First overland trip in Australia - advice please!

Thanks chaps. Definitely binned the Uluru leg!

So now I'm thinking about the Simpson and back.

3 days to Birdsville
Then I was thinking of picking a route through the desert and see some interesting stuff.

I heard that the Oodnadatta and Strezlecki tracks are worth a look but happy to spend the time going somewhere nicer if there are good suggestions.
Cameron Corner and Broken Hill before a big day back to Sydney also seems like a good idea.

If I do Sydney-Birdsville, Oo Track, Strez Track and then to CC, BH and Sydney, on the basis of a 9am start and 4pm finish, will 14 days be enough time to cover the ground or am I still biting off more than I can chew?

Are there better places to go and things to see?

As ever, I appreciate your advice and suggestions. It's the first time the g/f will be coming away for more than 1 night so I don't want to push her too hard by being on the road 12 hrs a day

Bobby

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Originally Posted by The Cone of Silence

If I do Sydney-Birdsville, Oo Track, Strez Track and then to CC, BH and Sydney, on the basis of a 9am start and 4pm finish, will 14 days be enough time to cover the ground or am I still biting off more than I can chew?......
Bobby

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Sydney- Birdsville around 3 days at 7 hours a day, the Desert is 2-3 days depending. Oo Track is a days drive if you aren't sightseeing, same with the Birdsville or Strez tracks. Cc to BH is a day and BH to Sydney is around 11-12 hours. That's full on around 10 days actual driving, so there are 4 days to play with and see stuff. I tend to do big days to get out there and back with shorter days while I'm there. I make a list of all the sites I'm interested in seeing and all the campsites I would like to stay at and then hop between them. I love it out there. You could can the Strez and CC for another trip and see the Flinders Ranges instead. They are better for scenery and activities plus give a quicker run home through BH.

what mikehzz, theyre going to be nothing but driving, driving, driving.....don't see how you can get 4 spare days out of it.....

Come to think of it, I did a run like that once. In days, it went Sydney, Bourke, CC (big day), Birdsville via Innamincka & Walkers crossing, 2 days in the desert to Mt Dare, Lake Eyre near William Creek, Marree, Wilpena Pound, Broken Hill, Nyngan, Sydney. I like travelling, getting out and looking at stuff then moving on. Others like to sit and ponder and that's ok. You have to make sure your passengers like your mode of operation. :)

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Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

what mikehzz, theyre going to be nothing but driving, driving, driving.....don't see how you can get 4 spare days out of it.....

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I was sort of pointing that out I thought. There are 10 full days driving...that leaves 4 days?

why only 3 days recommended in the simpson.....I spent 14 last august and could have done more. This is their first overland trip.....minimum driving , maximum leisure is what we should be aiming at for them.....Bobby, you are welcome to discuss this privately with me....I have been up and down those tracks 20 times maybe and grew up in the country between Camerons corner and Broken Hill....born there. I think you are being advised to drive too much and possibly not enjoy your trip as much as you could. No offence meant to any person saying that...

I did the Simpson (East - West) in a SIII in 2006, and we also did Alice, Boggy Hole, Uluru, Kings Canyon... in two weeks (from Melbourne - return). With some breakdowns - it was a great trip, it convinced me to buy the Defender :)

You can read the saga at http://www.aulro.com/afvb/sa-reports...rt-2006-a.html

suffice to say, a 2 week trip with the extra milage you initially proposed is do-able.

- While we enjoyed the pace of the trip, we did all determine that next time we'd take our time. A point already made by others.

I hereby bow out of this..............

me too, Bob

No offence taken. :D Some of us have buckleys chance of getting away for any length of time due to work commitments. I have no hope of spending 14 days in the desert especially when it takes 3 to get there and 2-3 to get back. Still, I've been there 4 times in the last 5 years and seen plenty of it. The good thing is that it has been different every time. Some of us have to take it where we can and make the best of it. My comments were intended to point out the heavy amount of driving involved and the possible days available to him on his limited time schedule. Not ideal but doable if you are so inclined, but an ordeal to others with time up their sleeves.