Around forty years ago, I saw a video by Broken Hill identity Jack Absolom present what he referred to as 'In the Steps of Charles Sturt'. Jack's passion for the outback was evident, and it struck a chord with me immediately for a couple of reasons. His love of the outback was an inspiration to me as an aspiring photographer, and his character/style was reminiscent of the rural characters I met as a teenager around our farm.
Additionally, I was always fascinated by Australian history and hearing him speak about Charles Sturt (and others) motivated me to know more. Fast forward to 2008, and I was lucky enough to have undertaken the following route while sourcing travel content. I would often mention to others about this fantastic adventure from Broken Hill to Cameron Corner.
My second trip through the Corner Country in 2008 - retracing some of Sturt's Expedition. Outback NSW, Australia
Preamble
In 2020, a tourism route (called Sturt’s Steps) was developed from Broken Hill to Cameron Corner and returning to Broken Hill. That project is in no way related to this or any touring routes covered by Red Dust Snow/Photouring.
The following adventure and experience route is similar to one I covered many years ago. From that, my preferred way includes Eldee Station (Silverton), Packsaddle Roadhouse, and a stopover in Tibooburra before heading out to Cameron Corner. I have also included an option to start at Mt Gipps Station.
Sturts Touring Route - Overview
The following touring route follows the approximate route taken by Captain Charles Sturt during his 1844-45 inland expedition. With no public roads across the Barrier Ranges, we begin the journey further north than the line taken by the expedition.
Starting in Broken Hill, and travelling either via Eldee Station (Silverton) or Mount Gipps (Corona Road), to Milparinka then on to Tibooburra that provides a great base for exploring Sturt National Park as well as a great touring route known as the Cameron Corner Explorer.
Captain Charles Sturt was one of the most significant people associated with early Australia and Australia's pre-eminent explorers.
Charles Sturt was born on April 28th, 1795 in Bengal, India., and was the eldest of eight sons and one of thirteen children. At the age of four, he was sent to England to continue his education and joined the British Army at age 18 and served in Spain, Ireland, Canada and France.
At the age of 22 (1827), he sailed to Australia as escort to a shipment of convicts for Sydney, where he remained there for several years.
Charles Sturt and the Darling River
With a keen interest in exploring, Sturt curiosity was piqued by Australia's unmapped interior and its waterways. Charles Sturt was appointed Private and Military Secretary to NSW Governor Ralph Darling and led the 1828-9 expedition to trace the Macquarie River beyond its marshes. He discovered the Darling River, correctly deducing that the westward-flowing rivers were its tributaries.
In November 1829 Charles Sturt set out to further explore the western rivers and determine where the Darling River flowed. Darling hoped that the rivers drained into a fabled inland sea. His subsequent discovery of the Murrumbidgee-Murray-Darling river system, and his journey down the Murray to Lake Alexandrina and back, established him as Australia's pre-eminent explorer.
Charles Sturt served for a short time as Commander on Norfolk Island before returning to England, where he left the Army and married Charlotte Greene in 1834.
Sturt as a Pastoralist
In 1835 Sturt returned to New South Wales to take up his 5,000 acres of land granted to him for his military service. He failed as a farmer, and the overlanding of cattle from Goulburn NSW to the newly established colony of South Australia in 1838 was not a financial success either.
On their return from overlanding, Sturt wrote a detailed report which was published in the local paper. While in Adelaide he bought several blocks of land, did some surveying for the South Australian Company and gained the position of Surveyor General from which Colonel Light had resigned. He left for Sydney where he arrived on October 30th.
In March 1839, while Sturt's brother Evelyn was involved in the overlanding of cattle, as was Henry Osborne, Charles Sturt and his family moved to South Australia to take up employment as Surveyor General. Unfortunately for him, Colonel Frome had been appointed to that job by the authorities in England, and he lost the position when Frome arrived in Adelaide.
Sturt and the Inland Sea
After the birth of his daughter on January 19th 1843 and having settled his family at the Reed Beds, Grange, Sturt once more took to exploring. This time to settle the debate about an inland sea in the centre of Australia. His party, which included John McDouall Stuart, left Adelaide in August 1844. They returned in January 1846. It had been a very difficult journey with temperatures often above the 45 degrees Celsius.
Sturt failed to find the inland sea he had sought for so long but did discover Cooper's Creek. Ultimately repelled by the dunes and gibbers of the deserts, he was forced to return to Adelaide due to scurvy and failing eyesight.
