Well I'm going to bite the bullet and go my 1st outback trip on bitumen from Adelaide to Whycliffe and back via William Creek on the Oodnadatta Track (if the N.T. border is still open). I've been on an organised bus trip outback before but never driven myself. I'll be living in the in the back of my x-trail.
I was going to break myself and the car (I bought in March just before Covid) in slowly by going to visit the grand kids in Vic for the September school holidays first but for obvious reasons this is not going to happen. So instead of moping around missing the little ones, I thought just get in the car and go somewhere. So now I'm organising tyres and service and trying to figure out if a real tyre will fit into the space where the temp spare is because I'm not comfortable doing the Oodnadatta Track with a temp tyre.
Wish me luck: (I'm hoping to leave Sept 1st if the car is ready)
Mike Harding said
06:28 PM Aug 18, 2020
Good luck with your trip Lucy.
Talking of tyres: ensure that you have a tool with which you can remove the wheelnuts on your vehicle and test it before you leave on all 16 wheelnuts to ensure it, and you, work. The manufacturer's spanner is rarely sufficient to loosen wheelnuts after service people have tightened them up.
Also ensure the jack works and you know where to put it. Do a practice run of removing and replacing a wheel.
From a safety perspective *take emergency water* - a 10L container kept purely for emergencies is good.
NB. Mobile phones, in general, do not work in the bush/outback but there should be daily traffic in the area you're heading. A UHF CB may be useful.
glassies said
08:47 PM Aug 19, 2020
Good luck in your travels ,i admire people doing it alone i too am making plans for next year i have decked
My van out and ive got solar to go on yet ,but its all very exciting . Take your time and stay safe dont stay
At free camps by yourself
Mike Harding said
06:57 AM Aug 20, 2020
glassies wrote:Take your time and stay safe dont stay
At free camps by yourself
Needless scaremongering.
Whenarewethere said
11:04 AM Aug 20, 2020
We came down last year. The top 120 km was rough so drive carefully & slowly to avoid the biggest stones, at 40 kph at times. We let our tyres down to 24psi at the start. We sleep in our car, everything get chucked in the front overnight. Take a flynet to put over your hat & head.
Get TPMS of you can catch a tyre before it goes flat it is a lot of peace of mind. Take a good quality air compressor & tyre repair kit & pressure gauge. If you can fix a puncture it gives you more options, even if you have to put 3 plugs in a hole. Builder's gloves to save your knuckles fixing tyres & proper spanner.
There is plenty to see out there, we went to Lake Eyre North, a choppy track but easy enough 70km each way & there is a camping area if you want to stay overnight.
Strangways Springs is worth walking around & grab the flyer out of the box at the start of the walk there (3rd & 4th photos)
You can buy water at Oodnadatta.
First photo is the sign at the start at the top end.
glassies wrote:Take your time and stay safe dont stay
At free camps by yourself
Needless scaremongering.
We free camped at five different locations down the track. A couple were a bit open so the scenery was a bit boring but other than that absolutely no negative issues.
I bought a new Thermarest LuxuryMap regular size sleeping mat. Have been using two 25mm mats for some time but the first mat I bought 25 years ago has given up the ghost! The second one is a decade old but still perfectly ok. A slow leak & the foam has started to delaminate from the skin with the original mattress.
I would have liked a larger size but it has to be the regular so it fits in the car, both length & width issues.
The other half has a 35mm mat & will use the 25mm as well, so 60mm total thickness.
Putting them side by side, even though the LuxuryMap is 75mm thick, it has a much better comfort level than the 35mm & 25mm combined. It really has a nice feel. Not quite as bulky as I was expecting. Remember not to blow them up too hard!
I highly recommend the Thermarest 75mm luxuryMap mattress & the regular size is perfectly ok if you have limited sleeping space.
& take a proper pillow, that's what we do!
Sheba said
01:37 AM Aug 21, 2020
Hi Della. Have Pm'd you [Twice.]
Cheers,
Sheba.
Dougwe said
08:00 AM Aug 21, 2020
Probably still asleep, Sheba
Rise and shine Della
Wannabe nomad said
09:40 AM Aug 21, 2020
Thanks for the info
Wannabe nomad said
09:46 AM Aug 21, 2020
Hi I'm not sure if you are meaning to talk to me but I'm Lucy not Delia and there is no message in my private messages
Nifty150 said
03:59 PM Aug 21, 2020
Whenarewethere wrote:
Mike Harding wrote:
glassies wrote:Take your time and stay safe dont stay
At free camps by yourself
Needless scaremongering.
