Ayers Rock trip - July 2004
Trip Planning Page
| Trip Leader:
Skip Start date: Friday 9th July, 2004 (Day before 1st day of school holidays) Duration: 17 days (2 weeks & 3 days) Distance: 7000k approx. Trip Summary: Drive from Perth to Barossa valley, up to Alice springs, and home via Ayers rock and the Great Central Road. Rough plan: Drive from Perth via bitumen East to Barossa Valley near Adelaide, north on the Stuart hwy, checking out Woomera, Coober Pedy and Chambers Pillar on the way, to Alice springs. Perhaps do some exploring around Alice. Then west probably via the Mereenie loop road via gorge after gorge to Kings Canyon and then Ayers rock. Then continue west to the Olgas, then onto the long haul west on the dirt of the Great Central road, to Laverton. The via bitumen to Menzies, Kalgoorlie, then home. NOTE - Several changes were made to the itinerary on route. See comments marked in Red in the Itinerary section below. |
 
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Detailed distances. All waypoints have fuel available (see notes below)... NOTE - Several changes were made to the itinerary on route. See comments marked in Red in the Itinerary section below.
| Waypoint | Distance from Last Waypoint | Distance from Start | Off Road? | ~Diesel price/L |
Servo. Price at 20 Apr 2004 |
| Part 1 - to Barossa Valley… | |||||
| Perth | 0 | ||||
| Merriden | 261 | .97 | |||
| Kalgoorlie | 333 | 1.03 | |||
| Norsman | 166 | 1.08 | BP 9039 1010 | ||
| Cocklebiddy | 373 | 1.29 | BP 9039 3462 | ||
| Eucla | 340 | 1.29 | Mobil 9039 3474 | ||
| Yalata | 293 | 1.32 | 8625 6986 | ||
| Ceduna | 202 | .98 |
Ceduna fuel & tyres 8625 2911 |
||
| Kyancutta | 222 | 8681 2014? | |||
| Port Augusta | 243 | .97 | Shell 8642 6488 | ||
| Port Wakefield | 224 | .99 | Shell 8867 1008 | ||
| Barossa Valley | ~100 | ||||
|
Sub total |
2757 |
||||
| Part 2 - Barossa Valley to Alice & Ayers... | |||||
| Barossa Valley | 0 | - | |||
| Port Augusta | 324 | .97 | |||
| Woomera | 173 | Timber roadhouse? | |||
| Coober pedy (option - do this via Borefield rd & Oodnadatta track, turning west at William creek, 472k, with 408 being off-road!) | 367 | (see option) | 1.06 |
Shell 8672 5830 Mobil 8672 5703 |
|
| Marla | 235 | 1.22 | 8670 7001 | ||
| Erldunda | 180 | 1.19 | 8956 0984 | ||
| Alice Springs via Chambers Pillar | 199 | off road | - | ||
| Glen Helen | 132 | 1.26 | 8956 7489 | ||
| Kings Canyon | 258 | 1.26 | Mobil 8956 7442 | ||
| Ayers Rock | 312 | 1.15 | |||
|
Sub total |
2180 |
||||
| Part 3 - back home (via Great Central Rd) | |||||
| Ayers rock (Uluru) | 0 | on &off road | 1.15 | Mobil 8956 2229 | |
| Warakurna Roadhouse | 377 | off road | 1.40 | 8956 7344 | |
| Warburton | 231 | off road | 1.46 | 8956 7656 | |
| Tjukayirla Roadhouse | 255 | off road | 1.40 | 9037 1108 | |
| Laverton | 307 | off road | 1.16 | Shell 9031 1210 | |
| Leonora | 124 | 1.08 | BP 9037 6023 | ||
| Kalgoorlie | 237 | 1.03 | BP 9021 1171 | ||
| Merredin | 333 | .97 | BP 9041 1620 | ||
| Perth | 261 | .94 | All | ||
|
Sub total |
2125 |
||||
| Total Estimated K's |
~7062 |
||||
| Total K's with all options (see below) |
Fuel Cost Estimates...
The following figures are
assuming an average price of $1.20 per litre for Diesel.
7000k @ 12L/100k it will cost $1008 in fuel.