He was sympathetic to the Aborigines he encountered in all of his expeditions, realizing that great changes to their way of life would result, an attitude he shared with his great friend and fellow explorer Edward Eyre.
When he finally reached the Stony Desert and the Simpson Desert he was convinced that there was no inland sea.
It was during this trip in 1845 that he discovered the Desert Pea near a creek which he named Cooper Creek, after South Australia's Chief Justice Sir Charles Cooper.
In 1847 Sturt returned to England, published his well-known Narrative of an Expedition into Central Australia and returned to South Australia in 1849 as Colonial Secretary. However, in 1851 he retired to the Grange with a pension of £600 a year. Two years later, the family once more returned to England due to poor health. Three of his sons then served in the Indian Army. Sturt died on June 16th 1869. Sturt Stony Desert, Sturt River and the Desert Pea are named after him in South Australia. New South Wales has honoured him with the Charles Sturt University and the Northern Territory with the Sturt Desert Rose.
On August 10th 1844 Captain Charles Sturt led the Central Australian Expedition through the streets of Adelaide, then along the Murray and the Darling Rivers before heading where no European had been before. The quest was to find the sea which Sturt and his sponsors believed occupied the heart of Australia.
The journey failed to find the mythical lake but ultimately led to the description and interpretation of vast areas of inland Australia, which would later be opened up for pastoralism and mining. The route through western New South Wales was significantly further than the shorter distance to the centre, through South Australia. However, the commonly held belief of the time was that a series of linked horse‐shoe lakes surrounded the northern reaches of the Flinders Ranges. By taking the eastern route the impenetrable sand‐dunes and the lakes would be avoided.
Charles Sturt was a careful explorer. The lives of sixteen men depended upon the decisions he made, the most critical being the location of water in a hostile, arid environment.
After leaving the relative safety of the rivers, Sturt travelled northwesterly across the plains from Menindee and set up camp amongst the hills to the east of present-day Broken Hill. Small survey parties of men were sent in search of routes across the ranges to the west, and to find waterholes where the expedition would be able to make camp.
Once it was established that water was available, the expedition moved onwards, dragging carts and wagons laden with stores, and even a wooden boat to sail on the inland sea. They crossed the rocky gullies and narrow creek gorges of the Barrier Ranges until the expedition stood on the plain to the west, Mundi Mundi.
Having struggled across the Barrier Ranges, a campsite was established near a gorge on west‐flowing Campbell's Creek on the edge of the Mundi Mundi Plain. A day or so later another, further north, a soak‐hole on Morphett's Creek, was reached.
There, from November 29th 1844, the group waited as two expedition members, James Poole and Harris Browne, travelled on horseback to the west toward Lake Torrens. Crossing sand‐dunes and salt flats, Poole and Browne rode until they were within sight of Mt Searle and Lake Blanch. Unfortunately, no route that would enable the expedition to continue safely in a westerly direction.
They followed their tracks back to inform Charles Sturt that there was no option other than to continue in the northerly direction. Robert Flood rode ahead to find the next campsite and discovered an excellent waterhole 70 km north on a creek that was later named Flood's Creek. After abandoning a dray in Morphett's Creek where it was bogged, they travelled on to Flood's Creek and set up camp for a week.
Poole, Browne and John Mack continued northwards as far as the Queensland border in order to search for, and map the locations of, further water supplies.
Sturt, John McDouall Stuart and Flood headed east across the Coko Range to the plains beyond toward the Nuntherungie Hills. Each party returned to camp on Christmas day 1844, Sturt passing just to the south of Bancannia Lake.
With the weather increasingly hot and rainless, Sturt worried about water supplies drying up and was keen to keep moving. The expedition broke camp from Flood's Creek on December 28th. The wagons and carts struggled across the terrain of the Barrier Ranges. At the same time, Sturt rode to the Pinnacle Hill to the east, the most northern hill of the Barrier Ranges. From his vantage point, he could see the dust rising from the wagon wheels to the west.
To the north of the expedition route from Flood's Creek lies Mt Arrowsmith, a magnetic hill Sturt named after his London based cartographer. The expedition travelled northeast across the southern slopes of the Mt Arrowsmith and camped on a creek running to the east into Lake Bullea. Then, with the new year's temperatures in the extreme, the expedition continued northwards, across Mt Browne Creek to Evelyn Creek, near where the township of Milparinka now sits.
At Evelyn Creek, the expedition set up camp while Sturt headed northwards into Queensland to the west of the Grey Range as far north as the Wilson River. Finding no water, they too returned to the safety of the Evelyn Creek.
