What NOT to miss around Painted Desert??

Hi all
Just doing a rough draft for winter hols. around July. Itinerary at this stage is from home (Sydney) to Woomera. Then Coober Pedy and either across to Oodnadatta or William Ck. Down to Copley, thence to Arkaroola and home via Broken Hill.
I've got a few 'must sees' but invite the Forum to fill in the gaps,
Thanks in advance



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Reply By: Member - Kiwi Kia - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 13:53

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 13:53
"The Breakaways" just out of Coober Pedy then on to the Painted desert and Oodnadatta. If it's not to hot you can do that including some walks easily in a day.

If you have a few (?) spare dollars an evening flight out of William Creek to the Painted Hills is well worth while (you can not get into the Painted Hills by road). About 10 km sth of William Creek you can duck in behind the second sand dune for an overnight bush camp. Easy parking about 100 m off the road. An old Ghan siding at Beresford is an interesting stop, usually a lot of bird life around the dribbling bore pipe.

Mound Springs Conservation Park is interesting, about an hour should cover that.

Very nice camp area (flush toilet) behind the old ruins at Farina. Honesty box for a camp fee. I think the camp area is looked after by the station owner, far better then the gravel car park CP at Lyndhurst.

The road into the Flinders from Copley has very sharp stones but them's the breaks some get punctures some don't :-))

If you should take the road down to Yunta (on the Peterborough - Broken Hill Rd.) stop in at the Waukaringa ruins. You can follow a track up onto the ridge where there are some old mine ruins - nice view.

.
AnswerID: 351330

Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 13:59

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 13:59
Thanks for that info mate...
OK on the flight out of William Ck (I assume WrightAir)..will be tossing up whether to do the Painted Hills or Lake Eyre- may have a bit of water in it by then...


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Follow Up By: Member - Kiwi Kia - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 14:29

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 14:29
I found the pilots to be very professional when I was there (done more then a few hours myself).
The evening is usually a bit smoother and the low angle of the sun makes the relief of the hills and colours stand out better. See a few pics on my profile.

.
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Follow Up By: wendys - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 15:46

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 15:46
Signman,
Last time we were up that way, He Who Drives did a flight out of William Creek that took in the Painted Hills AND Lake Eyre up as far as the Warburton Groove. So it may not be an either/or scenario.
It is really worth being around the Painted Desert late afternoon or early morning, for great photos, and there is an interesting walk in there too. You can camp at Arkaringa Station, for a fee, gives you showers/toilets/campfire ring.
The campground at Coward Springs is lovely; again for a fee, but toilets, campfire pit, wonderful warm artesian "spa", and an interesting historical display.
From Copley, suggest a detour to Arkaroola, for at least 2 nights - lots to do there. The Ridge Top Tour is a must - worth every dollar (and I don't part with mine easily). From there you can go directly south to Yunta and highway back east.
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Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 14:27

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 14:27
Signman,

If you're stopping over in Coober Pedy, when ready to head out toward Oodnadatta, instead of taking the Coober Pedy to Oodnadatta track, head north along the bitumen (Stuart Highway) for about 20 klms, then turn right at the sign for the Breakaways.
About 6 klms in you will come across alookout area overlooking the escarpment and the "Moonplains" below.
Follow the track which takes you down onto the Moonplains, past mica fields and eventually along the Dog Fence.
You will reach a T-Junction with the Coober Pedy - Oodnadatta Track. Turning right will take you back to Coober Pedy, but turning left you cross the fence and head toward Oodnadatta.
From this point you can follow the Treknotes for the Painted Desert available on this site.

You will only add a couple of hours at most to the "normal" Treknote journey and the Breakaways view and the drive across the Moonplains will be a highlight of your trip, guaranteed.
The track is easy going even if towing.

After the Painted Desert detour you can rejoin the Coober Pedy - Oodnadatta Track and continue on to Oodnadatta and then east along the Oodnadatta Track through William Creek. William Creek has an iconic pub and is worth a night or two's stopover. This is a good base to take a trip out to Halligan Bay on Lake Eyre, the lowest point below sea level in Australia. You may even like to take a trip with Trevor Wright of WrightAir in his plane. He has a couple of interesting options. One is a flight across Anna Creek station to the Painted Desert which gives a totally different perspective on what you have seen from the road.
Another trip he offers is a flight over the edge of Lake Eyre and the Simpson Desert to Dalhousie Springs for a leisurely dip, then to the Pink Roadhouse for lunch, probably being picked up from the Airfield in the Pink Roadhouse's limousine. (pink Volvo stationwagon)

Oodnadatta is interesting for a Pink Roadhouse burger and a stroll along the town's one main street, but if camping, I would recommend staying a few kilometres out of town at the Algebuckina Waterhole, opposite the heritage listed Bridge of the same name.

So, from Coober Pedy, at least one night at Arkaringa homestead with a trip out towards dusk to see the sunset over the Painted Desert, a one night stopover at Algebuckina Waterhole, then one or two nights at William Creek. (we stayed three nights here 'cos we loved the feeling of remoteness, the trip out to Halligan Bay and the two flights which were wrapped up in a package deal, we couldn't resist.

Continue along the Track to Maree, Lyndhurst (back on the blacktop) and Copley., but plan for an occasional "side trip" to visit Coward Springs, Blanche Cup and The Bubble Springs and a host of other attractions along The Track.

Hope this gives you some input to your planning.

Bill


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Follow Up By: Member - Kiwi Kia - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 14:50

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 14:50
I agree Sandman,

" One is a flight across Anna Creek station to the Painted Desert which gives a totally different perspective on what you have seen from the road".

Not sure if you mean that you can see the Painted Hills from the road, they can not be seen from any public roads / tracks.