We free camped at five different locations down the track. A couple were a bit open so the scenery was a bit boring but other than that absolutely no negative issues.
Nice work making hearts in the dirt there
Whenarewethere said
04:38 PM Aug 21, 2020
It was purely by accident, other half wanted the car facing the other way. Then I obviously said, what I have (purposely) draw!
Anyway it was a nice camping spot by a river bed, elevated to some degree.
Dougwe said
04:57 PM Aug 21, 2020
Wannabe nomad wrote:
Hi I'm not sure if you are meaning to talk to me but I'm Lucy not Delia and there is no message in my private messages
Hi Lucy, you will find Sheba was referring to Glassies, who's name is Della. Sheba has sent Della a PM not you. I referred to that as well. The three of us have been around here for some time.
You will notice when you have been around for a while also that sometimes this sort of thing happens in various threads and topics sometimes head side ways or even go 'off topic'. I would never take a topic of someone else 'off topic' not me, no way known to man/woman kind, never, ever
Keep Safe out there.
Sheba said
09:25 PM Aug 21, 2020
Sorry about that Lucy. Don't know how that happened.
Doug is right. Hope Della is OK.
Cheers,
Sheba.
Wannabe nomad said
04:32 AM Aug 22, 2020
no worries
At least now i know that I haven't lost a private message out there somewhere lol
roker said
05:01 PM Aug 22, 2020
Hi Newbie,Get GOOD Shockies And GOOD TYRES.Also decent compressor from 4wd Store.Try get get dual battery system.fitted.
All comes in handy cheers roker,
Bullwinkle said
01:25 PM Aug 24, 2020
Hi Newbie,
You will be fine. The Oodnadatta Track gets a bit rough in spots, so most importantly just drive to conditions & let a bit of air out of your tyres as required.
With the set up in your photo, perhaps you might like to consider a luggage rack to put an extra spare wheel, water etc. You may also like to consider a small awning. Other essential items that I'd consider would be a small compressor, tyre deflator, tyre plug kit, a UHF radio & personal location beacon (PLB).
If you get the compressor from a 4WD place get them to show you how to reduce tyre pressure & plug a flat tyre. A tyre place would also help you with this, plus there's always you tube.
There will be a lot of places that you won't have phone coverage, so a UHF radio will allow you to seek help from nearby traffic if required & learn about upcoming road conditions. Also good to let trucks know that are about to pass them. In the unlikely chance that you find yourself in an emergency situation you can use the PLB to get urgent help via satellite.
Between locations you can also drop in call the local police station to let them know your ETA at your next stop.
You can get fuel at reasonably regular intervals, so just make sure that you estimate so that you have a bit extra just in case.
You'll find that most people are friendly & very happy to help out the further you get into the outback.
I travel solo a lot & into quite remote locations. I just love the freedom of exploring our great country. I'm male but have a few female friends who travel all over Australia on their own & have no issues at all.
Good luck. You will enjoy every minute of your outback adventure.
Good luck with your trip Lucy.
Talking of tyres: ensure that you have a tool with which you can remove the wheelnuts on your vehicle and test it before you leave on all 16 wheelnuts to ensure it, and you, work. The manufacturer's spanner is rarely sufficient to loosen wheelnuts after service people have tightened them up.
Also ensure the jack works and you know where to put it. Do a practice run of removing and replacing a wheel.
From a safety perspective *take emergency water* - a 10L container kept purely for emergencies is good.
NB. Mobile phones, in general, do not work in the bush/outback but there should be daily traffic in the area you're heading. A UHF CB may be useful.
Good luck in your travels ,i admire people doing it alone i too am making plans for next year i have decked
My van out and ive got solar to go on yet ,but its all very exciting . Take your time and stay safe dont stay
At free camps by yourself
Needless scaremongering.
We came down last year. The top 120 km was rough so drive carefully & slowly to avoid the biggest stones, at 40 kph at times. We let our tyres down to 24psi at the start. We sleep in our car, everything get chucked in the front overnight. Take a flynet to put over your hat & head.