In Sturt's absence, other members of the group had discovered Preservation Creek, a tributary of the Evelyn, where a long sheet of water lay within a rocky glen and provided the possibility of water for almost twelve months. On February 1st, 1845, the expedition relocated to this site. Named Depot Glen, it would become one of the most famous locations in Australian exploratory history. Without the possibility of retreat or advancement, the expedition remained entrapped at Depot Glen for almost six months.
The summer seemed relentless with temperatures exceeding 100°F for several weeks, and many members of the expedition party suffered from scurvy. An underground room was constructed in the bank of the gorge to offer relief from the heat, and comfort to Poole who was especially ill.
To relieve the monotony of camp‐life, Sturt's men walked daily to the top of the nearby Red Hill (Mt Poole), to construct a stone cairn, 21 feet square at the base, 18 feet high. It has become a memorial to Poole the only expedition member not to survive.
Sturt knew that it was impossible to move forward with the expedition, or even retreat, but was unable to rest. Taking three of his men with him, he again headed northwards, across the border into Queensland. He followed his earlier trail but this time travelled further west of the junction of the Warri Warri Creek and Wilson Rivers.
Locating a westward flowing creek (Frome's) he followed it to where it ended in Pinnaroo Lake. After the harshness of the country they had passed through before, Sturt found this locality far more favourable and named it The Park. Later the area would be called Fort Grey, after the Governor of South Australia.
Returning to Depot Glen, Sturt noted that many of the native birds which had frequented the waterhole had left, an ominous sign, he noted, of receding water supplies.
Within a few days Sturt and Browne headed off, this journey was to search the country to the east of Depot Glen for water. They travelled almost 160 km to Yantara Lake but found nothing and returned to camp. Little wonder that Sturt was pessimistic. The future of the expedition seemed very bleak.
Periodically Depot Glen was visited by members of the local aboriginal tribes. On one occasion, the arrival of an elderly man fueled hope. Seeing the boat, and recognizing its significance, the old man pointed towards the northwest, the very direction in which Sturt believed the inland sea lay as if indicating a vast expanse of water.
Still, they waited, continuing to build the cairn, sending out small scouting parties to explore the wider area, and chaining a survey line of some 50 kilometres.
By June 1845 James Poole was desperately ill, and Charles Sturt began to make plans for him to be taken to Adelaide, just as soon as it rained enough. He was to be accompanied by five men, as well as one to nurse him during the journey. A unique bed of sheepskins was prepared on a cart and letters were written to the South Australian Government requesting additional stores. Rain began to fall on July 12th, and two days later the creeks around Depot Glen filled with water.
On July 16th 1845 the expedition left Depot Glen, Sturt's party moved along the survey line to the northwest, Poole and his carers along the south‐bound route. Sturt had travelled just six kilometres when a messenger from Poole's party rode up with the news that Poole died. His body was returned to Depot Glen and buried nearby beneath a beefwood tree. Today it still bears the inscription carved into the bark: JP 1845. Remarkably he was the only man to die on the expedition, despite the conditions under which they travelled and lived. Others, including Sturt, also suffered terribly from scurvy, the heat and lack of water.
The day after the sad burial of Poole, the retreating party again set off for Adelaide. Sturt and his team also returned to their task of following their previously chained course to the northwest and continuing their expedition.
The intention was to set up a base camp at Fort Grey to explore a western route around Lake Torrens allowing a route further north through what was already known to be very difficult country.
While most of the remaining members of the expedition remained at Fort Grey to establish a stockade (and endeavour to germinate some of the seeds they carried with them) Sturt moved quickly to examine the country to the west of the South Australian border adjacent to Lake Torrens.
Finding no passage north of the sand-dunes and lakes he began his journey back to the fort on August 5th 1845.
Soon after, accompanied by Browne, Flood, Lewis and Joseph Cowley, Sturt again headed out for the northwest. With a massive effort across a barren, waterless landscape, the group reached their most northern point on the edge of the Simpson Desert on September 8th. Convinced that they could not continue toward the centre of Australia they retreated to Fort Grey. Sturt then decided to take fresh men and scout to the north and east. This time he took just three men, Stuart, Mack and David Morgan, and followed their old course to Strzelecki Creek and on to the Cooper Creek. Sturt had planned to go east along the Cooper, but rainfall in the area encouraged him somewhat, and the expedition turned to the north instead.
They dug wells to capture rainfall, but it was to no avail, and again they were forced to retreat. Returning to Cooper Creek, the party made one more desperate attempt to locate the inland sea and rode east along the Cooper until on November 3rd they finally accepted the futility of their efforts. Sick, almost blind, Sturt retreated to Fort Grey.
