KIM replied:

Go any way except the Old Ghan Track, its a bitch and very uncomfortable. When we went through last year the corrugations caused the radio in my mates 80 series to fall out of the dashboard.

Des replied:

Hi, mike . I did that trip in june ( finke race) Went from W/ Creek to Eringa . Then to finke via new crown. then to alice up the old line, it is not so bad but you have to go steady. the last bit from deep well in was a bit corragated ( very, 30 odd ks) But nothing fell off my NF pajero. Hope you have a good trip. Des.

Darian replied:

Mike....last September I went from Oodna up to Hamilton, over to Dalhousie, up to Mt Dare, over to Old Andadao and up to the Alice via Saint Theresa Mission. Good travelling, except for the Hamilton / Pedirka section (hard, rough and stony). Keep in mind we had a wet season just prior - the desert was blooming. You get into the Simpson at Old Andado - great to fossick in the red sand hills....heaps of critters come out and night and leave trails everywhere for the kids to ID in the morning. Saint Theresa road was a learning experience - from the mission into the Alice (85km) the roadside is strewn with empty liquor containers - I mean strewn.....was a new one for us.....dp

Terry replied:

Mike.. July this year we travelled from Alice down the Old Ghan line via Chambers Pillar to Finke,New Crown, Mt dare, Dalhousie, Oodnadatta, Coober Pedy etc. Had a great trip. Three 80 series Cruisers. Ghan Line was very corrugated and side road is very "Up & Down" and windy but smoother.Roads to/from Dalhousie are very stony We took it easy and had no problems.

P.G. (Tas) replied:

G'day Mike. I did that trip about 6 weeks ago. The Oodnadatta track was in magnificent condition, with many 2 wheel drive campers out there, no problems. The track just north of Oodnadatta is narrow, rough and CORROGATED! for the most part with sections of deep sand thrown in for fun, however it is an easy drive but watchout for roadtrains, you will have to make your own track if you come across one! I did Lamberts Centre (geographical centre of Australia) just out of Finke, well worth the side trip. The Ghan line out of Finke is ROUGH and SLOW. There is a real danger of spearing off the track if you travel too fast to avoid the CORROGATIONS! It is still an easy drive though using a bit of common sense. Chambers Pillar is amazing and a definate do! There are a couple of minor tracks off the Ghan line that saves you back tracking into Maryvale but I recommend you have up to date maps or SatNav as I did to do this. I found the old Overland Telegraph line and followed this through to Maryvale, an interesting drive. From Maryvale, north, I simply followed the Old South Road into the Alice, a smooth, flat and wide dirt highway with no problems at all. So long as you are well prepared you should have any problems. Cheers.

Peter McGuckian replied:

We travelled from Alice Springs to Maree via the Old Ghan track, Maryvale, Chambers Pillar, New Crown, Dalhousie, Hamilton to Oodnadatta about 4 weeks ago. Great trip. Use the side road on the Ghan track and take it slow, 5 hours from Maryvale to Finke. Spend some time at Dalhousie and drop in the Chambers Pillar. We did a clean up of cans at some of the Ghan railway sidings. I'd encourage others to do the same as there are plenty out there to retrieve.