Ayers Rock & Alice Springs trip - October 2001
Trip Planning Page
| Trip Leader:
Skip Start date: Saturday 29th September, 2001 (1st day of school holidays) Duration: 2 weeks Distance: 6000k approx. Trip Summary: Drive from Perth to Alice springs (and back) via the Great Central Road. Rough plan: Drive from Perth via bitumen East to Kalgoorlie, north to Laverton, then via dirt on the Great Central road to the Olgas (nearly 1500k off road!), then to Ayers Rock. After a couple of days to explore, we then head East via bitumen past Mt Connor to Alice springs. Another day to relax. Then a 1 or 2 day trip from Alice via bitumen north then east onto the Plenty Hwy to Gemtree, south on 4x4 track to Artunga, possibly Ruby Gap, then back to Alice on dirt road via the East mcDonald ranges and Trephina Gorge. Then relax for another day (depending on previous option) before heading West on dirt on the Mereenie loop road via dozens of gorges, sites, and lookouts, along side the West McDonald ranges, possibly taking in Palm Valley, then on to Kings Canyon, then back to Ayers rock again. Then home the way we came. |
 
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Detailed distances. All waypoints have fuel available (see notes below)...
| Waypoint | Distance from Last Waypoint | Distance from Start | Off Road? | ~Diesel price/L |
~ULP price/L |
Servo. Price at 9 Aug 2001 |
| Part 1 - to ayers rock… | ||||||
| Perth | 0 | 0 | .92 | .89 | All | |
| Merredin | 261 | 261 | .95 | .92 | BP 9041 1620 | |
| Kalgoorlie | 333 | 594 | 1.03 | .96 | BP 9021 1171 | |
| Leonora | 237 | 831 | 1.08 | 1.07 | BP 9037 6023 | |
| Laverton | 124 | 955 | 1.06 | 1.06 | Shell 9031 1210 | |
| Tjukayirla Roadhouse | 307 | 1262 | off road | 1.25 | 1.40 | 9037 1108 |
| Warburton | 255 | 1517 | off road | 1.35 | 1.40 | 8956 7656 |
| Warakurna Roadhouse | 231 | 1748 | off road | 1.40 | 1.30 | 8956 7344 |
| Ayers rock (Uluru) | 377 | 2125 | off & on road | 1.02 | 1.06 | Mobil 8956 2229 |
| Part 2 - to alice and back… | ||||||
| Ayers rock | 0 | 0 | - | - | see above | |
| Erldunda (Stewart hwy) | 242 | 242 | 1.17 | 1.12 | Shell 8956 0984 | |
| Alice Springs | 199 | 441 | 1.06 | 1.06 | Shell 8952 9622 | |
| Gemtree & Arltunga | 260 | 701 | off & on road | 1.22 | 1.13 | 8956 9855 |
| Alice Springs | 114 | 815 | off & on road | - | - | see above |
| Glen Helen | 132 | 947 | off & on road | ~1.25 | ~1.25 | 8956 7489 |
| Kings Canyon | 258 | 1205 | off road | 1.24 | 1.16 | Mobil 8956 7442 |
| Ayers Rock | 312 | 1517 | - | - | see above | |
| Part 3 - back home (reverse of part 1) | ||||||
| Perth | 2125 | 2125 | ||||
| Total Estimated K's | 5767 | |||||
| Total
K's with all options (see below) Including backtrack to Olgas on day 5, Ruby Gap on days 8 & 9, and Palm Valley on day 12. |
6037 |
| NOTE: You can get fuel at all of the waypoints listed, except Arltunga, which is a ghost town, but you can get fuel at Gemtree, which is just before Arltunga. It is still prudent to telephone the remote stations like Tjukayirla and Warakura prior to your trip, to make sure they have stocks of the required fuel. It is also necessary to check with local shires to make sure the outback roads are open. |
Fuel Cost Estimates...
The following figures are
assuming an average price of $1.20 per litre for Diesel and ULP.
6000k @ 26MPG it will cost $ 785 in fuel.
