[BrightonSA]

So, finally I completed this trip I talked about on another thread. It's a four day trip because I only drive during the day.  The journey is a total of 2800km! Here it is folks:






Tuesday
I pump my front tyres to 38psi for the front & 36 for the rear, as advised by the wonderful members here.  Leave Isa at 9.06am with my belongs spilling out of my i30, almost.  On A2 Barkly Hwy I set my cruise control on 110km.  About 1/3 of the 191km after leaving town, I start to feel very drowsy but keep driving.  Then about 60km before Camooweal I have to stop & get out of my i30 to stretch, have snack & a drink. 
I am refreshed & alert & continue towards Camooweal.  I turn on the cruise control & the green light stays on but when I press the set button, it does not engage.  The green is still on however.  There are very few road trains & I only come across 2 normal vehicles. 

I arrive at Camooweal soon after at about 11:30am, a total of 191km.  It is a small town with a population of about 300 only.  I decide to have lunch at the BP roadhouse.  A small orange drink & small serve chips cost me $8!  Such rip off! While eating my lunch, I try to text my contacts in Adelaide, only to find that it’s Telstra tower here.  I’m with Optus! The Telstra public phone in the roadhouse is out of order.  I try the one 500 metres up the road.  It is also down.  I ask the shop assistants if I can use their  phone to send a text.  No deal!  A woman customer overhears the conversation & immediately offers me her phone.  I offer to pay her but she refuses.  She is carrying a big parcel & I hold the door open for her, least I can do.

There are lots of mole hills along Barkly Hwy.
Two lonely horse/cows?

At 12:35pm I hit the road again with the next stop being Tennant Creek, NT.  It is 115km from Camooweal to Tennant Creek.  Not long after leaving Camooweal, I start to feel drowsy again.  Still I press on, stupid me!  Suddenly I wake up.  I think I am on the wrong side of the road.  I swerve left, right & centre, pressing my foot on either the break or accelerator, not sure.  Eventually I manage to stop the vehicle.  I am in shock & shaking with fear.  What if there had been another vehicle & I went straight towards it?  This is a wake- up call for me.  I sat in my i30 for about five minutes staring into the barren & isolated outback Australia.  From that moment on, I make sure I stop, get out, eat & drink to stay awake.  Fatigue is the biggest killer on the road I think.

Now think of it, why didn’t the airbag go off?

I am now in NT.  I refill at Barkly Homestead service station before continuing on to Tennant Creek.  Finally I leave behind QLD.  It is now 6:30pm & I am in Tennant Creek.  I check into a caravan park & stay for the night. 
 
There is Optus coverage in Tennant Creek.  I receive many messages on my mobile phone.  I didn’t sleep last night & I am so exhausted now.




Lonely

[the everyman]

Daewoo deserves its fate 100%

[Dazzler]

Thanks for that. So are you in Adelaide now ? (or still only part way and giving us updates?)

Be careful The airbags only go off if you hit something 

[rustynutz]

Geez Brighton, sounds like you did it hard!
Glad you made it in one piece....

Just a bit of advice for next time...If you're not prepared to risk driving at night, you really do need to be leaving at the crack of dawn (or just after) if you wanna do the big miles.

While you obviously need to take breaks, you gotta get them over and done with and get back on the road as quickly as possible because stopping is the enemy of doing big distances....

[BrightonSA]

Thanks for that. So are you in Adelaide now ? (or still only part way and giving us updates?)

Be careful The airbags only go off if you hit something 

I completed the trip & now in Adelaide.  Tomorrow will post day 2. 

[BrightonSA]

Geez Brighton, sounds like you did it hard!
Glad you made it in one piece....

Just a bit of advice for next time...If you're not prepared to risk driving at night, you really do need to be leaving at the crack of dawn (or just after) if you wanna do the big miles.

While you obviously need to take breaks, you gotta get them over and done with and get back on the road as quickly as possible because stopping is the enemy of doing big distances....

You're right but if I didn't stop I would fall asleep at the wheel & get killed. 

[Doggie 1]

Nice post. 
Are you driving back?

[BrightonSA]

Nice post. 
Are you driving back?

NO way!   

[BrightonSA]

I typed in captions on all pics but they don't all appear! 

[eye30]

Thanks for the tour. 

Can't wait for part 2.

[Lakes]

great post, i want to see the pic's!
Your Lucky , need to be prepared for a long trip ( plenty of exercize & a good nights sleep b4. i like to carry water & drink lots of it while driving. how far did you get between fuel fill ups?

[Asterix]

great post, i want to see the pic's!

 

When we do our 1700 km trip with the caravan, we never do more than 2 hours between stops. The stop doesn't have to be more than 10 min's but it's nice to get out of the seat and stretch the legs. We allways keep water/soda/juice and chocolate in the car.

Make sure to eat propper meals, that fastfood will just make you even more sleepy.

I know we have better conditions, as we travel on roads with a lot of traffic. if I was to travel on deserted roads, like I think you've done, can't see the pic's, then I would also have problems keeping myself awake.

Take care out there...

[rustynutz]

Geez Brighton, sounds like you did it hard!
Glad you made it in one piece....

Just a bit of advice for next time...If you're not prepared to risk driving at night, you really do need to be leaving at the crack of dawn (or just after) if you wanna do the big miles.

While you obviously need to take breaks, you gotta get them over and done with and get back on the road as quickly as possible because stopping is the enemy of doing big distances....

You're right but if I didn't stop I would fall asleep at the wheel & get killed. 

I carry a pkt of "No Doz" just in case I start getting the noddys....

I also have munchies to eat on the run, such as muesli bars. It's also important to keep your fluid intake up.....drink plenty of water.

