Get ya maps out...

Laura - you can come down the raod from Boulia to Bedourie and you can turn left at Cluny Station and head to Betoota and down to Innamincka (via Arrabury) - BUT, and a big but - there is no fuel available from Bedourie until you get to Innamincka, so start adding up and make sure you have LOTS of fuel to do that.
From Innamincka you can go to Arkaroola - but you need to re-think Oodnadatta and maybe do that on you way up to Alice. I think you need to sit down quietly and work it out for yourself really.

Methinks you are a tad confused lassie....lol

Go and buy yourself a Hema Road Atlas and sit down and work things out carefully.

Vehicles running on gas in the outback could be a problem especially in remote areas. I would stick to the main routes to be sure to obtain fuel supplies.

You may encounter some warm weather in September.

I suggest you try and do a loop on your travels and not out at angles as it will not be economical.

Cheers

Laura, Arkaroola is in the Northern Flinders Rangers, should be on your maps some where, if you can't find it, give me a yell. Good luck with your planning.

At a quick glance of the map, from the Plenty Highway, I would go straight down to Birdsville from Boulia, then east (115kms across the B'ville Dev. Road) to Cordillo Downs Road junction and head south down the CDR the via Innaminacka. Then to Moomba or The Old Strezelrcki Track etc. & finally Cameron's Corner.
Of course, having never been there, I know nothing on road conditions. permits, supplies etc, but would not venture out in a single vehicle... if one gets 'lost' on a map!!!
However, from here it looks pretty straight forward to St George and Goondiwindi, Warwick. To Mt Lindsay H'way, up to Beaudesert, Tamborine etc.
But I don't get where you are starting from with mention of The Gunbarrel, yet '...leaving Nowra last week of Aug...'.
It all looks easy on paper...

Laura,

You really need to do have a really good handle on where u want to go and then locate them all on the map. You really need to very familiar with the locaions and where they are on the map. Then...

1. work out total distance vs time available. Will you be driving for more than 3 or 4 hours every day to do it. If so maybe rethink. I know you can drive for longer than that, but if you do that for weeks on end your holiday will be a pain.

2. break the trip up manageable daily sections and work out the daily distances travelled, time taken which depends on terrain and average driving speed of quite a bit less than 80 kph depending on roads. 80 kph is a good rule of thumb for the time you spend driving, but remember you have to look at the scenery, stop to fuel up and eat etc etc etc.

3. work out where your fuel stops are, and be sure you can safely make it to them and remember that fuel consumption depends on terrain, so you need to know typical fuel consumption figures. In remote terrain you should really have a reserve of fuel for each leg ie more than you require by about 25% if possible.

4. Break the trip into legs of several days with a major town if possible at each leg end. Allow an extra day at these if possible.

If you go from Nowra to Innaminka (not sure which roads becasue I haven't looked yet, then you can go down the Bore track or Stzelecki to Mt Hopless then.

I haven't looked at your available time so this doesn't take that into account, but...
From Mt Hopless you can go south to Arkaroola. Arkaroola is definitely a great place, then from Arkaroola you can go to Copley, Leigh Ck (take a break here) -Lyndhurst, Maree up the Oodnadatta track to Marla, from Marla to Alice on the Stuart (visit Uluru if you want), take a day at Alice, go from Alice to Boulia then down to Bedourie Betoota and on to Ruthsville ahhem Birdsville.

Dave O