Desert Drinking Water Consumption

Max
Where exactly will you be travelling? Is it just the Strzelecki track, or wider desert travel?

Rob

Max,
If you are doing the Strezeleki Track there is water Available on both ends. I can't see you spending 10 days doing the track that can be done in one day from Lyndhurst to Innaminkia.
Hope this helps
Vince

Max, 4L/day for all water use would be on the safe side particularly with kids. Oodnadata had its hotest August day on record on tuesday so if the temperatures are going to be warm to hot, your water use will be up. Limited water suitable for washing and cooking would be available at Lyndhurst and Innaminka so that may save you some carrying capacity. You can carry water in the 10L bladders but you need to be careful how you carry them as they can split with lots of rough corrugations and too higher tyre pressures.

Don't forget that there are two kinds of water. Drinking and non drinking. Some non drinking can often be picked up along the way.

Its a lot of water Max
We normally advise 3lt per person per day but that's mainly to have some for emergencies

On most recent trip into nth Simpson we had week with only what we took
and we used under 2lt / day for everthing.

This was backed up with around 1lt each per day of soft drink juice etc.

Not trying to show how little you can take as its a serious issue,
and highly reccomend doing a bit of a camping test to see what you really need.

We didn't have showers , and our cooking is designed around no waste water.
Washing up is almost no water, mostly wipe out with strong paper towels
and burn.

Planning sensibly saves a lot of weight - there are probably more real issues
caused by excess weight than lack of supplies.

Of 5 vehicles that went with us none exceeded the 3lt/person/day.

We and others have found that a good way to carry water
is to by 10lt supermarket casks ($6) on way out. Pt Augusta for us.

Guarantees clean water and if you damage a container you limit losses
and they pack well.

We took 5 10 lt casks as our total supply for a two week (3 people)
trip but only 8 camping days and brought some home.

Robin Miller

Hi Max,
As others have mentioned above, the Strez is a good track when it is dry and it is possible to drive from Lyndhurst to Innamincka in a day. We found one top spot for an overnight stay was at Monte Collina Sore, approx mid way along the Strez. There is a toilet there as well as a couple of rain water tanks (do not rely on this water, as some w@nker a few years back opened the taps, and then took the tops off the taps, so they could not be turned off. Some multi grips that we had were able to turn the taps off, but all the water was wasted)

It is a great walk from the Bore, over to the Strezlecki Creek. You could use Monte Collina Bore water for washing and for bathing, but not for drinking.

Stephen

Hi Max, we just came back from travelling through Innamincka, Birdsville, the simpson, Dalhousie and back to Vic. and that was our first major trip in the outback. We had 60 lts in the trailer and 40 lts in Jerry cans and came home with about 15lts. ( 2 adults and 3 kids ) We only used the drinking water for drinking and used bore or town water for dishes etc. We went with another family ( 2 adults and 2 kids )who had a trak shak and he came home with about 20lts. For where u are going i would think 120lts should be ample if u mainly used it for drinking. Have a great trip, its a fantastic country.

As suggested, you can purchase the 10 L water cubes along the way. You can dump the remains of the packaging in the tip at Innamincka, so they do not accumulate/spoil the environment. The good news is that they are available at the store at Innamincka, so don't overload suspensions etc, but rather plan to top up from point to point.

e.g. Your max requirement from the way I understand your plan is 2 days.
i.e. leave Lyndhurst-overnight at montecollina-next evening in Innamincka = 2 days. For your family 4 head x 4 litres x 2 days = 32 L = 3 x 10 L cubes plus a 1 litre bottle each in the vehicle; + 1 x 10 L as a spare. Top up everything - beer, tucker, fuel, etc at Innamincka rather than be in the heavy transport industry yourself.

I carry 4 to 5 L /person/day for drinking cooking & washing; however Robin Miller shows how to get the volume carried down to a minimum. On hot days (38 -43 degrees is not unusual) in April 2006 along the Cooper, on a daily basis I was drinking 3 L + using 2 L for cooking & washing up the cooking gear. This included a splash of water around the gills in the early morning. So 5 L a day is very realistic. In cooler weather I drop to about 1.5 L a day drinking intake.

Good luck

Gaday Max. A great choice for a first trip. We found water consumption if careful can be as low as 10 litres for a family of 5 per day (+canned drinks etc). To achieve this one needs to avoid cooking meals that require large amounts to prepare or wash up & restrict cleaning to a sponge bath. Cooking one pot meals cleaning with baby wipes & eating off paper plates are other savings. This type of activity is really only required for the remote area trips with plenty of options to pick water up on the route you're looking at. Carry your 120 litres & at each oppurtunity top up the empty jerries with local water. I mark these with grey duct tape to indicate grey water not for drinking.
Have a great trip.....Cheers Craig......

Over the years I have found that we use on average around 5 litres per person per day for drinking, cooking, top 'n tail in the morning and 2 flasks of hot water for coffees and teas.

I normally carry 100 litres of water and top up at every available opportunity, even if we have used only 10 litres of my supply. If the water isn't potable then we use if for cooking, washing etc.

I have never been caught short with water and have been away from towns for more than three weeks at a time.

Cheers

I think that you are getting the idea of how much water you may need so instead of giving you advice on that I thought the following may be helpful.

1) to help with cutting down water use with the dishes we have used a spray bottle with water and some dish washing liquid mixed, spray this on to the plates ect and wipe clean with paper towel. this way you only use what you need.

2) you have mentioned that you will have a very young travelling companion (3-4mths), as some has stated different water can upset the tummy giving one the trots. This can happen quite easily with young kids and can cause dehydration, so be sure to carry some oral hydration solution with you, something like gastrolyte as this will help re hydrate the body as the electrolyte balance helps the water be absorbed better.

hope these help and enjoy your trip
Jason

Many, many thanks to all for the helpful suggestions!

I've made a note to post how we fared on our return to this forum.

Happy trekking

Cheers, Max

It may be of interest that the info I received with the SA Desert Parks Pass recommended 6L per person per day, while the Royal Flying Doctor site recommends 10L !!!

At that rate, I'd have to tow a water tanker.

Cheers, Max