Suggestions please - Perth to Cairns

hi nathan and lyndsey

are you taking part in a 4wd rally

will you have time to camp

i think with that time frame your going to miss a huge amount

the only time you will see much is when your coming into land the 100 ser back onto the road
lol
cheers and happy flying

I have a book detailing this journey. Something along the lines of the worlds longest short cut. When I get home from work I will get the correct name. It details all the sections and would be quite handy for what you are going to do.

I'd suggest stopping in at Gwalia, next to Leonora. Restored old mining village, quite interesting. Also check out Sons of Gwalia's office, nice old hotel that's been restored.
About 90km past Tjukayirla is a good camping spot on the left. Large cleared area where the graders park up.
The Warburton art gallery is worth a look.
The Docker River camp spot is a good place for the 2nd night. The name is something like Kaltukajara.
Lasseter's cave for a quick stop, Giles Meteorological Station. About 150km from the start of the dirt you pass a white cross on top of a small hill, there's a track to the base of the hill and a cave with some artwork. Near the start of the dirt you pass a sign for a radar base(or something like it), soon after that there is a track on the right that leads to a breakaway, nice views and a shady spot for lunch. There are a couple of rock pools,1 I think is called Terhan. Can be found on the great desert maps.
Sorry I don't have any km readings for these spots as I know the landmarks.
I do have some gps readings for various camping spots I have used if you can wait till next week when I get home.

Hi Lyndsey

I have recently completed and placed my blog of the Great Central Road from our 2008 trip. Look for it under September 2008. We were heading home from a four month trip. From Yulara to Warakurna (to see Giles weather station early morning tour) first day. Overnight at the pleasant CP at back of roadhouse. Second and third nights bush camping along the way. Next night was to be Leonora CP but their sites were too small so we moved on.

I think you will be doing pretty hard long days on that time frame. Depending on the conditions of the roads, you won't be travelling fast. To try and keep to your time frame, you'd need to travel until near dark then stop; even if you plan set camp spots it is unlikely to work out that way.

Our quickest trip on mainly highways - was from SW of WA to Bundaberg Qld in four days to buy our caravan. This meant getting up when it was dark, leaving at first light, sharing the driving with other catnapping, not stopping for lunch which i made on a tray on my lap, and as soon as it got dark stopping at first opportunity. It was fairly exhausting, but we and the vendor had deadlines.

Motherhen

Lyndsey, also check out the Trek Notes on the Great Central and Outback Way here on ExOz. These list points of interest, what permits are needed and detailed distances. I had a copy of the notes for the Great Central Road to help us find the features.

Hi Lyndsey,
Buy the Outback Way Guidebook by Hema and then consider camping at these sites along the GCR, which we've enjoyed a few times........Desert Breakaway, Kaltukatjara, Uluru, Spotted Tiger [Harts Range], Parapituri Waterhole [Wirrilyerna Station] and Winton. Things you should try to see and enjoy include Giles Breakaway, Giles Met Station, Warburton Art Gallery, Lasseter's Cave [and lookout], KataTjuta / Uluru, Mt Connor, Gem fields, Cawnpore Lookout and Winton's pubs [for a beer]. Also recommend taking a handheld GPS and if time allows try searching for a few of the geocaches along the GCR.Perth to Cainrs in 8 days means around 6hrs driving per day along the GCR which leaves 2-3hrs for stopping and sightseeing etc...adequate but more time would make a great trip even better. Enjoy. The Guidebook will be your friend :-)

Hi
We went from Brisbane up through Longreach and across to Perth via the GCR.
We travelled over Christmas, towing a CT and stuck to a top speed of 100kph.
The trip took 8 1/2 days, with a full morning Alice Springs, and a day at Ayers Rock and the other big rocks near there. Just hope you don't get a cyclone there, it floods.
I would suggest you can't pre-plan too much in the way of things to see, especially if you anticipate a good look around, and camping would pretty much be to suit where you end up after your days travelling.
Your timeframe is OK depending on how many hours you spend on the road. We travelled from roughly 8:00 to 5:00, and didn't stop much anywhere for more than a half hour.
It is a long way, and the conditions don't allow real high speeds.
As already suggested, study the Outback Way website, and keep an eye out for the signs on where things of interest are. There are no shortage of off road sites for camping.
Cheers