Charleville-Quilpie-Birdsville-Longreach

Hi Mark,
We've travelled all of that area you want to "discover" but we did it in a well setup Nissan Patrol towing an off road camper.
The roads between Charleville - Quilpie - Windorah (on the way to Birdsville are fair to good bitumen) but from Morney (west of Windorah) to Birdsville is a gravel road. This can be great and really bad depending on the last rainfall / grader works. Then if you get to Birdsville and want to get to Longreach, the road north to Bedourie - Boulia is gravel (same as the Birdsville bit) and from there to Winton - Longreach - Barcaldine - Blackall - Charleville - it's bitumen.
Not sure I'd want to take a Mazda 3 on the gravel parts of the trip.
That said, the country should look the best it has for many years with the rainfall in the past 2 years.
The cooler months would certainly be the only time of year to do the trip. Be prepared to drive slowly on the rougher sections. Newish tyres would be a must. Plenty of water, and a well prepared vehicle and enjoy.

PS Buy yourself a copy of the HEMA Road and 4WD Atlas from the EO shop. Shows all the roads you want to travel and which ones are sealed / not sealed.

Cheers

Anything is doable - people have done it I'm sure, but in my view the Mazda doesn't have the tyre class or that extra bit of clearance to give you confidence and relaxation on the gravel roads. You'd have about 560km at least of gravel - to and from BV, after the seal's end, west of Windorah (unless developed further since my last trip up there). Even if the gravel roads are in great condition, the small stones are still harsh on tyres and low hanging body parts. As well as that, distance communications (for safety) plus extra provisions for that remote region needed to be built into plans.

Hi Mark,
I agree with what John and Darian have said above.

In addition I note that many cars spend there days poking around town then take off on a grand holiday without preparation. They are now subject to higher loads and longer driving periods and can often be seen on the side of the road with cooling system problems.
So before you depart, check & maintain the car's condition, particularly the cooling system, radiator, hoses and belts.

The northern regions you are considering can get pretty hot in the summer months. I would suggest avoiding November through to March. Have a great trip.

Thank you to all. Your comments have been most helpfull. Maybe I had better just stick with the bitumen and head direct to Longreach instead!

Hi Mark
we have just done the trip you are looking at and would advise you not to tryits really 8ply tyre area and even they get chewed up a fair bit all the other comments have said it all...
cheers garry