Tuesday, Apr 11, 2006 at 20:39
I spoke to people up that way a few months ago. They said that since we went thru (first car all the way thru in almost 2 years) the community people have been travelling it and the wattle is therefore not as bad. Not as bad is however a relative term. It would be possible now, as far as I have been told to travel from Kalkaringi to Tennent Creek in something like 2 1/2 maybe 3 days. Unfortunately I can't show you the photos I have, because my computer is in the workshop and my laptop which I am using now can't read DVD (thats what I store them on).
Anyone if it is anywhere near as bad, and it may
well be after the rains- since the wattle grows thickest on the road which is lower than the surrounding country- you can expect your paint to be very very very badly scratched. You will need to fold your mirrors in to avoid damaging them, and in the worst 90k or so, you will need to travel at 4 to 5 kph maximum. You may also lose indicators and such if you don't take it easy.
The
police at Lajamanu will strongly discourage travel, but will let you through if your level of experience and preparation satisfies them. If you have a brand new plastic 4wd then expect them to say no as
well. You absolutely MUST seek permission from the
police, and they will tell you a rescue is OUT OF THE QUESTION, as they nearly destroyed their vehicle rescuing a car that suffered 8 flat tyres.
You should carry at least two spares, be equipped with lots of mushroom plugs and string plugs and radial patches and tubes and you should expect typical desert fuel consumtion from Lajamanu onwards. Navigation is extremely difficult if the track is overgrown. If so, you will not find the find the turn off near the duckponds. You will therefore need to be very confident at GPS nav. We were navigating by GPS alone at that point and needed to
check against the map at lots of
places to confirm we were tracing correctly. One tip, if you drive thru the Duckponds township (abandoned), you have missed the turn-off.
If it is clearer, it wont be as difficult obviously, but it will destroy your vehicle's paint and tyres if you don't take it easy and probably will do so even if you do.
Not sure of your wattle country experience, but one tip that is invaluable is to NOT drive over the shoots or stumps. So if a wattle bush/tree has fallen down over the road, drive over the fallen branches rather than over stumps which may look like a clearer track.
Also beware hidden
termite mounds on the track.
It is from memory 295k from lajamanu to Tennent Creek and over 150k is through thick wattle. From Kalkarinji to Lajamanu is reasonable gravel road typical of the Tanami.
Good luck, and I hope the track is clearer now.
David
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