I set out 5 weeks ago to do the Darling River Run. on my own. Fantastic is the best way to describe it. I did free camping where I could and used caravan parks to do washing, restocking, etc. There was only once or twice that I was on my own overnight. The whether was good to me except for one night when the bit of rain at Mungo NP turned the dust to mud but the Hilux got me and the van back to the bitumen on Pooncarie Road. I stayed for a day or two at several national parks along the way, met some great people, and had a good relaxing time. For those thinking of doing something similar, I suggest that you don't leave home without your GPS, your UHF CB radio (scanning between channel 18 and 40), and as an added safety item, a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon). There were days that I didn't see another car and if I came across a bad accident, or had an accident myself, or was bitten by a snake or badly injured in some other way, all I'd have to do is push the button on the PLB and wait for help. I consider the PLB as a form of insurance. Like the winch on my ute, I may never use it but it's nice to know it's there if I need it. I also found that my laptop and wireless dongle allowed me to check weather conditions and using Google Earth, was able to check out the proposed free camp spots before I reached them. I didn't have any tyre problems, no vehicle or van problems but did find a few dust leaks so the tube (and gun) of Silastic came in handy to block the dust leaks as I located them. Check your tow ball regularly as I found it had worked a little loose after travelling a stretch of rough road. I'm now thinking of where to go for the next trip.
Where does one get a PLB please Captain. Always planned to get one, but hadn't gotten around to asking where from yet. Sounds like you really enjoyed the trip. Cheers, xina.
G/day Captain, Read it with interest, have done the Pooncarrie rd some years ago and found it bloody atrocious, really shook up the van , fortunatly no leaks -----but regarding Google earth, have been told that it is about 5 years behind in a lot of parts of Australia, due to security reasons , did'nt know that it was an instant thingy as the way you have described it ,
PLBs (EPIRBS) are available from some camping stores. I purchased mine from Ray's Outdoors. Not cheap but what price safety, especially if you are going to do a lot of travelling. It's a Kannad brand. I should mention that last February, the frequencies changed (I think from 112 Meg to 406 Meg) so check your instrument if you have an old one. Mine is not a tracker but once registered with AMSA in Canberra, and if activated, AMSA will know exactly where yI am, the type, colour and number of my vehicle, my name and two emergency contact numbers for relatives. It's advisable to test your PLB monthly as set out in the instruction booklet and the batterly lasts for about 6 years. Most of the photos on Google Earth can be a few years old but it made little difference to what I was looking for. The images are not real-time. How far from the bitumen? Would it be a noisy spot? Is is near the river? Is there plenty of shade? Etc. After looking at some of the camp sites, I quickly changed my mind as they were nothing more than a wider than normal gravel shoulder and I'm sue the semis would rock your van as the passed. I even had coloured printouts of my camp sites before I left home and I only changed my mind once when near Bingara because there were too many other people there. I found a better place not far away.
Google Earth must be a little bit behind. I checked out the caravan park I used to live in in Broome. The image showed my old van with my car which I bought in 2004. I didn't buy the new van until June 2006. The terrain doesn't change as much as that. But it does just prove the time lapse for detail. Cheers Chris
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20ft Roma caravan - Mercedes Benz Sprinter - SA-based at the moment. Transport has no borders.
Management makes the decisions, but is not affected by the decisions it makes.
