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Post Info TOPIC: Top end


Guru

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Top end


Hi all next year we are planning a trip in the top end from lake argyle to Kalbarri.

We have a full off road van which loves to get down and dirty and pushed to the limits.We have also swapped the tinny for a rooftop tent for the hard to get to places and would love some feed back from the more experienced travellers amongst you.

The bucket list places are the Gibb river road ,The horizontal falls (to do the cruise from derby or to fly in ) and Ningaloo reef.Any other places as I no there are many that any one can recommend would be taken on board.

Any feedback or info would be much appreciated the time will be May until September and prefer to be off grid and free camp as much as possible

 cheers to all and stay safe



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John

2017 dmax lovells upgrade full CSM trade  aluminium canopy,3.5 m quintrex tinny and rear boat loader mangrove jack aluminium trailer

JB scorpion sting 206



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We last did this trip with long stops at Lightning Ridge Bourke, Camooweal, Alice Springs, Katherine, Darwin, The Kimberly, Onslow, Geraldton, Perth, Wave Rock, then back across the Nullarbor.

An "äbsolute must do" do is www.kimberleycoastcruises.com.au/7-day-kimberley-cruise/ Expensive? Yes, but an all-time trip to remember.

Leave the tinny at home, as you will meet enough fisho's that are looking for a buddy.

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Possum; AKA:- Ali El-Aziz Mohamed Gundawiathan

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Thanks possum Ill che me that out Ive heard its a great cruise

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John

2017 dmax lovells upgrade full CSM trade  aluminium canopy,3.5 m quintrex tinny and rear boat loader mangrove jack aluminium trailer

JB scorpion sting 206



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G'day John

We've been up that way several times over the years - and there's plenty to see and do

2- beaut to see places we have enjoyed are
a) Keep River NP right on the border of NT & WA ... also called the mini bungle-bungles. There are 2 camping areas, one allows generators, the other does not. The camping area more northerly / away from the highway seems to have the better range of walks and photo opportunities, and

b) The Zebra-rock place almost in the same location as above, but south of the highway. Several years ago when the Argyle dam wall was raised, the waters now cross the border into NT and into the back yard of the Zebra rock place ... where they have fishing expeditions and wildlife boat tours daily

Hope this helps
Phil

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Senior Member

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You did say you were going to the top end but didn't mention visiting Darwin, Kakadu etc.
Did you mean the Kimberleys and not the top end?
There is much to see and do in the actual top end

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Guru

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Our tracks from 5 trips to the Kimberley. There were 2 others prior to these.
What to see and do depends on how adventurous you are, your budget and the time you have available.
These trips were about 2 months each, just in the Kimberley which is the most extrairdinary part of Oz and the most difficult to see.

Kimberley 2005-2008.png

Cheers,

Peter



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We did a similar trip this year ,(july & august) Adelaide-Katherine-Kununnura-Derby-Broome-Karatha-PtHedland-Meekathara-Esperance-Adelaide.
Great trip but very very busy, including all free and paid camps. Could not do the Horizontal falls overnighter as it was all booked out.
I expect next year will be the same, do it for sure, but if there is anything you really really want to see or do, book it ealy so you don't miss out. The down side of this is you then have to be at certain places at certain times which can be annoying.
Some fantastic country up that way, we didn't do the GRR this time, road conditions not good and verty very busy with quite a few idiots from all the reports we got before making the decision.
Cheers
Ian



-- Edited by Wanda on Friday 26th of November 2021 02:26:19 PM

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Guru

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SoloMC wrote:

You did say you were going to the top end but didn't mention visiting Darwin, Kakadu etc.
Did you mean the Kimberleys and not the top end?
There is much to see and do in the actual top end


 Hi done a lot of NT when working at Bittersprings but not much in WA top end we will have time and will book the falls for sure thanks Peter are those roads doable with a van 

cheers 

cheers



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John

2017 dmax lovells upgrade full CSM trade  aluminium canopy,3.5 m quintrex tinny and rear boat loader mangrove jack aluminium trailer

JB scorpion sting 206



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I suppose that i forget that most people are time poor when they do a trip and can't just spend 6 months having a tour around like us old retired farts


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Guru

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travelyounger wrote:
...... Peter are those roads doable with a van 

cheers


 Some are, some are not. No idea about you and your van.

Cheers,

Peter



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We did similar trip this year but not the GRR. We were at Lake Argyle mid May. We did book fthe Horizontal Falls and whale shark tours fairly early but so then booked accommodation in these places reasonably early as well. We did a mix of free camping and caravan park stays and had no problem finding a spot. My brother was a couple of months behind us and he was prepared to "wing " it most of the time and was able to get to do the Horizontal falls at fairly short notice as well as whale shark tour in September. He was lucky the whale sharks were still around. We had booked Cape Range NP very early and also Karijini but we heard people, as well as my brother, getting into the overflow ares at Karijini at very short notice. If borders are all open, next year may be a bit busier than this year when people were reluctant to take the chance of borders being open.