(Hilux diesel)
7000k @ 13L/100k it will cost $1092 in fuel. (Surf diesel)
7000k @ 14L/100k it will cost $1176 in
fuel. (Nissan patrol Diesel)
7000k @ 15L/100k it will cost $1260 in
fuel. (Patrol diesel towing light camper)
Rough Itinerary...
| Day | Date (July) | Activity |
| 1 | Fri 9th | Driving East via Coolgardie, Norsman, Nullarbor, approx 950k. Bush camp roadside at Cocklebiddy cave. NOTE - We could not find the cave, and so camped in the bush just East of Cocklebiddy. |
| 2 | Sat 10th | Driving East via Nullarbor for 950k. Bush camp roadside (between Yalata & Ceduna). |
| 3 | Sun 11th | Driving East 870k. Camp in Barossa caravan park (2 nights) |
| 4 | Mon 12th | Explore Barossa Valley. Camp in Barossa caravan park |
| 5 | Tue 13th | Drive North to Woomera & Explore (approx 500k). Bush camp near Woomera. NOTE - We ended up camping in Woomera caravan park as we could not find a suitable bush camp site - it was all flat arid land with no trees! We visited the space museum the next morning. |
| 6 | Wed 14th | Drive north to Coober Pedy & Explore (367k). Caravan park camp in Coober Pedy. |
| 7 | Thu 15th | Drive north to Chambers Pillar (approx 450k). Bush camp at Chambers. NOTE - We ended up driving north on minor tracks through the Breakaways, the Painted desert, the Dog fence to Oodnadatta, then to Dalhousie springs, Mount Dare, Finke, then to Alice via the Old Ghan track. We camped in the bush near Finke if I remember correctly, then finished the drive to Alice the following day. |
| 8 | Fri 16th | Drive north to Alice (on dirt approx 100k). Time to shop for supplies in arvo. Camp in McDonald caravan park (3 nights). NOTE - continuation of previous day's drive. |
| 9 | Sat 17th | Explore Alice or day trip to Arltunga, or Ruby Gap. Camp in McDonald caravan park. NOTE - Ended up exploring Alice, getting trailer welded up, visiting local sites such as lookout, reptile park etc. |
| 10 | Sun 18th | Explore Alice or day trip to Arltunga, or Ruby Gap. Camp in McDonald caravan park. NOTE - Ended up doing a big day trip... along the Plenty highway to Gemtree, then via Territory 4WD Explorer router to Artunga, then out to Ruby Gap, and a night drive back to Alice. |
| 11 | Mon 19th | Drive West on Mereenie loop rd. Bush camp near Serpentine Gorge. |
| 12 | Tues 20th | Drive West on Mereenie loop rd (dirt). Bush camp at Palm Valley. |
| 13 | Wed 21st | Drive West to Ayers on Mereenie loop rd (dirt). Caravan park at Ayers (2 nights) |
| 14 | Thu 22nd | Explore Ayers rock. Caravan park at Ayers |
| 15 | Fri 23rd | Driving west on dirt (approx 600k on dirt). Bush camp roadside (between Warburton & Tjukayirla) |
| 16 | Sat 24th | Driving west on dirt (approx 700k dirt + bitumen). Bush camp roadside (between Leonora & Kalgoorlie). NOTE - Ended up pushing on to Kalgoorlie due to rain, and staying in a Motel. |
| 17 | Sun 25th | Driving west on bitumen (approx 800k). Sleep in nice comfy bed at home. |
Camping summary: Bush camp: 8 nights, Caravan park: 8 nights
Woomera:
Spaceport Woomera Pty Ltd: 8673 7927
Heritage Centre (Space museum): 8673 7042
Woomera
Caravan Park: 8673 7800
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)
Required: 1 rolling spare tyre, UHF CB radio (Channel 10). Although 1 rolling spare is required, having a 2nd rolling spare, case, tube or repair capability is recommended. Must be fully self sufficient. All camping gear, large quantity of water and non-perishable food, first aide kit, etc. 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). Due to the large distances covered on this trip, each vehicle must have a minimum of 2 occupants, so the driving can be shared etc.
Recovery & safety gear: We already have GPS, Epirb, snatch straps, air jack etc, but we still encourage everyone to bring whatever tools and recovery gear they have.
Possible Starters:
Skip (Toyota Hilux turbo diesel) - Confirmed
Chris & Christine (Toyota Surf turbo diesel) - Confirmed
Pluto (Nissan Patrol turbo diesel) - Confirmed - joining convoy at Coober Pedy
This trip is now closed, as
accommodation is booked.
Contact Alan (me) for more info. Email me.
The best computer company: Heppell I.T.
This page was last updated on 26 Jul 2004
