Bullwinkle and Fryzie's Up the Guts Tour 2012 - Preparation and Planning

G'day lads. Just looking for your comments, ideas and suggestions on a trip I'm planning with my son mid next year. I realise it's all a bit early, but I'll need to spend a bit of coin in the lead up, and like most blokes with a missus, teenage kids and a mortgage, there's not a lot of spare cash around.

My young bloke will be 15 by then and my primary motivation for the trip is that if I wait much longer, he won't want to be seen dead with his old man. Plus I want to see a bit of the countryside. The minister for finance has agreed to us doing this by ourselves because a) she hates camping and b) she is taking our daughter (3 years older) to Thailand at the same time.

I haven't done much camping at all and only have a pretty basic level of mechanical knowledge, so this is where your input will be valuable. I've done a bit of research and pretty much read every thread on this site and a few other touring sites. I come off a farm, so have a fair bit of common sense (I'd like to think) and can turn my hand to anything, so should be Ok. Weather shouldn't be a problem, and we are used to the cold nights coming from Ballarat!

Our plan at this stage is to hire a camper trailer and do a loop that takes in Ballarat, Mildura, Broken Hill, Port Augusta, up the Stuart through Coober Pedy, to Ayres Rock, then to Alice, off the bitumen on the Plenty Highway to Boulia, then Winton, Longreach, down through Bourke, Cobar, Hay, Deni and back home. My thoughts are that we can see plenty of different countryside and sites. Have a look at the mines in Broken Hill, look around Woomera and Coober Pedy, climb the rock, see a bit of desert on the Plenty, Stockman's Hall of Fame at Longreach, mines at Cobar etc. Plenty of variety without getting too adventurous. Probably take 2 or 3 weeks to do all this. Don't want to be in a hurry, but also don't mind putting in a big day if needed.

My Nav is pretty much a bog standard 2003 3l, with an alloy bull bar, spotties and hard lid. Also has an extra leaf in the back to handle a bit of weight and a Hayman Reese heavy duty tow bar. I'll get it looked over by my brother in law who runs his own mechanical business, and I'll need new rear tyres by then. I intend to carry say 60 litres of spare fuel in jerry cans I'll buy - the Nav has the standard 75 litre tank. I'll also carry 20 litres of water and a bit of tucker - debating whether to hire a fridge. We'll stay in camping grounds and cook our own tucker where we can.

I'll need to buy/hire a UHF, which I think is pretty valuable and I have a reasonably well equipped tool box. Might get a high lift jack as well. I'm looking for ideas on spare parts and whether I will need an extra spare tyre for the Nav.

Any suggestions on where to hire a camper would be welcome (Ballarat, Geelong, Melbourne), as well as on my planned route. Things to see and do, that sort of thing. I'm thinking first night at Broken Hill, have a look around there for half a day, 2nd night at Woomera, two nights at Coober Pedy, two or three nights at Ayres Rock/Olgas/Kings Canyon, 2 nights in Alice, a night on the track on the Plenty, next night at Winton (may be a stretch), then a night at Charleville and couple of days to get home from there. This is all of the top of my head, but you get the idea.

I'd like to build in the Birdsville track as well, but that's sort of in the middle and might be a bit advanced for beginners, but again welcome your thoughts.

I'd be interested in comments from anyone who's done a similar trip with a camper trailer or caravan in what to take etc.

PS Love the site - I'm on here most days having a sticky, but don't comment all that much.

Cheers.

bullwinkle said:

Our plan at this stage is to hire a camper trailer

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Can not recommend any hire places, but do your figures and have a look at picking up a second hand unit. Some of these are only $4,000. caveat suitability, but a lot of your trip is main drag so most should be okay.

OTOH, a couple of swags might suffice.

I intend to carry say 60 litres of spare fuel in jerry cans I'll buy - the Nav has the standard 75 litre tank. I'll also carry 20 litres of water and a bit of tucker - debating whether to hire a fridge. We'll stay in camping grounds and cook our own tucker where we can.

