Driving Outback Highways at Night

[Guptar]

Am planning a trip round Oz, driving with Mrs Guptar and the wee little Guptlets. Just wondering if the Sturt Higway from Adelaide to Darwin is safe to drive from a wildlife point of view. Some old pamphlets form the NRMA said that one should avoid driving a night due to kangaroos and other wildlife feeding on the roadside. Same for the nullabor Plain.

[NNB]

unless you're in a bloody big truck (with decent bullbar) I suggest that you pull stumps 30 mins before last light and wait until the morning.
Between the wildlife and the bloody big trucks going like cut cats, night time is not your time.
enjoy the drive, the scenery is quite spectacular

[Ultralights]

i have driven the sturt hwy at night, just have a break 2 hrs either side of dawn and dusk, and you should be right, what usually annoys truckies along that route, is people failing to dip high beam, from behind you see the red tail lights, dip the high beam only to see the red lights are MILES ahead! leave them dipped! listening to them on the uhf you will realize how much this annoys them.
and if you do see an animal on the road, DONT swerve... in that part of the world at night im more worried about drunk locals on the road, not the professional drivers.

[BaronvonChieftain]

Totally concur, the Stuart Highway at night is not a nice place to be. Quite apart from wildlife & roadtrains etc (and trust me - those roos are positively suicidal) another thing you need to look out for this time of year is water across the road :eek:
As for roadside accomodation: Laramah, Renner, Mataranka, Dunmarah and Daly Waters are OK in my experience. The Elliott caravan park is a little rough, but is OK for one night if you get stuck. If you're taking a caravan, camper, Winnebago etc, there are one or two decent camping/rest areas along the road.
Enjoy the trip!

[tinpis]

If youre insane drive at night on the Stuart.
As you get near Darwhine at night be careful to look out for the black speed bumps.
Otherwise its PEDAL TO THE METAL Cannonball Run from da springs to here.
I wouldnt stop at Elliot unless you are a Missionary.
ASP to Darwhine is an easy drive in one day.
Nothing worth stopping for IMHO.

[The Voice]

IMHO Tinny, the Alice to the top could be a big stretch for the sprogs .. depends on the age and how many times you can stand to play I spy I spose ..

gotta have a look at the Mataranka Hot Springs .. or failing that KAT gorge or the hot springs just off the Vic Hwy ..

some accom enroute (Tennant Creek, Daly Waters, Katherine) is OK but I'd also bypass Elliott, Ti-Tree and, um, some place called Barrow Creek :sad:

We drove into the dark hours from DN to TNK but vigilence is a must if you want to tango with the wildlife ... storms are bloody spectacular but!

[Fred Gassit]

Were you asking about the Nullarbor as well? Vehicle suicide at night, countless small kangaroos, if you get caught short of your stop you will be down to 70-80km/h there are so many of them. I havent honestly had as much trouble on Stuart highway but you get cattle standing motionless all along the thing and in the dark you see those red ones (droughtmasters?) way too late. I agree with previous post, very boring, try and do it in 2 days (from Adelaide)

[compressor stall]

Whatever you do, if a roo jumps out, don't swerve.

Picked up the results of many who did. :(

Beware of your car's insurance if it's rented. Single vehicle accident excesses (including wildlife kills) are usually to the tune of several thousand $$.:{

[an3_bolt]

Used to live and work up there many years ago.
I had an old Subaru wagon that would do terminal velocity of around 150km/hr and 155 on a tailwind.
I used to drive at night when required as well. All the service stations at that time closed down at night, so fuel was far and few between. Gets a bit lonely too.
All went well for some time...until....I had to dip the lights for a bus coming the other way. Didn't see the roo until too late. Luck I didn't swerve, or I would not be writing this, as I was near terminal velocity. Result - Roo 1, car 0. I had to drive the last 500km to Alice with flat spotted tyres down to the metal reinforcement.
I know with hindsight how young and stupid I was. An absolute idiot....for the following reasons:
1. High speed at night with wildlife around is not smart. Backed by the amount of roadkills you see and smell on the side of the road. Expect vehicle damage at the very least.
2. Help is a long way away. If you do hit something - chances are if you are seriously injured - you will die before help arrives. Driving during the day increases the chances of help, as you are visible and more people traveling on the road.
3. Too many people die on outback roads through various reasons. Some include falling asleep - day or night. Not much to entertain you at night down the Stuart Hwy.
If you live smarter, very good chance you will live longer.
My very best wishes to you for a long and happy, prosperous life.:)

