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Old Ghan, Oodnadatta & Strezlecki tracks September 2014


Taka

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We did half the Oonadatta and half the Strzelecki last year. One was like a good dirt road and the other was packed with small sharp rocks. No tyre punctures on either, but the stones on the Strzelecki totally shattered the aluminium strips on the rear vehicle mudguards. I was amazed how they quickly became twisted and bent. Even the big trucks were crawling along at 40 kph.

Advise to remove any dress hubs on your Kedron (if you have them), because if you don't, you won't have them for long. ;)

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We did the Old Ghan about 8 weeks ago, travelling with just the 4WD and tent. We dropped in to Chambers Pillar (very very corregated road in) then headed down the Old Ghan to Finke. The road was like a sandy highway but there are lots and lots of railway spikes. It would either be a very easy trip or a very expensive one depending on how many flat tyres you have. We were lucky and had none. We turned at Finke to head to Kulgera and dropped in to Lamberts Geographic Centre Of Aust. The road in to Lamberts was very very corregated with closed in trees/scrub. I wouldnt take a van in to Lamberts. Better to unhitch.

Cheers

Stu

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Taka,

A group of ten Kedrons travelled the Old Strzelecki track from Merty Merty to Innamincka, the Birdsville Track and the Oodnadatta track in May June. The roads were in good condition and posed no problems. In fact it was a beautiful drive.

See the Corner Country thread on this site,

Regards

Colin

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Hi, did the Oodnadatta Track in July from Marla through Oodnadatta, William Creek and Maree. Was in pretty good shape - no trouble at all. Bit of road works going on, and slow through those, but otherwise fine. Dusty though!! Will have to improve my dust sealing efforts for next time - ended up taping over the door each morning, but as in another thread, found the inside step trim was letting in dust. Have fixed that since - took the metal strip off and sealed it all before replacing the strip. Met Tony H in the Flinders who told me the hot water system also needs sealing - thanks Tony - I'm getting around to that one!!!!

As you can see in the photo - road looks like a freeway!!

Cheers

Jeff

post-57-0-11216800-1409702911_thumb.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi Koggers,

Just an update on our recent trip.

The old Ghan track was certainly that, lots of rocks that chewed the mud tyres to shreds ! We spent the night in at Lamberts Centre and the road was sandy but doable. The road became worse around Mt Dare & Dalhousie Springs to a point where the shakes were frustrating, it was possibly the worst 150km of road we have seen in Oz !!! From Hamilton station (SA) to Oodnadatta to Coober Pedy the road turned out flat and fantastic, the section through the Painted Desert was the best in Oz !!!

From Coober Pedy towards William Creek & down to Lyndhurst was another great dirt road with plenty of old Ghan stuff to see along the way.

The Strzelecki track started bad and became worse the closer we came to Innamincka. Bull dust holes & carved up sections due to the numerous truck movements. The 475km to Innamincka took 8 hours with few stops along the way !!!

The bitumen road from Innamincka to Thargomindah turned out to be a little lumpy in sections. Another of our mud tyres became a $450 sacrifice due to a pair of scissors being on the road !!!

Overall the cheese & kisses is happy to be away from THE DUST .......

On to the factory now to have Tom earn his money & fix a small list of issues !!!

Regards Taka

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