Before leaving Harris Browne in charge at Fort Grey, Charles Sturt had given instructions that if they were forced to retreat from the Fort Grey, they should fall back to Depot Glen. Upon return to Fort Grey, Sturt found that all had indeed left. Ill and disappointed, Sturt rode on to Depot Glen where the expedition was reunited.
Browne and Flood rode on to Flood's Creek in search of water and returned to Depot Glen with good news. Sturt instructed the men to kill four bullocks, and with their skins, they made large water vessels. Leaving behind most of their stores, and the boat, they slowly began the long journey home. Too ill to ride his horse, Sturt was now uncomfortably confined to a bed on one of the drays.
The retreat was successful, assisted by some wild berries found on bushes near Morphett's Creek, Sturt's health improved to the point that, on January 19th 1846, he rode into Adelaide and his home.
Despite the mention of Mundi Mundi (just west of Silverton) in accounts of the expedition, the published touring route of Sturt's Steps heads northeast from Broken Hill, then north at Corona Rd to Mt Gipps Station.
Via Silverton and Eldee Station: Total Distance: 578 km
Multi-award winning Eldee Station is the only working sheep and cattle station and farm stay welcoming tourists in the Mundi Mundi Plains/Barrier Ranges region in Outback NSW.
Via Silverton and Eldee Station: Total Distance: 578 km
North of Broken Hill - Breathtaking county in the heart of the outback and only 40km from the heritage-listed and iconic town of Broken Hill. We offer various accommodation options including private cottages, caravan sites, shearers quarters and camping.
From Pine View Station, the touring route continues north along Border Downs Rd, crossing Packsaddle Creek before heading back southeast along Sanpah Road.
It should be noted that the actual route Sturt took was more northeasterly, through what is now Pimpara Lake Station and Pincally Station. With Sanpah Rd roughly the midpoint to Cameron Corner (as the crow flies), there is an excellent option east to Silver City Highway and one of the best roadhouses in Australia for a meal, refreshments, and some great hospitality at the Packsaddle Roadhouse.
Packsaddle Roadhouse is located on the Silver City Highway, 175 kilometres north of Broken Hill, and is home to Mia and Arnie, who offer a welcoming stop for weary travellers.
The route then continues a short way north of Packsaddle before heading back west, Mount Arrowsmith Rd, to Pincally Station.
After visiting Packsaddle Roadhouse, the route continues north along the Silver City Highway, 34 km, then west along Mount Arrowsmith Rd to Pincally Station.
Pincally Station is the home to Matt and Zanna Gale and their three daughters Bella, Lucy and Millie. The rugged Mount Arrowsmith Hills, named by Sturt during his expedition through the region, form a backdrop to the property and homestead.
From Pincally Station, the route north passes Mt Arrowsmith, Mt Shannon, and Mt Browne, before reaching Milparinka.
Milparinka is one of only two townships surviving in the Corner Country - the other being the larger community of Tibooburra - and is 296 km north of Broken Hill, 39 km south of Tibooburra, and 1,465 km from Sydney. All around the red dusty soils of Outback New South Wales stretch to the horizon. Gold was discovered in 1880, Milparinka became a thriving town, but today it is a shadow of its former self. A reminder that only the hardest of human beings can live in such severe conditions.
Milparinka Partners
Built in 1882, the Albert Hotel was the first to be licensed in Milparinka and just one of four hotels in the historic township at the height of the gold rush. Despite renovations, through the years parts of the hotel remain as travellers would have found them more than a century ago.
Pincally Station is the home to Matt and Zanna Gale and their three daughters Bella, Lucy and Millie. The rugged Mount Arrowsmith Hills, named by Sturt during his expedition through the region, form a backdrop to the property and homestead.
Milparinka is one of only two townships surviving in the Corner Country - the other being the larger community of Tibooburra - and is 296 km north of Broken Hill, 39 km south of Tibooburra, and 1,465 km from Sydney. All around the red dusty soils of Outback New South Wales stretch to the horizon. When gold was discovered in 1880, Milparinka became a thriving town but today it is a shadow of its former self. A reminder that only the hardest of human beings can live in such severe conditions.
During the 1870s goldrush, those seeking their fortunes headed to the region, with miners travelling overland from Wilcannia, and Farina on the Ghan Railway line, travelling overland across mostly waterless terrain. No visit to Outback New South Wales can be considered complete without pausing at Milparinka and thinking about the lives of the early settlers.