[Andy_RR]

IMHO, don't do Alice to Darwin at night - there are too many interesting things to see along the way, including Tennant Creek Telegraph station, a few abandoned airfields, hospitals etc, Katherine Gorge, Mataranka springs etc.

Adelaide - Alice is a bit more boring, but Woomera and Coober Pedy are must-sees (it's all relative of course, but if you're travelling, I'm assuming you want to see things!)

Adelaide - Perth has some long boring stretches, but check out the old Eucla(?) telegraph station and also the coast along the G.A.Bight when the road gets close.

Attempting to do these long stretches at night is selling them short, I think, aside from the obvious dangers.

[Chadzat]

thread wandering here a bit......

In the NT are there many "relatively" active airfields along the highway? Ie not a 100km diversion from the main drag. For instance if one was doing an airfield crawl (aka pub crawl) are there many worth stopping at?

[ITCZ]

Don't drive the Stuart Highway at night. There's not much point.

First up there aren't enough fuel stops open between 10pm to 7am unless you have a 4WD with long rang tanks (or three or more jerrycans sloshing around in your boot).

Second, as stated before, there is a LOT of wildlife. Anything bigger than a cockatoo or a small wallaby hit at 130km/h or better will bring your night to an early finish, probably at least an hour from the (shut) fleapit motel.

Third, there has been a lot of water across the road this summer. The normal 15 to 25km stretches of 5mm to 30mm depth of floodwater across the road between Dunmarra and Hayes Creek, but also lots over the Barkly. A bridge was washed away just south of Renner Springs about a month ago.

Cars and trucks are getting through, but travelling at much more than 110km/h and these flooded patches will loom up out of the dark before you can hit the anchors. Lots of cars end up aquaplaning into the scrub this time of year.

So not much point punting along in the dark unless you are prepared to be bored witless droning along at 100km/h. Its a long long walk to the next phone.

Just get up before sunrise, take a leak, get in yr car, drive from sunrise to breakfast, fill up, drive to morning tea, fill up, drive to lunchtime..... pull into a motel just before sunset. Keep it below 120 until the sun is well above the horizon, then do 140-150, and back off after 7pm to 120 again. When it gets dark, stop. You can just squeak Alice to Darwin in one day that way if you don't fart around at petrol stops.

Good places to stop...
Port Wakefield - good bakery
Lochiel - good pub
Salt lakes -- amazing, specially at sunset.
Pimba - cheap fuel
Woomera - interesting for a quick look at the rockets and missiles, but not much to hold the attention for more than an hour
Coober Pedy - Go to the Breakaways for sunset, then eat at Tom and Maria's Greek Taverna, best food on the road. Shame about the town.
Cadney Park - cheap accommodation
Banka banka - free camping, friendly people.
Stuart's Well (Jims Place) - cheap, clean, friendly, meet Jim a real pioneer, and lots of european and japanese female backpackers!
Aileron roadhouse - checkout the "Bush Kit" :)
Wycliffe Well - the owner's sense of humour
Devils Marbles - but take the Aerogard
Daly Waters Pub - you haven't seen the territory unless you stayed at least one night at Daly Waters. Not the roadhouse, the township, 3km off the highway. Old QF stop and aerodrome with an aviation museum.
Katherine Museum - Buy a pie at Thommos Pies and eat it at the old 'civil drome.' DH-60 Gypsy Moth used by the inimitable Dr Clyde Fenton, first NT Aeromedical pilot/doctor and ab initio instructor to many of aussie WW2 aces.
Emerald Springs - Drink a Paul's Iced Coffee (illegal to be sold as a milk product anywhere else in oz) while Theresa fires up her Massage Machine.

