In the last month a few things have given me better perspective on the problem of selecting the Australian Itinerary...
First, Thirty-One-Die was out here for a couple weeks. We scenarioed some experimental routes. We thought we had selected reasonable trips. On analysis we found that they all needed a staggering amount of driving to accomplish.
Going at it another way, starting with how many days we had to play with, and how many miles we might drive on those days (understanding some days we can drive more than others), we came up with some routes. They looked pathetically small on the map.
But the numbers and our experiences don't lie -- two weeks is a short time in the Outback. We cannot afford too many long 'approach drives' to our target areas. It seemed to Matt and I that flying into Alice Springs (there is plenty interesting to see in Central Australia) looked like it minimized these wasteful stretch drives and maximized the interesting stuff.
Secondly, Ah-Ling and I just returned from ten days in Kerala State, India. It was an enormously comfortable trip. The basic scheme was: hole up in very nice hotels with good bathrooms, beds, and porches. Run out during the day and enjoy the stinky, sweaty town, then come back for periodic showerings, shittings, and changes of clothes. The evenings we spent relaxing, writing, and reading on the porch.
So it seems to me that I good plan might be that we rent a house in Alice Springs that has several bedrooms, decent facilities, a nice porch, a BBQ. Then for at least a chunk of our week down there, we operate from it like Ling and I did in India... Run off during the day and do what we want, and then come back to the place at night, relax and hang out. This gives us some flexibility. If we can sort out a longer, several-day loop trip to make out of Alice and back, then we can rough it during that period.
I like the idea of having a more proper base than just a couple Best Western hotel rooms. We go out exploring all day, come back after nightfall, fire up a bbq outside, take a shower, sit around and eat, bullshit, and plan the next day's mission. All the while, our equipment is charging, and maybe do some last minute internet research, etc. It would be more comfortable, we could cook some of our own stuff instead of continual restaurant meals (in all my desert trips I have always, always hated the food. And once again, returned from India, I hate eggs like poison)
I only very briefly looked around the several awful tourists sites on Alice Springs. I am sure such places exist and I will have to do further research on them. Also, I had a name for a guy who, for a fee, would write up interesting trip itineraries in the Austrlian Outback. I will contact him and find out what he thinks some interesting 'base' areas might be, and interesting destinations around them.
Hailed as the southern hemisphere's fastest, richest, toughest and longest desert race for motorcycles and cars. A 460km return journey of rugged outback racing, starting 12 km south of Alice Springs along the Old South Road.
The Argyle mine, located in the Kimberley region in the far north east of Western Australia, is the world’s largest single producer of diamonds.
Seems like everyone and their brother offers a tourist trip to the mine, flying out of Kununurra (far north Australia) and into the mine for an afternoon's tour. Perhaps it would be possible to drive up there?
There seems to be lots of birdwatching opportunities where floodplains pop up in the middle of nowhere and thousands of birds alight.
Lake Gregory is one example, off the Tanami Track. Lonely Planet claims "dring one bird-surveying expedition more than 240,000 water birds of 57 species were counted, including cormorants, pink-eared ducks, plumed whistle-ducks, coots, darters, egrets and brolgas." [p181]
Along the Tanami Track is 'The Granites' gold mine that currently produces 5000kg gold per year. Nearby are old ruins from mines in the 1930s which produced much less gold.
30 miles west is Dead Bullock Soak mining area. The ore from Dead Bullock Soak is carted to the Granites site for treatment along a new bitumen road (the only one for 100's of kilos) on huge four-trailer road trains, each carting well over 100 tonnes of ore. These monsters travel at great speed and require at least one km to stop.
Might be fun to get some regular and KAP photos of these road trains, as well as a chance for industrial archeology of the ruins. Also could try to line up a tour of the mine.
(SOURCE: p179-180 Lonely Planet)
Only open between April and September, this mountain range is deeply isolated and features bee-hive shaped mountains of striped black and red sandstone. In addition to the beautiful geology, there is aboriginal art and burial grounds here.
// Ideas
This might be an excellent place for some Kite Aerial Photography.
// Links