Not far from Milparinka along the touring route is an area that provides some great insights to the Sturt's expedition; Depot Glen, Pooles Grave and Mount Poole.
Depot Glen, on Preservation Creek, and was the base camp for Charles Sturt's expedition party for six months unable to move forward or backward because of extreme heat and drought. The explorers constructed an 'underground room' in Depot Creek, a tributary of Evelyn Creek, where there was a permanent waterhole. Having access to this water, they survived the drought.
While the leading group of Sturt's expedition pushed north, a second group stayed at Depot Glen waiting for their return. To keep the men busy Sturt had them walk to Red Hill (Mt Poole) each day 'to give the men occupation and keep them in health', where they constructed a cairn.
James Poole, the second in command, died of scurvy on this expedition and was buried near Depot Glen. A beefwood tree with his initials carved in the back marks the grave.
The only trees on the gibber plains in the vicinity of Mt Poole are river red gums lining the beds of the ephemeral streams. In the deeply-incised bed of Depot Creek, the tree roots reach down to the water that flows beneath the surface along the stream beds.
After visiting Poole’s Grave, Depot Glen, and Mt Poole (Red Hill), the adventure continues back at Tibooburra, about 55 km back up the highway, the perfect base to explore the Corner, including the drive to Cameron Corner!
Tibooburra Partners
The Family Hotel will welcome you with that great outback hospitality that is a welcome change from the rushed and impersonal ways of the ‘big-smoke. Located in Tibooburra, Outback NSW, Australia.
The Corner Country Store is situated in the town centre of Tibooburra, look for the "i" offering visitor and road information. Offering friendly service, selling fuel, tyre repairs, gas refills, ice, real coffee, homemade food and more.
Tibooburra Beds & Camping, we've set out to provide you with everything you need. Our spacious, clean, and comfortable motel style accommodation provides a reprieve from the outback.
The Granites Motel/Caravan Park was established in 1985 in time for the Tibooburra School Centenary Celebrations. It started with five motel rooms and four second-hand caravans with an amenities block and a few powered sites.
TJ's Roadhouse, Supermarket, Restaurant & Cafe. For all your travel provisions including Supermarket, Cafe, Restaurant, Beer Garden, Post Office and Vehicle Repairs, TJ's Roadhouse, Supermarket, Restaurant & Cafe, has everything you need for your visit to Tibooburra and Corner Country.
With Tibooburra as a base, it is time to explore the region, and there are three great touring experiences, the main loop getting you to Cameron Corner.
Cameron Corner Store has a range of accommodation options. There are family, double and single air-conditioned rooms. These are detached from the store and have shared bathrooms. All bedding supplied. Meals at the store.
The drive from Tibooburra to Cameron Corner takes the visitor through a diverse landscape including the Waka Claypan, past Fort Grey, and on to the Corner and the world's longest fence. When constructed, the 5,000+ km Dog/dingo Fence kept roaming Dingos of the north and west out of the pastoral lands of NSW. The Cameron Corner loop takes in the western section of Sturt National Park and is an authentic outback experience and affords the visitor with a diverse landscape with the colours and hues that are synonymous with Outback Australia.
The return section heads south then across to Milparinka and all it has to offer including the nearby Depot Glen and Mt Poole, then back to Tibooburra.
Total Drive 392 km
Tibooburra to Cameron Corner - 140 km
Head south to follow Silver City Hwy 1.65 km
Turn right onto Cameron Corner Rd 42.7 km
Turn left to stay on Cameron Corner Rd 73.9 km
Turn left onto The Dunes Scenic Dr 21.3 km
Continue onto Riecks Rd 0.26 km
Arrive Cameron Corner
Cameron Corner to Depot Glen & Mt Poole - 185 km
Turn left onto Riecks Rd 0.26 km
Continue onto The Dunes Scenic Dr 21.3 km
Turn right onto Fortville Rd 0.12 km
Continue onto Cameron Corner Rd 39.1 km
Sharp right onto Waka Rd 45.05 km
Merge onto Waka Rd 21.4 km
Turn left onto Hawker Gate Rd 55.4 km
Sharp left (Signposted) 8 km
Mt Poole to Milparinka - 19.7 km
Return to Hawker Gate Rd 8 km
Continue along Hawker Gate Rd 11.7 km
Milparinka to Tibooburra - 41.6 km
Milparinka Rd 2.6 km
Turn left at Silver City Highway 39 km
Arrive Tiboobura
If wanting to explore the central and eastern sections of Sturt National Park, there are two great, interconnecting, touring routes.
