GNE 2006

Summary of journey [added to blog July 2007 from notes taken at the time].

Day 1

Adelaide - Coober Pedy via Stuart Highway.
880 kms

Day 2

Coober Pedy.
34 kms

Day 3

Coober Pedy - Breakaways (see photo).
82kms

Day 4

Coober Pedy - Alice Springs via Stuart Highway.
713 kms

Day 5

Alice Springs - Renner Springs via Stuart Highway
690kms

Day 6

Renner Springs - Dunmarra (Stuart Highway)
206 km
Buchanan Highway (see photo of road train) - Top Springs - Victoria River Downs (pass) - Victoria Highway - Gregory National Park (see photo of boabs)- Limestone Gorge
476 km
Total for day:682 kms

Day 7

Walked to East Baines River through washed out area.
Drove Limestone Gorge - Timber Creek - WA border (zealous quarantine inspection) - Kununurra.
297 kms

Day 8

Kununurra - Wyndham and return (see photo of me dipping foot in water).
255 kms

Day 9

Kununurra - Lake Argyle/ Ord River Dam - Gregory's camp - Timber Creek - Sullivan Camp (Gregory NP) (many flies but Hobson's choice).
435 kms

Day 10

Sullivan Camp - Katherine - Edith Falls Nitmiluk NP (first safe swimming spot on trip).
247 kms

Day 11

Edith Falls - Pine Creek - Adelaide River (see photo of station) - Batchelor ( car cooling system problem required rescheduling of proposed trip to Litchfield) - Howard Springs.
326 kms

Day 12

Howard Springs - Palmerston for car repairs; I took bus into Darwin. Collected car in pm.
33kms (car)

Day 13

Howard Springs - Batchelor - Florence Falls, Litchfield NP (resuming planned itinerary). Car clocked up 130,000 kms near Elizabeth River.
126 kms

Day 14

Litchfield NP tour: Buley Rockhole, Tolmer, Wangi (walked above waterfall).
67 kms

Day 15

Florence Falls - Batchelor - Snake Creek Railway remains - Pine Creek - Edith Falls.
282 kms

Day 16

Edith Falls - Katherine - Mataranka Homestead (near thermal pool).
181 kms

Day 17

Mataranka - Larrimah (Stuart Hwy); Larrimah - Birdum (rough track following railway line) for Birdum 2006. As in 2005, a most interesting group of people.
92 kms

Day 18

Rode the NAR (see photo), then drove Birdum - Larrimah (rough track), then back onto Stuart Hwy; brief diversions to Daly Waters and old Stuart Hwy near Banka Banka otherwise on to Tennant Creek (Outback Caravan Park - v good).
520 kms

Day 19

Tennant Creek - Stuart Hwy - Alice Springs (spent c 2 hrs there inc quick visits to Old Ghan and Road Transport museums - both worth seeing) - SA/ NT border. Camped with ( as I calculated) my head in NT and legs in SA. Among campers were a French couple cycling south.
831 kms

Day 20

SA/ NT border - Coober Pedy.
414 kms

Day 21
Coober Pedy(dep 0655) -Port Augusta via Stuart Hwy - Wilmington - Melrose - Clare - Adelaide (arr 1907).
896 kms.

Total trip: 8083 kms.