3400km in 4 days in the bt50 camerons corner and back

[pmturnbull]

Decided that after a couple of years trying to get enough time off from work to go out to the outback that I should take a 4 day weekend. Mate of mine jumped to share driving and the experience.

Thursday night 27th/8 left mates home at 8pm and tried heading as far west as possiable arrived at wellington (300km) for our first night. This resulted in us having half a dozen drinks with some wild locals before being kicked out and heading up to our room to find our room was already full by the time we got back go to the pub part where we paid for the room all was locked up and they were gone. So first night slept in car. lol at least I still have a key for next time.

Friday 28th woke up freezing and started heading to broken hill, truck stop special breakfast was had at cobar. Not long after we left cobar my mate was driving sitting on 108km (110km speed limit) because we had being flashed by passing traffic. A couple of minutes later the hwy patrol went pass heading east looking in the mirror my mate noticed him put the lights and sirons on and turn around I told him to pull over and wait for him to catch up. 20minutes later after my mate being rbt,being acused of talking on a mobile phone even though our phones were out of reception and his was in the canopy. Being acused of being drug or weapons runners. Asked why we were traveling to broken hill when we replied for a road trip boys weekend away, he told us that sounds stupid and couldn't understand why we were doing it. Checked over my car on the outside looking for some kind of illegal mod. Anyway when he couldn't book us for anything he had to let us go and now I hate cops in the hwy patrol idiots with a badge. We got to broken hill had some lunch had a valve stem replaced that I found leaking and we headed out to silverton hotel and mundi mundi plains.




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Saturday 29th
Started to head up silver city hwy to camerons corner
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The road up to tibooburra was great still mostly dirt with tar spots every now and then. AT the service station at tibooburra the lady informed us that the road to camerons corner is the worst it has ever being and told us to take it easy or go via sturt national park whats another 40km detour.

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[pmturnbull]

Once at camerons corner we booked our room and underloaded the truck before we headed out into the strekleki desert for about 40kms

On this track we found a crest that almost got the truck airborne so I dropped of my mate with camera and hit it with some more currie.
take off

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We headed back to the hotel after acouple of must do things at the corner

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Had dinner and acouple of drinks before retreating to our room for an early night.

30/8 I woke up around 2.30am as the paper thin walls let the loud sleeper next door keep me awake. By 3.30 the rain started falling on the roof and my mate asked me what time it was and I replyed 3.30 do you want to go (as I didn't want to get stuck because of closed tracks)

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3.40 we were driving through the dingo fence back into nsw the rain wasn't to bad yet and we pushed hard though the bad section of the track to tibooburra. Where I had to fill up the car with our back up jerrycans as not much is open at 5.20 in the morning. My orignal plan was to go via burke but due to the weather we headed south down to white cliffs with the storm on our tail.

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we made camerons corner to white cliffs in 4hrs and 10mins where we had to wait another 40minutes for the service station to open at 8.30

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From here we pushed on to dubbo where we slept the night and finished at sydney on the 31st after another detour via mudgee- sandy hollow, putty road and home.

The trip was great and I was surprised at how good country roads are besides camerons corner but this was worst then normal but still with in my thinking of what I was going to expect.

[utedriver]

I'll be out that way in a few weeks, I've been out there before so looking forward to it. Was the road badly corrigated out near the corner? Is that why the conditions were bad or had it been driven on in the wet? What pressure did you run?

Cheers Rich

[woolgoolgaoffroad]

lol,
great write up....
did u see much at all, or was it all about the drive ??
but suprisingly the roads are at their best at the moment.





hey Rich, i ran 28 in the cruiser and 24 in the Trek trailer that i towed....

[pmturnbull]

I'll be out that way in a few weeks, I've been out there before so looking forward to it. Was the road badly corrigated out near the corner? Is that why the conditions were bad or had it been driven on in the wet? What pressure did you run?

Cheers Rich

the roads were great but the road from tibooburra to camerons corner is meant to be the worst it has ever been due to road trains running overloaded going out to moomba gas plant all night (according to locals). I ran 30psi but I was sitting on 100kph+ on most dirt road sections, even on the worse section which I did at night was smooth enough at 100kph. just watch out for dips after 25 dips and you get confident number 26 will send you sky high. I must have got the truck airborne somewhere around 10 times (maybe more but not less)in the 2 days we spent on the dirt. cattle grids with slight ramps, dips in the road that come out more steep then when you go in. Plus the road out to merty merty from camerons corner

[pmturnbull]

lol,
great write up....
did u see much at all, or was it all about the drive ??
but suprisingly the roads are at their best at the moment.





hey Rich, i ran 28 in the cruiser and 24 in the Trek trailer that i towed....

thanks mate yeah silverton hotel,mundi mundi plans, strekleki desert, dingo fence, camerons corner, white cliffs, broken hill. Plus the biggest thing I wanted to see was what nothing looks like. lol

[Bert-O]

Hey PT, I find that funny that you get questioned of being a drug/firearms runner, when normally people just say us plumbers earn too much anyway, then again if we where going to be running guns and drugs - who would be stupid enough to put there name and phone number on the vehicle :crazy:.
Very good country out that way , love it myself and am itching to get a trip back out there some time soon. Cheers Rob.

