kms
Driving Time only: 1.37hrs

Day-15: (5-Jul)Stopover: Alice Springs - Heavitree Gap Outback Lodge/Caravan Park
Distance: 139kms
Driving Time only: 2.05hrs

Day-16: (6-Jul)Refuelling: Alice Springs - Shell: 102.49 ltrs // $178.23 // 711 kms // 173.90 cents/ltr
Stopover: Binns Track - 42kms WSW of Hatches Creek along Binns Track (Davenport ranges NP)
Distance: 440kms
Driving Time only: 4.58hrs

Day-17: (7-Jul)Stopover: Binns Track - Old Policemans Waterhole (Davenport ranges NP)
Distance: 75kms
Driving Time only: 2.57hrs

Day-18: (8-Jul)Refuelling: Tennant Creek - BP: 106.96 ltrs // $184.93 // 796 kms // 172.90 cents/ltr
Stopover: Tennant Creek - Eldorado Motor Inn
Distance: 298kms
Driving Time only: 3.67hrs

Day-19: (9-Jul)Refuelling: Mt Isa - Shell: 96.89 ltrs // $156.86 // 673 kms // 161.89 cents/ltr
Stopover: Cloncurry - Wal's Camp
Distance: 793kms
Driving Time only: 7.63hrs

Day-20: (10-Jul)Refuelling: Longreach - Shell: 94.77 ltrs // $153.43 // 660 kms // 161.90 cents/ltr
Stopover: Tambo Nth Rest Area - Landsborough Hwy - 21kms Nth of Tambo
Distance: 823kms
Driving Time only: 8.15hrs

Day-21: (11-Jul)Refuelling: Dalby - BP: 129.61 ltrs // $202.06 // 973 kms // 155.90 cents/ltr
Refuelling: Albany Creek - BP: 27.85 ltrs // $43.70 // 220 kms // 156.91 cents/ltr
Stopover: HOME
Distance: 910kms
Driving Time only: 10.63hrs



Fuel Usage:

[Travelman1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Travelman1]

Fantastic Rob. Have just found this thread after not dialling in to Pradopoint for some time. We're planning a very similar trip , leaving in less than a fortnight. Have a little more time available, so mightn't be quite so ambitious with some of the daily distances. Towing the camper will also slow us down a little. Hope to get to Lawn Hill and Undara Lava Tubes on the way home.Will forget about Old Policeman's Waterhole after reading your report.
How was the Donahue Highway / Plenty Highway section?
Thanks for your very helpful reporting.
Travelman1

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

Fantastic Rob. Have just found this thread after not dialling in to Pradopoint for some time. We're planning a very similar trip , leaving in less than a fortnight. Have a little more time available, so mightn't be quite so ambitious with some of the daily distances. Towing the camper will also slow us down a little. Hope to get to Lawn Hill and Undara Lava Tubes on the way home.Will forget about Old Policeman's Waterhole after reading your report.How was the Donahue Highway / Plenty Highway section?Thanks for your very helpful reporting.Travelman1

The Plenty Hwy was in good condition... The Donohue Hwy.... well, its like any other Qld road, it has its good and bad patches....

The Sandover Hwy was the surprise for me. I had never travelled along it b4 and was expecting a rough road, but it was in great condition and even contained a fair bit of the black stuff. I don't know how far the black stuff goes as we turned off north onto the Binns Track....

Lawn Hill was a fantastic place when we were there in '93, not sure what it would be like but believe the road is good as my Uncle is taking his 22" foot road caravan up there in the coming weeks....

Have fun.....

[discoveraus Member Find all posts View Profile Close discoveraus]

Helo Rob-macca67,

Great trip, been to all of those places over several trips and loved it. Add Finke gorge to your visit to Palm Valley.

I find averageing 200 km per day allows time to smell the roses, any lass gets to be too much.

Take more time and it will be a trip to remember in safety.

regards

Ross