Saturday, Oct 11, 2014 at 10:45
Landcoaster - Yes, but the answer depends on a number of things.
1. How fast you want to make it from
Esperance to
Brisbane. Too many people want to sit on 120 or 130kmh all the way, regardless of conditions. If you sit on reasonable speeds and slow down in the rough patches, you won't have too many problems.
2. How much you are carrying. Are you heavily loaded? Do you have room for extra fuel? Do you have room for two spares, and some basic repair equipment? If you venture into isolated areas where help is a long way off and very costly when it appears, you need to be prepared.
3. How old and
well-worn is your vehicle? Is it a late model with moderate kms, or is it a $1500 backpacker Falcon with 400,000kms on the clock? That's not to say the old Falcons aren't generally reliable, it just means you'll almost certainly meet with unexpected breakdowns, if you do use a
well-worn rig.
The
Great Central Road from
Warburton to the NT border, and the Tjukuru Road from the border to Uluru is a generally good condition gravel/dirt road, but it suffers from corrugations that
test out any
suspension - and more so, old and heavily loaded suspensions.
If it rains just before you travel any dirt road in Central Australia, you will likely be restricted from using the road for several days.
There are many "road condition" sites to assist you with your travel planning.
Make sure you
check road conditions before you leave.
Roads can be closed at short notice due to rain. Travelling on a closed road will see you fined heavily.
From Uluru to
Alice Springs is bitumen. From
the junction of the Lasseter Hwy with the Stuart Hwy, you have three choices to get to
Brisbane;
1. North via
Tennant Creek, Three Ways and Mt Isa and then to
Brisbane (good bitumen all the way) ...
2. South via
Port Augusta and then East via
Broken Hill,
Cobar,
Nyngan, Gilgandra and then NNE up the Newell Hwy to
Brisbane (good bitumen all the way) ...
3. Taking the Plenty Hwy East from
Alice Springs, which changes to the Donohue Hwy in QLD and which can either take you to Mt Isa or
Boulia. The Donohue Hwy is more accurately referred to as the Donohue Track.
The Plenty & Donohue Hwys can be rough in
places and they are rapidly closed when it rains. It's a route that must be taken with respect, because it IS an isolated route. A good average speed for this route is around 60kmh. There's no fuel for around 460km along this route.
Remember the route you have chosen is an exceptionally long trek. It's nearly 1900km
Esperance to Uluru, and nearly 3500kms from Uluru to
Brisbane via
Tennant Creek and Mt Isa. There's a lot of empty kms out there, and some pretty boring endless flat country.
Set a travel plan with reasonable speeds and times and plenty of rest breaks. Trying to do the trip in record time only increases your chances of
breakdown or coming to grief in some other manner.
Remember it can get very hot in the interior from October to April. Carry plenty of water and make sure your cooling system has been serviced before you leave.
This means checking all hoses and hose clips (including heater hoses) and flushing and cleaning the cooling system. High speeds and hot conditions
test cooling systems to the max.
Make sure you regularly
check the radiator for a buildup of bugs, grasshoppers and small birds.
Don't forget a roobar is a pretty essential item for outback travel, as animals running or hopping out onto the road, even in the middle of the day are always a constant threat. Good luck with the trip, I trust you have a safe and uneventful journey.
Great Central RoadPlenty HwyThe Plenty Hwy and the Outback Way
Cheers, Ron.
AnswerID:
540211
Follow Up By: DmaxQld - Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 16:17
Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 16:17
Regarding crossing using the Plenty and Donahue Highways. We recently came across these roads from
Boulia. An easy drive for a vehicle in good mechanical repair. Lots of corrugations. I would rate about 20kms in total as having bad to severe corrugations. If your vehicle is not built for these conditions, go via the bitumen. We averaged about 80km/h but we were in a 4WD towing a camper and were restricted to that speed by tyre presures. Recommend about 28PSI cold as this will help with the corrugations.
The first 150 kms out of Alice to 20kms past Gumtree is good bitumen. Fuel available at Gumtree. Dirt to
Jervois Station is good to fair with some bad sections of corrugations. Only 202 kms from Gumtree to
Jervois Station where fuel is available. Dirt to
Tobermorey Station is similar or maybe slightly better. Only 219 kms to
Tobermorey where fuel is also available. The 253 kms of the Donahue Highway from
Tobermorey to
Boulia is pretty good. Certainly not a track. Lots more bitumen than shown on the maps. Fuel again available at
Boulia. You could then head to
Winton,
Longreach etc.
FollowupID:
826052
Follow Up By: DmaxQld - Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 16:18
Sunday, Oct 12, 2014 at 16:18
Sorry, Gemtree, not Gumtree. Damn spell
check :-)
FollowupID:
826053