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Guru

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valantine80 wrote:

We did similar trip this year but not the GRR. We were at Lake Argyle mid May. We did book fthe Horizontal Falls and whale shark tours fairly early but so then booked accommodation in these places reasonably early as well. We did a mix of free camping and caravan park stays and had no problem finding a spot. My brother was a couple of months behind us and he was prepared to "wing " it most of the time and was able to get to do the Horizontal falls at fairly short notice as well as whale shark tour in September. He was lucky the whale sharks were still around. We had booked Cape Range NP very early and also Karijini but we heard people, as well as my brother, getting into the overflow ares at Karijini at very short notice. If borders are all open, next year may be a bit busier than this year when people were reluctant to take the chance of borders being open.


Hi it does not really bother us as staying in a fully booked park is something I will never do again not for me I would rather wing it like your brother and camp on the street or come back some other time  

cheers



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John

2017 dmax lovells upgrade full CSM trade  aluminium canopy,3.5 m quintrex tinny and rear boat loader mangrove jack aluminium trailer

JB scorpion sting 206



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Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
travelyounger wrote:
...... Peter are those roads doable with a van 

cheers


 Some are, some are not. No idea about you and your van.

Cheers,

Peter


Hi Peter

Full off road van raised aftermarket suspension on dmax lots of recovery gear have had vast experience in 4wd in all terrain and conditions and will have a crack at most   things within reason 

Cheers



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John

2017 dmax lovells upgrade full CSM trade  aluminium canopy,3.5 m quintrex tinny and rear boat loader mangrove jack aluminium trailer

JB scorpion sting 206



Guru

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Single axle? Width? Length?

Cheers,
Peter



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www.jbcaravans.com.au/model/scorpion-sting-air

Not my opinion of a full off-road rig but that's what JB are claiming.

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Guru

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That van could not travel the Munja Track or the Carson Track and it is not allowed to go to Purnululu National Park.
Mitchell Falls is questionable, depending on the conditions at the time.
OK to Kalumburu (depending on where you want to camp) and maybe Cape Dommet (private property transit permission required), but probably too wide for Cape Dommet.
Probably OK to Mornington.

Travelling to the Mitchell Falls.

Mitchell Plateau 02E.jpgMitchell Plateau 09E.jpg

On the way to Cape Dommet. After this there is some deep soft sand.

0705b (43).JPG

Cheers,

Peter

 



-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Saturday 27th of November 2021 10:14:26 AM

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You are very keen Peter.



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Blues man.



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Blues Man wrote:

You are very keen Peter.


 There is some spectacular country out there if you have permission and the vehicle that can get you there.

We spent a week at Cape Dommet with friends. There was only one other vehicle there. The sunsets and sunrises were pretty good :)

0705b (44).JPG0705b (49).JPG

Cheers,

Peter

 



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Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

Single axle? Width? Length?

Cheers,
Peter


 Duel axle 2.5 m wide 8m long I dont expect to take van on terrain in these photos that is what the rooftop tent is for but it looks great

cheers



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John

2017 dmax lovells upgrade full CSM trade  aluminium canopy,3.5 m quintrex tinny and rear boat loader mangrove jack aluminium trailer

JB scorpion sting 206



Guru

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That van is just too big for a lot of places. If it is not too big it will also often be too heavy.
Cheers,
Peter

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OKA196, 4x4 'C' Class, DIY, self contained motorhome. 960W of solar, 400Ah of AGMs, 310L water, 280L fuel. https://www.oka4wd.com/forum/members-vehicles-public/569-oka196-xt-motorhome
 

 



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Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

That van is just too big for a lot of places. If it is not too big it will also often be too heavy.
Cheers,
Peter


 Have to agree there,Peter,as John has previously advised that he regularly travels with car and van weighing over over 6500kg.With the van being over 26' long,you'd be severely limited in where it could be towed,no matter how much clearance it may have.Cheers



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v



Guru

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This is where a camper trailer makes better sense ? Light, low less prone to damage. Horses for courses

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Whats out there


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Hey Peter and Margaret,

It was really interesting to see where you have travelled on the map. I have a few questions regarding the app though: looking at the long blue tracks, how did you manage to record a trip that obviously took longer than one single trip? When I track my trips in Hema, it always starts a new track/trip the next day when I start. How do you keep recording it for that long? Do you leave the app running overnight? And my last question: do you use the Hema map on an iPad or the actual Hema device? Cheers, Peter



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Guru

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I used HEMA, and other maps on a couple of different HEMA GPss over the years, but you can run OziExplorer on many GPSs including some cheapies (EDIT: That run Windows CE).
I record tracks on a daily basis. They are saved in the GPS and labelled with the date. Each day it starts a new file. You can also do it monthly and other options. They can then be saved onto a laptop or other devise from time to time.
Then you can choose one or many tracks to be displayed on the lap top on a map using OziExplorer again, so that is what I did to get the map I posted with several different tips shown.
Then to show it here I just did a print screen.
Tracks can also be replayed on yuor laptop or other devise via OziExplorer in real time or accellerated, showing speed, altitude etc.
Depending on the map you display the tracks on, there is great detail to be had.

Some of the same tracks I posted before are displayed here on a 1:50,000 map, so there is much more detail.
Where the red track meets the blue track Bottom centre)is the Pentercost River crossing at the northern end of the GRR.

Pentercost.jpg

Same map, same tracks zoomed in.

Pentercost 2.jpg 

Cheers,

Peter

 



-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Sunday 28th of November 2021 05:50:19 PM

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