plenty/sandover highways

David,

Have a look at post # 56819 for comments on road condition.

David,
We travelled from Alice to QLD on the Plenty Hwy just before xmass, the road was in pretty good condition considering the rain we encountered for most of the way, bull dust holes were all damp, so no real problem there, corrugation's weren't too bad either, just have to keep an eye for wondering cattle as there are plenty of them, we camped at the Gardener river, it was O.K but millions of flies......
Have a safe trip & enjoy.
Howard.

Just returned from our 3 weeks trip yesterday, so pretty up-to-date on Plenty/Donohue: took offroad trailer and light off-road trailers though these highways two weeks ago and can't report any serious issues. Both highways in pretty much equal conditions at this time with a little plus on the Donohue, with longest bulldust holes on the Plenty.

Loose rocks being the main issue we faced (made a few dents in the toolboxes at the front of the trailers). Tyres pressure down to 20psi on the trailer (no shock absorbers). Not one puncture, we must have been lucky. Driving speed between 50-60Km/h in bad areas, 80-90 in the good sections.

Camping off the hwy is the best option in my opinion. Nothing beats being in the middle of nowhere with total silence (and millions of flies during the day - buy a fly net, it's a small and wonderful investment). Camping is allowed all the way, up to 50M from the hwy and 10KM away from townships. Just stop where you like the scenery.

Camping facilities at Gemtree was very nice with great facilities and helpful people, highly recommended. just the opposite at Boulia, the camping is a dust hole and the caretakers un-helpful. To be avoided in my opinion. But the Min-Min lights show at the tourism office is worth the hour stop.

Key is driving to the conditions and enjoying the journey rather than the destination. Took two days from Boulia to Gemtree.