Jump to content

Plenty Highway Road report


Chris

Recommended Posts

 

We have arrived at Gem Tree NT this morning, after crossing the Plenty Track from Boulia. We enjoyed great weather, and mostly good conditions. There was a rough patch which slowed us down.

Here is the summary of the road condition.


There is 216 kms between Boulia to Tobermory. Mostly flat and relatively barren country. The first stretch of about 60 kms was bitumen, with small sections of good gravel. We let down the tyres about 50 kms from Tobermory. Last 15 kms before NT border is mostly bitumised with short stretches of gravel in between .

About 40 kms from Tobermory was roadworks being done, for about 20 kms or so. From Tobermory to 380 kms from SH was very rough, with corrugations and swales of bulldust. This was slow going and generally we sat on 50 kms an hour for almost all that stretch. At the 380 from the Stuart Highway point there was a good graded section. The bitumen started about 80 kms from the Stuart Highway and then continued all the way to Gem Tree..

About 60 kms West Of Tobermory we came across a Kimberly Karavan on its side and skewed across the road. A single axle van, and driven at a bit of speed (it was going pretty fast when it overtook us and the driver later told us he was now aware he was going too fast), it had hit a bump, pivoted in the air and collapsed on its side. As he had a swivelling hitch, the towing vehicle was stable and unaffected. The driver was remarkably adept and seemed unaffected by the accident. Together with a couple of others who arrived on the scene shortly after us, the driver unhitched it, winched the van back upright with a huge ‘crunch’ and then rehitched it. It was drivable, which is a testament to the van’s strength I guess. He said he would return to Tobermory and then assess his options. I took a number of photos of the van in case he needed it for insurance purposes. One of the photos shows big rocks all embedded into the side of the van wall!

Apart from that little incident our trip was unremarkable; oh, we did get a flat tyre which Val will repair in Alice.

 

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Here is the trip report for the crossing of the Plenty.  I am almost ready to post the report for the Great Central Road!

Stage 3 August 2018 Plenty Highway.pdf

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TonyH said:

Another great report Chris.......no mention of cream buns!

 

 Very funny...but Alice Springs had cream buns.  I had some there, does that count?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...