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Visiting Birdsville in Eastern Central Australia

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:45:55 +0000

Several years my family went on an exciting 4 wheel driving tour of the Eastern Central Australian outback to places including William Creek, Mount Dare, Oodnadatta, old Ghan railway, Chambers Pillar, Alice Springs, Boulia, Birdsville, Innamincka, Packsaddle, Camerons Corner and Broken Hill.

This was an amazing adventure, one of our favourite towns was Birdsville. Birsville is a small outback town with a population of about 120 residents and is ready for the many travellers that pass through this very unique town regularly.

The Birdsville Hotel is a very famous outback pub, that is a must visit when you go to Birdsville. The have several motel rooms for accommodation, great meals and of course beer.

The edge the Simpson Desert is near Birdsville. Another must see is ‘Big Red’ the first and highest sand dune of the Simpson Desert, which is a challenge to conquer. Which we did and view is amazing.

The Birdsville Working Museum is well worth a look, it displays an amazing collection of all things old and Australian. From household products, toys, farming, coins, stamps just about everying and anything you can think of is there.

The Birdsville Races are held annually and thousands of people flock to these famous unique races. for more information about the races and Birdsville have a look at this website www.birdsvilleraces.com

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Lake Argyle In The Kimberley Amazing Experience

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:51:35 +0000

Lake Argyle is an amazing place to see, touch and experience. Before I saw Lake Argyle I assumed is was just like anything other lake, not true. I visited Lake Argyle several years ago and found it is absolutely huge and very scenic. Normal level of the lake is equal to 18 times what Sydney Harbour holds, at full capacity can hold twice that much.

Lake Argyle has a very interesting history, amazing wildlife, plenty of things to do like fishing, tours, bird watching, lake cruises, charter flights over the lake, swimming with 20,000 freshwater crocodiles, if you don’t like that idea your accommodation will most likely have a swimming pool and you can visit the Durack Homestead.

Lake Argyle is in the Top End of Western Australia near the Northern Territory so it can be accessed from the nearest town Kununurra or from the NT via the Victoria Highway, about a 35 kilometre scenic drive on a sealed road. Prior to europeans discovering this east Kimberley area it was inhabited by aboriginals for about 40,000 years, the area was considered an ideal area for cattle and that started many famous long journeys by the Duracks and others to set up the Kimberley at the cattle empire.

Damming of the Ord River was first contemplated in 1939 and 20 years later planning started and was completed in 1972. This dam wall is 99 metres high and 318 metres long and much more of it is below ground level. This wall is holding back all of Lake Argyles water, therefore stopping a major flood of Kununurra and beyond.

While we where visiting lake Argyle we went on a Sunset Cruise, this photo was taken from the cruise boat.

Another beautful photo from the cruise boat.

This photo is taken from standing on the dam wall looking out at a very small part of Lake Argyle. When you are the biggest part of the lake it is just like being out on the sea, you can’t see any land.

Looking out the side of the dam wall down the Ord River which flows to Lake Kununurra and beyond. The water has changed from a bright blue to a green colour.

Looking up at the dam wall from ground level shows the water flowing through the controlled irrigation system, also there is an organised tour preparing to canoe down the Ord River.

Lake Argyle is one of the many stunning experiences in the Kimberley.

View Directions to Lake Argyle in a larger map

Gibb River Road itinerary The Kimberley 4WD Adventure Holiday Itinerary

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:16:28 +0000

The Gibb River Road in The Kimberley is a 4 Wheel driving adventure holiday you will never forget, an experience of a lifetime.

You need to allow about 20 days or as long as 40 days if you have the time available. The length of time you have to travel the Gibb River Road will affect how much you will get to see and visit

The Gibb River Road is about 680km in length and the Kalumburu Road less than 300km. The number of places to see and rough and varying road conditions can make it a bit unpredictable as to how long your trip will take so allow a for a few extra days travelling time.

This is a suggested itinerary, it is best to have a flexible itinerary so then you can stay longer in some places when you find somewhere special or need a day to relax and recover.

