Fellas , in March planning to ride from Sydney to Darwin , but i now think i might instead go as far as Tennants Creek and then turn left and go down to Uluru instead. any adverse road conditions that i can expect, and am i being too optimistic to be doing tennant to Uluru in a day ( only 950k's apparently which i can do quite easily in the southern states )
tia
Where do you want to start, the road from Isa to the border is not good, to the three ways is not bad,and all the way to the Rock is good.If you turn to Darwin the road is good but long and boreing and hot ,but once you reach Darwin it is Heaven.The worst part would be the Qld roads to Isa depends whitch way you go, inland or the coast.Charlie. Darwin
Trust me they will not close the rock to much money in it.Katherine and Darwin have a lot to see let me know when you are all leaving and those that go on to Darwin we will look after them .Charlie
FLSTC
I can only speak for the coastal route on the way up Queensland. Much more fun 'cause when you head inland you will not see the ocean for a long, long time.
If you head up the coast of Queensland, turn off left at Giru and head for woodstock (before Townsville, unless you want to visit Townsville) this knocks of a couple of hundred km's and this is the start of your inland adventure.
I covered Airlie Beach (backpacker heaven) to Richmond in a day.(711km) Road is excellent (just reworked) some skippies (don't leave to early or ride late. dawn-dusk rule). Didn't have any hassles with cattle. Richmond has a top caravan park with a lake out back to sit and watch the world go by and have a quiet ale.
Richmond to Camooweal (596km) is also a good run. Again same as above, road just reworked and some skips and cattle, dawn dusk rule. Camooweal, well, grab a room at the shell servo, last building on the right. Good meals and local hospitality at the pub in the middle of the main street. Not much there but a good overnighter.
Camooweal to Barkly homestead roadhouse (230km) to Threeways Roadhouse 210km (Tennant creek 20 odd km to the left of Three ways roadhouse) Roads flat, straight and very good. Get the odd cow that will watch you go past with interest. They almost look like they're thinking 'that looks like fun' as you ride past!
Fuel will be a factor to take into consideration when you do the Camooweal to Barkly Homestead 230km. Speed and if there is a head wind will play a roll in consumption. Camooweal servos know this and charge an arm and leg for a 5 litre plastic fuel can. Bring one with you if you can. Better to be safe than sorry. Don't really have to carry any fuel in it until there as there are pleanty of fuel stops along the way that you can easily achieve comfortably.
Depending on which way you go, I'll give you a run down after dinner. Get back to you shortly
Nice dinner that one. Long too
Anyway........ forgot to mention the Wedge tail Eagles. They snack on road kill and don't move until your on them. Takes them about 10 metres to get off the ground so be aware. Big birds. Watch out when you are coming onto road kill also as the eagles maybe landing at the same time.
I also put a bit about a fuel can in the last thread as well
When you get to Threeways Roadhouse http://www.threewaysroadhouse.com.au/cms/index.php (20km from Tennant Creek) you decide which way you want to go. Threeways has a good camp ground area with rooms at various prices.
At Tennant Creek, the first caravan park on the left on the way in is where I stay or there is a motel across the road (Usually stay at Threeways though. Tennants a shit hole)
This website should give you some ideas on which way to go http://www.barklytourism.com.au/
In answer to your question about the roads. Long, sorta flat and wide. 130k/hr speed limit no matter which way you go. Hope you've got a screen and grippy foot boards otherwise your going to get tired hanging on. You can do the distances you want with ease.
Heading south, Tennant Creek to Uluru
After Tennant Creek there is more cattle especially the closer to Alice (no fences). Also you may encounter camels and emus and big red roos. Its not too much of a problem as the are no bushes to hide behind (all desert) so you can see them from a fair way. Again I recommend not travelling too early or late and at night is a no no. Personally I'd camp at Alice for the night.
Heading north.
Head for Daly Waters pub. Great place to camp or get a room and have a beer or two. Its 7km past the Daly waters roadhouse. Turn left and another 7 km and your there. You'll luv it. 400 odd kms. Again you've got cattle but they thin out the more north you go. Roos turn to wallabies but are more plentiful. Dawn and dusk rule still applies.
