millsy
4x4 Earth Contributer
A few of us are thinking about a trip from Burra Gorge on a Saturday morning about 7.00am up through the hills north of Burra to Lillydale sheep station, and then across to the Dangalli and Chowilla Conservation Parks.
The plan is to camp in the Dangalli park on Saturday night, and then trek further down on Sunday to have a look through the wetlands of the Chowilla creeks and lake system. There are three main routes to return home - down the tarmac to Karoonda and Murray Bridge, down this same road, but turn west at Mindarie and cut across some nice back tracks to the little village of Copeville, then across to Mannum. And of course straight back along the Sturt Highway.
I was originally thinking about doing this on the October long weekend, but am just throwing it up for discussion at the moment for the June long weekend instead. I was thinking that October is a long time to wait. Also the weather can be a bit windy at that time of the year, and from what I experienced yesterday when I did a quick run around the tracks, I think the middle of winter on a nice sunny day would be ideal for enjoying this pretty rugged country. On the other hand a bit of wind can blow the dust away between the vehicles. There are few patches of shallow bull-dust! Main thing is just to keep a good km or so gap between the cars.
The other plus about planning for a June trip is that if the skies let loose and the area is full of muddy tracks, or if the forecast is for a lot of rain on the day, we can cancel and put it back to October.
But that's only four weeks notice, and some might have already made plans for June, or commited their fuel money to other things. About 1000km of driving costs.
Their are three groups interested at the moment I think, so if those three could let us know if June 11 ( Friday night at Burra Gorge ), 12th and 13th are OK with them. Of course, being a long weekend, it could be Saturday 12th at Burra Gorge, Sunday to Dangalli and Monday Chowilla and home. But then you miss out on a quiet day at home on Monday to recover! But might be prefferable to missing out on your Friday evening recovery after a hard week at work.
So - Is June long weekend OK. And if so - Friday arvo get away, or Saturday? Same alternatives of course if you prefer October. Let's see who wants what from the three original 'starters', and then we can fix the dates.
The plan is to camp in the Dangalli park on Saturday night, and then trek further down on Sunday to have a look through the wetlands of the Chowilla creeks and lake system. There are three main routes to return home - down the tarmac to Karoonda and Murray Bridge, down this same road, but turn west at Mindarie and cut across some nice back tracks to the little village of Copeville, then across to Mannum. And of course straight back along the Sturt Highway.
I was originally thinking about doing this on the October long weekend, but am just throwing it up for discussion at the moment for the June long weekend instead. I was thinking that October is a long time to wait. Also the weather can be a bit windy at that time of the year, and from what I experienced yesterday when I did a quick run around the tracks, I think the middle of winter on a nice sunny day would be ideal for enjoying this pretty rugged country. On the other hand a bit of wind can blow the dust away between the vehicles. There are few patches of shallow bull-dust! Main thing is just to keep a good km or so gap between the cars.
The other plus about planning for a June trip is that if the skies let loose and the area is full of muddy tracks, or if the forecast is for a lot of rain on the day, we can cancel and put it back to October.
But that's only four weeks notice, and some might have already made plans for June, or commited their fuel money to other things. About 1000km of driving costs.
Their are three groups interested at the moment I think, so if those three could let us know if June 11 ( Friday night at Burra Gorge ), 12th and 13th are OK with them. Of course, being a long weekend, it could be Saturday 12th at Burra Gorge, Sunday to Dangalli and Monday Chowilla and home. But then you miss out on a quiet day at home on Monday to recover! But might be prefferable to missing out on your Friday evening recovery after a hard week at work.
So - Is June long weekend OK. And if so - Friday arvo get away, or Saturday? Same alternatives of course if you prefer October. Let's see who wants what from the three original 'starters', and then we can fix the dates.
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