Travellers are recommended to review distances, driving times, fuel availability and time spent walking each gorge to ensure an enjoyable holiday.

A high clearance 4 Wheel Drive vehicle is recommended for all travel on the Gibb River and Kalumburu Roads.

This is a suggested 20 day Itinerary for the Gibb River Road – All the popular places have been included

Day 1 Derby to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek. Overnight camp at Windjana Gorge Camp site

Day 2 Windjana Gorge to Mount Hart Wilderness Lodge. Overnight accommodation. Dinner, bed & breakfast – Camping with hot showers and flush showers.

Day 3 Stay at Mount Hart Wilderness Lodge. Overnight accommodation, Dinner bed & Breakfast – Camping with hot showers and flush toilets

Day 4 Mount Hart Wilderness Lodge to Lennard Gorge to Bell Gorge. Overnight Camp

Day 5 Stay at Bell Gorge. Overnight Camp

Day 6 Bell Gorge to Mornington Wilderness Camp previously Old Mornington Camp. Camp 3 nights

Day 7 Stay at Mornington Wilderness Camp visit Dimond Gorge

Day 8 Stay at Mornington Wilderness Camp visit Sir John Gorge

Day 9 Mornington Wilderness Camp to Charnley River Station

Day 10 Charnley River Station to Galvans Gorge to Mount Barnett Roadhouse. Camp 2 nights

Day 11 Visit Manning Gorge

Day 12 Mount Barnett Roadhouse to Mt Elizabeth Station. Overnight Camp (option of accommodation)

Day 13 Mt Elizabeth Station to Drysdale River Station. Overnight Camp (option of accommodation)

Day 14 Drysdale River Station to Mitchell Plateau. Camp 2 nights

Day 15 Visit Mitchell Plateau Falls

Day 16 Mitchell Plateau back to Drysdale River Station. Overnight Camp

Day 17 Drysdale River Station to Home Valley Station. Overnight Camp

Day 18 Home Valley Station to El Questro Homestead. Camp 2 nights (option of camping or luxury accommodation)

Day 19 Visit El Questro Gorge, Zeebedee Springs and other falls

Day 20 Visit Emma Gorge

Then travel to Kununurra/Wyndham

From Kununurra you can continue your trip to Lake Argyle, which must be seen to be believed.

You then can travel to Katherine and head down south, go north to Darwin, or travel west along the Great Northern Highway to Broome.

These are the minimum times that should be allocated at each stop once you have actually arrived.

Always check road & weather conditions before departing to any location along the Gibb River or Kalumburu Road.

Use this Gibb River Road itinerary as an example for when you are planning your Kimberley 4WD adventure holiday.

Further Information

Western Australia Tourism

Gibb River Road

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Camping At Uluru Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon And Palm Valley

admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:32:45 +0000

Camping at Uluru-Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon and Palm Valley Campgrounds is great, only a short drive to Uluru-Ayers Rock, the Olgas, Kings Canyon and Palm Valley and you are greeted with stunning scenery everywhere you look. Several years ago my family visited this area and highly recommend it to everyone.

We camped at Ayers Rock Resort. Kings Canyon Resort and Finke Gorge National Park, another option is Curtin Springs Cattle Station & Wayside Inn 85km east of Uluru which is owned by the Severin family since 1956. If you are interested in camping, Ayers Rock Resrt caters for every type of accommodation and arranges tours.

When visiting Central Australia, Uluru-Ayers Rock is always going to be main place to visit, so like everyone else we wanted to see it. We stayed at the Ayers Rock Resort Campground in tents. Which was very good, plenty of room and good amenities. We stayed 2 nights and visited Uluru which was about 15 minutes drive from the campground, camping is not permitted close to Uluru like it used to be.

We drove out the the ‘rock’ which was sort of mesmirising as you could this huge rock for at least 10 minutes getting bigger as we got closer to it.