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I would suggest doubling the water. You probably won't need it, but if something goes wrong, it is good to have plenty on hand and also for the radiator (just in case).

You could easily skip the fridge and just have a substantial ice box and sling in a bag of ice every couple of days. If you are on the road each day, I expect ice will be easy to pick up

We've only just completed part of this journey ourselves.

From Mildura to Broken Hill and back into SA you have fruit fly exclusion zones to cross. About the only thing they don't mind you taking is lettuce - everything else (onions, tomatoes, potatoes and ANY fruit) is out of the question, so don't bother buying until you hit Port Augusta.

There's a checkpoint at Oodla Wirra where you stop and your vehicle is inspected. There are mobile random checks conducted as well (although we've never been stopped by a mobile unit). When we passed through Oodla Wirra, the guy made me open the fridge so he could inspect it.

Canned fruits/veg, or processed (including dried/dehydrated) are okay.

Best bet is to stock up in Port Augusta. We couldn't find Woolworths there, but when we searched for an ANZ bank, it turns out that one was labelled "ANZ Near Woolworths" and that led us straight there. Buy all you like here, because you can cross from SA to NT with fruit and no problems at all.

The Stuart Highway is a boring drive. It's actually quite tedious. Coober Pedy is a dusty place but it's interesting so it's worth stopping at. There is a caravan park opposite the Caltex, the Caltex fuel isn't too badly priced.

Woomera (turn off at Pimba, there are plenty of signs) was a total waste for us. It looked like a deserted military housing establishment with no lawns and no people. Still, there's a display of missiles and stuff (just follow the main street up the hill, you can't miss it).

Marla is a fuel stop and one of the roads towards Oodnadatta. Fuel is a bit pricy, 25-30cpl higher than city prices.

Erldunda's fuel is about the same price as Marla, so is Yulara (the resort at Uluru). Other places in here are higher priced. Mt Ebenezer was 210.0cpl, Kings Creek Station was 175.6, Kings Canyon Resort was 188.8cpl.

I do recommend looking in at Kings Canyon, it's about 300km from Yulara, check the map - you have to waste some time coming back half that distance to the Lasseter Highway again, unless you take the Ernest Giles Road to Alice Springs - it's free, but bumpy as all get-out and has some soft, deep sandy patches as well. I'd imagine the 99km of Ernest Giles Road would easily consume the same fuel as staying on the tar and driving the 200+km around.

Did I mention that it's $25 per head to get into Uluru? That's a 3-day pass, so you can go in and out again no problems at all. In order to do the sunrise/sunset at both you'll need at least 2 full days anyway.

I don't know anything north of Erldunda - we turned south because of the floods and headed home, instead of heading around through Tennant Creek, Mt Isa etc.

Enjoy the trip - take plenty of photos.

Oh, one more thing. While you're in the centre, make sure you have plenty - and I mean PLENTY - of fresh water. A means of chilling this water would be super-beneficial. A cooler bag (thermally insulated, whatever) would be a bonus. We took 6 litres between my wife and myself when we walked around the rock (3 hours, 2 people, 1 litre per hour) plus a bottle each of Gatorade. Ended up taking us 4 hours, we'd refilled the water halfway around, by then our chilled water was all nice and warm. Next time I'll carry an insulated bag and perhaps a couple of those ice-bricks in there to help.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the quick replies, fellas. Terryc, I've debated the swags vs camper trailer idea, and I reckon 3 weeks in a swag might get a bit tedious. It looks like I can hire a camper trailer for about $450 a week, so it's reasonable value compared to buying a second hand unit that might not get used for a while.

I'm thinking that we'll probably just use the 20 litres of water as a back up and buy bottled water as we need it. Water's usually pretty cheap if you buy say a six pack of 1.25 or 2 litre bottles, some of which can then go in the icebox or fridge.

Tony, thanks for tips on fuel and fruit. You probably just saved me chucking out a heap of fruit, although the tinned idea sounds pretty good.

