Fuel availability - Telfer

Hi Grey Gnomad,

Thanks for your response. A couple of questions for you.

Is fuel generally available at Punmu or did you have to make special arrangements?

Did you do the complete trip - Hedland to Alice - and if so what was the road like and was fuel available at Kunawaritji and Kiwurrkurra?

Any info you could provide would be very helpful.

I have had a look at the whole road on Google Earth and it appears that the complete alignment of the road has been re-engineered and looks pretty good.

Wrinkly.

Wrinkly D ,

I left Nullagine at 9.00 am in the morning , topped up my long range diesel tanks ( 280 lt ) at Punmu without any special arrangements . I reached the CSR late that first night to camp in below freezing temps ( long day ).

I had applied many months before for permission to travel through the WA aboriginal land and the NT aboriginal land . I received the NT permit straight away , but never received anything from the WA people . I was never asked by anyone for these permits .

Up early the next morning and got to Alice Springs the next night at 9.00 pm .

The Pommie manager at Punmu said the track ahead was good and he travelled at 100 kph on it . That was true too , until it got dark and then it was more like 50 kph . It is narrow and sandy , but good enough . It deteriorates as soon as you cross into the NT . There it becomes wider and badly corrugated .

I would have made it all the way to Alice without re-fuelling , but I only found that out after I got there ! I take 280 litres and it saves buying for $2-3 a litre at those aboriginal settlements .

To get fuel at Punmu , I had to first find the office , which from memory was a "white house "with no garbage around it . The guy was quite happy to sell to me ( cash is easier for them ).

Kunawaritji - Arrived there after dark . It looked like a concentration camp with arc lights , high fences , boom gates and " Keep Out " signs . The office was closed , so I drove out without stopping . I do not know if fuel is available there or not .

Kiwirrkurra - I cannot remember going past this place at all .

Walungurru (Kintore ) - Remember nothing about this place either.

Papunya - I went in here because the road went straight through the settlement . I could not find the road out and had to stop for directions . This is a very depressing place with garbage everywhere. There was a huge police presence between here and Alice Springs and I was stopped twice and breathalysed twice . Wrecked cars were every couple of km here , so watch out for drunk locals .

Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with .

Willie .

Hi Willie,

Thank you very much for the great info.

This is the detail that I needed!!

I have a petrol Pajero with a long range tank - 155litres usable.

It sounds like a couple of jerry cans might be the way to go as this tank will give me a range of 700-800 (poor driving) and a max of 900-1000 (careful driving).

I have just bought copies of the latest Hema maps covering this track and they provide excellent details about the communities, their opening hours for fuel and even phone numbers.

I think that if I fuel at Punmu, I should get through to Walungurru or Papunya OK.

Just a further question - from Papunya, did you go to Alice via Glen Helen or via the Tanami track? The distance looks pretty similar but the Glen Helen road might be in better condition.

Once again, many thanks.

Don

Don,

If you have the Community numbers , I would ring them and ask them if it is OK for you to buy PETROL there . Some places only sell diesel , as the locals sniff the petrol . Then I would ask the name of the person you talked to , so that if you have a problem when you get there , you can say " so and so said they would sell me fuel ". Also ask where you go and who you contact when you get there - the communities are very confusing places .

I would get aboriginal land permits for both sides of the border , even though there is a good chance you will not be asked for them.Things can turn nasty sometimes .

I went from Papunya to Alice via the Tanami Track . I was not sure what the other road would be like and I remembered the first part of the Tanami was black top so I opted for that .

Have a great trip ,

Willie .

Yep as long as they bring beer