Get TPMS of you can catch a tyre before it goes flat it is a lot of peace of mind. Take a good quality air compressor & tyre repair kit & pressure gauge. If you can fix a puncture it gives you more options, even if you have to put 3 plugs in a hole. Builder's gloves to save your knuckles fixing tyres & proper spanner.
There is plenty to see out there, we went to Lake Eyre North, a choppy track but easy enough 70km each way & there is a camping area if you want to stay overnight.
Strangways Springs is worth walking around & grab the flyer out of the box at the start of the walk there (3rd & 4th photos)
You can buy water at Oodnadatta.
First photo is the sign at the start at the top end.
Enjoy your trip.
We free camped at five different locations down the track. A couple were a bit open so the scenery was a bit boring but other than that absolutely no negative issues.
Sleeping mattress.
I bought a new Thermarest LuxuryMap regular size sleeping mat. Have been using two 25mm mats for some time but the first mat I bought 25 years ago has given up the ghost! The second one is a decade old but still perfectly ok. A slow leak & the foam has started to delaminate from the skin with the original mattress.
I would have liked a larger size but it has to be the regular so it fits in the car, both length & width issues.
The other half has a 35mm mat & will use the 25mm as well, so 60mm total thickness.
Putting them side by side, even though the LuxuryMap is 75mm thick, it has a much better comfort level than the 35mm & 25mm combined. It really has a nice feel. Not quite as bulky as I was expecting. Remember not to blow them up too hard!
I highly recommend the Thermarest 75mm luxuryMap mattress & the regular size is perfectly ok if you have limited sleeping space.
& take a proper pillow, that's what we do!
Hi Della. Have Pm'd you [Twice.]
Cheers,
Sheba.
Probably still asleep, Sheba
Rise and shine Della
Thanks for the info
Hi I'm not sure if you are meaning to talk to me but I'm Lucy not Delia and there is no message in my private messages
Nice work making hearts in the dirt there
It was purely by accident, other half wanted the car facing the other way. Then I obviously said, what I have (purposely) draw!
Anyway it was a nice camping spot by a river bed, elevated to some degree.
Hi Lucy, you will find Sheba was referring to Glassies, who's name is Della. Sheba has sent Della a PM not you. I referred to that as well. The three of us have been around here for some time.
You will notice when you have been around for a while also that sometimes this sort of thing happens in various threads and topics sometimes head side ways or even go 'off topic'. I would never take a topic of someone else 'off topic' not me, no way known to man/woman kind, never, ever
Keep Safe out there.
Sorry about that Lucy. Don't know how that happened.
Doug is right. Hope Della is OK.
Cheers,
Sheba.
no worries
At least now i know that I haven't lost a private message out there somewhere lol
Hi Newbie,Get GOOD Shockies And GOOD TYRES.Also decent compressor from 4wd Store.Try get get dual battery system.fitted.
All comes in handy cheers roker,
Hi Newbie,
You will be fine. The Oodnadatta Track gets a bit rough in spots, so most importantly just drive to conditions & let a bit of air out of your tyres as required.
With the set up in your photo, perhaps you might like to consider a luggage rack to put an extra spare wheel, water etc. You may also like to consider a small awning. Other essential items that I'd consider would be a small compressor, tyre deflator, tyre plug kit, a UHF radio & personal location beacon (PLB).
If you get the compressor from a 4WD place get them to show you how to reduce tyre pressure & plug a flat tyre. A tyre place would also help you with this, plus there's always you tube.
There will be a lot of places that you won't have phone coverage, so a UHF radio will allow you to seek help from nearby traffic if required & learn about upcoming road conditions. Also good to let trucks know that are about to pass them. In the unlikely chance that you find yourself in an emergency situation you can use the PLB to get urgent help via satellite.
Between locations you can also drop in call the local police station to let them know your ETA at your next stop.
You can get fuel at reasonably regular intervals, so just make sure that you estimate so that you have a bit extra just in case.
You'll find that most people are friendly & very happy to help out the further you get into the outback.
I travel solo a lot & into quite remote locations. I just love the freedom of exploring our great country. I'm male but have a few female friends who travel all over Australia on their own & have no issues at all.
Good luck. You will enjoy every minute of your outback adventure.