Water Flow from all the rains up North ??

By the same token fuel at Kulgera is not cheap either and 'unleaded' is opal 92ron whereas Mt.Dare 'unleaded' is premium 98ron and 20c per lt 'dearer' .....

Yes our original plan is to head out to Birdsville and follow the Madigan as much as u can westwards then head south to the Rock then return home via the Rig Rd / K1 and down to the Birdsville Track and hopefully across Walkers Crossing to the Connie Lakes and Home... The main part of this trip is to do the Madigan so there is options if need be.... I’m thinking that unless that rain moves slightly more Sth that we should be ok by July this year.... but it’s still early days still....

Knowing those fuel prices, Alloy,(easy with all the fuel apps available)the astute traveller would fill his FJ Cruiser at Kulgera, and then just top off the tanks at Mt Dare, when doing the Madigan or Simpson. Otherwise he'd have rocks in his head!

Bob

Bob , that's 'only' if you like 'opal' and 92 Ron [ less bang for your buck ] and paying a 'premium' price for a lessor product ...the 20c difference between Kulgera and Mt. Dare per lt for an actual 'premium' fuel that nowadays most petrol engines require is an engine longevity and 'power' and economy factor , an 'extra' 300km in 'range' for $30 for instance in the FJ Cruiser in the desert says it all me thinks ....

Kulgera certainly isn't cheap for any fuel this morning.
Petrol Spy app has U95 listed for $198.9 !!
(Diesel $194.9 !!!)

NT must has mandatroy daily fuel price policy, as NT pricing on the app seems to ALWAYS be updated.
Not so is SA, depends on app users putting ion the data when they fuel up.

If Mt Dares fairly stable price is as usual ~ $1.80, it would be a good spot to take on a good load rather than the highway it seems.
Not sure if they are in fact similarly high, after all they just get wholesale tanker in or go up to Alice if short and roads are closed if wet etc.
Their price now may well be well up over the $2 mark.

A quick call is needed as it's not on the fuel price apps, maybe diplomatically asking if fuel is available, and when they confirm, just 'matter of factly' ask what $ / lt, then you can compare at places like Kulgera, Oodnadatta, etc on the way in.

Phone calls may be needed like above, as Finke and Oodnadatta rarely get prices updated, a shame the 4wd community doesn't use the Petrol Spy app more (and actually input pricing when filling or passing servos) as it is a great tool to save $$$ when touring.

Shane - that's a pretty good "mud map" - but here's an even better map, which give you the 100% precise details, as regards the Rivers, Creeks and Catchment (Basin) areas of QLD ...

BOM - Rivers and catchments maps - QLD

If you download the PDF file, you get a very finely detailed map of all the Rivers and Creeks that form the particular Catchment area, that you've selected.

Cheers, Ron.

Shane, that really is an excellent River Basins/Catchments map.
I never had any idea there were 3 separate Basins across the Long Paddock.

Cheers, Ron.

Yes Phil, current conditions along the Georgina are a bit "ho-hum". Even the Donohue H'way was still open yesterday. The rainfall in Longreach area began to increase yesterday, but due to the extreme weather warnings being cancelled overnight, that area is unlikely to see the huge falls experienced in the north west.

The Diamantina has experienced falls around the headwaters and north to Kynuna, around 700mm or more. Yesterday, the River was 2M above major flood height on the Winton-Boulia road, and almost a metre over major flood at Diamantina Lakes. Also, 2 stations, about 100kms North of Winton, had 250mm of rain yesterday on top of the good falls they've received over the past 10 days. This water, coming down Mills & Wokingham Cks(for anyone looking at their topo map) will keep the system running for much longer.

All we need now is to wait for the sandflies & bush flies.

Bob

Gday Bob,
Yeah maybe I was too pessimistic - rain hasn't stopped yet. Will be interesting to see how far it gets. Still don't think it will reach the QAA Line at Eyre Creek, unless we get some more over coming weeks.

Thanks for that Bob but that doesn't look good for our trip this year... After crossing the Madigan from E-W we are planning to return via the French Line, down the Rig Rd to K1 Line and then south twds the Warburton Crossing and then to Innamincka via Walkers Crossing....
We plan to do this in Mid to late July so I'm assuming the water would have well reached the Warburton X-ing and Walkers Crossing(Cooper Ck) ??

At the moment, Rob, I can't remember at what time the flood in the Diamantina was last year, but when I called in to the Warburton Crossing in late May, it appeared to be almost crossable. I wasn't too adventurous as I was by myself at the time.

I heard this morning that the flood had reached the 1974 record level at Diamantina Lakes. The only problem I can see for you is the amount of water that has to drain through the system, and the time it will take. Monitoring the Lake Eyre Yacht Club site maybe one of the best options for you. It's not a bad drive up the K1 & then bounce along the QAA to Birdsville, then down to Walkers Crossing track. There's always the chance of further rain across the Cooper Catchment in next 8 weeks, that may impact your trip across to Innamincka.

Hope you don't have to resort to Plan "B".

Bob