Thanks again.

Hi Bullwinkle! I did a similar trip with my family when I was a pup, about your son's age actually. I had an absolute ball!

bullwinkle said:

Thanks for the quick replies, fellas. Terryc, I've debated the swags vs camper trailer idea, and I reckon 3 weeks in a swag might get a bit tedious. It looks like I can hire a camper trailer for about $450 a week, so it's reasonable value compared to buying a second hand unit that might not get used for a while..

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Is the trailer 4x4? Although probably not a great idea because you'll be by yourself, a trailer can be very restrictive in terms of tracks you can handle; even if it is 4x4. You also need to think of insurance as well, a lot of things can "just break" out there.

The swag idea would be my preferred choice, but I love my swag. If you find them uncomfortable, then just buy some thicker foam and stick it under your mattress.

The journey you have chosen looks awesome, I would highly recommend walking Kings Canyon. It is bloody hard in the heat, but its just amazing. Tony's point on water is crucial, you can NEVER have enough water.

All the best planning!

G'day rum slurpie. Most of the trip will be on bitumen, but I will hire an offroad camper 'just in case'. I want to be fairly flexible, and that might mean a dirt track detour, but not really planning on anything hardcore 4wd.

If you choose to do something like the Ernest Giles Road, you'll be thankful that you have an off-road thing behind you rather than a soft vehicle.

The corrugations we went over, even at 30km/h, were unbelievable. That might change by the time you get there - I don't know when they grade the road, but watch for the super-soft patches of sand as well. We managed to pull our van through, but we had momentum on our side to help us. If we had stopped, we would not have gotten going again without assistance.

Are you taking any recovery gear?

Tony, I will be buying a full recovery kit, snatch strap, chains, axe, shovel and the like. My ute doesn't get much use at the moment, as I have a company car, so I'm not doing any real 4wding at the moment but I'm not one to take chances. I've got plenty of time to work out what to take and what to leave home. I'd be interested in what you take with you in terms of recovery gear, spares for the ute and cooking and camping gear.

I have done the trip from Ballarat to Bourke a few times and it is boring as bat shit, but it can be done in a day if you try. Best bet would be to stop off for the night somewhere about 1/2 way, maybe Deni.

If you are by your selves most recovery gear will be useless, I would recommend a winch and a sand anchor, but I see you only have an alloy bar so it is probably out of the price range (steel winch bar $1000 + Winch $800 + Suspension to cope with extra weight $1000)

You could look into MaxTrax, still a bit pricey, but allot cheaper than paying for a recovery truck in the bush.

By way of spares you should probably have, radiator hose to and bottom, Belt, turbo/intake hoses, oil, coolant, cable ties, gafa tape, wd40 and headlight globes just to name a few things.

I vote swags and onsite cabins.

Most of the planned trip is on bitumen with the exception of 800 k's on the Plenty Highway, which is supposed to be a very well maintained gravel road most of the way. So I don't reckon I'll need a winch. Still debating the swags/tent vs camper trailer issue, but leaning towards the trailer for comfort and practicality. I was thinking of a similar list of spares. The Plenty Highway is supposed to be full of sharp stones, so I'm thinking of taking an extra spare tyre and wheel.

You could get away with a hand winch, star picket and a 14lb hammer if you put a rated recovery point on the front and rear of your Nav. It'd be hard work if you DO get stuck, but you'd get yourself out.

I have a steel bar with winch and upgraded front springs. I carry bow shackles, tree trunk protector, winch extension, air compressor ... here, I made a thread and in this post I put a picture, which I include below too:



In all honesty I am not sure I'd be happy doing that trip in a popup or fold-out camper. The road is so long, and takes days to drive it, that you need to stop in rest areas. Swags would be almost out of the question for me.

Onsite cabins are a good idea if you can get to the destination in one hit, but the trip from Broken Hill to Yulara took us a while. We were in Broken Hill on Christmas day (started at Dubbo at about 7am). We stayed overnight just outside Orroroo then drove through to Port Augusta next morning. We stayed the next night at Marla (we just stopped in the access road to the truck parking area tucked under a tree) and arrived late in the day at Kings Canyon Resort.

