Sandover Highway
Submitted: Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 20:50
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Donna M2
We are wonting to go to Gem Tree on the Plenty from
Camooweal using the Sandover. We will have a rental 4WD camper but no GPS. We will be traveling late May. Is it necessary to have a GPS? We have done alot of driving in the outback on both sealed and unsealed roads,but have always used the
Plenty Highway. This year we thought a change would be nice, we know about the black soil and our trip has to be okayed by rental company. We then plan on using the Tanami to go out to
Broome. Any thoughts would be most welcome. Can you tell me if it is possible to do this trip to Gem Tree from
Camooweal in one day?
Many thanks
Reply By: Olsen's 4WD Tours and Training - Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 22:06
Saturday, Mar 09, 2013 at 22:06
Will be fine unless it rains, easy to navigate..can be hellish slippery in the rain
AnswerID:
506436
Follow Up By: Donna M2 - Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 11:09
Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 11:09
Do you know if it is possible to do the distance in a day with an early start
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Reply By: Steve M1 (NSW) - Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 09:23
Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 09:23
hi Donna,
Don't know this one myself but your post caught my eye. According to this:
http://www.exploroz.com/Places/98478/QLD/Camooweal_Billabong_Camp_area.aspx
you'll be in for a s-l-o-w drive and I googled and found a discussion here:
http://caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7089
a couple of very experienced people there saying it's slow and very dull.
Good luck.
AnswerID:
506462
Follow Up By: Donna M2 - Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 11:08
Sunday, Mar 10, 2013 at 11:08
Thank you for the replies and I have checked out the links. Looks like we may not be able to cover the distance in a day. Although it is shorter than the Plenty it sounds as though the Sandover is not as well maintained.
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Reply By: Bob Y. - Qld - Thursday, Mar 14, 2013 at 17:47
Thursday, Mar 14, 2013 at 17:47
Donna,
Back in Aug 2011, we travelled over the Plenty to
Yulara, and on the return trip, came up the Sandover as we had to attend a function in
Camooweal.
With the exception of the corrugations between Arlparra Store and the community(only a few clicks) the rest of the highway was good. We turned up the road that goes past Austral Downs, and hits the
Barkly Highway near Kiama Ck.
After about an hours travel in the afternoon, we camped and completed the journey the following afternoon by about 3.30pm. We didn't get an early start either!
Eastern End of Sandover Highway
So i feel that you could complete the journey in a day, but you would need an early start. We stopped for lunch, as well as a number of kodak moments during the day. Think Gem Tree shuts at 5pm, so you might need to be there prior to that.
There are parts of the road that are boring, but it's something different, and one less on the bucket list. We found a variety of diferent plants, that we'd not seen before so that made the trip interesting.
Hope you enjoy the trip, if you decide to go that way,
Bob.
AnswerID:
506786
Follow Up By: Donna M2 - Saturday, Mar 16, 2013 at 10:31
Saturday, Mar 16, 2013 at 10:31
Many thanks for that information, we had nearly settled on the Plenty again,but now we will travel the Sandover instead. That is a good picture hope we get no rain and the road is that good for us.
We have found the folks at
Gemtree to be very pleasant to work with in the past,but will give them a ring in case we will be late
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