(Rodeo or Hilux 4cyl turbo diesel manual)
6000k @ 19MPG it will cost $1074 in fuel. (Pajero V6 manual)
6000k @ 14MPG it will cost
$1459 in
fuel. (Landcruiser 6cyl Petrol manual)
6000k @ 13MPG it will cost $1276 in
fuel. (Nissan Patrol 6cyl Petrol / Gas Auto) Assumes Gas at half of servos at
75c/L
Rough Itinerary...
| Day | Date | Activity |
| 1 | Sat 29 Sep | Depart Perth 4am. Drive all day (~830k). Camp in vicinity of Leonora. |
| 2 | Sun 30 Sep | Depart 8am. Drive all day East on Great Central rd (off road, ~686k). Camp in vicinity of Warburton. |
| 3 | Mon 1 Oct | Depart 8am. Drive all day East on Great Central rd (off road, ~608k). Camp at Yulara (Ayers rock) caravan park. |
| 4 | Tues 2 Oct | Relax. Explore Ayers rock. Camp at same site. |
| 5 | Wed 3 Oct | Relax. Explore Olgas (Kata Tjuta). Camp at same site. |
| 6 | Thu 4 Oct | Depart 8am. Drive to Alice springs on bitumen (441k). Camp at caravan park. |
| 7 | Fri 5 Oct | Relax. Explore Alice springs. Camp at same site. |
| 8 | Sat 6 Oct | Option 1: Depart early for day trip to Gemtree and
Arltunga, returning to Alice via Ross Highway & Trephina Gorge (on & off road, ~396k). Camp at same site. Option 2: Depart for 2 day trip to Gemtree, Arltunga, and camp in Ruby Gap Nature Park (on & off road, ~303k). Skip is keen for option 2! |
| 9 | Sun 7 Oct | Option 1 cont.:
Relax. Explore Alice springs. Camp at same
site. Option 2 cont.: Leave Ruby Gap and head for Alice via Ross Hwy & Trephina Gorge. (on & off road, ~157k). Camp at caravan park in Alice. |
| 10 | Mon 8 Oct | Depart 8am. Drive west into West McDonald ranges on Mereenie Loop Rd. Explore several sites. Camp in bush. |
| 11 | Tue 9 Oct | Depart 8am. Continue on Mereenie loop rd, exploring several sites. Camp in bush. |
| 12 | Wed 10 Oct | Depart 8am. Continue on to Kings Canyon, then onto Ayers rock. Camp at Yulara caravan park. |
| 13 | Thu 11 Oct | Depart 8am. Head west on great central rd (off road, ~608k). Camp in vicinity of Warburton. |
| 14 | Fri 12 Oct | Depart 8am. Head west on Great Central rd (off road, ~686k). Camp in vicinity of Leonora. |
| 15 | Sat 13 Oct | Depart 8am. Head home on bitumen (830k). |
Mereenie Loop Road
- sites to see (in order) on days 10, 11 & 12:
Simpson's Gap (in West
MacDonnell National Park, along with following sites, up to Tylers Pass)
Stanley Chasm
Ellery Creek big hole (camp sites)
Serpentine Gorge
Serpentine Chalet ruins (camp sites)
Ormiston Gorge & pound (camp sites)
Mt Sonders lookout
Redbank Gorge (camp sites)
Roma Gorge
Tylers Pass Lookout
Gosse Bluff (picnic area)
* Palm Valley - Optional ~55k detour (each way). Skip wants to do
this! (in the Finke Gorge National Park)
Kings Canyon
Kathleen Springs
Kings Creek Station (camp sites)
NOTE: All vehicles must be fully self sufficient. All camping gear, large quantity of water and non-perishable food, first aide kit, spare tyres and parts, etc. UHF CB Radio is a must (we use channel 14). Vehicle must be
Required: 2 rolling spare tyres, UHF CB radio. Must be fully self sufficient. All camping gear, large quantity of water and non-perishable food, first aide kit, spare tyres and parts, etc. UHF CB Radio is a must (we use channel 14). Vehicle must be capable of more than 500k between fuel stops (it is a good idea to carry 1 or 2 jerrys just in case). More details soon. Each vehicle must have a minimum of 2 occupants.
Recovery & safety gear: We already have GPS, Turfa winch, Short Wave receiver, ropes, snatch straps, air jack etc, but we still encourage everyone to bring whatever tools and recovery gear they have. More details soon.
Possible Starters:
Skip (Rodeo turbo diesel)
Cam (Toyota Surf turbo diesel)
Froggy (Landcruiser petrol)
Dwayne (Pajero petrol)
Gadget (Nissan Patrol)
NOTE: This trip is open to
CLUB MEMBERS ONLY!
Contact Alan (me) for more info. Email me.
The best computer company: Heppell I.T.
This page was last updated on 17 Oct 2003
