Crossing Australia on a Jetski
Submitted: Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 12:09
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AJ Carr
Hi guys,
I'm researching something of a hair-brained scheme; we're interested in whether or not it's possible to cross Australia on a few jetskies. Obviously now is the time to do it.
I've spoken to a few people and most recommend beginning in
Adelaide and heading up the Darling. How far could we get on this route? Is it even possible? We obviously want to get as far North as possible.
Are the any alternative routes?
Thanks,
AJ Carr
Reply By: Tim - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 12:20
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 12:20
If you leave now you can get to
Toowoomba, if you wait a few months then you will have the weirs to contend with, 1 is at
Bourke and I think there is another 2 along the route.
As stupid as it sounds, navigation will be huge issue, the river is more then 1 km wide near
Bourke and it is quite hard in some
places stay in the river even if you have a good idea of the area.
Tim
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Follow Up By: Sir Kev & Darkie - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 13:10
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 13:10
If travelling up the Balonne/
Condamine river system in QLD there is countless weirs and dams.
Here is the weirs I can remember without searching the net:
Hebel,
Dirranbandi,
St George x2 weirs + 1
Dam, Weribone, Warroo,
Surat x2, Warkon, Cotswold,
Condamine,
Chinchilla, Brigalow, Warra, Loundon,Lone Pine, Cecil Plains, Tummaville, Pratten,
Warwick x 3?, Elbow Valley, Killarney and Brosnans
Barn.
All the northside creeks above Loundon will get you towards
Toowoomba.
If you head up Charleys creek past
Chinchilla you can jump over the range and get into the Boyne River and beyond.
Head up the Maranoa river just north of
St George will get you to the head waters of the Dawson River at Mt Moffatt which will get you to at least
Rockhampton.
Cheers Kev
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Reply By: long haired nomad - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 13:38
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 13:38
AJ,
Your topic "crossing Australia on a Jetski", do you mean from east to west or from
Adelaide to
Brisbane? Beacuse the later is your only option. you would only get as far as somewhere west of
Toowoomba. But even if you left now, once you hit the flood waters coming down, how would you support vehicle get to you when roads will be closed? You cant take much fuel, water or food with you on a jet ski. Youd have a bit more chance of doing it when the rivers subside a bit and your support can follow you along the river banks where the roads permit.
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Reply By: dereki - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 14:43
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 14:43
Now the time to do it, maybe, maybe not. The water in the flooded areas in Qld is muddy and contaminated with sewage, oil, chemicals etc. I think fouling of the propulsion system will also be an issue with all of the
debris in the water ways at the moment. Not sure I would want to do it in a jetski without a closed cooling system.
Sound like fun tho, hope it all works out for you.
Will you blog it or something so we can see how you go.
D
AnswerID:
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Reply By: AJ Carr - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 14:54
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 14:54
Thanks for the replies guys. Any more info will be
well received. We're coming from a very limited knowledge base so every little bit is appreciated.
On something of a side note, we've also heard rumours that during the big wets you can cross the red centre?
With regards to the blogging, half of the idea is to make a doco out of the adventure.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Bazooka - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 16:34
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 16:34
You could go north-south (and vice versa of course) in the GAB a few years back when it was a bit wetter. Plenty of fish like the one below too apparently, tho I wouldn't like your chances on a jetski.
FISH LINK
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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 20:29
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 20:29
How do they go in sand
Whilst there is water out there there is a lot more that is sand.
Will keep you away from the beaches which some of us would think is a good thing .
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Follow Up By: long haired nomad - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 21:30
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 21:30
No, you cannot go east to west during a flood or north to south during a flood.
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Reply By: Member - Vince M (NSW) - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 18:25
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 18:25
Have a serious think on how much bleep /crap
debris is in the water,
1) jets like clean water (there will be a lot of times you will be a the mercy of the river whilst the jet is blocked)
2) with all the silt in the water you will need to have harden tips on the impeller & a good s/steel wear ring & be willing to change them
3) make sure all your vaccinations are up to date, when you spend that much time in/on flooded water you will soon appreciate the mad dash & dry
toilet paper as your health will be the biggest obstacle
hope you do it & have a great experience many years ago did it down the darling in a inflatable with 25hp in flood
Regards Vince
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Reply By: Begaboy - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 19:13
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 19:13
Not such a silly idea , although your post could almost be called trolling , but presuming its genuine - I recall seeing a tv show YEARS ago - it was 2 guys on jet skiis traveling around Australia - Ie think they left from
Sydney , and intended to return to
Sydney the long way round -- cant remember the name of it - or if infact it was that particular trip - maybe someone here knows the doco and can shed some light as this may be a good reference tool to start with
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Follow Up By: marcus - Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 19:55
Thursday, Jan 13, 2011 at 19:55
I saw that doco as
well but think at least 3 or 4 guys circumnavigated Australia and did it real hard on occasions in 3 metre seas.Were
well supported by their ground crew.Was
well produced and a very watchable adventure.
cheers Mark
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Follow Up By: Member - Matt L (WA) - Friday, Jan 14, 2011 at 00:48
Friday, Jan 14, 2011 at 00:48
He said across Australia
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Reply By: Off-track - Friday, Jan 14, 2011 at 00:46
Friday, Jan 14, 2011 at 00:46
Been done before, sort of. Tim Flannery and
John Doyle (aka Rampaging Roy Slaven) travelled in a tinnie from
Darling Downs to the
Murray mouth in a daco called 2 men in a tinnie (I think).
I believe their was a bit of walking and support from the road crew as the rivers were pretty dry at the time.
Dont listen to the knockers, do your research and prove the buggers wrong.
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Follow Up By: Off-track - Friday, Jan 14, 2011 at 00:48
Friday, Jan 14, 2011 at 00:48
daco = doco
their = there
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Follow Up By: Member - Royce- Friday, Jan 14, 2011 at 09:39
Friday, Jan 14, 2011 at 09:39
What an irritating pompous couple of blokes they were in that dreary old doco.
Stagey and set up, pontificating about the dry river.... look at it now.
I wonder just how much time they spent on the river? It's not as though they had any supplies with them. I'm guessing they did it over a few months, dropping in to a few select spots organized by the producers.
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