...and in the 'don't bother' category...
Glendambo and Marla in SA -- expensive fuel, one star accommodation at three star prices.
Coober Pedy -- underground motels - once is an interesting and expensive curiousity, any more is just tedious.
Tennant Creek -- a town that has been slowly dying for 10 years and is a dive.
Elliot -- a community that just happens to be on the highway.
Mataranka -- unless you like the smell of bat**** in the morning. ;)

Just a few of the unexpected attractions on a surprisingly interesting drive.

Have fun!

[OZBUSDRIVER]

Mataranka Homestead (Thermal pools) is a MUST not matter what time of day or night:ok: Like all touring, what you get out of it depends on the effort you put in exploring. Do not waste it by driving at night. Unless you have to "make a mile" I would not recommend it. You will find the single biggest thing that makes the trip feel like a long way are the distance markers EVERY FIVE @#@## KILOMETRES. You will get sick of looking at Kxxx or TWxxx.

[DownDraught]

And have at LEAST 20 litres of water with you, if not 40.

[Torres]

Do you need to drive at night and what are you driving?

I live in the bush, drive a Landcruiser Prado with a very solid bull bar and long range driving lights, have driven 110,000 in the past two years, 95% in 'roo country, probably 60% between 1.00 am and dawn. I've hit one roo and three have hit me - into the side of the car. The only vehicle damage I've had was one headlight protector smashed when I hit an eagle in daylight.

The Prado holds 180 liters fuel in two standard tanks, so I do not carry additional fuel. I carry two spares - which is probably why I've never had a puncture - and a 20 liter bottle of water. My car has a Garmin moving map GPS - very useful on back tracks and in the city, CDMA phone kit, UHF CB, my amateur radio HF transceiver, one of those booster battery things and a Waeco freezer to keep the beer cool.

Night driving can be tiring and stressful. If you don't need to drive at night, are not accustomed to playing slalom with wildlife and drive a family sedan, forget it. On the plus side, less cops at night (110 kph speed limit in this state) and as the country is so flat and featureless, one can see cop cars from a great distance - rather useful when the GPS tells me the vehicle's maximum speed achieved is 179 kph!

[Sunfish]

Please don't drive at night, the odds are stacked very much against you. The roos are suicidal, they are perfectly camouflaged and you won't see one in time to stop, you will see plenty of dead ones by the side of the road. There is also no need to do it. Carry a couple of motel catalogues. Carry plenty of drinking water (40 litres) make sure the car is in tip top condition. Going from South to North, stop at Port Augusta overnight, then overnight stay in the underground motel at Coober pedy - an expereince in itself, then stop at Alice Springs or Ulluru. Try not to drive more than 800 - 1000 km per day, although 600km is quite enough - you have to exercise the guptlets to keep them quiet.
Please post again if you want more information.

[Googlewac]

I'd probably bypass Wolf Creek :\ .

[QSK?]

Guptar:
Just wondering if the Sturt Higway from Adelaide to Darwin is safe to drive from a wildlife point of view. Some old pamphlets form the NRMA said that one should avoid driving a night due to kangaroos and other wildlife feeding on the roadside
You shouldn't be flying that low anyway; especially at night!!

[jon s gull]

I live in Inland NSW . What goes for the roads mentioned goes for all inland roads away from major cities. Wildlife is attracted to the edge of the road for a variety of reasons, not to mention stock which are even more dangerous.

Do a risk/need analysis

[compressor stall]

Back in 2000, I was flying a 402 out of Katherine. The company also had a base at Timber, 300kms to the west along a sealed but remote road. There was some flying to help out with over there, so I had planned to drive over on the Friday night, fly on sat and sun and head back to Katherine.

A fair bit of night driving, so I wanted someone to come along for the company. A mate was running the backpackers in Katherine, so he'd agreed to find me someone who could keep me company in return for a free flight over the Bungles and some camel spotting etc. that was tasked.

