(Deseert trip) Birdsville Track to Maree etc

Take a look at our website from a trip last Sep/Oct - Plenty of Photos and a bit of info on the tracks. Conditions do change.

I'll let other comments on the suitablity of May. I understand the desert is very cold at night in the winter. Our Sep/Oct trip was getting late as we found it a bit hot 35-40. If I was goinf again I'd plan for July/August.

Fuel shouldn't be a problem we found needed diesel but everywhere we got fuel ULP was available. We have an LC100TD with 140ltrs on board and we took 2 20ltr jerrys. I only needed the jerry's for the Simpson. Which realy sapped the fuel economy 26.4lltrs / 100ks.

I can't comment on the meat issue either Sorry. We had a fridge and took everything we needed but we also stopped at Alice where we restocked. On your trip the only likely place for meat will be Birdsville, Maree & Oodnatta - I'm sure others will provide better detail.

We had a fridge and were glad to have it. The esky you have is one of the best so if you plan correctly with the right food it should be OK. Again Ice availablity will be limited.

Of course this site is the best resource I found for planning our trip. Get as much info from as many sources as you can so you develop a degree of confidence. We found the our trip a lot easier than we planned for - but I think that's much better than the alternative.

Hope you have a fantastic experience.

BTW - Make sure you run lower tyre pressures. We ran 28 on the gravel and 22 on the sand. In hindsight I would run even lower pressures 18-20 on the sand.

Gaz

Mate,

did a similar trip a few years back, but mine was done in the first week of Sep.

We did Birsville to Maree, Maree to Willem Ck, to Lake Eyre and the return to QLD via the Strezleki Tk.

The most dangerous thing we found was all the nuts at Birdville for the races. I will never take my wife to Birdsville anytime near race day again.

Don't know much past William Ck, but fuel and supplies are no probs. You can get fuel at Minange Road House (Spelling ?) and again at Maree and William Ck.

The road is like a Hwy in parts. You can safely get up to 80km per hour in parts. Infact I was getting over taken in spots as 80-90 was too slow for some fools.

You will be able to get ice everywhere. Not sure as to the range of your Hilux, but I was never challenged and I had a 160 lt tank on an MQ patrol. If in doubt re fuel call the Mobil at Birdsville, and the Bakery in Maree. You should have no worries re ULP.

You can get meat at Birdsville, Maree and William Ck.

I wouldn't be too worried about traveling in May. Just check the road conditions report by ringing RACQ/NRMA a couple of days before you go. Pack an extra jumper or two if you are worried about the cold at night. A good campfire generally solves this issue, so long as you have a good sleeping bag or swag.

Cheers

You can get fuel at all those places mentioned except Dalhousie and also limited food supplies.

It would pay to check ahead as some of those places only get a food truck once per fortnight which is not much chop(pun intended) if you are there the day before. Same with fuel. The pink roadhouse has a lot of info and also Mt dare has a site.

Ruth or Karsten here on EO would probably help you out or give info on Birdsville and also this site has a lot of info re fuel etc under treks

Extra spare tyre. They cost LOTS at Marree, which is okay, but it would be cheaper to have your own, and if you don't change it yourself, at least they can do that for you.

Wolfie