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Alice Springs is busy


Chris

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It seems that Alice Springs, which is generally a busy town at this time of year, is particularly busy this year. In part that is attributed to the forthcoming closure of climbing The Rock at Uluru. 

 

I make no comment on the closure of climbing at Uluru, but rather the need to plan ahead if Alice Springs is on the travel agenda. And apparently it will get even busier in the near future...

 

And please, no debate on the merits of climbing The Rock....it will only lead to tears.😁

 

https://www.alicespringsnews.com.au/201 ... itor-boom/

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Busy means revenue for the city can’t be a bad thing. 

We are heading that way mid August Great Central road west to the Rock plus Hermannsburg then Tanami track . Can’t wait .

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I had planned to be there, in fact right about now, but some health issues caused us to cancel the trip.  After hearing about the crowds I don’t feel quite so bad.

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On 18/07/2019 at 10:41 PM, John and Jo said:

Busy means revenue for the city can’t be a bad thing. 

We are heading that way mid August Great Central road west to the Rock plus Hermannsburg then Tanami track . Can’t wait .

 

Have you seen my trip report on the Plenty Highway?

Stage 3 August 2018 Plenty Highway.pdf

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2 hours ago, Chris said:

 

Have you seen my trip report on the Plenty Highway?

Stage 3 August 2018 Plenty Highway.pdf 747.22 kB · 2 downloads

Thank you Chris, very helpful trip report.  It gives me something to think about for when we reschedule our Alice trip.  I had planned on arriving and leaving Alice from the south, but doing a loop where we leave Sydney and first go north / west to Boulia, then visit Alice, Uluru and the surrounds and then come home via Oodnadatta sounds like a better option.

 

This year’s trip was designed around having a Jayco which we wanted to sell as soon as we returned home.  The Jayco is now retired (for us at least), detailed and up for sale.  We pick up the CP5 in October opening up a new world of route options.

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7 hours ago, Chris said:

 

Have you seen my trip report on the Plenty Highway?

Stage 3 August 2018 Plenty Highway.pdf 747.22 kB · 4 downloads

 

7 hours ago, Chris said:

 

Have you seen my trip report on the Plenty Highway?

Stage 3 August 2018 Plenty Highway.pdf 747.22 kB · 4 downloads

Thanks Chris but we won’t be going on the Plenty . Planning Great Central from west , on to Palm Valley then the Tanami track to Halls Creek. 

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On 22/07/2019 at 5:12 PM, John and Jo said:

 

Thanks Chris but we won’t be going on the Plenty . Planning Great Central from west , on to Palm Valley then the Tanami track to Halls Creek. 

 

In that case, here ‘s my GCR last trip report 😄Stage 4 September 2018 GCR.pdf

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3 hours ago, Chris said:

 

In that case, here ‘s my GCR last trip report 😄Stage 4 September 2018 GCR.pdf

 

3 hours ago, Chris said:

 

In that case, here ‘s my GCR last trip report 😄Stage 4 September 2018 GCR.pdf

Thanks for your report and useful information.

John 

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John and Jo, I also have planning documents for the GCR which includes the URL for permits etc. let me know if you would like them.

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  • 1 month later...

Just completed the Great Central road west to east . The road to Warburton wasn’t too bad at all but things deteriorated from then on . It was very rough both the WA and NT sections . The dust was horrendous as causing us some drama but we did enjoy the trip over thanks to the Kedron.

We also traveled the Mereenie loop which was fantastic drive following the Ranges into Alice Springs. Damage: one caravan tyre demolished and a leaking gas pipe on the water heater. Both repaired now . We were planning to do the Tanami track but chickened our had enough dust for a while so doing the loop up to Katherine then head west to the coast .

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Great Central is seriously dusty. Docker to the east has recently been graded but has quickly become rough due to high traffic plus it’s a bugger of a section. If interested in going off the Great Central and visiting the Surveyor General Corner the road down to Wingellina is ok as is the the road from Wingellina to Warburton (bit rough watch for camels). Make sure you ring Mark the community officer  (0427 031 926) at Wingellina before going into town to make sure it’s safe as it’s a closed community. It’s $50 to visit the corner with no guide, $100 with guide. Private road out to the corner is very nastily corrugated. To be taken seriously but is easily doable with a van.

Road from Warburton to Laverton is ok but watch for mine road trains from Gile Breakaway to Laverton.

 

 

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On 27/08/2019 at 9:56 PM, John and Jo said:

Just completed the Great Central road west to east . The road to Warburton wasn’t too bad at all but things deteriorated from then on . It was very rough both the WA and NT sections . The dust was horrendous as causing us some drama but we did enjoy the trip over thanks to the Kedron.

We also traveled the Mereenie loop which was fantastic drive following the Ranges into Alice Springs. Damage: one caravan tyre demolished and a leaking gas pipe on the water heater. Both repaired now . We were planning to do the Tanami track but chickened our had enough dust for a while so doing the loop up to Katherine then head west to the coast .

 

We too enjoyed the Mereenie Loop and thought it was a great shortcut.  But not for a lesser van 😁  where did you camp in the West Macdonnells?  And which camps did you stay at on the GCR?

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On 30/08/2019 at 9:26 PM, Stu and Jean said:

Great Central is seriously dusty. Docker to the east has recently been graded but has quickly become rough due to high traffic plus it’s a bugger of a section. If interested in going off the Great Central and visiting the Surveyor General Corner the road down to Wingellina is ok as is the the road from Wingellina to Warburton (bit rough watch for camels). Make sure you ring Mark the community officer  (0427 031 926) at Wingellina before going into town to make sure it’s safe as it’s a closed community. It’s $50 to visit the corner with no guide, $100 with guide. Private road out to the corner is very nastily corrugated. To be taken seriously but is easily doable with a van.

Road from Warburton to Laverton is ok but watch for mine road trains from Gile Breakaway to Laverton.

 

 

 

I would love to hear more about that loop down to the corner.  What previous advice had you received about it?  Any special notes, or photos?  Thanks for sharing this with us!

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On 03/09/2019 at 8:04 AM, Chris said:

 

We too enjoyed the Mereenie Loop and thought it was a great shortcut.  But not for a lesser van 😁  where did you camp in the West Macdonnells?  And which camps did you stay at on the GCR?

We had lunch at Malcolm dam and camped at Giles Breakaway on the ridge terrific views there . Second night at old Great central rd lookout, meet a dingo there . I was taking a photo and heard a growl turned around and he was 3 meters behind me. Third night Dingo camp( no dingos ) about 100 klm from the Olga’s. 

We camped for two nights at Morris Pass on the Mereenie loop . 

Another great site parked on the ridge. Took a bit to get the van in but it was worth it. Only trouble there is the toilet paper in the bush . People must think that it may grow!!! 

 

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It’s hard to imagine that people can be so thoughtless; there is certainly enough of 

them to spoil a number of otherwise nice campgrounds ️ 

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On 07/09/2019 at 1:31 PM, John and Jo said:

We had lunch at Malcolm dam and camped at Giles Breakaway on the ridge terrific views there . Second night at old Great central rd lookout, meet a dingo there .

(snip)...

Another great site parked on the ridge. Took a bit to get the van in but it was worth it. Only trouble there is the toilet paper in the bush . People must think that it may grow!!! 

 

 

 Am not sure of that lookout camp site, or “the old Great Central Road”.  But we did like the Giles Breakaways!

 

I am guessing the ridge top spot was at Redbank Gorge?  One of our firm favourites.

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