Yunta to Arkaroola

hi john,i travelled that road from yunta to arkaroola in october 2002 and there were a few vans travelling up there too.there were some single and double axle vans and hey looked like they had been lifted a little.most of them were travelling at a steady 80 kph.i found the road pretty good and you could keep moving pretty well the only thing you had to watch for was the dips in the road and a few sharp corners .the last bit of road (about 5klm)from arkaroola is steep and very rocky.the toilets and showers can be busy in the morning and night where the main caravan sites are but if you camp down near the river they are not so busy.hope this is of some help to you.after i left arkaroola i went up to innaminka--haddon corner accross to wyndorah then down to nocundra then tibooburra to broken hill then home to melbourne

Was at Arkaroola 3 weeks ago and the roads were in very good condition but watch your speed if really heavy especially over some of the sharper rocks in the creek crossings and side tracks near arkaroola,
saw graders working to the north towards Mt hopeless.

kezza

have'nt done Yunta to Arkaroola but have done Arkaroola -Balcanoona-Wirrealpa-Oraparina-Wilpena many times towing camper trailer (not off road). Road is generally good but watch the dips and rocks. Cant vouch for the road via Curnamona/Frome Downs but if above is a guide then should be okay. Try ringing the rangers quarters at wilpena or balcanoona as they would most likely know. Richard

John done that run 4 times over the years and every time drove into a very strong head wind that realy mucks up you fuel estimations , the road has been good most of the way .
All the best
Eric
www.capeyorkconnections.com.au
07 4094 1745
02 4294 3496Cape York Connections

Drove that road last September. No problems, very wide and easy going. Ditto the above, in fact the worst thing about it is trying to get your pegs in the ground at Arkaroola once you've reached the other end. Take some heavy duty pegs. I'm talking about thew powered sites up top.

Yep,it is a gravel outback highway. About 45km north from Yunta you'll find the Waukaringa Ruins. Take the track past the old pub and visit the old mine workings. There is an interesting chimney and flue built out of rocks that looked like it would have taken 10 men to lift each one off the ground, let alone carry them up the hill.There is also a large underground rainwater storage tank.
The rest of the road is reasonably boring and the wind is always blowing. Once you get to Balcanoona and into the Gammon Ranges the scenery improves. There are some good 4x4 tracks in an around the National park and Arkaroola.Cheers, Willem
Never a dull moment

Hi Guys,

Is Arkaroola worth a visit ? I read a book recently about Reg Spriggs and his families' first vehicular crossing of the Simpson in the 60's and Arkaroola features heavily in terms of its history.

Regards

Arkaroola is worth a visit.
It is a resort catering for every thing from camping to fully catered accomodation. There are some good tracks ranging from 2WD to easy 4WD (low box needed).
Their Ridge-top tour is exceptional (must go in their vehicles).
Prices are reasonable (however suggest BYOG if more than an odd one is consumed).
A wide range of supplies are available from an onsite shop (only a really fussy person would go hungry).
There is a lot of history in the area and there is an observatory and a good geological display to interest any tin lids.

Overall suggest about 3 days to get everything in (more or less upto you).

If travelling across from NSW via the Barrier Hwy you will not be able to carry fresh fruit & (some) veg. past the fruit fly blocks. Yunta is the first "big town" and not much at all available there. Hence would suggest going via the bitumen (Hawker - Leigh Creek - Copley) so as to enable purchase of "freshies". Leigh Creek is reasonably well serviced except that supplies are trucked in every day or so and you need to be there at the right time.

Not sure about current conditions up there (we were there 12mths ago) and it was bone dry then - there has been some useful rain since then. The country is superb either in drought or otherwise (in spring after rain the wildflowers would be superb).

Regards

Pete G

agree with peter g. Arkaroola top spot (save yr money 4 a flight if able). up there last month (our favourite site for our oseas visitors). roads no probs- on way thru wilpena - pop into willow-springs sheep station (about 20 k's b4 wilpena) run by brendon and carmel and tell them barrie/joy sent you - they have a fabulous track around their property call Skytrek (4/5 hrs easy/medium) however if experienced ask if u can do the Moonwalk/ The Widowmaker -
f a b u l o u s. also no probs at all with Van with care on dips. 'apping touring.

Just watch the road if its been wet, came thru that way from Flinders ranges to Yunta and the road was 4wd in places and the washouts were huge with nothing to winch to to get yaself out.

Lovely country and watch the dips, bent me roofgutters going thru a few too fast :(

All the bestSo many places to go!
So much work to do :0(