Road Atlas/Touring Maps, which one ? Lonely Planet ?

jeff: haven't been there but would recommend u get as many maps as u can beore u leave.. the ones u pay for are not always the ones u use in certain situations ! thos e little maps u pick up on the way --provided by the local communities often have a hell of a lot more detail then those u buy for a few bucks !!

Beddo where ever I have been in the world I have always found the LPGuide great value. They give you lots of history of each area and list contact nos. etc. They have a good section on the Kimberly region, however, I needed a map with more detail and went for the Hema map of that area which is great for touring.
I reacon spending money on a good Aust road atlas is great value as a backup and future reference book, Hema have one of these also but there are others. Carpe Diem

Ron and Viv Moon wrote a good guide to the Kimberley (no 'S' on the end) and as far as I know it is still in print. You really can't go past the Hema great deaert track maps for this sort of trip. The whole Tanami is on one sheet. So while the whole set is six maps, you only need to have one out for most of the trip. Better still if you have a laptop, get the CD version.

hiya beddo
we went away at easter and before we left i thought we should get some maps for where we were going.
i bought hemas tracks in the high country.
not very happy we got lost a couple of times.
but ive never used maps and wasnt sure what to expect.
in town (jamieson) perfect map with all the little tracks $6.50.
on our way home when we had to refill all the big servos had detailed maps of there areas. might be an idea to get where your going then get local maps.looking foward to september(landcruiser park/fraser island)

Jeff, The Ron & Viv Moon book is a "must". Add to that a 1:1,000,000 map to provide an overview of your trip, few 1:250,000 maps to provide more detail and a couple of higher detail maps of the Kimberley itself, and you'll be well covered.

It'll probably cost you $60 to $80 but compared to the total cost of your trip, its a small spend really.

Enjoy the journey.

BTW, what do you posses in the way of GPS &/or mapping software? Be good, or be quick.
Rohan (Sydney)

Hema Great 4wd Destinations covers all OZ , 12 maps, $75.00 , www.hema.com.au Regards Bob
Wish i was still here / Gulf in July

beddo,
did the sort of trip you are planning last year starting from canberra .
ayres rock , gunbarrel, marblebar broome, cape leveque, GibbRR mitchell falls kulumburru, kunnanurra , halls creek bungle bungles tanami , chambers pillar , old ghan, dalhousie , home via oddnadatta , maree, hawker , broken hill, minindee hilston etc used 1
map source "Discover Australia by 4WD" .Im sure its available thru this site.

What the maps dont give you can glean from the trek notes

Best $30 or $40 bucks you can spend( I was lucky my daughter gave me mine as a present years ago.)
regards
Howard

If you have a laptop you can buy topo maps covering all of Australia on cd at 1:250000 for around $100.

Thanks for all the responses, every time I look in the shop, I say that looks good "add" and so does that "add". Laptops look like a future investment, I take it you would have to have fairly new one with at least a Pentium in it ?
Our trip is changing a bit we are trying to venture up to Kakudu to see the wildlife before the Cane toads kill every thing - seeing they have just reached there ! Thankyou Mr Howard for not not providing the resources to research this menace and get rid of it. One was found on the F3 near Gosford the other day - believe it fell off a truck coming down from QLD.Cheers, Beddo
Surf KZN185
<- Yengo NP, Central Coast NSW

Suggest you obtain set of maps put out by HEMA called "Great 4WD Destinations" containing a set of 12 maps at a cost of around $79.00. You probably won't find a more detailed set of printed maps. Maps included are Australia; Cape York; Central Australia; Flinders Ranges; Fraser Island; High Country; Kimberley; Outback NSW; Pilbara; Queensland's Outback; Red Centre; Top End & Gulf. We have many others but have found these best.