"Sydney to Birdsville

I agree I can say it is very cold at night here in Broken Hill

What I was really after was a bit of general information. My partner is going to take a 4wd course shortly. Our Pathfinder is in good nick & has all new suspension. We are trying to work out how to carry the extra petrol we will need, we have thought about water, food, clothes for hot, cold & wet - good boots. We are going to hire a Satellite phone and get a CB radio. We have a couple of LED lanterns, the wind up type. We have thought about something to for inflating the tyres etc. We have yet to buy a tent, blow up mattresses, bedding etc. We have a cooker, and some camping gear. Jack etc will be with the car. We have kinda thought 2 spare tyres, because we are not going for a long time we are trying to minimise by just taking the car and not a trailer as we thought it might be something extra to worry about, but
I'm not too sure about camping as opposed to camper trailer?

I do realise you can cover every eventuality, hence asking for a bit of advice
thanks a lot for replying Cheers Judy & Mick

Sorry meant cannot cover every eventuality

Hi Judy,
Maybe our blog on how we have set up our Troopy might give you some ideas - have a look here. Also see our Profile for further info on what we take with us.

To respond to some specific points:
If you are going to see Lake Eyre you will be going on some quite corrugated tracks so you will need to lower your tyre pressure - so you will need to be able to reinflate your tyres when you get back onto bitumen, so you should carry a decent compressor (not one of the tiny cheapies which will take ages and burn out pretty quickly).

Blow up mattresses are cold. Suggest look at a foam mattress, maybe a self inflating mattress which I understand are warm and comfortable although I have never used one.

It would seem you are still in the process of setting up for your trip. Whatever you do, try to have at least one shakedown trip so you can sort out inevitable problems before you start on your trip. Its much easier to fix issues while you are at home than when you are out on a trip.

Oh, and make sure you get some 4WD training too - at the very least you will enjoy the experience of 4Wdriving if you understand what your vehicle can do. Apart from 4WDing being fun, you do need to consider how you would cope if you are off the beaten track and your partner has an accident and cant drive. So often we go to great lengths to have back ups for every bit of gear we take, but overlook having a back-up driver!

Good luck with it all, and Im sure many on here will be happy to answer your specific questions.

Cheers,

Val

Hi, you have certainly mentioned a few things that will help us.

We have not got our route planned yet, we are in Sydney.

My better half is going to do a 4wd course, not that we plan on doing any outrageous, but would for example, all going well, love to visit Lake Eyre.

We have 3 weeks, but not tied to the absolute wire with time.

We have yet to but a tent - I haven't camped for years, but he has, however not for a while, and is quite an organised person.

We have a Pathfinder, good suspension, easy to drive. I'm a bit not sure about the camping part as opposed to a camper trailer, but the trailers is just one more thing to worry about.
Cheers Judy & Mick

Just a note about mice getting into the engine bay - when you park at the end of the day open your bonnet a bit.

This will cool it down and discourage the critters getting in there to keep warm and chewing on stuff while they're in there.

Steve

My camping experience in the last few years is nil, however my partner is done a bit of it - hence we are asking for advice. I have done a fair bit of travelling overseas and in Oz

We are driving a Pathfinder, with good suspension, it will be well serviced and prepared for the trip.

We have thought about the usual i.e. Spare tyres, Petrol, water and food, clothing. We intend hiring a Satellite phone and to get a CB radio.

My other half - Mick - is going to do a 4wd course and is quite a sensible organised type of guy - we have yet to buy the tent etc. We will be doing that at the end of this month and get some good maps to plan some sort of route. The car is going in for a big service etc beginning of June and then just another follow up one before we leave, which will be around 8 August.

The main objective is Birdsville - not for the races - would love to take in Lake Eyre and maybe the Oondatta Track, but its all pretty loose at the moment and we not want to take on anything we feel is completely beyond us.

Cheers Judy & Mick

Hi Mal,
We were thinking of heading out Broken Hill way, so what you mentioned could be a good idea to start, have to start somewhere.

Have made a note of the Map Set you mentioned. We are going to start buying what we need over the next week or so. We will be as prepared as we can be, can't cover every eventuality, do not intend to take on anything too rigorous.

Rightly or wrongly I thought the Birdsville Track would be a good place even for new trekkers like us so long as we are prepared. One reason for that is that it is a relatively well travelled track, not as isolated as some other regions.

We are pretty loose with directions, like to leave somethings to chance, certain places interest me but not sure how they come together. For instance like to see Camerons Corner, maybe do the Oondatta Track, Lake Eyre.

Hi Judy
A well maintained and prepared Pathfinder is more than capable to do your trip.
It is not a hard trek unless it rains and then it can be a nightmare.

Do a couple of weekends away up Turon way to test out your camping setup and bedding.