The Gorge Loop Road
The tour around Mt Wood and the Mount Wood Hills covers the outdoor pastoral heritage museum, Mt Wood Homestead & shearers quarters, the Gibber and Mitchell Grass Plains, the Twelve Mile Creek Gorge, and the old pastoral remains at Torrens Bore and Horton Park Station. Wildlife such as Emu, Kangaroo, and Wedge-Tail eagles are commonly sighted.
The Jump-Ups Loop Road:
The ancient land-forms that are known as the Jump-Ups are the remains of an ancient mountain range eroded over millions of years. As a result, a 150m plateau (Mesa) and the granite strewn plains which form the catchment of the Connia Creek (Ephemeral) which follows south-east into the Twelve Mile creek. A truly spectacular sight.
For more detail on the above routes, be sure to visit the NPWS Office in the main street of Tibooburra and collect the brochure on Sturt National Park.
Sturt's Route - Guide Download
To download your copy of the Sturt's Touring Route Brochure, please use the following link:
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Safe Outback Travel
Driving Outback Australia
Safe Outback Travel
The Outback is easily accessible and a safe place to travel. Like any journey, correct planning, preparation and common sense will ensure a memorable and wonderful experience.
Safe outback travel is about common sense and potential dangers come from the hot & dry summers and distances between towns & services.
The Outback experiences very hot and dry summers. Travel is safer and more enjoyable March – October.
The best advice for any traveller is.. “it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it”
Some signs in the outback may seem peculiar to the uninitiated but most are there for a very good reason and must be abided by:
TOTAL FIRE BANS: Our country is precious and fires can easily get out of hand (especially in National Parks). If fires are prohibited or Fire Bans are in place, this applies to all people.
FRUIT FLY EXCLUSION ZONE: necessary for the protection of crops in the area. Please dispose of fruit and vegetables before entering the Zone.
ROAD CLOSED: Sometimes unsealed roads are closed after rain. This is for personal safety and to prevent the roads from being damaged. Fines apply if driving on Closed Roads and car insurance will void if something happens to your car on closed roads.
Plan and research where and when to go (Google search and maps, VICS)
Talk to others who have travelled the area (Online forums like ExplorOz)
Organise contacts/accommodation details before leaving.
Determine if your vehicle is appropriate for the intended journey.
Ensure your vehicle is fully serviced before embarking on your holiday.
Take spare parts that may be needed. (Fuses, tyre, belts etc)
Carry spare fuel.
Buy a first aid kit (and pack it so it is easily accessible)
Do not overload your car – especially if using roof racks
Water – carry a large container of water. (20+)
Communications – Mobile coverage: Determine the coverage of your mobile and if a necessary upgrade for maximum coverage for your trip. For more remote travel, consider VHF/UHF and EPIRB device.
Remember the adage about ‘the journey and the destination’. Plan to stop and explorer the areas you are travelling through. This will break the trip up and keep you fresh. Plan to do this every 2-3 hours.
Be aware when approaching livestock as they will not necessarily keep off the road and can cross when you least expect it.
Try avoiding driving at sunrise and sunset as many native animals (Roos and Emus) will be active then and will be attracted to your headlights and can jump in front of your vehicle – and cause serious damage.
If you wish to overtake trucks, a quick flash of your lights is often appreciated.
Road trains (double semi-trailers) are long and will take twice as long to overtake than a normal truck. Plan to overtake with caution.
Drive at a safe speed (10-20kms less) as conditions on unsealed roads can change quickly.
If approaching another vehicle, slow down and move to the left as this will reduce stone damage (windscreen and paint) and reduce dust which may inhibit vision to what is behind their vehicle and yours.
Slow when approaching cattle grids as some may be raised or dropped and can be hazardous if crossing at speed.
Don’t drive on closed gravel roads.
If stopping for some reason, pull over and don’t stop in the middle of the road. If venturing off the main road, take care as the side drain may look dry but maybe wet underneath.
Approach creek crossing with caution… they may be washed out and can cause serious damage to your car.
Country people are renowned for their hospitality but remember that their property is their home and livelihood and not all are amenable to random access of their properties; in the same way, you would not be at your home or office.
Always leave gates as you find them not as you think they should be.
Ask permission for camping at the homestead. Check with the station owner before camping and let them nominate a place for you.
River and creeks can be great for a refreshing swim on a hot day. BUT be cautious as there can be steep slippery banks, undertows and submerged trees.
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