Googs Track.

Submitted: Thursday, Jun 04, 2015 at 09:17

ThreadID: 119078 Views:4013 Replies:3 FollowUps:4

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Googs Track

A most adventurous short-cut for those travelling from the west to Coober Pedy & the Alice. Excellent views and plenty of wildlife, featuring memorials dedicated to Goog and Dinger,

Googs Track - Outback Travellers Guide

Section: Shop

Series 4 - Track 3 Eight stripmaps break Googs Track into identifiable sections giving travellers information on regional roads, access routes, tourist information, historic snippets, fuel, water,

Googs Lake Campground

Section: Places

Goog completed the track to these lakes in 1974. The main lake is approximately 15kms in length and more than a kilometre wide. These salt water lakes have a high evaporation rate especially during

Googs Track

Section: Treks

A most adventurous 4WD short-cut for those travelling from the west to Coober Pedy & the Alice. Excellent views & plenty of wildlife, featuring Goog's Lake & Mt. Finke. No dogs permitted.

Member - Tony (ACT)

Just finished Googs Track, south to north. The track north of Googs lake is cut up due to trailers being towed north.
Down to first gear at 6 - 10k to prevent getting tossed around when climbing the dunes.

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Reply By: Member - Ed C (QLD) - Thursday, Jun 04, 2015 at 11:31

Thursday, Jun 04, 2015 at 11:31

OK, I'll bite....

(Quote) "The track north of Googs lake is cut up due to trailers being towed north."

Well, No.. The simple fact is, the track is cut up due to the failure of drivers to adequately reduce tyre pressures, and this applies whether said driver is towing or not.

It's easy to blame trailers ('soft target'), but from my own observations, I see this (failure to reduce tyre pressures) far more often with folk who are not towing, than those who are...

FWIW, I have towed a heavy (dual axle) c/t Sth > Nth along Googs Track, and to be sure, due to the severe scalloping, it was 'less easy' than it would otherwise have been..
Simple solution, let a bit more air out of the tyres, and we had no issues..

:)

Confucius say.....
"He who lie underneath automobile with tool in hand,
....Not necessarily mechanic!!"

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Follow Up By: cookie1 - Friday, Jun 05, 2015 at 11:51

Friday, Jun 05, 2015 at 11:51

Can I respectfully add to put your vehicle into 4wd as well.

Have seen many who seem to get a buzz out of doing stuff in 2wd only to bugger the tracks. We were behind a numbskull who took pride in his ability to do this, not surprisingly the track was a lot better when we got ahead of him.

cheers

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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Monday, Jun 08, 2015 at 07:20

Monday, Jun 08, 2015 at 07:20

Yes agreed Ed. Bollocks. Another ill informed cheap shot at trailers.

Before I went to go on Googs track several years ago, I called the Ranger in Ceduna to ask if trailers are ok. The answer was "Sure, if you know what you are doing, why not? We are taking trailers up and down Googs full of our stuff for maintaining the park all the time. Just let your tyres down."

So Tony perhaps you had better tell the Parks Ranger not to use their trailers, they are ruining the track while they are maintaining it. LOL.

Tony

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Follow Up By: Echucan Bob - Tuesday, Jun 09, 2015 at 22:58

Tuesday, Jun 09, 2015 at 22:58

Yep, its driven wheels that dig holes.

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Reply By: Moke Spider - Thursday, Jun 04, 2015 at 16:48

Thursday, Jun 04, 2015 at 16:48

I'm just back from a bigger trip that included the Googs Track, also done from South to North (seems the popular way to go along here), early May.

Yes, it was in a condition considerably less than it should have been and 2 things became clear to me quite quickly;-

Fellow Travelers not letting their Tyres down to sensible pressures for the track. We were down around the 18 psi mark (from memory) and that was quite adequate.
It appears that some fellow travelers get in to a bit of a 'panic' nearer the tops of the dunes and put the boot in, when it's not necessary. All that does is give Axle Tramp and dig holes unnecessarily.

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Follow Up By: Member - Wildmax - Thursday, Jun 04, 2015 at 23:24

Thursday, Jun 04, 2015 at 23:24

Yes, great trip isn't it - we did it this time last year.
Agree with the comments about trailers (not a problem if driven sensibly) and tyre pressures (critical to get this right).
Had no problems with two trailers in our party - TVan and TrakShak - but if the tyre pressures are too high or a bit of red-line fever takes over near the crest of a dune, that is when the damage is done!!

Wildmax
2018 Hilux and Black Wolf 210 tent - for the outback tracks less travelled
Formerly an AOR Eclipse and a TVan

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Reply By: vk1dx - Monday, Jun 08, 2015 at 09:29

Monday, Jun 08, 2015 at 09:29

Would it get too hot and crowded between Christmas and New Year?

We are after a short desert drive for a small family trip (2 cars) that is not too far from Adelaide. Naturally we would do it the "wrong" way. If N-S is popular then we will do it S-N. Just to be different.

Just need to get out more with one son and his family.

No worried about track and road conditions as we are experienced 4wders. Just want to get an idea of numbers and weather conditions. Maybe OT a bit. SRI4that

Phil

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