[pmturnbull]

yeah bert my mate who was driving at the time said to the officer if we were drug runners do you think my mate would have his number on the side lol. The officer (aka idiot) though that my number on the side was more resonable that I could still be a drug runner then me just going to broken hill for a holiday.

[utedriver]

lol,
great write up....

hey Rich, i ran 28 in the cruiser and 24 in the Trek trailer that i towed....

the roads were great but the road from tibooburra to camerons corner is meant to be the worst it has ever been due to road trains running overloaded going out to moomba gas plant all night (according to locals). I ran 30psi but I was sitting on 100kph+ on most dirt road sections, even on the worse section which I did at night was smooth enough at 100kph. just watch out for dips after 25 dips and you get confident number 26 will send you sky high. I must have got the truck airborne somewhere around 10 times (maybe more but not less)in the 2 days we spent on the dirt. cattle grids with slight ramps, dips in the road that come out more steep then when you go in. Plus the road out to merty merty from camerons corner

Cheers Fellas'
Rich

[BFT RANGER]

Great write up PT. Got me motavaited to finish mine and post it up.

[woolgoolgaoffroad]

the roads were great but the road from tibooburra to camerons corner is meant to be the worst it has ever been due to road trains running overloaded going out to moomba gas plant all night (according to locals). I ran 30psi but I was sitting on 100kph+ on most dirt road sections, even on the worse section which I did at night was smooth enough at 100kph. just watch out for dips after 25 dips and you get confident number 26 will send you sky high. I must have got the truck airborne somewhere around 10 times (maybe more but not less)in the 2 days we spent on the dirt. cattle grids with slight ramps, dips in the road that come out more steep then when you go in. Plus the road out to merty merty from camerons corner


we did what the locals call ''the middle road''.
very sandy, in fact 202 dunes- or rises.
wasnt that bad at all.

[montana]

its clear that your not a drug runner,they dont use dual cab utes,and you dont have the tats and belong to certain sa gang :) did you see the number of the highway patrol car ?

[GXL4X4]

Great write up one day i will get out that way.

Cheers

[Shonky]

Good write up mate, heading up that way myself in less than two weeks and can't wait. :thumb:

[pmturnbull]

no mate I didn't look or get out of the car.
its clear that your not a drug runner,they dont use dual cab utes,and you dont have the tats and belong to certain sa gang :) did you see the number of the highway patrol car ?

[pmturnbull]

thanks guys I started planning next trip over beers last night.

Sydney, byron bay,birdsville,simpson desert,steep point wa, sydney in 9 days so I only miss 1 week of work

[Heifer Boy]

we did what the locals call ''the middle road''.
very sandy, in fact 202 dunes- or rises.
wasnt that bad at all.

Did this road on the way back from a month long trip to the Simpson and back. We did it 3 weeks ago and it's a good one and got the same story from the locals about the main road. A motorcyclist was killed on it a week before we got there because of the corrugations. Not good.

We ended up spending 3 days in the Sturt as they are great National Park campsites and plenty to cruise through if you have the time. Recommend Milparinka too and if you are heading to Bourke then the road via Wanaaring is in excellent condition and a very easy drive. Also do the Bore Track to Inamincka if you are heading through the Corner and up that way.

PS - Got to get my write up written some time too.

HB

[peteinoz]

Hey mate.. great write up :)

[ROBSKI]

thanks guys I started planning next trip over beers last night.

Sydney, byron bay,birdsville,simpson desert,steep point wa, sydney in 9 days so I only miss 1 week of work

What dates ya going? Cos I need some guns and drugs ran out....:D

Great write up too..

Robski

[Bricki]

Good stuff PT

I'm heading up there end of next week...going to Innaminka via thargomindah (cos I've done all the other ways now) then going to birdsville via cordillo downs and then over simmo, finke gorge, uluru, alice, devils marbles, then back thru central QLD all in 24 days and only 1 vehicle (lux) so I'm hoping I'll get home in 1 piece to post pics and write-up...taking sat phone and EPIRB so hoping I'll b fine