I arrived at the backpackers to be introduced to Amanda, a cute English lass with a gorgeous accent. Into the old 4wd we climbed (FJ40 :E) and head off out of town at dusk. Amanda was telling me that she'd arrived in Darwin that morning, her first trip to Australia and was really wanting to see wildlife - and she really wanted to see a Kangaroo in the wild.

"No worries, we'll see some for sure!" I replied.

Thirty seconds later out of the 6 foot grass near the road verge... bounce bounce ... kerrrrthump! One dead roo. No damage to the cruiser with the huge bullbar though.

We killed five that night, even though we spent most of the time driving at 60-70km/h as there were literally thousands on the roadside verge. Needless to say, there went my changes in a puff of roo fur and blood :{

Funnily enough, two nights later on the way home there was not a roo to be seen!

[Capt Claret]

Stallie

I can't believe you actually managed to entice a woman into that old Tojo! :E

Guptar

I've driven the Stuart Hwy, both ways, more times than I can remember. The only section I'll drive at night is Katherine to Darwin and vice versa. For the rest, too many cattle & roos, the occasional camel or donkey, and as ITCZ said, at this time of year, washouts and water over the road. The one time I didn't follow this rule was when I couldn't sleep one night in Alice, and thought if I'm going to toss & turn in bed I might as well drive.

At only 80kph I couldn't avoid the roo that hopped onto the road and despite hard braking he kept on pounding - straight into the side of my Patrol. In something like 600,000km this was my first encounter with a roo and set the insurance co back about $4000.00 and took many, many, many trips to the crash repair people (and I use that term loosely) to get right. :mad:

Drive by day and enjoy the fascinating scenery, giving you a better chance of avoiding the livestock, and surviving the drive.

ps, as an aside to you and others that mightn't have driven these sort of long distances on outback roads, a couple of years ago a friend of a friend hitched a ride down south from Katherine. She was a medical doctor. The two occupants of the car were having a great old natter when the car moved off the road onto the gravel shoulder.

Instinctively the driver pulled right on the steering wheel to regain the road, rolled the Tojo, and the doctor died.

These sort of accidents, as well as swerving to avoid livestock/birds are too common and the results can be tragic.

Drive safely.

[OZBUSDRIVER]

Single vehicle roll over is the single biggest killer in the territory. 4WD with high CG can be over on roof with two quick movements on the wheel. Common from avoiding wildlife/livestock or, as you report, trying to get back up on the black stuff. Have trundled up and down that road a bit ex-BN, for my money the worst bit for livestock is between the Curry and the Isa. Damn cows are exactly the same colour as the rock in the bull lights. Old trick, if you must drive at night, drive when there is a full moon. The Roos can see you as well as see outside your headlight beam so will tend not to jump into it or stay there.

[psycho joe]

I grew up in the bush and have driven in this area plenty of times at night. Think about it, the locals don't cower in their homes at night too terrified to drive anywhere lest they be smote by the Western Red.

But first there are a few thing that you must have;

-You must be driving a ute. My preference is a falcon, but a WB Holden is also good.

-You must have a dirty great bullbar. No not a Roo/Nudge/brush bar, they're for those city W__kers . It has to be huge, something of beauty that you can be truly proud of. A general rule of thumb is, if the bullbar looks like it out weighs the car then it's almost big enough.

-You must have a roll bar. To house the next bit of gear.

-The SPOTTIES. At least four, and notdriving lights (again think city W__kers). They must be round spotties of at least 9" diameter and they must all be mounted on the roll bar.

-You must have a swag. Green canvas with double density foam. Don't tow a bloody van.

-stickers. Optional but always classy. Preferably Bundy Rum-for the drinking of.

Some optional items include;

-Beer, Drunken mates and rifles. If this country is ever invaded by an alien force that resembled road signs... well lets just say that we'd kick arse. ay!!

Well there it is, the secret to surviving night driving "out west". Follow these simple steps and you will own the road and blind many a marsupial as well as having some serious credibility at every roadhouse.

[Ultralights]

just a little ride report from a madman i know.....

