Kulumburu with Bushtracker !

Peter

I'd be surprised if Member Motherhen hasn't been that way with her Bushtracker. You could send her a MM.

Probably stating the obvious, but you could also contact BT owners group forum.

good luck JD

Hi Peter S, We were on that road last August, the weather was lovely but the road not good, IMO there is no way I would be taking anything that size up there if you want it to remain in one piece. Then again they might grade the road just before you get there then you would be laughing.

Having said that I am not familiar with Bushtrachers but some-one else will probably be able to help you with that.

Perhaps for that part of your trip you could leave your Bushtracker in a safe place and camp up there for the time you wish to stay.

Cheers

D

Hi Peter

I'm unfamiliar with the Bushtracker, but if it helps we had no troubles towing the 17' boat in the rig pics to Kalumburu, as with the time of year, should be ok, depends whn the rain stops and the work starts!

Cheers Andrew

While up that way in 06 I took a few pics around Drysdale River - see.....
http://users.picknowl.com.au/~darian/drysdale/index.html
There is a pic down the bottom of that page of what is a road surface common to the whole journey north...... (we turned off onto the M Falls road but).....
Bushtracker would suggest I'm sure (amongst many other things they suggest, assiduously, and at length) that driven with due consideration, their van should suffer no ill-effect on such roads !
It may be true. One thing is for sure, even quality shockers find those corrugations a trial.

Hi Peter
My hubby also wants to do that trek, and has been talking with a co-worker who has recently moved down from that region.
Firstly, the advice is you won't get anything bigger than a camper trailer up that way, due to the many crossings etc, although being the dry season, the conditions of the roads themselves should be dry at least. Plenty of corrugations the size of swimming pools
Secondly, don't park the van somewhere to travel in with a tent! By the time you get back, it will be stripped inside and out! Again, this is coming from a local.

This exploroz site has some great information regarding the area, but if you have internet access on the road, you can log onto the Main Roads WA website to get up to date road conditions. www.mainroads.wa.gov.au. On the left hand menu, select Regions, Kimberley, Road Information, then in the main window, Traffic & Road Conditions.
Good luck!
Kym

Travelled the road up to Mitchell Plateau last August. Coming out, passed a Bushtracker camping just in from the main Rd. Whilst you probably wouldn't take a BT into the Mitchell falls because of the narrowness of the track, [the last 5 km] I would think a BT would handle the main Rd to. Isn't that what they're built to do?

Hi,

Was up there late 2006 and saw stacks of vans up there. A number of BT and phoenix but also may others. The smaller vans were being towed by stock standard vehicles and the big BT etc used modified patrols and cruisers. The patrol had significant mods. When coming back I passed the patrol and BT and he was doing it very tough and still recall the van was throwing the patrol around like a tail wagging the dog.

Not sure what the roads are like now but in 06 I though they were pretty ordinary but a couple of locals said they were in the best condition for years. Damn!!!

If you were ok with going nice and slow then I reckon it'd be fine but only if you intended staying for a few months. It's a lot of work and wear and tear to head up for a couple of weeks in a heavy rig.

Hi Peter

As reported above, people are taking their caravans to Kalumburu, although most say the road is pretty bad, so let the tyres down and take it slowly. Bushtrackers having been going there since 1998. Others take the option of leaving the van at Drysdale River Station, which is a popular stop along the way, to go to both Mitchell Falls and Kalumburu. Anne of Drysdale River is a regular contributor here, particularly giving us up to date road conditions.

We have set up the F250 for camping in the back for trips without the caravan, and last September tried it out going away for 2 weeks. Worked well (except when it rained!).

May see you in the north

Motherhen