SElF-DRIVE TOURING GUIDE
,'0------maps_ . Joint pub(katlon by: HeINl Map s f'ty ltd PO 8o~ 4365 Eight Mile Plains 411 3 Old S E A Ph: +61 7 3340 0000 Fa~: +61 7 3340 O()99 [email protected] www.hemamaps.oom ,,' I N D I A N Wild OistOVery Guid e ~ ® I'D Bo~ 1696 Town5'l ille 481 0 Old www.wikldiscovery.«Wl\.au o c E A N wwwJcrozelLeom lsi edition 2nd «Iition 2010 I56N 978-1-86500-542-3
Copyrigh t T•• o Ia n Glover ft lm Ze lP 1010 M;!PJ ~ Hema Map$ Pty ltd 2010 IQl!9g~ pbie RiSe dlita ~ GCO$cienc:e Austl'1l lia Ehg tC!9'(jphs o Photograp ners, as indicated 2010 Authors: Ian Glo.m & len ZelP Publi shers : Rob Bot!jheim, Ian GloYer & len Zei t!' Produ ct icn Manager: Gavin J ilme5 Edi tor: Nalalie Wilson ClIrtegraphm: Ce rt Doeco a , Paul van-Cuylenburg Graphic lksigner: Debbie Winfield Prin ted by: Sin~ Cheong. Heng Kol19
~ 01' W.ari~ & .ropical 8io!ogV lamu Cao~ Uni",,"';ly Photographs Front eoW!r: Nea r Windorah photo s pntim~9c.
Copyright: AU rlgnts ~rVaI. No Pirt cfthis publicl'lion m~v be .. producd. ste>red in or intro du~~ to. ~t r1 e vaI S'1stem. or IllIn5rnitttd, in lOy term or by ;..,. mullS {eiettroJ1ic, mecNniGI. photocopyi"90 ~rdiog Of oI~isel, withcut the F ~r wrltkn pcrm;1.5:on 01' the pllbJisher of thisbcol!. Oisdll~' The I'I'bli!oh ~ C8Mol ac:upt ICSflOI"ISI bIIity for i ny amrs or orNssiar.s In this book. The ~pre5Ulbt ion on I ~ maps (If any mad or IrxIo i~
N~ tionll LiIlr.uy of A:l.t •• I.. c.t.ltrgUlng _Wl_ Putrr"",ti"" entry hi,,,,",: Hem. M1i'S [F;rm) Tr.Ie: '\..1$ 11"""'1 glUt 6tse.1 tr~Us art.. £t gR~' [Ci .101ra;>h l~ matcriaQI authors, ltn ldI, ~n 6 1",," I ~d Wild Di...... tty G, idn; plro:"!JI"'Il'ho ~ f :illlltllr Sa.w. ~ edition: 2nd e:$. Scale: Sule$ditm{E 154 - £ 111/S 9 -S «l 1S9N: 918116SOO5423 (~k.I ~:I~ t c.;lI\a , ~ Australia "'dude lndtx. 8:tr1iogrilphy. SCALE Slrbjtcts: R a.d~ - "u,mlil ~ MI ps. @ ..., Ro,d$ _ Aultrlli l - Guir!oboak!. ROid$ - AuUrlli l . C.... tral - M,p!-. Rood5 _ AU5tr . ~i., CMtral - G"ideboo ..... D.5<"" - )\Willi, - MIps. LEGEND Dmru - Austill •• - Gtr i~ebocks. Dc:lcru - Austllli,. Ccnml - Guiceboob. Nrtlooa: Highwav ";11'Q~1 1 AOU'.I Numw AUS:r11i1 - M~ps. Tou.~. .... w; Ii ~, CMtral _ ~• • "" Toutiood and cooking ...... 40 Clothing and packing ...... 4.l Times ofyear to travel ...... _...... ~ ...... 42 All about deserts 11 Insurances - vehicle, contents. house while away ...... 4l Moneyissues ...... 42 What is a desert? ...... 11 Generators, fridges, gas ...... 41 Naming and misnaming our deserts ...... 14 Toilets, washing. showers and hygiene ...... 42 Australian des er t~ · an introduction ...... ,...... 101- Photography, laptops, data storage ...... 42 AustTalia's aridlands, dL'Scrt climates and weather...... 16 Loailingthevehiclc ...... 43. Desertification and how it can happe:n ...... -...... zo Flanningactivities for ail-kids too ...... 43 Geological origins of the Australian deserts ...... ll Pernrlts and legal issues ...... 43 R~ent geomorphology ...... 22 Respecting property...... 43. Human discovery, naming and usc ...... z5 Qw.rantine ...... 43 . Major habitats ...... 25 "On Track"· researching the four·wheel·drive tourum industry in Desert Australia ...... 18 Our deserts that aren't 45 Big Desert ...... 45 Little Desert ...... 46 Desert safety 29 Ninety Mile Desert ...... _...... 48 Desert safety in Australia ...... Z9 Pinnacles Desert ...... 50 Fire in deserts ...... 31 Desert travelling techniques ...... 32 Deserts that should be 55 The Eastern Desert ...... ss CIIA ' f ' " T Hin Preparation 35 The Far \Vestem Desert ...... 63 The Great Central Desert ...... _ ...... 71 The vellide (4 \VD) ...... 35 Nullarbor Plain ...... ·.. ··· .. ·.... ·...... ·.. ·.. ·.... ·...... ·.... ·.. ·.. ·.... ·...... ·.... ·...... ·79 Navigation and navigation systems ...... 36 Gibson Desert 89 Simpson Desert 139 Cibson Desert ...... ~ ...... 89 Simpson Desert ...... 139 Ga ry Junction Road ...... ,...... , .., ...... _.... 90 French & QAA lines ...... _.: ...... 140 Cary Highway ...... ·..... ·..... ·.·94 Rig Road ...... ,... 143
