Palm Valley & Oodnadatta Conditions?

Came down Oodnadatta Track last week and it was like a major highway, less some small sections that people have made a mess of driving it whilst wet.

cheers

Suggest you phone the Ranger at the Finke Gorge National Park (starting number is 08 8956 7401 - you may be given another number). The 'road' you refer to is very much a track - it can be tight and scrubby, there may be water to cross and deep dry sand sections - it all 'depends' - we've consulted the rangers in the past and gained friendly, accurate advice. That said, its a great drive !

We did the Ernst Giles Road/Boggy Hole/Palm Valley in October last year and we had no problems, but of course anything could have happened by now.

I will say that after leaving Palm Valley, we did not see another car all day while travelling via Boggy Hole etc. So you need to make sure you are experienced and have your supplies etc as you may wait a while for help to come past. We spoke to the ranger before leaving Palm Valley and he looked at our car and said we should be ok, but also said that it wasn't a hugely popular track so be careful!

Thank you all for your responses.

All of our vehicles are well equipped & also in good mechanical order at this stage as all preparations & servicing have been done ready for the Simpson Crossing.

Hi Jo,

Did Boggy Hole track and Oodnadatta Track last week from Palm Valley. As others have said, Oodnadatta Track is a highway and everyone's doing 100kph+ without difficulty.Boggy Hole track was all clear from Hermannsburg to Ernest Giles Track. The Finke River section was OK, the usual pebbly sections, some rock crossings and short sections of soft sand but no problems. I was running 25psi front and 27 psi in the rear, vehicle 3 tonne+ loaded up. The water crossing near Boggy Holes was not very deep (below the door sill) but you needed to maintain a little bit of momentum as the sandy bottom could catch you out. Once you leave the Finke Gorge NP the road gets very sandy and has long stretches of corrugations as you head towards the Ernest Giles Track. Took us a day to get from Palm Valley to Henbury Meteorite Crater (camp site) via Boggy Hole. Great track to get onto and the scenery was lush because of rain a few weeks before we arrived. There's a ranger talk on Friday evening at Palm Valley if you're interested.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Rob K