savanah way(again)

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

savanah way(again)

deb-gary · Senior Member

can a 2wd territory travel the savannah way(in dry season) what is lpg availability like,and free camping availability.plus we have a dog can we do it without going into national parks??

Haji-Baba · Senior Member

What part of The Savannah Way are you asking about?
From where to where?

Haji-Baba

Haji-Baba · Senior Member

Not faster just try two fingers.

Just home from up that way, 8 weeks poking about but has been pretty wet in many places.
We gave up and came home 1 month earlier than planned.
Got stormed in and trapped in some black soil river country for a while and couldn't get out to our usual haunts.

Haji-Baba

deb-gary · Senior Member

we would like to traverse the whole way cairns to broome

gold dandelion · Senior Member

not sure what traverse means, but if it is dry you can get from boorooloola to roper bar, the worse stretch. not sure about lpg though, i wouldnt travel any where up that way relying on lpg

deb-gary · Senior Member

traverse means to cover and we will have duel fuel so petrol or gas

gold dandelion · Senior Member

suppose its easier than reverse. devils gate and wolverang, think thats how its spelt were closed for fuel when we crossed. lynmum bight has fuel, you will need spare fuel if you are towing.

deb-gary · Senior Member

so a full tank of petrol and a full tank of gas is not enough in some areas?

gold dandelion · Senior Member

i believe if you are towing you are going to push it to the limit, we actually went 7 hrs without seeing another vehicle as well. Sept though

Cruising Granny · Guru

If I was travelling that country I'd take spare everything, including a second spare tyre. While the road is "made" I'd say it was pretty basic in some stretches. Not many towns and the stations are far and wide, and not alongside the roads.
You'll have to be really self-sufficient, and if it's wet stay put. It's hard enough with 4x4, so 2 wheel drive would be foolish.
Maybe try to get a team to do the "traverse" with you. A couple of other vehicles might be handy out there.
Or do it when it's absolutely dry taking it one creek crossing at a time. You could be stuck a long time if you take risks.

bill12 · Guru

Its not too bad from Cairns to Normanton,its all bitumen, but from there it deteriorates to bad dirt and coregations. Have done the stretch from Burketown to Borallola, and from Bora to Roper bar, and would definately use a 4wd and take plenty of spares and fuel. There is no lpg from Nomanton to Roper bar. River crossings can be a problem, also.But there are some lovely places on the way.2wds do make it though, but its a 4wd track, mostly.Bill

deb-gary · Senior Member

thanx guys take all advice on board very helpfull.btw what abt combination of say a landcruiser but only a normal caravan?

bill12 · Guru

Don,t even think about it. The caravan would fall apart before Hells gate.Theer are quite a few wrecked vans on the Savanah way. off road van at least. Bill

Hylda&Jon · Guru

Haven't been on that stretch myself but, at a guess, due to the remoteness of the area, if you happen to break down or get into trouble, the towing costs and other costs in getting help would be horendous. You would really need to be completely self sufficient &, by the sounds of it definatily in a 4WD

Cheers

Jon

gst · Senior Member

If you take a two wheel on 4x4 class roads only remember insurance company won't look at you if you need recovering and it could cost thousands of dollars to get help.

Zoomtopz · Guru

Deb & Gary ,

As others have said , you Need 'off-road' gear when you want to

go to some of th places you are talking about , even 'experienced' trekkers

could get into trouble 'out there' . I don't know what experince you have .

I drove Road Trains in th Territory for over 5yrs, went to some out of th way

places . When I retired & started doing things in Camper vans & 4X4s ,

turned out to be a different ball game . Mate I would add another thousand

ks to your trip `& stay on th 'black stuff' , unless it's something you want to

specifically see or do . My cruiser is dual fuel , I have done trips to central &

nth Qld , Grafton to Streaky via th Hill three times , in th last 6months ,

got gas at Wilcania once , th other 5 times I let it run out , Too expensive .

In 'old Inter' we got about 450ks on gas , likewise on half a lap , we had no

trouble keeping the gas going .

Richo.

justcruisin01 · Guru

deb-gary wrote:
can a 2wd territory travel the savannah way(in dry season) what is lpg availability like,and free camping availability.plus we have a dog can we do it without going into national parks??

We have travelled this entire area over the years.

2WD, no no no. Last year we done the section from roper bar down to cape crawford on our return trip home from the roper, it was May & had just dried out by then, but could see where there had been vehicles seriously bogged.

There are creek & river crossings right accross this area & very rough. The section between Woolagarang station & Booraloola had a river crossing that had compleatly washed away closing the road to all traffic, no word on when or if it was going to be repaired.

Roper bar to Kunnanurra, 2wd yes. The gibb river would need to be dry & in good condition for a 2wd. Any caravan that can be towed by a teritory will not survive any of this road . A sturdy camper trailer would be the best suited on the sections that you may be able to handle. Its certinaly not a drive in the park trip, long distances between fuel points & I would not count on gas.

JC.

neilnruth · Guru

Zoomtopz said
got gas at Wilcania once , th other 5 times I let it run out , Too expensive

Have you not discovered the BP depot off the main drag by about 1 street ? - cheaper than the one on the main road past the bridge by quite a few cents.

But I've just realised you may mean 'gas' as in LPG - I'm not sure if she has LPG.

-- Edited by neilnruth on Saturday 16th of June 2012 04:06:10 PM

Zoomtopz · Guru

Not only that Neil n Ruth , I went thru in th middle of th night , I think

with lpg it does th system good to let it run out & get fresh gas in ,

especially when you are getting a 'mixture' of different gasses , diesel

is a bit th same petrol is a bit more steadier in 'th mix' . I used to fuel

at that depot when I was working out of Adel & used to come thru th back

way from Lake Tandau & Menindee .We had to ring from th 'stockyards' to

find out if we could get through to Tandau . That's what I mean about

travelling in "remote" areas of "Our" Great land , it can change & you are

'up that proverbial creek' & most places 'out there' you can't ring nrma or

racq etc . I am not saying these things 'will' happen every trip , I was

heading to Adel Thurs 31/5, th other week , motoring along steady ,

doing 100 in a 110 zone , bang - drrrrr . sounded like a flat , then th

steam started coming out of th bonnet . Lifted th bonnet , the shroud is

broken , the fan is busted off . The 'ddrrrrrr' bit was the fan still turning

as it cut into th radiator . simplify th repairs , $1200 & 6 days later , i

got my car back . I pay 'premium cover' for nrma , got my money back

this trip . I had just paid over $2k for repairs , full service & tune-up ,

I thunk all was ok for a 'standard' sort of a trip . Oh well 'sh*t happens.

Richo

jimricho · Guru

I went through this area 12 years ago and then on up to the Gove Peninsula (top right hand corner of Arnhem Land) as part of a tag-along group. A couple of LPG/petrol vehicles in the group were carrying jerry cans of petrol that they had to use due to lack of availability of gas.