.
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Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 17:22

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 17:22
Kiwi,

To the best of my knowledge, the Painted Hills and the Painted Desert are one and the same.

The road access gives you a look at one section, viewable from two lookout points, plus the drive in and out.

Trevor takes you over the whole lot, for a view from above.

Bill
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Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 17:28

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 17:28
Hmm, maybe not.

I just googled the painted hills and this is what I got:-

"Unlike the Painted Desert, near Oodnadatta, a couple of hundred kilometres further west, the hills are not accessible by four-wheel-drive, and can only be seen from the air."

Cheers,
Bill

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Follow Up By: Member - Kiwi Kia - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 18:24

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 18:24
Hi Sandman, Yep, they are most definitely different places.

Painted Desert is about 200 km NNE from Coober Pedy.
Painted Hills are about 80 km SE of Coober Pedy.
That makes them about to 200 km apart !
As there are no roads out there the Painted Hills are not shown on large scale maps.

Painted Desert is (I think) on Arkaringa Station
Painted Hills are on Anna Creek Station

Both places are well worth a visit although Painted Hills will only be an aerial view.The Painted Hills are almost equi-distant between Coober Pedy and William Creek and you can take a scenic flight out of either place.

.



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Reply By: Bob of KAOS - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 15:58

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 15:58
I'd avoid Coober Pedy - its the pits :-)

You could head west and sample the start of the Anne Beadell Hwy. Maybe as far as Emu if you have time.

Bob
AnswerID: 351352

Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 17:40

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 17:40
I disagree Bob. Did you have a bad experience there?

Coober Pedy is anything but the pits IMO.
To someone who hasn't seen it before, it can be quite fasinating.

Not everything has to have green lawns, running water, or a multi-level shopping centre.


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Follow Up By: Bob of KAOS - Sunday, Mar 01, 2009 at 00:14

Sunday, Mar 01, 2009 at 00:14
SandMan- sorry- attempt at humour- its the pits=opal pits.

Bob
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Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Monday, Mar 02, 2009 at 10:07

Monday, Mar 02, 2009 at 10:07
Thanks for the info Bob
We did the AB/Connie Sue/Gunbarrel a few years back...

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Reply By: wendys - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 20:04

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 20:04
Coober Pedy has lots of interest, and a unique atmosphere. Certainly worth visiting at least once.
AnswerID: 351396

Reply By: Member - Mal and Di (SA) - Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 21:01

Friday, Feb 27, 2009 at 21:01
About 1 k west of the Coward Springs gate is one of the most isolated grave sites I have seen. There are three graves dating to before the turn of the last century. I am sure that most travellers in that area would not know of it's existence. You can drive in but it's not that far for an early morning walk from the Coward Springs camp site which has free fire wood.GPS Coords are S29 24.560 and E 136 48.236. I found it thanks to Geocaching.com.
M.
AnswerID: 351412

Reply By: MEMBER - Darian (SA) - Saturday, Feb 28, 2009 at 13:59

Saturday, Feb 28, 2009 at 13:59
Dave - it's you ! Not a bad trip you have outlined there - as you can see above, lots of members have been up there a lot ! BTW - the westprint heritage maps for that area have heaps of good spots too see, detailed on the back. Weather permitting, it's great country - plenty of dead set remote outback Aussie territory. When you get back down to Lyndhurst, if you're hankering for a taste of the lower Strzelecki , you could consider a run up as far as Mt Hopeless and then around to Balcanoona via Moolawatana station - a public road...... its a fair run though, all up. Down to Copley and then east to Balcanoona would be a lot kinder on the hardware though - the lower Strz can be a trial on tyres at times, unless taken very easy. (pics of the Strz surface on my site page - http://users.picknowl.com.au/~darian)
Re the Gammons Nat Pk (Arkaroola) - Grindel's Hut and Weetootla were nice drives in, with good camping spots.
Guess you will exit to Yunta across the badlands from Balcanoona and then off home east ..... we'd better hear from you on the HF skeds :-o) !
AnswerID: 351503

Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Monday, Mar 02, 2009 at 10:05

Monday, Mar 02, 2009 at 10:05
G'Day Darian...
I'll send you some pics of the 'new' hardware...
Yup- Troopy is on the market and we've sorta updated to reflect our ageing requirements...NO it's not a Winnebago !!!!!
Cheers & 73s

David 3364 (or is it R3364 or is it M3364 ??)





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FollowupID: 620024

Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Tuesday, Mar 03, 2009 at 09:51

Tuesday, Mar 03, 2009 at 09:51
Darian,
Attached my updated hardware...Image Could Not Be FoundImage Could Not Be Found

Cheers
David
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Follow Up By: MEMBER - Darian (SA) - Tuesday, Mar 03, 2009 at 10:45

Tuesday, Mar 03, 2009 at 10:45
Responding via Member Message.
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Follow Up By: Bob of KAOS - Wednesday, Mar 04, 2009 at 08:48

Wednesday, Mar 04, 2009 at 08:48
David

I'm intrigued by your updated hardware.

I searched Redbook for Iveco and found zip.

What is it?

Secondly, the whip behind the driver's door looks to be 27 MHz. Does the proximity to the car body adversely affect its radiation?

Bob
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FollowupID: 620317

Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Wednesday, Mar 04, 2009 at 10:17

Wednesday, Mar 04, 2009 at 10:17
Ho Bob
That antenna is actually for HF operation.
There is no real 'proximity' to the cat body as all of the radiating section of the antenna is 'adjacent' to the fibreglass roof..
Cheers

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FollowupID: 620331

Reply By: Member - JohnR (Vic) - Wednesday, Mar 04, 2009 at 16:04

Wednesday, Mar 04, 2009 at 16:04
Just don't miss dawn and dusk out amongst the hills. The colour is what it is all about.
AnswerID: 352171

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