Cosmo Newberry - Petrol Station?

Hi cbk,

Yes, fuel is available from Cosmo.

Great Central Road Fuel

Just follow the signs off the main road and it is on the right hand side just before the Community Shop.

Cheers,
Dennis

Hi
You will only get opal fuel out that way all the way through to the Alice. So safety sake, I would take at least 5 litres of spare fuel as back up and extra water, for the "Just in Case" situation. It is a long way between fuel stops out there. Also keep an eye out for feral camels. We had a couple of near misses out there. Came running out of the scrub, right across the road. Hit one of these beasts and you will no live to tell your tale.

Don't forget to get your permits, they are easy to obtain and they are free.

Cheers

Stephen

Hi Chris Benjamin

The question you should be asking these well travelled people is, is it safe to ride the Great Central Road in the middle of February on your own, as you plan.

My wife who visits www.australien-forum.de has tried to tell you it'd be foolish to do so, the people on this forum will tell you the same.

So, could all desert tavellers on this forum please tell this guy what it is like to travel the desert in Feb on your own, on a motor bike, please!

Cheers Steve.

Total distance Perth - Alice Springs via Cosmo - approximately 2,500 km.

You would be travelling through one of the remotest parts of Australia at a time of the year when very few if any other people would be travelling due to the heat and unbearable conditions.

If something went wrong, m/cycle breakdown - unable to repair, fall of bike perhaps fracture leg, collar bone, hip etc you cannot expect another traveller to just come along and help you out.

Condition of road surface - a small amount of sealed road, then gravel, then dirt, then sand then sand then sand then sand etc

Weather - HOT HOT HOT up to and perhaps in excess of 50 degrees celsius day after day.
That time of the year - possibility of Tropical Cyclones off WA or NT coast resulting in extreeeeeme rainfall in the centre of Australia meaning flooding and no NO NO NO vehicle travel sometimes for many days or even weeks.

You will be required to carry water (approx. 10 litres per day to survive and avoid dehydration), fuel at least 10 - 50 litres reserve. Your fuel consumption could easily double or triple in sand and or mud, food for at least a week (in case you break down or come off your bike and are injured), a satellite telephone or E.P.I.R.B. for emergencies (to summon help/assistance).

Much of that part of Australia that you suggest you are planning to travel in February is mostly uninhabited with very few (if any) other people travelling the roads. You will NOT find service stations every 300 km or less. Most people who travel those areas carry sufficient fuel for 1000 kms (more or less).

If you are injured or vehicle break down then in the event you can contact someone to come and help you they could take days to reach you and then the cost could be 100's of thousands of dollars that you could be expected to pay because you were so stupied for going into the desert country in the middle of summer.

Many people have died in the general area you are considering to travel because they travelled at the wrong time of the year and were totall unprepared to cope with the unexpected or emergencies.

Simple advice - DON'T DO IT.

The fact that you had to ask here if fuel was available at Cosmo suggests that you have not researched this trip suficiently.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

You will get fuel from the following places en route.

Alice

Stuart's Well

Erldunda

Mt Ebenezer

Curtin Springs

Yulara

Docker River

Warrakurna

Warburton

Tjukayirlya

Cosmo Newberry (with detour)

Laverton

Leonora

Kalgoorlie

Coolgardie

Southern Cross

and from there on it's no problem

Can I suggest that you now look at a map, work out distances and see whether this leaves you a comfortable margin for error.

Personally, I think you are crazy to do this at this time I've year. I've travelled the GCR in the other direction and met a couple of parties of motorcyclists. ALL OF THEM travelled as a group and had a 4WD as a back up!

The worst part is the section from the Olgas to about 100 kms west of Warburton. The road from there into Laverton was very good. The easterly part, as mentioned, contains a lot of soft sand, big bulldust holes, corrugations, rocks and plenty of very large livestock, including camels and cattle.

This site provides some information

http://www.exploroz.com/TrekNotes/WDeserts/Great_Central_Road.aspx

We went on the GCR 4 weeks ago and just before the rain and the road up to to Docker river is fine. From Docker River to Kata Tjuta it was a bit rough but it means you need to go slower and let teh tyre pressure down. When I went past Cosmos Newberry and it looked like it was closed, so I would check with the petrol stations either side. We passed about a dozen cars on the road and saw a few animals mainly camels & horses, but again if your drive to the conditions you should be ok. Telling the police at each end is always a good and doing it in Feb is hot but its your choice. Poppyg

I travelled that road a few months ago and found the road to be in excellent condition. Speaking to some motor cycle riders it seems that there biggest problem was getting overheated every time they stopped as they were wearing leathers. I also heard a story of a motor bike having it's fuel line cut overnight. It seems that some of the locals were very keen to obtain some petrol to sniff. At one roadhouse (Blackstone Community) they will lock your bike in a special compound overnight if you want. Generators have also been know to 'disappear' over night.