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Great Victoria Desert 113 Tanami Desert 155 Greal Victoria Desert ...... 113 Tanami Road ...... 156 Anne Beadell Highway._ ...... _...... ,...... 115 Gunbarrel Highway ...... 120 Atlas Legend 161 Connie Sue Highway ...... 125 Great Desert Tracks Atlas 162 Little Sandy Desert 127 Little Sandy Desert ...... 127 Guide to desert plants 243 l'alaw Guide to desert animals 249 Moon & Painted deserts 131 Moon & painted deserts ...... 131 Important contacts 255 CH A I'H.ILU·iN Pedirka Desert 135 Pedirka Desert ...... ,...... 135 Books to read and maps to use 259 Index 261 Camping checklist 272 Atlas Legend - inside back cover Dedications To my father Trevor who introduced me to travelling, camp ing and instilled in me a great love of the open spaces of Australia. My wife Sharon, very early in our marriage, insisted on a desert trip, and together we have visited every desert (both real and imaginary) on this great continent. My sons Brecon, Tyrer and Leigh can't wait for theirfirstrcaldesert trip (the Great Sandy is a frequent request), To all of them, this book is dedicated, and to Len Zell, who gently prodded me into writing something I should have done years ago. Ian Glover To my daughter Sarah and her husband PeterOnions for their continuing enthusiasm for deserts and the assistance in the book's development and to thdr families for being them. To Donald and Patricia Hood for all they have done. 'lb my fa ther Andy Zell, who came with me for the shakedown stages, of life and the deserts. Len Zell Preface prepare you wet! by not compromising on safety. Any time yOll add more to the vehicle you equally increase the risks Our purpose with this book is to help you discover our unless it is a safety required item - balance it carefully. Aumalian deserts, how to explore them s.lfely following the We ohen wi ll 'signpost' a site or p:cce of information allow right rules and what life li ~'es there - all underpinned with ingyou to expIaTe it youl'5elf, ideally enhancing your perwnal their geology, geomorphology, habitillS, human history and discovery process. Many we have left out bec<1use theywill be uses. The atlas component provides the best possible mapping obvious or there waSJ(t enough spacc. So always maintain an avai lable for ufe navigation in these areas wilh ad di tional eye out for p\aas not mentioned aT only signpo3ted in this hints and inrormation. We have included some pictorial book. There arc ma ny more places out there than are covered guides to the most commonly seen plants and animals with in the book. information about eac h. For the purposes of this book we have concentrated on This book is the condensation oj our combint.'d desert. expe- th~ 'd6trcs' recogrjsed by the o:ficiaillames gi\'en by the riences ar..d. we often chat around the fiR about how humbled Ceographical Namts Board. 11>.1'rl" 2Te 17 such named dcs:rts.. ~nd ~",,-ro we are by the 'immensity' of our deserts. Vk often get this5ensation as y,'e experience thedeserl environs, watch The other deserts - whether real de-sens. small artas of S(). called deserts or similar -wecover as well but lnlcs! detail or sunrises and sunsets and the incredihle subtle changes hap explain our cQverngf'. There are several massive arcas of un pening out lhere ev:o!ry minute of each day. You will only see named desert3 anu we offer a remedy to that situation as well. it if you stop and look and this will take experience in how 10 We are gr~at ~l ievers in the idea of using COlllll".OIl sense in sec it. 'Reading the hmdscape'is an ability that lets you sec the any drivir:g expedition. Our experience shows that ge nerally geological. geomorphological and climatological features and only those who fail to plan the basics suffer at the ha nds of habitats and their associated living organisms in this massive nature or tru:mselves. OUI hints, checklists and sugg5tioJ'l-s come changing series of pTOCt'SSes called Austr.tlia. Ooce you ol'Vcl from a combination of mOR than 60 yeaR 01 motoriog experi op~mco f these observational skills you too\\ The Authors the University of Queensland he was instrumental in the: establishment of Aust:raLcam and TraveLeam Ian Glover He has two species of coral naJ"l'.led after him for his contri· Ian is an automotive/remote area butions to Marine Science, is a respected field guide with travel journalist of some 30 years experience throughout Aus tralia especially North standing. beginning his career \llith Queensland, Great Barrier Reef, Kimbe rley and Shark Bay O!)c flandcr Magazine, which he Ningaloo as well as the South