We climbed the rock, about 1 ½ hours up and about 1 hour to get down and then we walked around the base, about 8 kilometres and about 2 hours. We were excited and exhausted when we had finished. The view from the top was amazing and it was unbelievable that we were actually at the ‘rock’ that we had seen many times on TV and in photos.

While camping and travelling an added extra bonus is we get to meet many other people from Australia and overseas. When we camped at the Ayers Rock Resort we met a great family from Sydney. We camped beside them, the kids starting playing cricket between out tents and from then on we have kept in contact ever since and have been on many camping trips with them including going to ‘The Kimberley’.

We then travelled with this family for 10 days as we were going the same way to Kings Canyon, Palm Valley and Alice Springs. Kings Canyon is in Watarrka National Park. we camped at Kings Canyon Resort, which had plenty of room and good amenities. We stayed for 2 nights.

Kings Canyon is definitely worth seeing, this photo shows the start of Kings Canyon. You can choose to go up steep steps at the start and then the rest is a slow descent downhill or have a slow climb all the way around and finish going down the steep steps.

Either way allow about 2 hours to take in the amazing views.

Next we travelled to Palm Valley which is further along the Mereenie Loop on our way to Alice Springs. Palm Valley is in Finke National Park which is 46,000 hectares.

The campground was very good with basic amenities, like most National Parks. When we had set up camp we we for a short walk. This photo shows the view very close to camp.

The next day we went on the main walk down the creek bed which is usually fairly dry unless they have decent rain in the area. This photo shows the palm trees and dry creek bed, as usual plenty to see and explore.

After leaving Palm Valley we continued our camping adventure to Alice Springs, we spent 3 nights at Alice Springs and did day trips to Glen Helen Gorge, Hermannsburg, Ormiston Gorge (photo below), then headed north to the Top End.

We could have easily toured Central Australia for several more weeks, Uluru – Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon, Palm Valley are just a few of the stunning destinations available for camping.

Drives

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:15:37 +0000

Australia has many great Self Drives and Tours we all can enjoy. Anywhere you travel in Australia you will see spectacular scenery and attractions that will be very diverse from beautiful beaches, deserts, rainforests, outback towns, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, our unique wildlife, wineries, ‘big things’, our history and much more.

ITINERARIES

Driving Around Australia on the Main Roads

WESTERN HALF

Katherine to Broome Road Trip The Great Northern Highway

Broome to Perth Self Drive Holiday Itinerary on the Coral Coast WA

Perth to Eucla WA Driving Around Australia Road Trip Itinerary

Eyre Peninsula – Driving from Eucla WA to Port Augusta SA

EASTERN HALF

Port Augusta Adelaide to Warnambool Road Trip

Great Ocean Road Tour In Victoria Warnambool to Torquay

Torquay, Geelong, Melbourne to Portsea in Victoria Itinerary

Driving Around Tasmania Itinerary

Driving Within Australia

Touring Central Eastern Australia 4WD Itinerary

Driving Outback Queensland and New South Wales

Gibb River Road Itinerary The kimberley 4WD Adventure Holiday

Explorers Way Driving the Stuart Highway Through Central Australia

Driving The Stuart Highway – Explorers Way Itinerary

ARTICLES

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My Family loves travelling to Australia’s beautiful and unique destinations. These adventures have been my inspiration to create this website and share our holiday experiences with you.

Travel Guide to Australia, Holiday Adventure Australia | Bonus Ebook! » 4wd

Visiting Birdsville in Eastern Central Australia

Lake Argyle In The Kimberley Amazing Experience

Gibb River Road itinerary The Kimberley 4WD Adventure Holiday Itinerary

Camping At Uluru Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon And Palm Valley

Drives

ITINERARIES

Driving Around Australia on the Main Roads

Driving Within Australia

ARTICLES

ABOUT TRAVELLING AUSTRALIA

DESTINATIONS

TRAVELLING RESOURCES

SCHOOL HOLIDAY DATES

TRAVELLING AND PLANNING TIPS

CAMPING

GENERAL INFORMATION

www.travel-australia-planning-guide.com