I suggest you head up to Bourke and then over to Birdsville via Cameron's Corner and then head home via the bottom end through Broken Hill and even add a bit of time in the Flinders if you want

It is a fantastic trip and I am confident you will love it

Hi Alby NSW

Thanks for that, I'm hoping it doesn't rain!!!! We are setting off around 8 August, we can add a few days at the end if we want to - might never want to come back to normal world!!!!!

As I've said we are going to purchase as much of our gear as we can over the next few weeks.

Where is Turon?

I'm very excited, wish we were going to tomorrow....I've seen some of the outback, but not this remote.Birdsville has always interested me - when it came up for lease some years ago, we considered applying but didn't follow it up - that would have been a different life for us as opposed to Sydney!!!!

Turon is just the other side of Lithgow
There are lots of place in the vicinity that you could go
I suggested up that way as it gets nice and cold at night to check your bedding
I find Birdsville a little ho hum ( except for the curry camel pies at the bakery) compared to the other places you will visit on the way
The whole corner country and Cordillo Downs area is beautiful country as is the Oodnadatta track and its old buildings and bridges
I head out into this area every year and look forward to the day I don't return to Sydney

Sounds like a good idea - Turon - that is.

As I said we haven't got the maps yet - but we do want to do the Oodnadatta Track and see Lake Eyre and other things I don't know about really yet. Sounds really interesting.

Birdsville maybe ho hum to you somewhat, but I guess if you are not prepared you can still get into a lot trouble....I intend to do a bit more of this outbacking, hopefully this is just the start, there are so many places I want to see

Sorry what I meant regarding Birdsville is that I like a lot of the other places that you will be passing through better than Birdsville itself, but still a must see just the same

thanks for the tips specific to the Pathfinder - we realise fuel can been an issue and were trying to work out how to carry extra fuel. Any suggestions?

We did think about towing a small trailer for fuel, water and other heavy bits and pieces, any views? We were thinking it would be easy just to have the car, but its just the logistics of carrying what you need!!!

With regard to carrying extra fuel, know what your tank range is, allow for higher fuel consumption, study how far between petrol stations, and fill up every time you go thru a village/town. Don't carry more fuel than is necessary. It's extra weight and space.
Carry enough water for 5 ltrs per person per day, and add enough for a couple of extra days.
Have a plug kit for punctured tyres, and don't scrimp on the compressor - it's my most used piece of gear.
If you don't have a fridge, consider hiring one. Dual batteries would be useful.
Make sure you have spare hoses and belts - replace before you leave, and take the old ones as spares.
I am set up to drop the van off and be able to camp. In the early days, I Had a box for Kitchen Utensils, one for food, one each for clothes, and one for recovery gear and tools. Soft gear on top of boxes (sleeping bags, mattresses etc). Spare wheel, jerry can and tent on the roof. I have since built a set of drawers that are deeper than usual, and can take crates inside them, but the principle is the same.

cheers
Laurie

Just a thought if you decide on self inflating mattresses to maybe take a small plastic rake to rid your tent area of the dreaded spikes as they may pierce your mattress.
Also a piece of shadecloth a bit larger than the tent will help too as well as keeping the dirt at bay.

Mal

You may not need to stress too much about fuel if you plan your route appropriately. Our Cherokee has a 75l tank, and in that part of the world we would get around 400k out of it as opposed to the 500ish around town or on the highway.Check your distances and you'll find that doesn't limit you much, so long as you are willing to buy fuel at every opportunity.

Tenting is hard work if you aren't used to it. Lots of places do have rooms you can stay in, but they aren't flash. It is easy to find places that will hire you a Tvan or offroad camper as an alternative. The main roads are all very easy to tow on. Gives you a lot more comfort, and space for a jerry can or two on the camper.

Instead of an EPIRB, I would suggest a Spot Connect.
Reasonably priced and you can send OK and Help messages as well as SOS.

For our dishwashing we have a medium plastic tub with a clip on lid. Everything for washing up goes in, the tub is the sink and the lid the drainer.

Our bathroom is a 10 litre BioZet laundry detergent bucket with a lid. Square packs good. In it we have a 12 volt shower that runs on batteries or the vehicle's 12 volt system and towels when they are dry.

You will have to consider the weight you can carry in your vehicle.
Check on the compliance plate, or Google Pathfinder specs, to find out what load you can carry. That load will be two people, fuel and any extras on the vehicle to start with before you put in water, food, tent, suitcases, fire extinguisher, tools, etc.

It can seem a bit daunting but it's a challenge. Don't overload your vehicle to be sure it's safe.

This trip might be the hardest but I believe you will love it all once you're out there and it will only get easier and more fun.

Hoo roo,

Steve