Still, it's an adventure, and that's the part that colours our lives and enriches us.

Since your trip is not rigorous low range then pack for same.
An air compressor would be good to be able lower your tyre pressures to suit the terrain.
A snatch strap and shackles would suffice as recovery equipment. Winch would not be required as you would not have to wait too long before some one came along. For sand or even mud then a length of shade cloth is equal to Maxtrax so I have heard - not yet tried it - and takes up less room.
Take water and lots of it. You can get those 5 or 10l casks and remove the goon bag to stuff into or under crevaces in the vehicle. Under the front seats f'rinstance as a back up or even amongst your luggage as they will conform to whatever space you have.
Take a tyre repair kit to get you mobile to the next town instead of carrying another wheel/tyre.
Since it will only be the 2 of you look at removing the rear seat entirely to pack belongings neatly in the cab.
Dont hire a UHF. Buy one, use it and sell it on return for much less than hiring.
Likewise a fridge or long life esky.
If your concerned about safety, and you should be, then get an EPIRB or SPOT. much more useful than UHF if you are truly in distress.

Also with the high lift, it wont be much use unless you have steel barwork all round ie, rock sliders bull bar and rear steel bar as you will just crush your sills or bend your alloy bar.

Don't mean to be a wet blanket on everything. I am planning a trip up to Cape York probably in 2012 so I have to look into buying all of these things as well.

A 300w or 600W inverter would assist in charging phones, cameras, laptops etc all at once in the back instead of multiple sockets dangling around the cig socket.

Aido said:

A 300w or 600W inverter would assist in charging phones, cameras, laptops etc all at once in the back instead of multiple sockets dangling around the cig socket.

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Just be aware that a 600W inverter under full load is going to pull about 50A from your battery (600/12 = 50). Be sure to add up the wattage of the devices you're using so you don't overload things, and if you've got something that needs a bit of power, try to run it only when the vehicle is in motion (or you're in a cabin or powered site).

Old.Tony said:

Just be aware that a 600W inverter under full load is going to pull about 50A from your battery (600/12 = 50). Be sure to add up the wattage of the devices you're using so you don't overload things, and if you've got something that needs a bit of power, try to run it only when the vehicle is in motion (or you're in a cabin or powered site).

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I have a 300w inverter in the work van (cheapie) that I use for charging the DeWalt and Makita batteries and it only draws 2.5amp. It was cheaper than buying in car chargers and they are ready to go when I get onsite.
I dont dispute your mathematics Tony but.... Power Inverter 300W (600 Watt Peak) 8ZED | Performance Shop

I have three of these 300W inverters from Jaycar. Can't really fault them. One lives in the tub, one in the van, and the other under the back seat of the cabin, for charging laptops and cameras while we're on the go.

Tony, thanks for that link to the other thread. After reading that, I'll avoid the high lift jack. I've been looking at air compressors, cigarette lighter power splitters, recovery kits etc on ebay to get a bit of an idea of what's available. I'll probably get an air compressor soon as it will get a bit of use on my ride-on and my son's quad.

I've thought about taking out the back seat, but I'll have plenty of room in the tub, and it has a lockable lid. There's only two of us, so we should have plenty of room seeing as the trailer will also have storage room. If we decide on taking swags, it will be a different story and the back seat will probably come out.

I read somewhere about someone who'd made their own version of maxtrax by cutting down milk-crates and tying the pieces together. Seemed like a pretty good idea and was appealing price-wise given I'm a bit of a tight-arse. Maxtrax are bloody dear given they're just a bit of moulded plastic.

I live in Tight arse town too and like that idea of milk crates!
Why spend stupid money on simple solutions?

If you can mate find time to come out and kick tyres on some other Vic vehicles to get an idea of what others have done.
Heata is preparing for a big trip at the moment and has some good ideas.