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We have just returned from our trip to the red centre via the Oodnadatta track and the painted desert. We had a couple stops in NSW on our way across including Dubbo (where it was –3° one night), Cobar and Broken Hill. In Dubbo we took our little guy to Dubbo Zoo for the day, where the little fellow a great time!
Eventually we got to South Australia and the Oodnadatta Track. Just up the road from Maree we found the local airport
and bus service!!!
Spent the night in Oodnadatta at the “Pink Road House Caravan Park”
Clearly it was not as busy as the day Malcur and his group were there a few weeks prior! We then headed out to the painted desert and rejoined the highway at Cadney Roadhouse. The Painted desert was simply amazing.
After a night at Marla it was off to Yulara – how is this for a view 20 metres from the tent door??
It was here in Yulara that we had our only real problem with the camper trailer when the battery in the trailer exploded, after the 240v charger failed.
Maybe one of you electronic orientated people out there can explain why this happened.
We decided to head for Alice instead of Kings Canyon so we could get the problem fixed. Thanks must go to the guys at Top Gear (ARB) in Alice for answering their phone at 1800hrs and agreeing to fix the trailer first thing the next morning, also must thank the guys in Sydney that we hired the trailer from for producing their credit card number without any dramas etc.
The upside to getting to Alice early was that the boat races were on!
Tried to catch up with Mav and some and some of the other guys in Alice, but they were all interstate or had prior engagements etc – next time!
After Alice we headed for Palm Valley – what a spot!
Then off to Kings Canyon – and for you all you guys that thought the Mereenie loop was bad, you should have waited a bit longer, it was graded 3 days before we got there and it was like a highway (again thank you to the battery for delaying our drive along this road).
Kings Canyon is another one of those fabulous places!
Believe the diesel was expensive here – but because the Prado has 180 litre tanks, who cares we didn’t need any!
Had to start seriously thinking about going home so we went straight to Coober Pedy from Kings Canyon, where we had another couple of days.
Living underground clearly causes the locals to do strange things with their motor cars.
But the local economy was better off for our visit, as Linda conned me into buying her a lovely set of Opal earrings (think the words she used were – can I have the credit card please?)
We were now fast running out of time so we only had a couple of stops on the way home to sunny Nelson Bay.
Some Stats
Vehicle – 2007 D4D Automatic VX Prado
Tyres – BFG
Camper trailer – Challenge Camper trailer (hired, this is a good thing as there is no paint left on it after some of the dirt roads)
Fuel used – lots
Cost – plenty
Average litres per 100km – about 13.8 (the only thing I did keep track of)
Air Pressure on the dirt roads etc - Front 20psi, back 25 psi, trailer 20 psi, also let the air bags down in the back a little – no punctures!
Used cardboard on the back window – couldn’t see out the back, too much dust to see anyway, and there were a few dings in the cardboard so I suspect it did its thing.
KM’s travelled 7200km’s
In all the three of us had a great time and we have already started planning the next one. If anyone one would like some specific info on what we did, where we went just let me know.
Cheers
Lindsay
Eventually we got to South Australia and the Oodnadatta Track. Just up the road from Maree we found the local airport
and bus service!!!
Spent the night in Oodnadatta at the “Pink Road House Caravan Park”
Clearly it was not as busy as the day Malcur and his group were there a few weeks prior! We then headed out to the painted desert and rejoined the highway at Cadney Roadhouse. The Painted desert was simply amazing.
After a night at Marla it was off to Yulara – how is this for a view 20 metres from the tent door??
It was here in Yulara that we had our only real problem with the camper trailer when the battery in the trailer exploded, after the 240v charger failed.
Maybe one of you electronic orientated people out there can explain why this happened.
We decided to head for Alice instead of Kings Canyon so we could get the problem fixed. Thanks must go to the guys at Top Gear (ARB) in Alice for answering their phone at 1800hrs and agreeing to fix the trailer first thing the next morning, also must thank the guys in Sydney that we hired the trailer from for producing their credit card number without any dramas etc.
The upside to getting to Alice early was that the boat races were on!
Tried to catch up with Mav and some and some of the other guys in Alice, but they were all interstate or had prior engagements etc – next time!
After Alice we headed for Palm Valley – what a spot!
Then off to Kings Canyon – and for you all you guys that thought the Mereenie loop was bad, you should have waited a bit longer, it was graded 3 days before we got there and it was like a highway (again thank you to the battery for delaying our drive along this road).
Kings Canyon is another one of those fabulous places!
Believe the diesel was expensive here – but because the Prado has 180 litre tanks, who cares we didn’t need any!
Had to start seriously thinking about going home so we went straight to Coober Pedy from Kings Canyon, where we had another couple of days.
Living underground clearly causes the locals to do strange things with their motor cars.
But the local economy was better off for our visit, as Linda conned me into buying her a lovely set of Opal earrings (think the words she used were – can I have the credit card please?)
We were now fast running out of time so we only had a couple of stops on the way home to sunny Nelson Bay.
Some Stats
Vehicle – 2007 D4D Automatic VX Prado
Tyres – BFG
Camper trailer – Challenge Camper trailer (hired, this is a good thing as there is no paint left on it after some of the dirt roads)
Fuel used – lots
Cost – plenty
Average litres per 100km – about 13.8 (the only thing I did keep track of)
Air Pressure on the dirt roads etc - Front 20psi, back 25 psi, trailer 20 psi, also let the air bags down in the back a little – no punctures!
Used cardboard on the back window – couldn’t see out the back, too much dust to see anyway, and there were a few dings in the cardboard so I suspect it did its thing.
KM’s travelled 7200km’s
In all the three of us had a great time and we have already started planning the next one. If anyone one would like some specific info on what we did, where we went just let me know.
Cheers
Lindsay
Snaga
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