about post #47492

Shane

Why would you want to do that? This is private land, the same as your back yard (lease or otherwise).

Show some respect. if you want to travel through the property, ring the manager and ask for permission.

Kim

I stick to what I said.

Kim

I think you'll find Macumba is a pastoral lease.
pastoral lease info

If you get knocked back, you can then take it to the minister.

My personal opinion is that to lobby for it would be a waste of time. The only reason to use the track is to save yourself a couple of litres of fuel. The Pedirka Track was made a Public Access Route, so it is the access track thats being maintained. Its the more scenic route as it takes in the Pedirka and Dalhousie ruins.

I have some sympathy for people who ask questions like this one. Why should someone have to ask permission to do what is their legal right?

I also have sympathy for a lease holder who has had bad experiences with travelers not keeping to the road and leaveing litter behind but if travelers have a right to cross the property then why should we accept gates being locked.

Seems to me that while it is crown land it is leased to a pastoralist under certain conditions - without having checked the Act ( Paul's L A W - LAW), I'm sure I recall a provision in there requiring the public to seek the permission of the lessee before crossing the lease - permission is usually denied, on the basis of disturbance to operations etc. - fair enough - they are running a business after all.
One exception to the 'right of access' is gazetted public roads - lots of very busy roads in the outback run through the middle of pastoral leases - we have the right to use them at any stage - can even camp adjacent to the roadside in a lease (again, with certain conditions).
Tourists may look at a map and see the Rocks Rd as a shortcut to the French Line but it seems to be nothing more than the access road for the Macumba station homestead, to their nearest service centre - Oodnadatta - the top side track out of Macumba is probably a main station track to them (crossing their main watercourse).
Anyway - looking at it from their side, quality road surfaces that are used a lot by station vehicles would be valued by the staff - why allow them to be buggered up by tourists, when you can avoid it ?

i used that track in the 80's when i was a supply/fuel truck driver working for a seismic crew in the simpson desert. it was sometimes a bit boggy in a couple of spots after a bit of rain.
some great memories of those days,stopping at purni for a feed and a bit of sleep[before the pine logs,toilets etc]. and the tracks were in pretty good nick.


cheers sparra

I was lucky enough to go that way in 1998 (with permission of course) It is a very interesting and little used track, a mate and I drove out to Freeth Junction and then back to Oodna on the Saturday of the AFL grand final, as the main road to the desert was very wet, we wanted to see if it was possible to get through that way to the start of the Simpson Desert Cycle Challenge. It was, although at several points we couldn't find the track and stopped the car and walked around to find old wheel marks. Two days later we led a convoy of participants in the SDCC from oodna to Purnie. I througholy enjoyed it both times but to be entirely fair it is NOT as interesting at the regular route as it does not go through pedirka or Dalhousie and said in a previous post. The only way to change things would be to lobby the SA Govt to make it a public access route over leasehold land as they have done in other parts of the state. The northern end is little used even by Macumba people. There are more camels out there than cattle. A different mate who works for NPWS shot 801 camels in a week (from a chopper) on the north end of Macumba a couple of years ago.

GB