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Photo by Ellen Delis, Lagunas Ojos del Campo, Antofalla, Catamarca

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Ellen Delis,
Lagunas Ojos del Campo,
Antofalla, Catamarca



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  #1  
Old 3 Jan 2005
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Maps/Route advice
As part of a holiday this March I'm intending to rent a bike (XTZ660) for a couple of weeks, and ride from Sydney to Uluru and back. I'd like some advice concerning an interesting route, and a recommendation for a map that shows enough detail to be usefull.

My initial route thoughts were to head west from Sydney, and then turn north and use the Oodnadatta track. I was thinking of spending a couple of days around Alice Springs, then maybe the Plenty highway west, and the Birdsville track south, before heading west back to Sydney.

Any thoughts, warnings, suggestions would be much appreciated.

Iain
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  #2  
Old 4 Jan 2005
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A "few weeks"?

May not be long enough time wise. Aprox 2,800 km Syd to Alice. You are looking at 500 km days. That does not give much time to see things other than the road.

http://www.hemamaps.com.au/ Hemma maps would give you all the detail you need for the central parts of your tip. Their "Great Desert Tracks of Australia" would be fine. Possibly too much e=detail - they include phone numbers, fuel stops, distances, food stores ...

On line take a look at http://www.exploroz.com/


Route - one well travlled route is through Hillston, Menindee, Broken Hill - turn north at Yuta for the Fliners Ranges. You could take two weeks to get past the Flinders! Nice spot that. Then oodna etc. The longer you can spend the more you will see.

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  #3  
Old 5 Jan 2005
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As usual it's the compromise on how long I can afford to rent a bike for. I should be in Australia for a month, but realistically can't afford a bike for more than 12-14 days. I'd thought that with some vast expanses of outback I might be able to bang in a few high milage days in order to traverse some of the not-so-interesting bits. Without a map I'd estimated a round trip of about 5000km, but I need to refine that with the aid of a good map.

Thanks for the tip about the Hema maps. From the website they look to have a good level of detail for a 1:1 250 000 scale. The pack should cost about AUS$80, which is inflated to almost double by the time it gets to the UK.

Thanks again Frank.
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Old 5 Jan 2005
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You could think about starting from Adelaide - that would cut out a fair bit of the less than outback stuff. You would then need less maps too.

On the shipping - are you shipping by UPS or Fedex?! Try Australia Post - gets to you using UK Post. Should be a lot cheaper?

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  #5  
Old 5 Jan 2005
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Quote:
Originally posted by Frank Warner:
You could think about starting from Adelaide - that would cut out a fair bit of the less than outback stuff. You would then need less maps too.

On the shipping - are you shipping by UPS or Fedex?! Try Australia Post - gets to you using UK Post. Should be a lot cheaper?
I'll second that. If it's maximum outback you want, start in Adelaide. You'll probably get a better rental rate on the bike there, too. Along the way: Coober Pedy is worth a look, though getting very touristy these days. And yes, the Flinders Ranges are definitely worth a look. There's actually a hell of a lot to see in South Oz.
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  #6  
Old 6 Jan 2005
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There's a hell of a lot to see in all of Australia. I missed a lot and I've almost completed a lap on a slow bike, but I'll be back sometime.

You might want to look into buying a bike and selling it before you leave. Although a month is short but it might be cheaper.

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Old 6 Jan 2005
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If I were going for a year, then I'd consider buying against shipping my own bike over there. However I'm going for a month, and I don't want to dedicate 2 or 3 precious days to buying a bike that I may be stuck with at the end of the month.

I realise there is a lot to see in Australia, as it's the size of Europe. My goal is to see Uluru at sunrise, and take in some of the scenery on the way. I'm flying into Sydney because I've got friends living there, but I will now explore bike rental in Adelaide and consider using that as the jump-off point for my ride.

Thanks for the useful advice, Iain.
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  #8  
Old 7 Jan 2005
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As far as getting from Sydney to Adelaide, get on the websites of Virginblue and Jetstar. You may be able to get a one way fare for as little as $75.00! Hell of a lot cheaper than bus or train (not to mention quicker!)

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  #9  
Old 25 Jan 2005
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Maps have arrived! I asked my friends in Sydney to buy the Hema pack and send it over, way cheaper than buying from a UK store. Had a quick peek and they look fantastic; gps waypoints, fuel/food info, distances. Double thumbs up from me!

So this weekend I'll spread a few out on the floor and start planning a route in ernest!

Thanks for all the advice. Iain.
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