Planning is so much fun, seriously, it really is SO MUCH FUN.
There is a wealth of amazing (and very useful) information available online, I thought I might share some of it with you now.
My plan
My plan is to head due West from my current location in St George Queensland - through Cunnamulla, Thargomindah down to Cameron's Corner, up to Innamincka, on to Birdsville, then down the Birdsville Track to Maree, then across to Oodnadatta, up to Uluru, Alice Springs, Mt Isa then back on a diagonal through central Queensland down to Noosa, then from there start up the coast to Cairns.
Distances:
St George to Cameron Corner: 782 kms
Cameron Corner to Innamincka: 336 kms
Innamincka to Birdsville: 550 kms
Birdsville to Marree: 519 kms
Maree to Oodnadatta: 409 kms
Oodnadatta to Finke: 583 kms
Finke to Uluru 489: kms
Uluru to Alice Springs: 468 kms
Alice Springs to Mt Isa: 836kms
Mt Isa to Carnarvon National Park 2000 kms (plus detours to explore along the way)
Carnarvon National Park to Noosa: 746 kms (this little mermaid will be keen to go surfing)
Noosa to Cairns: 1579 kms (plus exploration)
That all adds up to a minimum of 9,297 kms. WOW !!
I imagine I will easily add another 1000 kms or so to that by time I meander around exploring along the way.
Currently researching
The desert portion of the trip is what I am busy researching at present.
This map (below) and a wealth of information is available at this website: National Parks of the Diamantina Shire – Munga-Thirri National Park | Diamantina Shire, Travel Outback Queensland - Diamantina Tourism.
They have some great PDF files you can download including the one I grabbed this image from.
The remote travel information PDF is particularly helpful and I have been inspired by the parks listed in the Central West Queensland Parks guide.
The Birdsville Hotel website also has a wealth of travel related information:
Getting to Birdsville by Road (birdsvillehotel.com.au) including a lot of information about crossing the Simpson Desert (which I am not going to do at this stage, my plan is to do the lap around it).
OneNote
I am using my OneNote for all my information files. I drop printouts into the tabs, once there I can access them even when away from internet.
I can also scribble all over the notes using my 'pen'.
The screenshot below shows some of the information/tabs I have already downloaded in preparation for the trip.
Desert Pass
I have already paid for my Desert Parks Pass and look forward to when the Parks Pass booklet arrives in the mail.... exciting.
Along the way
Along the journey I plan to stop & explore as many national parks as possible, birdwatch, soak in outback thermal hot springs, photograph wildlife and generally explore.
Geared up
Lulu the Landy is all geared up with self-rescue equipment, new tyres including two new spare tyres etc.
Geared up interview
I met the delightful Robert & Leanne (Wander and Move) a couple of weeks ago here in St George. We got chatting about our adventures (they have some great stories) and they asked if they could interview me... well ok., why not??
Looking back on the video now I have made a commitment to throw that summer frock away (check) and had a fresh haircut (check) ... but looking past all of that self criticism, I love their video and think it is a hoot (translate to good laugh).
Their video shows Lulu's new interior and some of my gear/setup ready for the next stage.
I hope you enjoy the video and find it as amusing as I did to watch.
Disclaimer - no makeup artist, no prep, no re-runs and this is their video/their edit.
Final prep
One of the last things I needed for the trip was install a UHF radio, which I did a few days ago - relatively easy to do all by myself and another great sense of accomplishment in doing so.
Back to the planning ....
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