Remote Travel – are you ready?
Travelling in remote areas like Australia’s Outback is the dream of many adventure seekers. The Outback has some of the best desert 4WD destinations on the planet. With some careful planning and knowledge it presents an incredible opportunity to trek off the black top to witness a truly unique and vast landscape. Although it is incredibly beautiful, desert regions are unforgiving towards an unprepared traveller.
Road Conditions & Fuel Consumption.
In the Outback, roads can be soft sand, rocky, corrugated and muddy. Your fuel economy will change depending on track conditions and you’ll need to drive your vehicle at a reduced speed on unsealed roads. Be prepared and ensure you carry enough fuel to arrive safely at your next fuel stop. Our vehicle’s fuel consumption increased between 2L to 7L per/100km when touring on unsealed roads. We carry an additional 40L in fuel cans, bringing our total capacity to 120L.
Your vehicle.
Know and understand your vehicles limitations before you set off on your remote travel adventure. If you’re new to 4wding, cutting your teeth in the Outback may not be the best idea unless you are travelling in convoy with experienced drivers.
Be kind to your tyres.
Reducing your tyre pressures will improve the comfort of passengers and reduce the risk of a tyre puncture. Your tyre choice will make a significant difference to your remote travel experience. Choose tyres that have a strong side wall and carry an air compressor so you can inflate your tyres when required. Unsealed roads have many hazards and in addition to two spare tyres, a tyre puncture repair kit can help you get over the line to safety. We chose to travel with 30psi tyre pressure in our 4wd and caravan, when travelling on unsealed, corrugated roads. Check your pressures everyday and adjust when required.
Water is your life.
It is essential you have the ability to carry between 6-10L per person per day. Carry an additional 4-5 days worth of water you think you’ll need. If you become stranded, it could save your life. Our water capacity is; 120L in separately plumbed water tanks under the caravan, x2 10L containers inside the van, 15L collapsible container in the ute and approx 30L is our custom made water storage PVC pipes on our roof racks. That’s about 185L litres of drinking water for two adults, two children and our dog. We can make our water last about a week.
Prevent getting lost.
We use the HEMA 4WD Atlas, the Camps Australia Maps, WikiCamps and all available regional tourist maps for the area we are discovering. Hema offer in depth maps of individual outback regions and you can buy these from tourist centres, good camping stores and good service stations. There are other digital options on the market but we are ol’ school and prefer hard copy maps!
Don’t rubbish the outback.
Arid regions may appear barron and lifeless but they are far from it. They support a unique range of native plants and animals. Please take your garbage with you. If you have room to bring it in, you have room to bring it out. Invest in a Porta-Potti or bury your poop and dispose of toilet paper by putting it in your rubbish bin or burning it. No-one wants to see toilet paper strewn everywhere. Its truly gross!
Tell someone where you are going.
Inform a responsible person of your proposed route and date of arrival at your end destination. Remember to let them know when you have arrived.
Preparing to Travel in a Remote Area.
Your vehicle should be well maintained and roadworthy. You should carry;
- Extra fuel
- Two spare tyres
- Tyre puncture repair kit
- Extra water
- Extra food
- Air compressor
- Up to date road maps and 4WD tracks maps.
- UHF, Satellite phone and/or EPIRB
- First Aid Kit
- Recovery gear
- Winch or a strong jack ie high lift jack with base plate
- Tools kit
- Spare parts
In addition to our usual travelling gear, we carry spare;
- Motor oil
- Air, fuel & oil filters
- CV drive shafts
- Brake pads
Other helpful items include;
- Wet wipes
- Long life milk
- Wraps
- Tinned food
- Cash
Being very well prepared doesn’t prevent plain old bad luck or accidents. Sometimes bad s**t happens and the universe is not on your side. Being prepared means you can survive if your worst case scenario occurs. When you are in remote areas, everything does take more time and usually more money. Simple things you may take for granted include ordering a spare tyre or organising a tow truck. Expect to pay up to double the metropolitan price on basic goods like extra fuel containers. Even receiving mail can take up to three weeks!
When you are well prepared, your remote Outback adventure will take you to places that are truly epic!
