Trip up north in a soft roader

Hi all

We’re in the early stages of planning a trip up north next year about mid-late July to the end of August. Will be mostly blacktop touring but we want to get into places such as the Bungle Bungles, El Questro, Wolfe Creek crater and Karijini. Will be 2 adults and 2 little children, by then will be aged 3 and 1.

Our vehicle is our family wagon, a 2012 Ford Territory. It is an AWD diesel. Towed accommodation has not been chosen yet, but we are looking at either a Coromal or Jayco pop-up camping trailer (if that is what they are called? Like the F400/Jayco Swan etc). We are experienced campers but never been camping in remote/far north regions. I have some modest 4x4 experience from owning a Landrover 110 Series 2a years ago (don't ask).

Now I know full well that an AWD SUV is not the same as a 4x4 in that it has no high/low range and you can’t expect to get into really boggy, muddy or uneven places or tracks, but it can still go places a 2WD can’t as long as ground clearance does not become an issue. I've been bogged in a soft roader before so I know what it takes to get them stuck (and to get them out). I would also imagine the monocoque bodied SUV would not take too kindly to several hundred kilometres of corrugated roads.

I’ve been doing some reading of people’s trip reports both here and elsewhere and some of the reports about some access roads raise more questions than answers. For example, the main road/track into the Purnunulu National Park, the DEC website says it is a 4x4 track only, is this because you need a low range gearbox to pick your way through the sticky stuff, or is it a case of needing the ground clearance because of creek crossings and rocky outcrops on the track? Some off road work the Territory will be able to handle, but we don’t want to bite off more than we can chew and stuff our family car in the process…hence my query.