15 July - Woomera SA.  Thanks to everyone for their comments and well wishes.  Our journey has now begun, so we are on the road.  The planning for this trip began around 2 years ago.  We had done a few trips before and then decided to use our long service leave, plus annual leave for an extended trip.  The three things you have to work through are: Where to go, When to go and How to get there.  We decided on the Kimberleys and Kakadu National park in the NT.  With that the When was easy as we had decided to get there by 4WD.  Kimberleys and Kakadu are only accessible during winter.  During summer these areas are flooded and the only way to get there is to fly in and out.  Once we finalized the destination, the first thing to do is to gather as much information as you possibly can in order to plan your trip.  Where to go, what to see, where to stay etc.  After a bit of Googling we found one source of information on the Kimberleys that was worth every penny.  It's an ebook created by a German woman, Birgit available through her website http://www.kimberleyaustralia.com/destination-kimberley.html  It's full of factual non marketing type information that is very much up to date and practical.  She even includes sample itineraries for those that don't have much time.  With this book in hand, we planned our trip at a high level, making sure we have enough time in between places.  At a high level, our journey is as follows:
Sydney to Alice Springs.
Alice Springs to Halls Creek via the Tanami track.
Halls Creek to Purnululu National Park (Bungle Bungles)
Purnululu NP to Fitzroy Crossings
Fitzroy Crossing to Derby
Derby to Broome
Broome down to Cape Leverque
Cape Leverque to Derby
Derby to Gibb River Road
The Gibb River road is the main area of the Kimberleys.  This is where we will spend some time going from place to place.  We plan to go up to Mitchell Falls and even to Kalumburu, which is an isolated Aboriginal settlement.
Once we get to the end of the Gibb River road, we will end up in Kununurra.  From there we plan to go to Darwin and then back down to Alice Springs via Kakadu National Park.  We plan to be in Alice Springs again in early October to meet up with friends and with them drive for a couple of weeks around the McDonald Ranges, before commencing a slow pace back to Sydney.
As we have done several trips before we were pretty well equiped in regards to camping gear and a 4WD vehicle.  Our trusty 1994 Landcruiser DX has only about 240k on the clock and is quite willing to go much further.  Thus most of the work was more fine tuning and working out where to put all the things you need for such a long trip in the cruiser.

Sibba, Last Minute Packing!

We have an Oztent.  It and all it's associated gear and annexes fit into the Ozpod.  I also built the extra cargo pod using a water barrel from Bunnings as the base.  It is pretty much water proof and contains our mattresses, chairs and other things.  Then on the roof rack is also the High Lift Jack, a multi purpose tool for any recovery.
Back in the cruiser is the 55Liter fridge/freezer, plus a set of drawers to the left that we use for all the kitchen appliances and dry food stuff.  Of course for a trip like this we need two spare tyres.

The Cruiser Cockpit

In the Cruiser we have all the gizmos to keep us informed.  The blackbox camera is a new addition, plus the battery monitor I designed and built.  The tyre pressure is monitored via the Tyredog monitor in order to ensure the tyre pressures are ok.  Then the trusty GPS tells us where we are.  I also had to put a rear view camera mirror due to the fact that the cargo barrier and rear is full of stuff that blocks the view.
There is a lot of stuff that needs to be powered!  Therefore I upgraded the cruiser alternator from 80Amps to 180Amps.

 

Getting ready to GO!

To be self reliant I also installed a 12,000lbs winch.  They are good when you get stuck and no one is around to drag you out.
On top we have a couple of LPG gas cylinders for the gas stove and portable BBQ.  Also a shovel and a couple of self inflating mattresses.  Most of this stuff is light as there is a limit to how much weight you are allowed to put on top.
Under the hood are two batteries, the Main and the Auxilary battery for the Fridge.   I use the battery monitor to keep an eye on those.

Where is the back seat?

I removed the back seat in order to install a 180 Liter tool chest.  It houses spare parts and tools, just in case.  It is bolted to the chassis in order to ensure it doesn't move.  Behind it is the 200w solar panel strapped to the cargo barrier.  The solar panel will come in use when we stay several day's in one place without power.  It can be used to charge the Auxilary battery during the day without having to run the engine and use up diesel. The first aid kit is of course at hand and below that is the organizer housing a variety of common items needed from time to time.  And then there is Kylie the Kangaroo.  Kylie hitched a ride with us a few years back when travelling through outback NSW.  She has stayed with us and has gone on every trip since then.  She loves travelling and seeing new things.  She is very inquisitive and always has to try out everything.  You will see her mentioned and in pictures from time to time.

We are now in Woomera in SA.  Have just had dinner are at the ELDO Hotel.  Woomera was used by the British after the second world war as a development and testing site for rockets.  Later on a European consortium (European Launch Development Organisation) developed and also launched rockets into space from here.  This is why they have a few samples from that time on display here i.e.

Kylie tried to fly this one!

Kylie got too inquisitive!!

Our trip to Woomera has been without any major incidents.  We went from Sydney to Narrandera the first day and the second day to Renmark.  This is where we came from today.  Tomorrow we continue our trip up the Stuart Highway to Cadney Park and stay there for one night.  Then we head up to Alice Springs and should arrive there on Tuesday arvo.

Along the way we have had a few incidents with other drivers.  Shortly after leaving the Hume highway towards Wagga Wagga, someone decided to change lanes without noticing us.  It was a near miss at the time as I had to sway away to avoid them hitting us.  What was more scary was the truck that came from the opposite direction and began sliding into our lane.  Fortunatly the driver must have woken up as he gradually went back into his own lane.  We also had a near miss with a couple of Cockatoos, plus drove into a herd of very horny cattle.  Another 4wd was brave enough to drive through the throng.  I've cut out the Cockatoo, Cattle throng and the truck incident from the Blackbox camera and uploaded to Youtube, so you can see for yourself.
Until next time, Simmi and Sibba.