Riding Buddy for Oodnadatta Track - Nov/Dec 2010
 

I'm doing a slow lap of Australia from 11 September 2010, starting in Melbourne and going clockwise via South Australia and the Nullabor to Perth then up to the NT and Queensland. I should have reached Adelaide by mid November and would like to do the Oodnadatta Track but as this is mostly a dirt track and I've never ridden further up a dirt track than somebody's front door, I'm not that keen on doing it alone. I'm thinking it will take about 1-2 weeks to go there and back so if you're free mid-late November and fancy going this way, give me a shout. Don't know what bike I'll be riding yet as I'll need to buy one when I arrive in Oz, but if anyone has any suggestions they'd be appreciated too. Also, if you've already done the Track then some feedback on what to expect would also be good.

Thanks.

Info
 

I live in Alice Springs. The track will be hot during November/December and could be closed as this is the start of the storm season. Last report I had of the track was just graded but with large,loose rocks in several sections. Contact me closer to your trip time and I will endeavour to find out more for you.

Nov/Dec is not a time to be wandering around that part of Australia without understanding the risks involved. The road is now used a lot but in Summer its use decreases substantially as its just too bloody hot for comfort - even inside an air conditioned vehicle.

Without sufficient water doing anything physical can be life threatening - just laying around and you need to drink about 4 litres of water during the day. That trebles if you are working hard.

Just be aware that whilst the maps show names - not all names on maps are towns or roadhouses, often a road junction to a nearby station which may have closed in the 1930s!!

If you want to do the Oodnadatta, do it in September and reverse your trip. Go up through the Centre, then to WA. You'll avoid some of the wet season up North as well.

You are going the wrong way at the wrong time.

North during November onwards is the "wet" season. A lot of roads are closed, the cape, sometimes Darwin and other minor roads are also closed due to heavy persistent rain.

It is stinking hot at that time and 100% humidity, sometimes 110%. That is the time to be riding south, stay at the bottom half of the country and stay off bush tracks in the middle of nowhere. Think about checking out Tasmania as your start point, then the lower parts of Oz mainland, working your way north by about April, it will still be hot, and some roads may not be open still, but for a bonny lass from Scotland to attempt the heat of the outback in high summer, you may get a tad red!

I was traveling around north QLD and NT in September 2008 [url=http://travellingstrom.com/2008/08/31/]2008 August 31

The above post keeps getting truncated, I have retyped the damm thing 4 times now and it is still not posting correctly, I will try again later!!! :(

[url=http://travellingstrom.com/2008/08/31/]2008 August 31

Thanks for this information. I wasn't planning on going north until your autumn/winter and intend to stay in the south till then. The trip up the Oodnadatta Track was just a thought to fill in some time until I headed west to Perth in January. But by the sounds of it, even November/December will be too hot, so perhaps I should leave it until I make my way back down south again next year sometime. Its been a few years since I've been in Oz and I've spent the last 6 years freezing my bits off riding in Scotland and Europe so I forget how hot it can get down under! Looking forward to a bit of heat though!

Hello Bonnygirl

I went around Australia solo from October 2008 until May 2009, pretty much the same route you are intending to do yourself.

Choosing the off-route roads to do the bulk of my distance, Including the Maree and onto the Oodnadatta, which I rode in late November.

The Bike I used was a standard road spec Suzuki DR650 SE ( hire bike for 7 months ...about £10 a day ) with nothing more than a bashplate, panniers, knobbly tyres and a bargain/end of line car GPS wired to the bike.

It is do-able, But I would suggest a few things to take/do before you give that stunning trip you have planned a go.

Either send me a message through this site to talk about it, or if you want to go into more depth...send me a message for my email and I can email you across some of the maps that I was using etc.

Messege
 

Sent you an email, Bonnygirl.

If my pathetic computer skills have failed to actually send you the mentioned email, I will post up any stuff you need on this forum for you.

Andy.

It may be useful if you posted the info here, rather than doing so behind closed doors so to speak? That way it could be read by others who are also contemplating something similar?

That is what this forum is about of course, exchanging information :)

Just a thought

Cheers
TS