On this week’s news update, we take you to Kilcowera Station in south-western Queensland, a fossil crocodile exhibition, share an important announcement about Simpson Desert travel, and tell you everything you ever wanted to know about swags.

In this week’s news update:
00:31 – We take you to Kilcowera Station in south-west Queensland
02:58 – Lost Crocs of Central Australia Exhibition
03:46 – Simpson Desert Summer Closure
04:18 – Everything you ever wanted to know about swags

Feature Destination: Kilcowera Station

Kilcowera Station, a 120,000ha cattle property, located in the outback of south-west Queensland. Kilcowera has become a popular destination for birdwatchers, botanists, nature-lovers and families because it offers both pristine natural bush and a taste of life on a real working cattle station.

There’s a diverse range of things to see and do on Kilcowera: birdwatching and photography, lots of wildlife, pristine waterholes to swim in, camping under the stars and off road driving adventures.

You’ve got two choices for accommodation at Kilcowera: staying in the refurbished shearer’s quarters or camping. The shearer’s quarters cater for upto 17 people, and offer a range of double, queen and family rooms.

There’s camping with powered and non-powered sites at the shearer’s quarters as well, or you can experience the very best in bush camping at several sites, including the beautiful Cardenyabba Lagoon. Dogs are welcome at the shearer’s quarters, too.

Where is Kilcowera?

The station is located 1200km south-west of Brisbane. It takes most people 2 days drive from Brisbane, via Towoomba, Dalby, St George and Thargomindah.

Kilcowera is about 90 km or one hours drive from Thargomindah on the Dowling Track. No 4WD is needed to reach Kilcowera, however some of the off road tracks do require a high clearance vehicle.

It’s a great base for exploring this area in outback Queensland, with easy access to places like Currawinya National Park, Hungerford, Thargomindah, Bindegolly National Park and the Yowah opal fields.

Kilcowera is officially open to from March through to October, and by appointment at other times.

Give Toni a call – she’d love to hear from you!

More information:

http://www.kilcowera.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/Kilcowera.Station

Lost Crocs of Central Australia Exhibition

A new exhibition that the kids will love starts today, December7, at the Museum of Central in Alice Springs. The ‘Lost Crocs of Central Australia’ features fossils and interpretive displays of the massive prehistoric reptiles which lived in what we now know as the centre of the outback – the area around Alice Springs.

This is first time that most of the fossils in the exhibition  have gone on public display, so if you’re visiting Alice Springs, I recommend stopping by to see rare event.

The exhibition opens this evening at 5.30pm, 7 December 2012 and runs through into July next year.

The Museum of Central Australia is located within the Araluen Cultural Precinct on Larapinta Drive, Alice Springs and is open:

• Mon – Fri 10:00 – 4:00

• Sat & Sun 11:00 – 4:00.

Announcement: Simpson Desert Summer Closure

This week, the annual closure to the Simpson Desert in both Queensland and South Australia has begun.

The closure occurs every year from the 1 December through to the 15 March. Parks authorities in both states undertake this closure due to the extreme temperatures which occur in the desert over summer. In years gone by, people have perished in the desert during this time of year.

For more information visit the Parks SA website:

http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/Home/Full_newsevents_listing/News_Events_Listing/111130-SimpsonDesertClosure

Swags: Everything You EVER Wanted to Know

Most people associate swags with Australia, camping and the outback.

The swag is one of those iconic pieces of Australian gear, and was a word originally used to describe the bedrolls carried by shearers, miners and drovers in the nineteenth century. These original swags were often just rolled up blankets, sheets and even hessian, and were carried on the back or on a horse (if you were lucky enough to own a horse!) as people travelled around.

Today’s swags are much more robust and heavier – in fact, there’s no way you’d be carrying most swags on your back!

Most swags are made from heavy-duty, water resistant canvas, have a foam mattress inside of them, and roll up for transport.

Why are swags loved by so many outback travellers?

Quite simply: they’re comfortable to sleep in.

The sturdy foam mattress means you’re sleeping on something similar to a bed. They’re more comfortable to sleep in than most kinds of camp stretchers or thin camping mats, and they’re really easy to set up. You just undo the straps, and there’s your bed for the night.

The other reason that people rave about them is that a swag is perfect for sleeping outside, under the stars. Sleeping under the stars in a swag is the ultimate outback experience – right up there with watching the sunset on Uluru.

And of course, if you’re worried about creepy-crawlies, or just don’t like the idea of sleeping on the ground, then you can put your swag inside a tent or do what we do: use a pop up mosquito dome.

Some of the disadvantages of swags:

They are big and bulky. They take up a lot of room in your car, which is why many people strap them on to roof racks. They’re also a bit of a pain if you’re flying interstate, and need to haul them around on public transport.

Then there’s the fact that some people don’t like the idea of sleeping on the ground, or just can’t get down and up off the ground as easily as they used to. A swag is not the best option if you’re less mobile, and you may need to look at a camper trailer or alternative accommodation.

Swags come in a range of sizes: from those which you can fit on the back of a motorbike, right up to king size double swags. Most of the time, we use either our single swags or our double swag when we’re camping.

Swags can be bought at most camping or outdoor shops, and prices generally start around $200.

If you’re in Alice Springs, we recommend Centre Canvas, who manufacture swags on the premises, and are considerably cheaper then most other commercial outlets.

This is an honest-to-goodness recommendation. We really do get our swags from here.

Centre Canvas: 9 Smith Street Alice Springs. ph  (08) 8952 2453

Sleeping outside under the stars in a swag is an experience that we think everyone visiting the outback should do at least once.

