Vokes Hill Corner

1) Excellent Scenery in parts, but remember, you are on the fringes of the Nullabor Plain

2) Easy, dead easy

3) Don't recall them as being necessary for that particular leg, but the info on this site will confirm

4) 3 days is easy, if the weather has been kind, but I reckon 5 would be better, lots to see & do.

5) May is good, I did mine in May.

Wolfie

Hi Gossy,

I've done the exact trip you describe twice, and the Cook road 4 times in 4 years. Its nice country and gets pretty interesting if you take the time to research it.

#1 Yes - nothing spectacular, but you'll see whales at the bight, nullabor caves, Cook (almost abandoned town), Rockholes used by aboriginal people and explorers, Len Beadell signs and history, Vokes Hill, great tracks across the dunes, Lake Wyatt, Superb stands of Black Oaks, and the odd Marble Gums, Camels, Wombats, Echidnas, Survey markers, Trig Points, Aboriginal Dams, Shed rainwater tanks, remains of butt tanks, and on the Anne Beadell section you'll stand on the points where the Totem 1 and Totem 2 bombs were let off, witness the eerie landscape that surrounds, see what little remains of the township of Emu; Drive up Emu claypan airstrip, See the Camera 1 site; Stand on the observation point; the witness some of the deepest corrugations you'll get anywhere; then tallaringa well, past Mabel Creek and onto Coober Pedy. I'm sure theres heaps of other stuff which I've missed. Oh and you can bush camp with some of the best mulga firewood you'll get anywhere (camp oven every night). Its one of the best desert trips you can do, as long as you take your time, and read about Len Beadell, the atomic bombs and read Mark Shephards Book on teh Great Victoria Desert. If you don't do the research, you may be bored. This desert has not be destroyed by white man or cattle - naturally you need to keep it like that.

#2 4wding is easy, but the track is hard on your vehicle (corrugations). You must be totally self sufficient - getting help out there is close on impossible.

#3 Yes, you need 4 permits. One from National Parks Ceduna; One from Maralinga Tjutaja Lands; One from Dept of Defence and one from National Parks Port Augusta for Tallaginga. See the Anne Beadell trip notes on this site. Just phone them all up, they will fax you the forms - fill them in and fax them back, and the permits should come within the week (in my experience).

#4 Its a great 9 day trip from Adelaide to Adelaide, so I guess if you spend 6 days from Nullabor to Coober Pedy, you'll have a good time.

#5 May is a great time, might still be a bit warmish, but shouldn't be hot. Won't be many people out tehre them (never is anyway).

Also you'll need some navigation skills with a GPS or Oziexplorer - theres no signposts out there (apart from Lens), and around Cook, theres plenty of stray tracks.

I am currently writing up this trip for Andrew Hiscocks mag, 4wheelingSA, so hopefully I'll pull my finger out and get it done for the next edition.

Cheers
Phil

great info. Thanks guys.

I'd just like to add that the Anne Beadell hwy is now very badly corrigated, especially the section Vokes Hill Cnr to Coober. So bad, if fact, that it would rival the Gunbarrel. This is the price we all have to pay as more and more traffic uses these roads. You MUST let your tyres down and even so, the travel times and enjoyment have gone out the window. Personally, I would not bother doing the trek again, but understand if you have not been out there, then you do need to go. The history/scenery is second to none, a pity the road conditions have spoilt this otherwise grand journey.

buggar! Thats not good news. As much as I love my 4wding, I am not rich (new house and all). Hearing stories about trashing the veh and then the repair bills does scare me off a bit.