590km and your at Darwin. You've got Mataranka hot springs on the way for a refreshing dip
Hope this helps
Let me know your plans if head up this way
Mag
any way you go is a good ride,if you leave brissy and go inland,the roads get a bit rough in places but nothing you cant handle,plenty of caravan parks,motels etc,most are reasonably priced. its pretty dodgy riding at night cos theres plenty of critters about. the road from Isa to camooweal is not too bad now,theyve done a lot of work on it the last few years,if you go up the coast the road from townsville to isa gets a bit rough. camooweal to barkly homestead is a bit of a haul,the roads good but its better to carry a bit of fuel,ive done it a few times and got in on reserve[harley] but the last time ran out of juice about 20k short,depends on the wind,cross winds can be pretty wild out there. threeways roadhouse got cheap accomodation,as was said Tennant creek is a shithole. if you go north,theres plenty of places to stay but as someone said the pick is Daly Waters pub,really good spot,plenty of backpackers,good clean rooms,pool etc. always a good time there.plenty of livestock on the roads,as you get further north keep your eye out for buffalo,they are big and hard. if you go south to alice the road is good,plenty of livestock,can be a bit boring,plenty of places to stay,reasonable prices. the road to the rock is pretty good. you will enjoy the ride whichever way you go.
until recently was an open speed limit,but has been dropped to 130. most NT cops are pretty good out in the sticks but get a bit snarly in the bigger towns. 130 is a pretty good travelling speed and i dont reckon its worth the risk tryin to find out if its a good cop or a bad cop. you will be surprised where you find coppers up there,they turn up in the most unlikely places and waaaaaay out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. the road from rocky inland is a good ride,watch out for wild pigs in the morning and evening,there some big fuckers out there.
Depends if they got a root that day or not
About 135k's and you'll more than likely get a warning. Above that I reckon you'll get pinged.
If it's one of the small town cops more than likely a warning. If its a dedicated highway patrol your gone. It's thier job
But having said that, they won't stop you for riding a Harley just for the sake of it. I got pulled over in Elliott on the way down by a police road block doing breatho's. The cop actually complimented me on how nice the bike was and how pissed off he was standing in the middle of the road in 42 deg heat at midday!
As Angry said, 130k's is a good speed.
I find on the Fatty if you go above that you can watch the fuel gauge moving in real time! You'll also be pushing it to the next fuel stop in some places.
I just travelled the road between Townsville and the Territory border back in November. The road is shmik. They have just finished reworking all the bad bits. Flat as now. Thanks to the Rudd stimulous package.
Angry...... Buffalo's? What Buffalo's!
theres plenty of buffalos wandering around up there Magilla,last easter i nearly cleaned one up just nth of the Noonamah pub. the old bulls go wherever they want whenever they want. since the BTEC program of the early 80s finished,they have slowly been breeding back up and now there are quite a few wandering around. more so out in the sticks but every now and then you will see one close to town. dont crash into one on your bike cos it only makes em cranky.
Around Alice we usually cruise on local highways at about 140kph... just slow down 10km or so from towns. So there's no probs doing 1000km a day if u dont mind sitting in the saddle that long, but i personally wouldnt do it all in one go. Be careful of roos, cows, and occasionally camels and horses especially early in the morning and around dusk. I suggest going to Kings Canyon for a day if you are going all the way to Ayers Rock. Gimme a yell if you are stopping in the Alice for a couple of days and we might catch up for a beer.
if you do turn right at Tennant Creek and head for Darwin make sure you drop into Adelaide River and visit the War Cemetry... Adelaide River was where many critically injured servicemen and women were sent during the war and those who died here were buried here.... the Americans have now removed the remains of their fallen
talk about frigging wet.... I'll post up pics later... best one was Wangi Falls, Litchfield National Park....... NT folk might see the pic my bro-in-law took on the ABC weather in the next week or so.
Camp or get a room at the 3 ways, tennant creek is ugly, be on serious lookout for camels they kill bikers and unlike roo's are present all hours of the day, if ya head north there are many historical pub's that are must visits for various reasons, daly waters pub is at the top of the list, keep an eye out at wheelbarrow creek for yellow paint on the road, that is where peter falconio was murdered (if the paint is still there)...if ya head to the rock it would be a big ride to do in one day, its 5 hours from alice, if ya have the time i would strongly suggest turn left at southern end of alice and head out to the east macdonnells and spend the night at ross river homestead, again camels are thick out this way as you will find, be prepared for very expensive alcohol in central aussie, in 2008 a six pack of beam was $60 in most places, cheaper up north. All the main roads are 130km speed limit.