G'day folks, this is only my second post here but I thought "what the hell, chuck in a ride report" so here goes:

Back around Easter 2002 I took a month long service leave & decided to drive to Darwin, doing some sight-seeing alomg the way. I had a little 1984 Ford Laser 1.5L 5speed hatchback. Let's just say the vehicle prep wasn't going according to plan so instead I loaded up the Hayabusa and left Campbelltown about 2am, in the rain. Great start!

After a warning to keep a better eye on my speedo somewhere past Dubbo, all was looking well. Fuelled up at Cobar & got out of there quick- scary looking town, that one! A little too quick, it would seem as the highway patrol I went past did a quick U-turn & hit the Christmas lights. Well I was on a Hayabusa already doing 160km/h with 22L on board so he didn't see much of me!

Broken Hill arrived in 9hrs after my departure from Campbelltown, not a bad run. Had to stay a while as my rear tyre was showing a little canvass & the shop didn't have a tyre to suit. Ordered a harder compound tyre from Adelaide, a BT010 I think?? Took the time to check out Menindee lake & spent a few days at Singleton. Chris & Jo, the publicans there are great. Chris has a V8 powered bike for the salt flats & a Mad Max Interceptor lookalike Falcon.

Got the new tyre fitted on the Tuesday morning, and left Broken Hill at 11am. Rode via Peterborough & Port Augusta to head North up the Stuart Hwy. For some strange reason, I thought the town of Marla was between Woomera & Coober Pedy. WRONG!! Not wanting to have to push the fully loaded Hayabusa too far, I slowed down, and after a while and doing some quick calculations in my head based on the mileage markers to Coober Pedy & my fuel consumption thus far, I slowed down some more. At 70km/h in 5th gear I was getting about 4.2L/100km. I rolled into Coober Pedy at some ungodly hour (yes, I rode the Stuart Hwy at night!) and poured 21.6L of premium ULP into the 22L tank. Whew!

Grabbed a bit to eat & hit the road (yes, I continued at night up the Stuart Hwy) Those little $6.95 'roo whistles are brilliant! Stopped at the side of the road somewhere for a power-nap, and awoke to the smell of chicken cooking. A couple of newlyweds in a motorhome had pulled in for a break, so we swapped tales, they fed me, and I continued North into the darkness.

I rode into Alice Springs 20hrs after leaving Broken Hill.

More to follow...

[CoodaShooda]

If youre insane drive at night on the Stuart.

Buggrit tinny. I prefer driving the Stuart at night.....so I can't see what's coming at me. :E

Just drove the Katherine/Darwin leg last night for the fourth time in 8 months.

Only wildlife sighted on any of the trips was cane toads and a couple of owls.

Never had any problems at night on several 12 hour trips Darwin/Alice Springs either.

Then again, I had a roo bounce me (and miss) in broad daylight just south of Pine Creek last month. And there was a buffalo standing on the highway near Acacia Gap, in the middle of the day about three months ago.

So I guess the best advice is "Drive softly and carry a big bull bar".

[maxgrad]

They work me hard enough already, please don't generate more work. Drive during the day.

[Torres]

Slowest trip I ever remember was Auguthella to Charleville, 89 kms just on dusk a couple of years ago. Took almost three hours and accounted for one roo that ran into the rear quarter of the Landcruiser Prado.

Years ago I hit a boar on a track on Cape York. Had a bloody great welded steel bull bar on the then Tojo. The boar bent and broke a piece of 2 inch water pipe part of the bull bar. Needless to add, the boar was in far worse shape.

Night is not the only time for wildlife. I've often seen roos, goats, cattle etc on the road in the middle of the day. Echidna breeding time is also not good for your tyres!!

If you are not accustomed to outback driving and don't need to drive at night - why take the risk???

[compressor stall]

Ultralights - don't know the author of the story, but a good chance he could be of the same mould as the same bloke I picked up at a remote roadhouse on the nullarbor at o'dark o'clock on a moonless night.

