Just offered a new job!

[bishbashbosh]

Well I just got offered a new job.. Senior Social Worker at Alice Springs Hospital.. A mix of excitement and nerves right now but its something I've wanted to do for a long time now!

The truck will get to take me on some beautiful adventures I think..

Any folk from Central Australia here?

[threedogs]

You'll love Alice,, Billy I lived there for a while amazing place and the gateway to so many places
I was there pre traffic light and you could drive down todd street,now a Mall lol

[Cuppa]

Congrats! So are you going to take it? Certainly some fantastic country up in the centre - half your luck. I’m guessing the work could potentially be ‘burn out central’ so getting out & about away from work will be a good way of looking after yourself. (Hopefully clinical supervision is provided to?). I’ll look forward to regular trip reports from all the destinations that only locals get to know about!

[jack]

Well done Billy, there are a few Alice Springs locals on here - just can't recall the names at the moment.

[the evil twin]

Worst thing 'bout Alice is it's a bit of a drive to go fishing.
Best thing is the totally awesome country in the region.

None of that matters tho because I found out pretty early in life that "if you do a job you love you'll never work a day in your life" is very true.

Grab it with both hands and best of luck with the new role

[mudnut]

Congratulaions, bbb. Having a job you like is a bonus, especially in a profession that helps people.

[happygu]

Awesome Billy,

You will love it .....

I went back a couple of year ago for the first time in 17 years, and I thought it had gone downhill a little from when we lived there - lost a little of the magic, but with no previous reference point you will love it ( and probably go back in 20 years time and say the same thing :smiley_thumbs_up: ).

Took a group out to Ruby Gap though, and everyone thought it was the most awesome place on our trip.

Mic

[threedogs]

You must join the Alice Springs SLSC while youre there
or the Alice royal yacht club,
The Todd flowed only last week FYI

[4bye4]

Congratulations mate - you will have to host a national meet up lol

[growler2058]

Good onya mate. What an awesome place to live
Outback 4wd tracks galore and good hunting spots too I bet

[Hodge]

Well done on the new job mate.

[Agronaught]

I remember a meeting with the mayor in Alice many years ago when a company I was working for was looking to setup in town.

Apparently Alice Springs is closer to Every beach in Australia than any other city!...

[Stropp]

well done mate, i have worked there off and on when i worked for telstra, and i have rellies who have lived there their whole lives. great place with plenty to do and see and like most country towns a great social place once you get to meet a few locals,

[bishbashbosh]

Thanks all.. it is going to be one hell of an experience for me.. i got that knot in my stomach but think what I'm going to learn and experience along the way will be invaluable!

I got to now start thinking about the drive up there and where i'll stop along the way - want to head up a week or so before and camp along the way!

:)

[threedogs]

Could go up via the Oodnadatta track easy drive just dusty and plenty of history on the track as well

[bishbashbosh]

dust and red dirt is what i love!

i'd be able to stop at lake eyre that way huh?

[happygu]

dust and red dirt is what i love!

i'd be able to stop at lake eyre that way huh?


Sure will Billy,

Where the track goes around the southern edge, you hardly need to get off the track to see it ... it is only around 400 metres away, and there is a waystop where you can pull off and walk down to the lake bed.

Mic

PS : If you go that way try to camp at Coward Springs - great stop off with Hot Springs to swim in ( not that you need it at this time of year, but great taking a dip in the evening )

[bishbashbosh]

What about if i took the Oodnadatta Track would I be able to drive through seeing Lake Eyre, Coober Pedy, Painted Desert, Uluru, Kings Canyon, MacDonnell Ranges and then into Alice Springs?

If so how long would that take if keeping in mind that i want to stop over at each location?

[threedogs]

Grab a big map of Australia some of your beer of choice and a black texta colour,
Lay the map on the floor and start marking potential overnight stops

[happygu]

What about if i took the Oodnadatta Track would I be able to drive through seeing Lake Eyre, Coober Pedy, Painted Desert, Uluru, Kings Canyon, MacDonnell Ranges and then into Alice Springs?

If so how long would that take if keeping in mind that i want to stop over at each location?

It takes around 24 Hours driving non stop from Melbourne to Alice ...... that is the shortest amount of time, but not recommended .... anything else is up to you.

If you have never done this drive before, then it will all be new, different and exciting, but seeing everything adds loads of time to the trip

You could plan on driving the following route :

Melbourne - north of Adelaide ( Port Pirie or Port Augusta ( 12 Hour drive ) if you start nice and early),
north of Adelaide - Coward Springs,
Coward Springs - Coober Pedy,
Coober Pedy to Painted Desert ( I still haven't been in there so don't know what it is like ).
Painted Desert to Uluru,
Uluru to Kings Canyon,
Kings Canyon to Alice .....

and that will be pushing it quite hard, as you want to take some time to see and absorb the surroundings too.

[happygu]

My best advice would be to cut something out of this trip, and leave more room to enjoy, but that is entirely up to you.

I have seen people drive all the way out to see something, stop ... jump out of the car, take a quick look for 5 minutes, and then jump back in and off ..... just to tick it off the list.

I would leave everything near Alice for future exploring as you will be there anyway, and it will be easy to get out and around from there .....

[threedogs]

Years ago my wifes BFF hired a car and drove none stop with some other friends to Ayers Rock ,
where upon arriving they all jumped out touched the rock and drove none stop back to Melb.
It was the 70s lol

As Happy says leave all the trips 8hrs from Alice and see whats available on the way up.
There is an awesome amount of history in the area.
Please PM me if you stumble onto Lasseters reef I wont tell anyone.

[happygu]

Years ago my wifes BFF hired a car and drove none stop with some other friends to Ayers Rock ,
where upon arriving they all jumped out touched the rock and drove none stop back to Melb.
It was the 70s lol

As Happy says leave all the trips 8hrs from Alice and see whats available on the way up.
There is an awesome amount of history in the area.
Please PM me if you stumble onto Lasseters reef I wont tell anyone.



..... I have done Alice To Melbourne for a wedding and then back again in a weekend ... was just an hour late for work on getting back to Alice ..... fun times, but wouldn't recommend it though

[bishbashbosh]

ok iv'e got 10 days to get there so am not in any rush - i agree also about leaving the spots close to Alice out of the trip.. the nerves are setting in!!!

i've got wiki camps on the iPhone so won't need to go searching for camping spots.. work will be paying for my fuel up.. i just need to make the itinerary really and yup its my first time doing such a drive!

need to get the truck serviced shortly and start planning what to take with me.

[Stropp]

if you drive from melbourne you can go through murray bridge, then along the murray up to burra and peterbourough through wilmington and quorn then leigh creek and onto the oodnadatta track or you could do a couple of other ways but if you go that way you will be mainly off the busy roads and get to see some great country.

[threedogs]

If you require anything just holla or ring.

[the evil twin]

ok iv'e got 10 days to get there so am not in any rush - i agree also about leaving the spots close to Alice out of the trip.. the nerves are setting in!!!

i've got wiki camps on the iPhone so won't need to go searching for camping spots.. work will be paying for my fuel up.. i just need to make the itinerary really and yup its my first time doing such a drive!

need to get the truck serviced shortly and start planning what to take with me.

Yep, totally forget about Uluru, Kata Juta, Kings Canyon, Palm Valley, West Macs, Chambers Pillar etc etc
You are going to be living in Alice so all the time in the world to see them later.
Also you get discounts at a lot of accommodation and entry fees and stuff if you are an NT resident

There are heaps of track closures at the moment to consider as well http://www.dptiapps.com.au/data/OutbackRoads/Outback%20Roads%20Temporary%20Closures,%20Restrict ions%20and%20Warnings%20Report.PDF

I don't know how heavy you will be with kit seeing as you are moving as well as travelling but if it was me I would be ticking as many boxes as I could in the lower SA regions.

It is going to be hot as bejeesus in the outback so I would leave a lot of the NE parts of SA for cooler times.

I also don't know what you have and haven't seen already but I would consider wandering along the Murray, Flinders and then hang West of the Oodnadatta and tick the boxes along there eg Woomera, Coober Pedy, Painted Desert etc

Depends where you have and haven't been and how heavy you are.
You don't want to be loaded up to the gunwhales with personal effects and doing 1,000's of K's in the mud if those Eastern Outback areas are still shitty.

[happygu]

ok iv'e got 10 days to get there so am not in any rush - i agree also about leaving the spots close to Alice out of the trip.. the nerves are setting in!!!

i've got wiki camps on the iPhone so won't need to go searching for camping spots.. work will be paying for my fuel up.. i just need to make the itinerary really and yup its my first time doing such a drive!

need to get the truck serviced shortly and start planning what to take with me.


Don't worry too much about a 'fixed' itinerary, as you will be on your own, and can take as much or as little time as you want at the various places, and if you worry too much about sticking to 'the plan', you may miss out on the best things about being a part of, and being out in the Australian Outback ..... By all means have a rough plan, but leave the fixed rigid plans for when you are with a group of trucks, and you have to please the majority.

One of the things I love about going on our own is the total flexibility that we have, and it is different ( but still good ) when you are with others.

You could spend a month alone in the Flinders on the way up - you could tootle along the Murray, - you could go up through Mildura and Broken Hill ( which I love ) - you could travel the highways .....

Have a look at the maps, choose a path for you depending on how much gear you have in the truck, as you still need to be able to get to all your camping gear easily or it won't be a nice experience. If you have a truck full, you may be limited to the main routes and motels

Mic

[bishbashbosh]

dad mentioned the murray bridge so will look into that but i've decided i'll take the Oodnadatta and Coober Pedy, Erye, and the Painted Desert.

will keep an eye on road closures also - but i agree i'm not going to make too much 'fixed' and if something else takes me i'll head off that way.

I'm just packing the truck up with my camping gear - i'll be staying in the hospital quarters so will only add clothes (work), and laptop - won't be taking any of my other belongings with me.

will get these guys at eco gas services (http://www.ecogasservices.com.au)to service my LPG as its running terrible and i need to have it sorted before i leave.. just hope it don't cost me the earth!

[the evil twin]

will get these guys at eco gas services (http://www.ecogasservices.com.au)to service my LPG as its running terrible and i need to have it sorted before i leave.. just hope it don't cost me the earth!

Good move... LPG is gut bustingly expensive away from the cap cities so you want the best performance you can get.
Alice - LPG is 113 and ULP about 140
I think Lyndhurst is the last source of LPG (other than on the Stuart Hwy) IE when the bitumen ends so does the LPG fuel availibilty AFAIK.

You may want to consider some "Just in Case Jerries"

[bishbashbosh]

a last thought - how long and what would it cost to remove my LPG and put back to petrol?

just worrying about my LPG..

[the evil twin]

Dunno, but it isn't all that hard to do.
IIRC someone on the Firum is doing exactly that at the moment.

One advantage of going back is you already have a long range sub.
If it was me, I'd consider a long range main (147 litre or more) but if $ are an issue you can get a second hand factory main.

I had a duel fueler a while back, have only had Diesel power since because of range issues and poor availability of LPG off the bitumen over here.

[happygu]

I would leave the LPG connected if it were my truck. Still useful for a lot of the journey, and it will still save you money.

When I had an LPG powered Petrol, I just made sure that I used Petrol early on when I was on a trip where I couldnt get LPG easily, as you can always find Petrol somewhere.

I sold my Petrol/LPG Patrol and bought a Diesel after my first big trip up that way,and find it much better for long distance touring, and have had diesel ever since. The LPG got me all the way from Melbourne to Broome, Darwin and back though....

I only ever had two issues up in the NT with LPG.....one was where I couldn't fill my gas tank , as it was under the truck and the radiant heat from the bitumen, outside air temp and hard running caused the tank to have more pressure on the inside of the tank when it was empty than the incoming fill pressure from the main service station tank......the solution was to run a hose or sprinkler underneath to cool it down, and then it would fill.

The other issue came from always running on LPG up there, and the float jiggled out of place due to a worn shaft, and the truck started running on Petrol and LPG together, and ended up filling the crankcase with Petrol .... big problem in the middle of the Tanami, but a freak one at that.

Having said all that, I would leave it as is ad see how you go with it ..... you can always decide to change to Petrol only or buy a Diesel later on, if you dont like it that much.

Mic

[the evil twin]

snip... I would leave the LPG connected if it were my truck. Still useful for a lot of the journey, and it will still save you money.


True enough albeit the savings are minimal to none in the Centre.
Heading North on the Stuart it gets worse, Darwin ULP is only 10 to 15 CPL dearer than LPG so ULP is actually cheaper to run.
From Port Augusta south LPG starts to get cost effective.
I haven't been thru Broken Hill for a while now so not sure about prices there.
Yulara is just plain scary no matter what fuel you use

If you leave the LPG in, get the vehicle running smick.
If you take it out use the oportunity to increase tankage.

Go with whatever you are comfy with and certainly won't hurt to wait as Mick suggests... as long as it is in good tune.

[threedogs]

would think GAS prices in the centre and along the Stuart HWY would be $1.00 plus
You would get nothing for your gas system, but your motor will love running on petrol again.
yell out if you want to strip it out.


@ Billy FYI its 42 C in the Alice today, but its a very dry heat, IMO lol
easy to pick the weather too.

They call it Toyota Territory so watch out lol

[bishbashbosh]

been speaking with the ole man - he is going to cover me for an 80lt sub tank upgrade!

that means i got 130lt petrol including two jerry cans and the lpg 90lt tank - should be plenty hey?

or do i keep the 32lt sub and add the 162lt petrol tank, removing the LPG system?

i don't have a lot of time as I'm leaving on the 12th feb.. I've never been one to plan things!!!

**Just waiting on a call back from statewide 4x4 in keilor for a time to fit a 80t sub-tank

[the evil twin]

I'm confused... most LPG conversions remove the factory main and sub (if necessary) and replace the main with LPG Tank and the Sub with 80 litre long range sub (if necessary) so you get 80 Petrol and 90 LPG useable altho there are bigger LPG tanks around as well.

What size is your existing tankage?
If you currently only have 32 litres of Petrol that is not enough IMHO.

I would def be tempted to leave the existing sub and put the money for the 80 litre upgrade towards a long range main instead.

[bishbashbosh]

@TET

Yup I only have a 90lt LPG and 32lt Petrol - Its how I purchased it..

I'll have a chat with them about the price difference between the 80lt sub tank and 148lt main tank but i am thinking it will be out of my price range and i need to get a service done on the truck also.

[threedogs]

I paid $700 for a 75ltr Brown Davis Aux fitted,
as didnt think the 35ltr tank was worth repairing.
My range is about 1100 Ks dependind on heaps of things

[happygu]

@TET

Yup I only have a 90lt LPG and 32lt Petrol - Its how I purchased it..

I'll have a chat with them about the price difference between the 80lt sub tank and 148lt main tank but i am thinking it will be out of my price range and i need to get a service done on the truck also.


Price is about the same for both tanks ..... Try LRA (Long Range Automotive ) in the back of Lilydale, as this is what they do - make tanks

http://www.longrangeautomotive.com.au/products.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=14

Mic

[threedogs]

@ Billy need model and year please

[bishbashbosh]

Just put a deposit on the 80lt sub tank - I'll look at upgrading the main at a later date..

With a good service I think I'll be right..

130lt petrol - that included 50lt in jerrycans and 90lt lpg

Once fitted..

eek super nervous now!

[the evil twin]

@TET

Yup I only have a 90lt LPG and 32lt Petrol - Its how I purchased it..



Wow... great idea getting more tankage then.
Carrying Petrol in Jerries is a PIA.

By the way, standard Jerry's only carry 20 litres not 25 and don't be tempted to over fill them.
The expansion air space is an absolute necessity in high temps with Petrol

[Bob]

My 4.5 starts on Petrol and then automatically switches to Gas so dont run out Petrol as you wont be able to start the Car on Gas

[threedogs]

My mate had plans of going to the rock and Alice via the Stuart hwy punching
into a howling north wing his V8 100s with CT in tow was returning 45/100k ,
he had to stop in at Mt Willouby road house to buy 6 jerries , ended up being a very expensive trip

[bishbashbosh]

Yeah mine starts off petrol also.. Keep my eye on that one!