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Dave
Yes, it's a good drive Dave, though I think SA has better and nicer more scenic routes.
And yes, we did end up staying in Echuca for two nights, got a great deal in a brand new unit in town.
Did the Paddler steamer trip though it was the coldest day in 3 weeks plus I got a filthy cold that made it a little harder to enjoy. The wife loved it. The paddler steamer was nice and there were only 6 people on board.
Tomorrow we leave for home via Wagga or there abouts, and we may spend one more night somewhere depending on how I feel (cold wise). Trust me to get a cold towards the end.
I will post some things on my observations on the trip , so to help others who may think of doing something similar.
I am happy that I upgraded my suspension to accommodate the rough roads, I have bilsteins with flexy coils, which worked a treat (though one shock seeps a little but still worked well. and that I have the unlimited rather than a 2 door. Not sure how others do it in a shorty. Also very impressed with the BFgoodrich km2 tyres. They are an exceptional tyre on and off road with minimal noise, plenty of grip with no loss of traction on dirt plus they have worn little over the time since being on the JK and the WJ. The economy improved as the days went on and I put that down to the quality of fuel in the bush. They seem to use a thing called metrogas, which I've never heard of. Now getting a respectable fuel usage (once I started using caltex or shell) of about low to mid 12/100, rather than mid 14 earlier in the piece. The trick for me was to set the cruise at 100. It did not like doing 110 or more for some reason both in economy and smoothness on the road. It is after all a brick on wheels and designed for tough tracks rather than touring. but it can be made to be close to it.
I was also surprised on the seating as I thought my back (which is not the best anyway) would ache over the time. It was fairly comfortable and the wife thought so too.
Some things I recommend to do and which I would do before next trip, is get bonnet locks as the bonnet moved a lot when heading into head winds or a truck. Install a set of drawers to help with organisation and to prevent dust ingress. Though I was surprised that the dust inside was minimal but much much better than I expected. Use several smaller bags rather a big suite case.
While my 5" garmin gps did a good job and most tracks are catered for, it just does not cut it for touring the outback. It does however give you routable topo which I think no other GPS does. I think a ipad with hema maps along with a paper map will make a worthwhile complement with my Garmin and make it a lot easier to navigate. It also would help when researching things like accommodation and points of interest rather than my little screen iphone. Talking about Iphone. Optus is crap outside major cities, Also most times, Angela's little android samsung got 3g when I got nothing at all. Very strange....
The longest stint between reliable fuel was about 540k so I was happy I had the AUX tank, though I may have made it on one normal tank.
Dave, I kept thinking of your recent, "interaction with an Emu" when travelling, as there were heaps of Emu, Goats, Roos, Cattle all over the place BUT no camels!
we have about 700 piccies...
Most memorable moment was standing on top of Big Red. See attachement
Attachment 2369
That will do for the moment.
Steve
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That's a great photo Steve.
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Awesome photo! Last time we were there - club trip 2010 - all you could see was water! Where those cars are parked was about one metre deep!
It is an awesome part of the country to visit, and depending on other trips (possible Cape York, jambo etc etc) I'd like to get back out there in the next year or two! Full desert crossing this time!
See you next meeting, and really glad you had such a good trip - except for the cold!
Dave
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Dave, it was wonderful. Angela took heaps of photos. The other side did have water and there was a diversion around the lake.
It certainly encouraged me AND surprisingly Angela, who is already planning next trip. Flinders sounds nice, as it's very beautiful from where we passed by or Kakadu (but that's a long way away and would need many weeks. I might look into shipping the Jeep some how as it would make the trip so much better for me (bad back) .
One thing I learnt is to take more rest days, to help recover and enjoy it so much better. For me anyway.
We managed to do about 6000ks. Whoa that's a lot.
Ill talk with you at the Sept Meeting
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Dave
Just one of many photos
:Attachment 2373
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Just some of the many photos we took. enjoy
Attachment 2394 The worst Corrugation of the trip 50k of rough as guts
Attachment 2395 Silverton Pub
Attachment 2396 Airing down just after Broken Hill towards Pack Saddle
Attachment 2397 Flowers a plenty
Attachment 2398 Great Pub food
Attachment 2399 A more scenic trip rather than the main road
Attachment 2400Attachment 2401
Attachment 2402 Attachment 2403 Just for DAVE and GLEN - we Took the Walkers crossing which was just opened after 3 years, saved about 100k. ps that should read walkers crossing not Birdsville Track
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More images:
Attachment 2404 Typical of nothing around
Attachment 2405 Lunch where ever you wanted
Attachment 2406 Finally made our main goal
Attachment 2407 Drinks in the Birdsville Pub
Attachment 2408 All sorts of vehicles, not all made it up. Many tag along tours too
Attachment 2409 Where I started
Attachment 2410 Made it up in one go, to the astonishment of onlookers, GO THE JK
Attachment 2411 Amazing Views at the top and the Highlight of our Dream Trip
Attachment 2412 Plenty of this
Attachment 2413 Heaps of these signs but only really crossed one creek with water in the whole trip
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Attachment 2422 A little fellow we came across, wasn't happy for me to move him off the road
Attachment 2423 LAke Eyre was amazing place to see. Took ous nearly 30 minutes to get to the edge
Attachment 2424 A true highlight of the trip. So vast, empty yet full of things
Attachment 2425 Attachment 2426 A worth while investment
Attachment 2427 PLenty of bikers with organised tours, and many overseas participants. real friendly but MAD
Attachment 2428 Took us 25 minutes to just walk to the end
Attachment 2429 6am and freezing at William Creek
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Steve, that big red sand dune, would that have been doable with a camper trailer, or was it stupid soft????
Btw, love the pics!!!
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Wally
I doubt that many 4wd would do it with a trailer. I "just" managed it first time on two different approaches but I put that down to the power & lighter weight. The muddies held it up a bit as they dug in quite a lot (see photos) and I only dropped down to 18psi.
There were many others, mostly loaded up to the hilt that really struggled or gave up after several attempts. They included many of common models. The were Pajs, GU, Prados, FJ (just could not get close) There was a GU patrol diesel that could not do it (looked heavy) but I suggest he do it in high range, he laughed but said he'd try it and the result was a success on his 4th attempt. He was a happy camper . Im quite impressed with the pajero's abilities and they were very common among the grey nomands pulling vans.