Trip/Gathering QLD - Simpson

Is that your Madigan trip ?
We are doing FL 5th - 9th July, then Red Centre West Macs / Palm Valley / Boggy Hole Henbury.

Hopefully it is Les. Can't set dates firmly as yet as we have a relative who lives alone and she will need help for a while after an operation. And the public system runs on the same timetable as the Sydney trains. Now or never or its another 6 months wait.

I have allowed eight days for Andando to BV. Is that a fair bet?

vk, I haven't driven that as yet, but past research has shown you drive Mt Dare - Binns to Mac Clark via Old Andado, then on to camp 1a, 2, SE via Hale River plain, and east to go through corridor to Colson, suspect north to just on Aboriginal land not passable, then head NE over dunes to camp 6.
Don't think you'll get in to 3, 4, or 5.

Nor sure if there's much of a track, after my Geo Centre drive the other week, I would say don't bet on it, but maybe in places.

Camps to Hay River Tk look straight forward nav, not sure if you can go a little up to Aboriginal midden, suspect so on HR Tk.
Not sure if access is being given for private land with camps 23 / 24 (?), think it's Adria Downs Station, Brooks family.
Others here might be aware.

Let me just say, if any of it's like the untracked geo centre type of driving we do, if anything major goes wrong you can just about kiss your vehicle goodbye, recoveries would be all but impossible . . . or you'd return with parts to fix and drive out.
It really is remote, you are alone . . . so very alone, lol.

It is somewhere between 750 and 800km, I feel more like 10 days would be better, but again this is based on a better drive than we had (some days on so called shot lines of 50 - 70 km all day).

Others that have been on the ground and driven all of Madigan west to east should pop up and give you some further advice, I wouldn't listen to anyone who hasn't actually been there in full, and know for sure if there's anything like a track, etc.

Hope all works out well for the relatives situ, and you get out there for a look see.

Excellent stuff Les. I am worried about kidnapping this thread though. I thought that you may have done t. I saw a bit on TV about it yesterday and we should have some track. We don't really have a time commitment.

Thanks

Any responses would be appreciated but please not this thread. Go to thread 117525

Phil

Hi Les

I just revisited this thread and your post on the other Forum. Yes it is remote but that's how we like it. And as far off the bitumen as possible. And we spend a lot of money on preventable maintenance on the car. Some would say more than enough. I have said that I would even go so far as to get a chopper to lift the car out if needed. And I meant it. As a similar vein in a popular song goes. "take it in - take it out".

Running later in the season may also make it a little easier. I spoke to Judy at Adria Downs and have the okay for all but 23 and 24. They are now an organic station and hence are very conscious of people screwing that status up. So you get a good and polite lecture about what you can and can't do and where you can and can't go. All good and we respect their trust. She sounds cool and we are hoping to meet her and Don.

No plan on any side trips this time as we have already been pencilled in for a return trip next year to do the Geocenter and Surveyors Hill. Both in one trip!!!

Phil