White Cliffs to Mutawintji Road conditions for towing van
Submitted: Saturday, Aug 26, 2017 at 11:53
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Briar
Rather than towing the van from
White Cliffs back around via
Wilcannia and
Broken Hill to Mutawintji thinking of taking the much shorter loop via Opal Miners Way and Whipstick rd. 150km or so vs 400km the long way. Towing our big van. Curious if any have been that way previously or have updates on road conditions. Just installing the Stone Stomper on the van at the moment. Thanks. Trevor
Reply By: Sigmund - Monday, Aug 28, 2017 at 11:15
Monday, Aug 28, 2017 at 11:15
You haven't had a reply about recent conditions so FWIW an acquaintance drove this early June and thought it was fine.
I came in to Mutawintji from
Broken Hill at that time and there were some washouts across about a third of the road.
These are all dry weather roads as far as I know so checking for rain and road closures before you set out would be the go.
Off-road van?
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Briar - Tuesday, Aug 29, 2017 at 10:20
Tuesday, Aug 29, 2017 at 10:20
Semi-Off Road as it's called. Cruisemaster
Suspension and decent 16" tyres and reasonable height and protection. Will be fine on most dirt roads. Just trying to get
feedback on specific road. Thank You.
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Reply By: Member - Andrew & Jen - Tuesday, Aug 29, 2017 at 11:59
Tuesday, Aug 29, 2017 at 11:59
Trevor
We travelled over the section north from the NP and then cut across on to the White Cliffs/Tiboobura road a few kms short of
the junction. This was a few years ago. Our recollection is that the road was
well graded, followed the terrain (with few if any earthworks) and had a few steep entries and exits at water courses. A van with long overhangs and poor clearances would likely have some issues.
After rain it might be a different matter. Certainly the roads to the SE of the park are very slippery after any rain.
Cheers
Andrew
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Reply By: Motherhen - Sunday, Sep 03, 2017 at 21:43
Sunday, Sep 03, 2017 at 21:43
I am probably too late replying Trevor. We went a few days ago. The road was not
well maintained and not one I would want to tow on again. Once you get nearer the park and the road out to
Broken Hill were good. The Central Darling (
Wilcannia) Shire has had a money crisis and the council was sacked. Many of their roads are long overdue for maintenance. As much as we hate the highways, in hindsight we would have been better off and quicker to have gone to
Broken Hill via the Barrier Highway in and from there.
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Follow Up By: Briar - Sunday, Sep 03, 2017 at 22:48
Sunday, Sep 03, 2017 at 22:48
Thanks very much. I had been following your travels on the caravaners
forum, so was always hoping to later information. We are not leaving till this coming friday so still a few days yet before we leave. Very much appreciate the info. I am confident that our van would have coped with the bad road, but if I have a choice I will take the easier path. Not into flogging the van for minimal gain.
What we'll probably do now is stay at
Wilcannia for a couple of nights and simply drive the D4 up to
White Cliffs for the day. We should be easily able to get to Mutawintji the next day via
Broken Hill.
Thanks again. We may meet up in the
corner country. We have a D4 towing an Elite. You're in an F250 with a Bushtracker I think.
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