Planning the big trip

Many an off-road trip ends in disappointment and in most cases this unhappy conclusion could have been avoided by better planning, or by changing direction when the original mission became impractical.

We had to change plans mid-trip in winter 2010, because the weather intervened unexpectedly. Our original plan was to cross Australia, doing a torture test of six different camper trailers, towed by six new Mitsubishi vehicles.

We were looking for challenging conditions, including dusty tracks, rocky creek beds and the occasional creek crossing In a normal year Central Australia is mainly dry during the winter months, but not in 2010.

Heavy, unseasonal rains in Queensland’s Channel Country held us up for two days in Bedourie and then more dumps in the West MacDonnell Ranges delayed us for three more days near Alice Springs.

By then the Western Australian desert roads were wet as well, so we adopted Plan B and headed north, for the dry Gulf Country, in search of bulldust. We completed our trailer testing and all our crew had an enjoyable time.

Had we stuck to Plan A, we’d have been bogged in WA’s Gibson Desert for days on end – possibly weeks – and wouldn’t have found the test conditions we needed.

The lesson is clear: when you’re planning a Big Trip, have a fall-back route in place, so your holiday isn’t ruined.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK

Before settling on any trip – long or short – do your homework by reading as much as possible about the areas you intend to visit. There are many sources of information, including tourism centres and various web sites.

The next step is to assess what your crew and your vehicle are capable of handling. Everyone dreams of ‘doing The Cape’, but Cape York can be very hard on vehicles and on people.

We’ve seen relatively normal city-types go quite troppo after a few days of tropical heat, sandflies, mozzies and creek crossings. Some people can’t relax knowing there are crocs, stingers and sharks in those tropical-paradise waters.

The Canning Stock Route is another goal for many 4WD owners, but it’s a difficult, remote, 1800km slog that’s likely to be flooded in places and with only one permanent fuel supply point along the way. It’s a great adventure, if you’re up for it and your vehicle is suitable.

Planning for any long trip – a month-long holiday, for example – should start only after you’ve done at least a basic-level 4WD driving course and completed a few shorter trips.

Training and some bush driving will give you a good idea of the 4WD travel scene and prime you for doing your own trip research.

Another initial path is to join a 4WD club or contact one of the many 4WD tag-along-tour operators. If you join a club make sure you pick one that has a good trip program, not a club that concentrates on off-road competition.

Tag-alongs take the logistical worry out of doing trip planning, provided you choose a reputable operator.

GET LATEST INFORMATION

When the travel crew is happy with off-road jaunts and you’ve sorted out your vehicle and equipment it’s time to start work on Big Trip planning.

You need the latest information on the route. Destination guide books, tourism and national parks fact sheets list phone numbers and web sites you can consult before finalising matters, so make sure you read all these information sources and check by phone, fax or email with road authorities, police or ‘locals’.

There’s no fixed rule for checking on current conditions at bush locations. In some places the main roads department know best, in others it’s the tourism office or the local Aboriginal Community and in others it’s the police. We like to check with several sources before we plan a trip.

If it’s a remote area trip you’re planning, where your estimated total fuel, water and food supplies can’t be carried without resupply it’s vital that you contact all the planned resupply points before you set out, to make sure that there’s adequate provisioning available.

This is particularly important in the case of any desert travel, where a stranding can be life-threatening.

Remote area trips require careful food and vital liquids planning that’s a subject we’ll cover in a separate article. The aim is to travel as lightly, but safely, as possible.

Good maps, such as Hema’s detailed regional maps, list relevant phone numbers for remote area supply points. You need to carry detailed paper maps of your intended trip and also maps for your fall-back route. Naturally, you’ll also have a bush-competent GPS navigation system – not one that’s primarily intended for city use.

We have a golden rule that we don’t drive on any road or track for which we don’t have map coverage. Nor should you.

BE REALISTIC

Where you need travel permits allow plenty of time for their delivery.

Your trip research should have indicated any likely trouble spots, so you shouldn’t be surprised by a difficult stretch of track, a flooded creek or deep, soft sand.

Planning what you can realistically achieve in the time available is very difficult and it’s always wise to err on the conservative side.

Relying on driving after dark to meet your schedule invites an animal strike that could cost you much more than just lost time. Camping after dark has its own hazards, such as setting up on a bull-ant nest!

On winter trips we’re always camped by 5pm every day and we’ve found over the years that getting a convoy of vehicles packed and on the road before about 9am just doesn’t happen.

Everyone needs a lunch break, so a typical driving day is only seven hours maximum. How far you can travel in that time, while allowing for leg stretch stops and checking out the surroundings depends entirely on where you are going.

In the Simpson Desert you’ll manage only 100-150km each day, but on the much tougher Madigan Line some days yield only 40km of progress.

In contrast you can drive up to 400km each day on reasonable gravel roads, such as the Plenty Highway.

Try not to confine yourself to a tight schedule. It’s much better to plan a shorter trip, with plenty of leisure time built in, rather than fill every day with ‘certainties’ that rarely can be achieved.