to the Australia 2001 photo album
Into the outback (1) - The Strzelecki Track
30.000 km through the most remote areas of Australia
Text and photography by:
photo by Tanja Wijnands
It stretches out over an area of roughly the size of the United States and Canada together, with only slightly more inhabitants than my home country of The Netherlands. About 90% of its people live in the five largest coastal cities. The central part of the country is mostly empty.
After a number of short trips to the East and West coast, we decided that the time had come to explore the vast and remote regions of this amazing country.
Naturally you don’t venture out into the outback unprepared. In this unforgiving land a small mistake can be fatal, and the first priority is to get yourself a good car in excellent condition. We opted for a 1998 Toyota Landcruiser Troop Carrier. A sturdy and simple machine, but extremeley reliable, and quite easy and comfortable to drive as well.
The gruelling dirt roads and 4WD tracks take a heavy toll on tyres, so we stacked up a number of extra spare tyres, mounted on rims. In addition we equipped ourselves with a tyre repair kit, such as a bead breaker (to remove the tyre from the rim), extra inner tubes and a compressor to re-inflate the tyre after repair (very essential!). This pump is also required to re-inflate the tyres after a section with soft sand, where you have to reduce tyre pressures from 42 psi to approximately 20 psi. In addition we aquired a set of simple recovery tools, such as a snatch strap with D-shackles, a shovel, and a small hand winch (that can be attached to both the front and the rear of the car).
Warning for remote areas ahead...take it serious!
Therefore we opted for a redundant system of an Iridium satellite phone and an EPIRB, supplied by Sartech. A satellite phone works pretty much the same as an ordinary GSM, with the difference that the connection is made through an overflying satellite. Quite simple, and the US$ 1.50 per minute call rate doesn’t really matter when you’re in trouble.
EPIRB stands for Emergency Position Indicator Radio Beacon. This device can be manually activated in case of an emergency, and warns the local authorities via satellite, to start a search and rescue operation. The homing signal from the beacon enables quick locating by the rescue team. Locating is aided by the use of smoke signals and colorful items on the ground. It is obvious that you ONLY set off the EPIRB in case of an emergency, and NOT when your supply of beer has run out!
An additional Garmin GPS receiver helped us with the sometimes difficult navigation on outback roads. Signposting is, to say it mildly, very modest in these regions.
EPIRB mounted inside the car
After a thorough check of our car, including the cooling system and re-packing of all wheel bearings by a Toyota dealer in Brisbane, we felt adequately prepared for our first leg: the crossing of the Eastern part of the country, from Brisbane to Adelaide. This section took us through the Strzelecki desert and the remote Innamincka reserve. It was here that the famous explorers Burke and Wills perished after their unsuccesful trip from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpenteria in 1861. They missed their supply team by just 9 hours! Clearly no sat phones or other high tech gizmo’s were available these days.
The Burke and Wills Dig Tree along the Cooper Creek near the border of Queensland and South Australia
A good spot to get rid of the fine outback dust which was just everywhere, including our ears and noses!
In this area of Australia you find some large oil and gas fields, and that’s precisely the reason why there’s a nice pub in Innamincka. Believe me, a cold beer here can taste more heavenly than the best vintage wine!
The only people that travel here are the workers on the oil fields, and the occasional tourist. During this trip we even had one day in which we didn’t meet a single car!
The Strzelecki desert can be very empty at times
More dirty and dusty roads brought us eventually into the Flinders Ranges. There’s a nice little gem hidden here, the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, owned by a Doug Sprigg, the son of famous geologist Reginald Sprigg, who found the oldest fossil on earth in 1946 in this region. Clearly Doug has a lot of knowledge on the subject as well. In fact he proved to be a walking encyclopedia, with a lot of interesting stories abouth the local geology, flora and fauna and astronomy. There is even a small observatory, which is open to the public at night.
After a few pleasant days in Arkaroola, with a couple of hikes, doing some 4WD-ing, and making a scenic flight in a historic plane (yes Doug is a pilot too!), it was time to move on. After all, there was still 27000 km ahead!
The last stretch was relatively easy, as we drove out of the Flinders Ranges, and hit the Bitumen towards Adelaide. Although I don’t mind dirt roads, it was a bit of a relief to be able to continue without the constant vibration of corrugations and the imminent danger involved with outback roads.
Steep 4WD track in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary