A diabetic foot ulcer has been visited by a plastic surgeon and it now seems that my bike tour (Perth-Adelaide) this July-August is off the table for this year.
I have paid for airfare tix into SYD and want to use them for the OZ visit I planned. An option is renting a 4X4 in Adelaide and driving to the Lake Eyre region taking a week. The cost of the vehicle is about the same as a per-person totally inclusive tour (involving flying in a small aircraft) .... If a friend or 2 come along the costs of the 4X4 will be reduced.
Now for the questions:
1. Anyone done this and willing to share info on this thread or by PM?
2. Suggestions of things to see - north of the Pt.Augusta-Peterbourough-Broken Hill Hwy?
TIA
AdMEL
Mar 21, 12, 9:12 pm
I did this exact trip (Adelaide to Lake Eyre via rented 4WD, over a week), with a mate - it was one the best things I've ever done!
Not sure which time of the year you're planning on doing it, but I did it during summer (Christmas/New Year, a little over two years ago).
My itinerary was as follows:
Day 1
Flew Virgin Australia from MEL to ADL early in the morning on Boxing Day, picked up our rented 4WD (Mistibishi Pajero diesel, 1 year old, with 55,000 km on the clock) from Avis, then drove approx. 1.5 hours north to the Clare Valley. For the afternoon, swapped driving for cycling and cycled along part of what is known as the Riesling trail - it's a gravel track along what was the old train line, between wineries.
Clare Valley is arguably the best riesling producing area in Australia and one of the best in the world. If you prefer red wine, they also produce some fantastic reds too.
Stayed in one of the local pubs that night in Clare. Clare is one of a few larger towns in the Clare Valley.
Day 2
Drove around to some more wineries in the Clare Valley, had lunch at one of the wineries (O'reilly's), bumped into a couple of people we had met the previous day whilst cycling, ended up having dinner with them at one of the lcoal pubs, then stayed the night in the same pub as the first night.
Some notable wineries: Crabtree, Skillagolee (sp?), Tim Adams, O'Reilly's
Day 3
Drove from Clare Valley to Coober Pedy - this is pretty much all sealed road (highway), but a long way (approx. 6-8 hours). Coober Pedy is best known for two things: opal mining and much of it being undergound, on account of it being in the desert and hot! It was about 35C when we arrived at dinner time! I personally wasn't that impressed with Coober Pedy, but most other people are.
Day 4
Drove from Coober Pedy to Halligan Bay, Lake Eyre, via William Creek. Majority of this trip was unsealed road. From memory, it was 1-2 hours from Coober Pedy to William Creek and a further 1-1.5 hours from William Creek to Halligan Bay. From what I'd read, we were supposed to sign some sort of register at the William Creek hotel, so they knew we were heading out to Lake Eyre. A european tourist died on the road from William Creek to Halligan Bay 10-20 years ago, after her and her partner got their rented 4WD bogged, he sprained or broke his ankle trying to get it unstuck, she tried to walk back to William Creek (approx. 60km in summer, with daytime temp of approx. 40C) after an arguement with her partner and being out there for some time. Apparently they had ample food and water, but were not allowed to take the 4WD off sealed roads. Part of the issue was they signed the wrong register. Google it for full details. William Creek is a speck on the map/landscape - population of something like 6 people, basically the pub is all there is, with lots of cabins and (it is the closest civilisation to Lake Eyre). We did stop at the William Creek hotel, had a cold drink (no alcohol) and chat with the publican (he advised the water was approx. 500 metres from the shore - we wanted to paddle in the water), but no mention of the register, so we didn't worry about it. When we arrived at the shore, it was quite amazing! We put on our hats, sunscreen, sunglasses and wearing shorts, t-shirts and thongs, started walking across the salt crust (which was a few inches thick) with a bottle of water each, towards the water we were told was 500m away - all we could see was salt and blue sky as far as you could see! We travelled approx. 100 m and started sinking through the salt crust into the mud below, so we started walking faster! We had travelled approx. 150-200m when one of my thongs broke, as we were sinking several inches into the mud below. I tried to keep going, but my mate ended up having to return to the car to get my shoes, as my feet were being cut by the salt and the hot mud was burning my feet! I should say that the ambient air temperature would have been 40C off the lake, 50C on the salt crust of the lake and the mud would have been 60C! Whilst I was waiting for my mate to return with my shoes, I took my sunglasses off - wow! It was surreal! Whilst I have never experienced it before, it was what I imagine snow blindness would be like! The sun was so bright and the salt crust so reflective!
Two photos I took with my phone are at the bottom of this link (which also includes some comments of mine and photos/comments of others)
Unfortunately the photos don't convey how amazing it really was!
Once my mate returned with my shoes, we headed back to the shore. Unfortunately we never made it to the water!
We didn't see another person at the lake, or on the road to or from William Creek.
We drove several hours along a dirt road to Marree and stayed in the pub that night. Marre is another tiny town, but significantly larger than William Creek). The pub has dozens of cabins in the adjoining area - the publican advise that they are all booked out during the winter! There were only a few people when we stayed. A word of advice - the food is terrible!
Day 5
Drove several hours to Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges. First part is unsealed, remainder sealed. We stayed at Wilpena Pound Resort. the term resort is used quite loosely - it is a motel built in the 70's in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by national park. It has recently been refurbished and has a pool and restaurant. It was very cheap when we stayed (AUD135 per night), but I understand it is very expensive (double) in winter.
Spent the rest of the day bushwalking in the Flinders Ranges/Wilpena Pound. A beautiful part of the world.
Day 6
More bushwalking in the Flinders ranges, followed by another night at the Wilpena Pound Resort.
Day 7
Drove back from Wilpena in the Flinders Ranges back to Adealide Airport. Drive was 4-6 hours (mostly sealed).
Some useful info/websites:
Website showing unsealed road conditions (it appeard to be a couple of days behind actual conditions).
Please note times are from my memory and are therefore very approximate!
I'll add some further info about 4WD rental later, together with anything else I think of.
Happy to provide further info.
AdMEL
Mar 22, 12, 4:20 am
Renting a 4WD is a little tricky! I'll cover off some basics for the major companies (Hertz, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Thrifty). Whilst I could have easily driven the route I took in a conventional two wheel drive sedan, a 4WD meant we could drive faster with less worry. A 4WD also meant if the weather changed (which it can quickly in those parts), we would be less likely to be stranded. I wouldn't bother with a soft roader/SUV, such as a RAV 4, though a Nissan X-trail should be fine.
In Australia, all rental cars include comprehensive insurance covering damage to the rental car, damage to other cars, damage to other property and injury to other road users. It does not cost extra and cannot be exxcluded under any circumstance.
The catch is that there is a large excess (deductible), and an even larger excess for 4WD's! All companies have a standard damage excess of $5,500 for 4WD's (though Thrifty may be $3,300), plus approx. 15% when collected from ADL airport (exact amount varies between companies), for an approx. amount of $6,300! On top of this, Hertz and Thrifty also add an additional Single Vehicle Accident (SVA) Excess of $2,200, plus 15% airport fee = ~$2,500. So, if you have an accident with no other car involved (significantly more likely on unsealed roads), your total excess with Thrifty and Hertz could be almost $9,000! It should be noted that Thrifty appear to have changed their conditions and it appears that for metro locations, SVA may not apply, but it is not clear whether it is waived when you pick the car up at a metro location, or only when driving in a metro location.
All companies will let you pay a fee of $30-$50 per day to reduce the excesses. Most will only allow you to reduce the excess to $1,100, plus 15% airport charge, but some may allow you to reduce all excesses to zero. Some don't cover windscreen or tyre damage either.
There are other ways to cover the excess at a lower cost: credit cards (though I understand most specifically exclude cover in Australia), travel insurance (1 Cover cover overseas residents in Australia, though I think the excess cover is either $2,500 or $4,000), Automobile Associations such as RAA in SA will sell you a policy to cover the excess at a lower cost.
There are also restrictions on driving to certain areas, which if you drive there, you have breached their terms and will have no insurance from that point on, even if you have an accident on a sealed road. The trick is that they would need to prove you breached the terms.
One final insurance thing to note: in my experience, the airport charge for the excess is almost never quoted on the websites of car rental companies and when you call them. Even when I've pushed a couple on the phone, they still haven't quoted it!
A couple of other things:
Most 4WD's are either Mitsubishi Pajero diesel or Toyota Prado diesel.
Most 4WD's come with limited km - 200km/day from Adelaide airport. There are some exceptions. The most direct route will see you use all of your allowance for a week. Any deviation will incur extra costs of about $0.33/km. My trip was about 2,000km.
Cost will a min. of $700 for a week, up to about $1,500 with all insurance included.
All companies do not cover under any circumstance: water and undercarriage damage, regardless of cause.
I'll summarise as best I can (you should check though):
Hertz
Standard excess: $5,500 + 15%
SVA: $2,200 + 15%
Lowest excess: $1,100 + 15% + SVA
Excess reduction fee: ~ $35/day
Windscreen/tyre cover: subject to standard excess
Km allowed: 200/day
Unsealed roads: allowed
Restrictions: cannot be driven through flood waters.
Avis
Standard excess: $5,500 + 15%
SVA: N/A
Lowest excess: $1,100 + 15%
Excess reduction fee: ~ $30/day
Windscreen/tyre cover: subject to standard excess
Km allowed: 200/day
Unsealed roads: allowed
Restrictions: cannot be driven through flood waters.
Budget
Standard excess: $5,500 + 15%
SVA: N/A
Lowest excess: $1,100 + 15%
Excess reduction fee: ~ $35/day
Windscreen/tyre cover: subject to standard excess
Km allowed: 200/day
Unsealed roads: allowed
Restrictions: cannot be driven through flood waters.
Europcar
Standard excess: $5,500 + 15%
SVA: N/A
Lowest excess: $1,100 + 15% (may possibly be able to reduce to $0)
Excess reduction fee: ~ $35-40/day
Windscreen/tyre cover: subject to standard excess
Km allowed: 200/day
Unsealed roads: allowed
Restrictions: cannot be driven on the Oodnadatta Track, which you need to drive on to get there. Driving on this road will mean you've breached the terms and have no insurance, even if you have an accident on a sealed road after.
Thrifty
Standard excess: $5,500 + 15% (may be $3,300 + 15% - see comments above)
SVA: $2,200 + 15% (may not apply - see comments above)
Lowest excess: $1,100 + 15% (may possibly be able to reduce to $0)
Excess reduction fee: ~ $35/day
Windscreen/tyre cover: subject to standard excess
Km allowed: unlimited
Unsealed roads: allowed
Restrictions: cannot be driven through flood waters.
My order of preference would be: Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Hertz, Europcar.
It should be noted that I don't think it's possible to rent a second spare tyre with any (it is with Europcar in the Northern Territory), which is recommended. We did not have a second spare and we did have a flat tyre, though at Flinders Ranges, not at Lake Eyre.
Also recommended: take plenty of water and food, and a portable location device such as a satellite phone or epirb (sp?). We didn't bother with any of that though! Please don't bother commenting on this - we were aware of the risks!
tmac100
May 15, 12, 1:51 am
in July 2011 while bicycling between Adelaide and Peterbourough, I met a "grey nomads" couple who rented a 4X4 camper from Britz (I think that is the name of the firm) from Adelaide. This year fully outfitted for camping it will cost about $1600 for a Toyota diesel. The couple said the diesel was very economical and powerful and was quite suited for the roads near Lake Eyre.
Past experience with rental firms is that they seldom have camping vehicles as a MAIN rental source of income and charge all sorts of outrageous prices for...
I have plenty of outback experience with bicycles and IMHO, many of the roads that I bicycle on do NOT need 4X4 vehicles, but then you never know..