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)
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.
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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!
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50L custom fuel rack 6x20W 100/20mppt 4x26Ah gel 28L super insulated fridge TPMS 3 ARB compressors heatsink fan cooled 4L tank aftercooler Air/water OCD cleaning 4 stage car acoustic insulation.
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.
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.
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TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
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.