[Phil №❶]

I drove back from Canberra to Adelaide years ago taking all secondary roads. It afforded me the opportunity to see countryside which was new to me, a lot less traffic on the road too. It was great to just stop occasionally and take in the fress air, quietness nd sounds of undisturbed nature.

However, somewhere between Ouyen and Lamaroo I heard a significant noise against the car (about 12 months old), the road was empty except for me. A quick scan of the gauges and all appeared normal. A few days later on washing the car, I noticed a significant dent in the air deflector under the bumper bar, almost punctured by a bullet, at least a 222 IMO. 

[BrightonSA]

Admin,
What happened to my pics?  There were here yesterday! Why?       

[BrightonSA]

Admin,
I want the pics back before I post day two of journey.  Help     

[BrightonSA]

Thanks for the tour. 

Can't wait for part 2.

Before posting part 2, admin need to help bring back the pics for part 1 first.

[BrightonSA]

great post, i want to see the pic's!
Your Lucky , need to be prepared for a long trip ( plenty of exercize & a good nights sleep b4. i like to carry water & drink lots of it while driving. how far did you get between fuel fill ups?

Well, I did just that.  I had many bottles of cold water & packs of snacks to munch on to keep me awake.
I didn't wait till the tank was empty.  Instead I filled up even though the tank was only half empty before I left for another destination.

[BrightonSA]

great post, i want to see the pic's!

 

When we do our 1700 km trip with the caravan, we never do more than 2 hours between stops. The stop doesn't have to be more than 10 min's but it's nice to get out of the seat and stretch the legs. We allways keep water/soda/juice and chocolate in the car.

Make sure to eat propper meals, that fastfood will just make you even more sleepy.

I know we have better conditions, as we travel on roads with a lot of traffic. if I was to travel on deserted roads, like I think you've done, can't see the pic's, then I would also have problems keeping myself awake.

Take care out there...

Most unfortunate with pics.  There were here yesterday but not anymore.  Admin must help looking into it for me. 

[BrightonSA]

I drove back from Canberra to Adelaide years ago taking all secondary roads. It afforded me the opportunity to see countryside which was new to me, a lot less traffic on the road too. It was great to just stop occasionally and take in the fress air, quietness nd sounds of undisturbed nature.

However, somewhere between Ouyen and Lamaroo I heard a significant noise against the car (about 12 months old), the road was empty except for me. A quick scan of the gauges and all appeared normal. A few days later on washing the car, I noticed a significant dent in the air deflector under the bumper bar, almost punctured by a bullet, at least a 222 IMO. 

Maybe it was a sharp stone?  Apart from this trip, I used to drive in remote area in SA a lot.  The front of my i30 is covered with lots of little chips from the stones.  I touch them up with paint specifically for my colour.

[BrightonSA]

Geez Brighton, sounds like you did it hard!
Glad you made it in one piece....

Just a bit of advice for next time...If you're not prepared to risk driving at night, you really do need to be leaving at the crack of dawn (or just after) if you wanna do the big miles.

While you obviously need to take breaks, you gotta get them over and done with and get back on the road as quickly as possible because stopping is the enemy of doing big distances....

You're right but if I didn't stop I would fall asleep at the wheel & get killed. 

I carry a pkt of "No Doz" just in case I start getting the noddys....

I also have munchies to eat on the run, such as muesli bars. It's also important to keep your fluid intake up.....drink plenty of water.

What are "No Doz"?

[Phil №❶]

Thanks for the tour. 

Can't wait for part 2.

Before posting part 2, admin need to help bring back the pics for part 1 first.

The problem is with your account at photobucket. As you can see, for some reason, photobucket has removed your pics. That is NOT a function of this forum, so you will need to find out what has happened to them. When you placed your pics in photobucket they should have gone into your own personal space, with your own username and password. There is nothing admin here can do, sorry. 

We are all waiting for the rest of your pics too.

[BrightonSA]

Thanks for the tour. 

Can't wait for part 2.

Before posting part 2, admin need to help bring back the pics for part 1 first.

The problem is with your account at photobucket. As you can see, for some reason, photobucket has removed your pics. That is NOT a function of this forum, so you will need to find out what has happened to them. When you placed your pics in photobucket they should have gone into your own personal space, with your own username and password. There is nothing admin here can do, sorry. 

We are all waiting for the rest of your pics too.

Alright, I'll find out what happened to my Photobucket account.  I am mad! 

[BrightonSA]

Ok folks, I am having another attempt with the pics.  All that I am posting now is for day 1 of  my journey.  Here's the first pic.

 
This is the overall map to show the large distance I traveled recently.  It is difficult for members from small countries to relate to this kind of massive land.

[BrightonSA]

I stayed in Isa for just under 12 months, 1km from Xstrata Mines.  Look at the stack.  It was what I had to breathe in everyday.

[Surferdude]

To put this in perspective. The distance from Mount Isa to Adelaide is something like driving from London to Kosovo. But with no cities or villages and pretty much no water or mountains. And a lot hotter.

[Surferdude]

Brighton, if you had "rearranged" your pics on photobucket - into say different or new "albums" that would have broken the links on the original posts.

[BrightonSA]

There is one thing that nowhere else in the country can beat Mt Isa.  The mangoes are 10 cm in diameter & most people have a tree in their backyard.  These mangoes taste more luscious than what you buy from shop & free.  Friends & colleagues gave me bags & bags of them & I ate them for breakfast, lunch & dinner.  There are even these trees on the street, kid you not. 

[BrightonSA]

Brighton, if you had "rearranged" your pics on photobucket - into say different or new "albums" that would have broken the links on the original posts.

I did make re-arrangement.  That's why.   Never mind, I was not happy that no captions accompanied the pics.  Now I am typing it in here instead.

[BrightonSA]

Leaving Isa & my little i30 is filled to the brim & refused to wear carbra!