Pacific. later edited. Over the years he has Len has \.ravelled as a lecturer and field guide on many ter contributed to such diverse titles as restrial eXpEditions by foot, 4 WD and coach and marine the Sydney Mominq Herald, Whtds, expeditions on super yachts, small private vessels, e:xperii Indian Auto Journal, 4X4 Japan and tionary ships and luxury cruise line~ He has consulted for 4X4 lnlcrnationaf, though now and appeared in Australian documentaries, news and current much of his time is sp!! nt on the affairs programs as well as for Discovery Channel, SBC, famiiy farm 'Pyingerra' (in mid· Ushuaia Nature (France) and Fox. Hecha i~d Dive Queensland western NSW), inherited after his for two years, was on the Council of the Australian College for father died in 2008. Here he is establishing a number of Seniors and worked for six seasons on the wreck of the HMS Australian native foodcrops and re\.;. ted value-added prod ucts. Pandora with the Queensland Museu m. His work. as a stills However, he still finds time to write for OVI:r/rmder 4 WD, the photographcdvidcographer has contributed to the success of Sunday Tdcgraph, Top Gellf Australia and a personal favouri te, many books and expeditions. RM Williams Outback Magazin=.1a n is also working on a.no th He can be conta.cted at websites www.wildd iscovery.com.au er travel-rela ted book and three novels. and www.lenzell.com.orviaemailonlen@lenull. com. A self·confessed 'seriphile' (lover of arid areas), he has tra versed every one of Aust ralia's deserts - both real and illusory Acknowledgements - preferring the Great Sandy and the Gibson above a!l o.he~ By Ian md Len; the P.ema team· Rob Bocgheim for hissupport He cites the Simpson as being 'too crowded'. in all ways, Debbie Winfielcl . design, Natalie Wilson -editing In 4 WDs, Ian has followed the paths of many explorers, and Gavin fame s -production; and Mi tsubishi for vehicles. bolh here and overseas: fohn Oxley's trek 10 the Macquaric By Hema: Tan Glover and len Zell for their ideas, wri ti ng. Marshes (1978); O'Donnell and Can-Boyd in the Ki mberley good humour and photographs. (,985): Lawrence Wells (the Discovery Well Expedition in Many others he lped but a very special thanks to Ell~beth 1992 and the Calvert Centenary Expedition in 1996); David Sakker (travelling with Gela bout Adventures and Desert Carnegie (Patience Well Expedition in 200<1); even the Discovery lne.) for her photographs aswell as those from Sarah Carthaginian general Hannibal over the French and !lalian and Peter Onions, John Denman (Mu lga Wire Publishing), Susie Alps in 1993! Othel personal highlights were an exploration Bedford, Doug Blackburn, liz Wake and GraMm Stephinson. of theChanncl Co1.1!'my back in 1981, when very few people went there, a solo trans·continental desert crossing from USing the maps Broome to Sydney in 1987, participating in the Great Divide Hema Ma ps produces an enormous variety of maps both for f:.xpedition in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado (1989), trav Australia and overseas. This book is an exp.msion of their Gmu elling across ten Aussie deserts from Melbourne to Broome in ~rt Tracks, Pilbara and Mid West WA maps . .Each text section 1990, and finally ta king his family (wife Sharon, sons Brecon contains an inset from a Hema map that is relevant 10 the (1 4) and I2 year-old twins TYler and Leigh) into the Great desen being covered. Each map in the atlas s(.'Ction at the rear Eastern, Stneledci and Sturt Stony deserts in 2007. of the book has the adjacent page numbers allowing you to Ian is interested in feedback abo ut this book and can be navigate from one page to the next. You can also buy the map contacted on ia:[email protected]. sheets or CD!, and the maps are also available on Hema's GPS Len Zell wlit, the Hema Navigator. Len is a graduate bio lOgist with Use of scientific and common mOle than 35 ye,us' experience in mari ne and coral Jeef {(!Search, edu names for animals and plants cation, management and eco· We have not used any scientific names of the plants O{ ani towism. He has travelled over mals, unless absolutely forced to do so! If we use capitals on much of Aus tralia in a variety of the name of ananimal e.g. 'Red Kangaroo' it means that it is an vehicles and for many reasons. identi fi able species. [f we dun't use c