Rudall River NP Mud Map / Current Info on Talawana Track
Submitted: Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 19:50
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farmer112
Hi @ll,
my name is Juergen, 4WD tourist from Germany. I am currently preparing a 4WD trip to Rudall River NP in September this year. However, I could only find quite poor information on Rudall River NP and the
Talawana Track. I will travel together with my best friend Harry in a
well-equipped Troopy (including Iridium satphone). We plan to start from
Newman, travel to Rudall River NP, do some sightseeing there and continue via the
Talawana Track to
Windy Corner, then heading north on the Gary Highway to Kunnawaritji for refuelling, before continuing on the
Gary Junction Road to
Kintore and on the
Sandy Blight Junction Road down to Docker River and on to
Yulara.
I have learned that there must be some sort of mud map on Rudall River NP available from
Newman tourist information, however I could not contact them, as there was no reply on my email and they did not answer the phone. Does anyone here in the
forum have this mud map and could send me a .pdf-file to my email address farmer112@arcor.de ? This would be very helpful.
Does anyone in the
forum have recently travelled the Gary Highway and
Talawana Track? Very overgrown, negotiable?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Cheers from bloody boring Dortmund/Germany (still 37 bloody days until I can escape to the Outback again, can't await it...),
Juergen
Reply By: Willem - Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 20:06
Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 20:06
G'day Juergen
I have a Private Mud Map(someone sent it to me) of Rudall NP, not the one from
Newman. It is quite good.
If you would like it, contact me through my website below and I will email it to you.
Cheers
AnswerID:
319431
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 20:24
Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 20:24
Gary Highway and Talawana tracks are both graded dirt Highways.
We used the Westprint maps when we went through there last year. They were adequate, but nothing spectacular.
Here's a sample:
Image Could Not Be Found
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Willem - Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 20:34
Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 20:34
Eh?
G'day Phil
When was the
Gary Hwy Graded or the Talawana east of Cotton
Creek for that matter?
Cheers
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 20:39
Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 20:39
Probably about 1965 :-)))
Whoops, you're right.
Talawana track from
Newman to Cotton
Creek was beautifully graded when we did it last year. Beautifully corrugated east from there. And I got the Gary Highway and
Gary Junction Road mixed up again :-((
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Willem - Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 22:12
Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 22:12
Ahhh..the bubble has burst!! You have bleep tered the illusion, Phil. There I was, thinking you had all the answers....LOL(TIC)
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 22:45
Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 22:45
Yep, all the answers - got the wrong ones too :-))
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Reply By: equinox - Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 20:33
Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008 at 20:33
Hi Juergen,
I've been to the River last month and last year.
Here's a quick map I drew up:
Image Could Not Be Found
Many people will be out there, though not on the old western track or the track running parallel to the river.
Last month I travelled the Gary Highway from the
Gunbarrel Highway to about
Windy Corner so dont know north of that - Track was good.
Cheers
Alan
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: farmer112 - Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 19:45
Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 19:45
Hi Alan,
thanks a lot for the mud map and for your helpful comments!
Cheers,
Juergen
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Member - Bob of KAOS - Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 08:17
Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 08:17
Heh Juergen,
willkommen
Its good to see you Europeans discovering our great outback.
It's funny that many Australians wouldn't dream of seeing their own country and flock to Europe in their thousands. Actually, I am glad they do this.
The road from
Gary Junction to
Kintore is in good condition. The SBJT is pretty rough. The first part from
Kintore to the border is corrugated. The section near the
Sir Frederick Range (worth a detour if you have time) is washed away but passable.
I'll be out there in two weeks, and again in early October. If I see a broken down Troopy I'll stop and say hello.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: farmer112 - Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 19:51
Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 19:51
Hi Bob,
> If I see a broken down Troopy I'll stop and say hello.
Yep, and have a hell of a fun while watching the bloody Gerries digging their Troopy... ;-)
Thanks for your comments on the road conditions.
You are just too true with your comments on all those Aussies travelling to boring Europe. Can't believe why they are doing this. It's such a fascinating nature in Oz, and I am nearly dying of homesickness every time I have to leave the red sand and the spinnifex. Still 36 blloody days to go until I return to Oz.
Cheers from Dortmund/Germany,
Juergen
FollowupID:
586244
Reply By: Member - Mick O (VIC) - Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 08:24
Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 08:24
Juergen,
Just returned at 7.00 p.m. last night from that area. Talawana is in excellent condition, the grader still working on it between
Jigalong and Kurnawarritji. Did a quick post from
Alice Springs 10 days ago (See post 60230) and outlined road conditions on a lot of the tracks you'll be doing.
Give me a few days to unpack and clean up and I'll get an email to you. If you are using a garmin GPS I have track
routes as
well for Rudall.
Cheers.
Mick
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - Joe F (WA) - Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 13:53
Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 13:53
G'day Juergen
If you have the time to contact me directly, when you are in
Newman, I can give you a series of mud maps (photo copy ) of the Rudall region and beyond.
My contact details are on.
www.pilbaraironcountrytours.com
Regards:: Joe
AnswerID:
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Reply By: farmer112 - Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 19:41
Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 at 19:41
Hi @ll,
thanks for your very helpful comments and emails!
@ Mick:
Thanks for the great information. I have a GPS, but only a small one which I use to compare waypoints. I usually only work with maps - they do not tend to break down... ;-)
@ Joe:
Thanks for your offer. I will contact you before we get to
Newman. Sounds great!
@ Phil:
No worries! You frightened me that the beautiful adventure might have gone, but the feedback shows that there is still more than enough difficulties to experience for us...
I am especially looking forward to the Sandy Blight
Junction Track. Sounds like really having fun. ;-)
Cheers from bloody boring Dortmund/Germany,
Juergen
AnswerID:
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