North to Davenport Range NP & beyond.
Submitted: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 21:39
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Member - Michael John T (VIC)
Hi All,
Heading north for annual 3 - 4 months wander, in 4 weeks time. Planning for permits into Arnhem Land etc.. and for trip conditions has begun in earnest.
At this stage I would appreciate feed back on the Davenport NP and its attractions. We will be entering it via the Plenty Hwy, turning north, east of Harts Range to the Sandover Hwy and then North towards Murray Downs Stn and Davenport NP. From there we will exit via Epenarra,
Barkly Homestead and then onto the Tablelands Hwy and the Barkly Stock Route.
Any
feedback on this route, recent or otherwise, would be greatly appreciated. For example has any one had access into Dulcie Ranges NP north of the Plenty Hwy? Most of this section is new to me.
I look forward to some informative replies.
In appreciation,
Mike T (Vic).
Reply By: Dusty & Bumpy - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 08:16
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 08:16
G'day Mike T.
Travelled the Barkly Stock Route about 18 months ago - great road, no problems, interesting bird life around dams and bores. It is a better road than the bitumen
Tablelands Highway. I was travelling west to east from Elliot to
Burketown via BSR and Calvert Road - we saw one vehicle in the whole days travel - fantastic!
Cheers, David
AnswerID:
416366
Follow Up By: Member - Michael John T (VIC) - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 18:41
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 18:41
Thanks David,
I'm a bit of a bird watcher myself and love the vastness and isolation, so I'm really looking forward to this part of the trip.
Regards, Mike.
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686545
Reply By: Member - Vivien C (VIC) - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 19:17
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 19:17
Hello Mike,
I think that the road from Epenarra to
Barkly Homestead might be closed to traffic these days. We travelled that way in 1999 but when I tried to
check it out a year ago the information I got was that it was closed.
We travelled these roads in 2008. From Harts Range to Davenport NP the road had some corrugations and stony sections, one deep, sandy crossing over the Bundey River and a section in the middle of extremely rocky jump ups. The Binns Track to the Sandover Highway was like a freeway but after we reached Murray Downs it took us almost three hours to do the 90 kms of rocks as we made our way to
Old Police Station Waterhole which is a really great camping spot. There are several
places along the
waterhole to
camp the only thing to look out for are the donkeys!! There are hundreds of them!! They make quite a bit of noise at night time when they come in to drink but since the campsites are up on the banks they don't cause any real problem.
The Barkly Stock Route was a good dirt road, not a lot of traffic and just the cattle on the road to be on the alert for.
There is an interesting sounding
campground near Harts Range...Spotted Tiger is what its called. We didn't stay there but I think you just contact the Harts Range Community about it.
Hope that you have a great trip...
Best wishes
Viv
AnswerID:
416436
Follow Up By: Motherhen - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 23:44
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 23:44
Hi Viv - You are correct about the road from Epenarra. They have closed this road to the public - so unless you are friends of the people on Epenarra Station it is no longer an option Michael
John.
Motherhen
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Follow Up By: Member - Michael John T (VIC) - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 23:59
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 23:59
Thanks Vivien and Motherhen,
Closure of that road puts a hole in this part of the trip, will have to work around it some how. Spotted Tiger
camp ground is little used which is a shame because it is reasonably
well set out.
The
feedback is terrific for planning and I thank you all.
Regards, Mike T
FollowupID:
686606