Driving East to West
Submitted: Tuesday, Jan 06, 2004 at 15:04
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Member - Anne
Hi guys! We are planning to spend to winter months crossing the country from the Easternmost point at Point Byron to the Westernmost point at
Steep Point. Has anyone done this? Do you have any useful tips or advice? We are in a 78series Troopy with OME
suspension, and we have an offroad camper trailer. We are
well equipped with recovery gear and spares, and we carry a
UHF radio, sat phone and CDMA. Where should we visit? Where should we avoid?
Thanks for your help.
Anne
Reply By: Member - Mal (Brisbane) - Tuesday, Jan 06, 2004 at 15:53
Tuesday, Jan 06, 2004 at 15:53
Anne,
Try this: The rocks at the base of
Byron Bay lighthouse (bottle of
Champagne),
Tenterfield,
Cunnamulla,
Innamincka,
Birdsville,
Simpson Desert (all six tyres at 15psi),
Alice Springs, West Macdonalds, Ayres
Rock,
Warburton,
Gunbarrel Highway,
Wiluna,
Canning Stock Route,
Halls Creek,
Broome,
Exmouth,
Carnarvon and
Steep Point.(12th bottle of
Champagne). We have done all of this except the CSR which we will do later this year.
We sometimes have a bottle of
champagne at BB rocks even if we are going nowhere.
You can use the trip planing service on this site work out your itinery. I'm betting you will be
home late. If you want to work out some shortcuts, get back to me.
Do you live on the east coast or the west?
HAGT
Mal T.
AnswerID:
41968
Follow Up By: Member - Anne - Sunday, Jan 11, 2004 at 16:22
Sunday, Jan 11, 2004 at 16:22
Dear Mal,
Thank you for your advice - we had a great time following your track across the map. We may
well follow your suggestions, as it takes us to
Broome as
well! I agree that starting with a bottle of
champagne is a very good idea, but I think I might be on more than the 12 th by the time we arrive at
Steep Point! Do let us know your shortcuts.
You may be surprised to hear that we live in
Adelaide, but we are starting our travels in the Victorian High Country for
Easter, which is why we are travelling that way. We should see a wide variety of landscape.
Happy travelling
Anne
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Follow Up By: Member - Mal (Brisbane) - Monday, Jan 12, 2004 at 11:02
Monday, Jan 12, 2004 at 11:02
Dear Anne,
"Shortcuts" is perhaps the wrong word! Other ways of getting there, perhaps. Byron,
Toowoomba,
Winton, Kennedy Development Road/
Plenty Highway,
Alice Springs, Tanami Road,
Halls Creek etc.
..........Warbuton,
Leonora,
Wiluna,
Meekatharra,
Carnarvon etc.
..........
Wiluna, part of Canning to
Well 24 or
Well 33 and take track to the West.
To get to the rocks below the
lighthouse you drive up towards the
lighthouse and turn left to Wategos Beach on the northern side of the headland and you can then either walk around the rocks from
the beach or there is a proper track/boardwalk just up from the eastern end of Wategos. Keep in touch. We might come and have a bottle with you. It's one of our favorite
places.
We're leaving
Brisbane in August to do the Canning. We havent worked out the route to and from yet but it will include
Steep Point, an incredible place.
Have a great trip Anne,
Mal T.
FollowupID:
305018
Reply By: Member - Bob - Tuesday, Jan 06, 2004 at 17:17
Tuesday, Jan 06, 2004 at 17:17
Anne,
Maroochydore to
Carnarvon Nov 98. Sadly, early rains thwarted much of the early part of the trip and we had to stick to bitumen: Mt Isa,Tennant Ck, Alice. Once it dried out we headed west through Haasts
Bluff, then joined
Mereenie Loop, Docker River, GBH,
Wiluna,
Meekatharra, Gascoigne
Junction,
Carnarvon. Then south along coast to
Perth.
GBH is tough going - much harder than dune country. See dentist before you go :-)
Spend time around Alice if you haven't been there before. Also Uluru/
Kata Tjuta will blow you away, even if it is overun with tourists.
The main thing is not a series of specific attractions, but rather the isolation, vast emptiness, and stunning landscapes. When the corrugations are shaking the car to pieces just pull over, go for a walk and appreciate where you are.
Make sure you sleep out in the open so you can appreciate the night sky.Bob
AnswerID:
41973