South Australia - Outback Wilderness Travel

After several wilderness trips to outback South Australia, Laurie McArthur writes of the preparation necessary to venture, alone, into an environment that will kill you, just for being there, if you don't look out.

Traveling on an ATV (quadbike or four wheel motorbike), Laurie has traveled hundreds of kilometres around the Arid Region, west of Lake Torrens, in South Australia, camping and photographing the harsh wilderness landscape as he goes.

Ownership of the Land

About 70% of South Australia is pastoral lease. The land is owned by the South Australian government and leased, long term, to pastoralists for sheep and cattle grazing, and to mining companies for exploration and mining operations.

If you look at a regular road map of outback South Australia, the roads marked are public roads and you are free to travel these outback roads through the arid wilderness country as you would any other country road. Exceptions are national parks and Aboriginal land. But they are another two stories.

However, the extra roads and tracks marked on a topographic map of outback South Australia, are station owned and maintained. Whether there is a gate or not, you must have permission from the station manager to travel on these outback roads and tracks.

Moreover, if you approach the outback station manager with appropriate courtesy, he'll more than likely give you invaluable local knowledge. You see, there are outback tracks marked on the best topographic maps that don't exist, and visa versa. There are outback tracks that are so washed out as to be impassable. Some lines on the topographic map, marked as outback station tracks, will be found to be just an old, tumbled down fence line that you might be able to follow on a horse. Still other outback tracks might cross a dry salt lake for say, 10 kilometres, with the mud being firm enough to hold a vehicle only after a dry spell of many years.

Permission to Travel on Pastoral Leases

1) Contact Mapland at http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/mapland/contact.html#Offices and purchase a large map of South Australia showing all the pastoral leases and their names. Then identify which pastoral leases you wish to travel on.

2) Contact Outback SA, Level 6, 101 Grenfell St., ADELAIDE SA 5000 or telephone 1 800 678 477 for a list of Pastoral Leases.

3) Contact the relevant pastoral lessee(s) by telephone or letter, well in advance of your proposed trip. They may refuse permission for a range of good reasons including stock management and road conditions.

You should make allowance for some of these folk not being highly oriented toward office work. But generally speaking, once you develop a rapport with them, they'll be most supportive.

It's important to keep in mind that the roll of the pastoralists on the outback land is to run stock. They are not there as an extension of the tourist industry and cannot be expected to bail you out should you get into difficulties on their station.

Navigation

The South Australian outback is vast and unforgiving, so be well prepared to navigate your way reliably through the Arid Region.

1) Maps. You must have a paper road map and a paper topographic map of the outback area you will be traveling. Never rely entirely on a GPS, no matter how sophisticated a model it is.

2) Compass An inexpensive pocket compass will do to orientate the topographic map or the road map.

3) GPS With a hand held or vehicle mounted GPS you'll know where you are on the map to an accuracy of about five metres.An entry level GPS used in conjunction with a paper map will be quite adequate to find your way around the South Australian outback. More sophisticated models display a moving map on the screen.

4) Bush Sense Be aware of where the sun and the moon rise and set at the particular time of year and how far to the north the sun will be at noon. Both the sun and the moon move toward the north in winter. Take note of the prevailing winds and the direction of the parallel sand dunes.

5) Study the Maps Well before the trip, become familiar with the South Australian outback country you'll be traveling. Know the features such as hills, wells and dams, homesteads, lakes, creek beds and main roads as well as tracks. Google Earth is a great resource for getting to know the outback in advance.

Communication There's no reason for ill prepared outback travelers who become stranded, to die of dehydration, in these modern days of satellite communication. All South Australian outback travelers should have a satellite phone.