He'd been riding his motorbike and collected a roo on the side at 120+kmh. He stayed on the bike, but it shattered his ankle, twisting it 180deg. On adrenaline, he kept riding the remaining 50kms to the roadhouse and hopped in to a rather startled attendant who then called us.

One tough (but silly) b@st@rd.

As maxgrad says, don't make work for people to come and get you landing at 0240 on a moonless night in the middle of something so black it makes a proctologist shudder.

[Ultralights]

funnitly enough, i have driven the Sturt 2 times, the nullabor 2 times, and almost the entire state of NSW and QLD, and have only ever hit 2 kangaroos that have done some serious damage, 1 on the Heathcoat road on the way to YSBK from Cronulla, and the other on the F6 to wollongong... though i almost collected an Emu crossing the road on the way to white Cliffs.

[Transition Layer]

Great story about the backpacker Stallie, brings back some wonderful memories from up north!!!

TL :ok:

[tinpis]

Cooda you old thrill-seeker.
You got dat big poor wheel dribe eh brudda?
Another thing to consider while on the Stuart at night or DAY is the fact that officially in the NT every man woman and child drinks fourteen glasses of wine per day.
Should you care to stop and explore some of the towns on route this is what you may come across..

"At The Tennant Creek Hotel, I spoke to some blow-ins around the bar during my break and asked them what they thought of the show so far. It seems the main attraction to watching my act on some nights, is not the comedy but more the fascination in just sitting back, sipping a beer and wondering why I'm not getting my head punched in. I.e the drama. This was certainly the case tonight. Highlights of the show included a guy who came up and did the 'mad dog'. This is where you snort some salt up your nose, skull a tequila shot and then squeeze lemon in your eye. He did this twice. Two guys then came up and skulled a bourbon through their noses."

Thanks to Jimbo :hmm:

[CoodaShooda]

You got dat big poor wheel dribe eh brudda?

Nah tinny. I'm never one to follow good advice.

Gotta medium AWD and no bull bar (can't afford the fuel costs lugging one around..)

Been some good advice here for Gupta but. Hope they enjoy their trip

[tinpis]

Well Cooda you may have cast your optics on one of these in Darwhine
Im led to believe the gentleman that owns it regularly posts some DRW -ASP-DRW times that would make ya blink. :hmm:
http://www.caradisiac.com/media/images/collection/lamborghini_countach.jpg

[psycho joe]

Hmmm....Would look better with a bullbar and spotties.

[thekite]

Are you convinced yet to not drive at night?

Besides which:There is much to see on the way as everyone has said.

No, do not stop at Elliot.
But DO stop at Daly Waters.

And consider this: Buy or rent TALKING BOOKS.
You can get them at your library.
The road is long dreary and monotonous. You need to keep your brain working and so do the Guplets.

A book tells a story and it will keep you thinking. I live in the Territory. The biggest cause of fatal accidents is people going to sleep and running off the road.

Humour is good. Better are murder mysteries, Agatha Christie is great.
"The Name of the Rose" is a mediaeval murder mystery, and is good for
3200 km.

[Mr. Hat]

Guptar, may i reccomend that you do not attempt to drive country roads at night. I have been there done that and i can tell you i was a lucky silly boy. Unfortunately there is not a lot of education on driving in the country let alone driving at night in the country. So for many its learn by experience and the learning curve can be very very steep my friend.

You will find work and make it in the long run if you move to where the work is but you have a much better chance if you do so by day in a safe manner. Cars, wildlife, night and fatigue. It's a deadly mix mate.

Best of luck.

[tinpis]

An' another thing....
When you stop on the side of the road fer a leak.....just watch where you and the little Guptets put yer feets...:uhoh: http://rainforest-australia.com/Ebrown.jpg

Contrary to popular belief its not a desert out there its blooding teeming with wildlife.:}

[woodring]

First trip to Oz to visit no 1 son who lives in outback NSW .
Discussion as to who's vehicle we would use to visit the pub luckily we took his ute [with bull bar] rather than my hire car [without].
In the 45 K drive home we hit 6 Roos ,no damage to ute, just a little blood to wash off .The local car body shop told me that 80% of their work is animal damage.