The post Outback Travel News, 7 December 2012 appeared first on Travel Outback Australia.

On this week’s news update, we feature a destination where you can get away from the crowds right near Alice Springs, an outback summer film festival, an inexpensive mobile camping app, and a real alternative to hiring or buying a satellite phone for outback travel.

00:30 Feature Destination – the East MacDonnell Ranges

03:25 Summer Vibes Film Festival

04:16 Wikicamps Australia app

04:48 Delorme inReach Two Way Communicator

Feature Destination: The East MacDonnell Ranges

The East MacDonnell Ranges (locals call them the ‘East Macs’) are very close to Alice Springs, and are easily accessible with an ordinary car.

There’s Aboriginal rock art at places like Trephina and N’Dhala Gorge, historic sites like Arltunga where you can explore an entire ghost town and check out old gold mines, and get away from it all at remote places like Ruby Gap and Ambalindum.

People are often surprised at what the East Macs have to offer -and we’ve heard people RAVE about Trephina Gorge’s shady and spacious camping area.

Check out this page for your very own photo tour of the East Macs. We’ve sure once you see the pictures, you’ll want to hop in your car and just GO!

Outback Film Festival in Broken Hill

The Patton Street Village ‘Summer Vibes’ Festival starts THIS Friday (November 30).

A group of Broken HIll locals have got together this year to create the Summervibes Festival, a nine-week film outdoor festival that that includes local and international films, night markets, local music and arts.

Summervibes started as an idea to support emerging filmmakers and opens this Friday with a big open Christmas party and night time markets.

The festival runs until the end of January and every Friday night features either an open air cinema with award-winning short films, a night market or community event.

An Inexpensive Mobile Camping App

Wikicamps is an easy to use, low priced apple or android app that will help you find campsites, caravan parks, points of interest and even has a satellite dish pointer, a camping checklist.

As it’s wiki-based, you’re even able to upload your own photos, reviews of campsites, and any new information you come across during your travels.

There’s a New Zealand version of the app coming out in December followed by the next update of WikiCamps Australia early next year.
The app is only $2.99 and is available from the Wikicamps website: http://www.wikicamps.com.au/

or the iTunes store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wikicamps-australia/

 An Alternative to a Satellite Phone

The Delorme inReach Satellite Communicator device can be used on it’s own to send tracking messages or predefined text messages to let people know you’re ok. OR you can pair it with your smartphone (iPhone or Android) and send two-way text messages to people back at home. Unfortunately, you cannot make voice calls with your phone.

But texting in the middle of nowhere. That’s gotta be good!

It’s quite inexpensive (see the links below) and offers an alternative to buying or hiring a sat phone.

You can purchase the inReach Satellite Communicator here (affiliate link that we will earn a small commission on).

There is a $49.95 on-off activation charge, and monthly subscription to the service is $19.95 (information about monthly subscription and activation in Australia & New Zealand here).

Delorme’s Australian website (non-affliate link): http://alwaysinreach.com.au/

Help Us Out:

If you’ve found this information useful, please share this post by clicking on the ‘Like’ button, Google + button or Tweet it to your friends.

Thanks and see you next week.

The post Outback Travel News, 29 November 2012 appeared first on Travel Outback Australia.

An update about a little known outback camping and 4WDing destination in Central Australia, an essential tip for people hiring 4WDs, advice on staying alive in the outback, and an update on the Camps Australia Wide iPad/iPhone app.

00:50 – VKS-737 Travellers’ Network to allow Sat-phone access
02:08 – The popular Camps Australia guidebooks are launching an iPad/iPhone app
03:19 – Should you take your camper trailer into remote areas like the Simpson Desert
04:35 – Territory Discoveries special offers to Uluru and Alice Springs

Central Australia’s Best Kept Secret: Owen Springs Reserve

Owen Springs Reserve is one of Central Australia’s BEST kept secrets.

The Reserve is located just 50 km (40 minutes drive) west of Alice Springs, and is great for camping, bushwalking, 4WDing and birdwatching.

Owen Springs was formerly a pastoral station (a cattle ranch), and has one of the very first European homesteads built in Central Australia. It’s also part of the route of the Old Overland Telegraph Line from Adelaide to Darwin.

The Reserve has a 50km long 4WD ONLY track running through it.

It’s a great day trip to drive out to Owen Springs, drive the 4WD track to the bottom of the park, and then return to Alice Springs along the Stuart Highway. This is a 220km (approx.) round trip.

There’s a couple of great camping spots on the Reserve: the Hugh River in Lawrence Gorge, and the local Alice Springs favourite: Redbank Waterhole.

Redbank Waterhole is also accessible from the Stuart Highway – it’s 5km drive in from the Highway and you can take a camper trail in via this route. Dogs are also permitted at Redbank Waterhole.

More info: http://www.travel-outback-australia.com/Owen-Springs-Reserve.html

Essential Tip if You’re Hiring a 4WD

If you’re hiring a 4WD and wish to engage the 4WD on the vehicle, it’s important that you do these things:

1. Get out of the vehicle and check to see if the front wheels have hub locks
2. If so, you need to turn the dial to the LOCK position in order to lock wheels to the front drive (so that they’ll turn with the engine)
3. Get in the vehicle and then use the small gear stick to engage 4WD

Many tourists don’t realise that they have to lock the hubs on the front wheels to engage 4WD.

Gary has had to rescue hire vehicles stuck in sand who never should have become bogged. These people thought they had 4WD engaged because they’d moved the gear stick into place. Embarrassing for them to be shown how to get their car out of a bog in 30 seconds just by locking the hubs!

Stay ALIVE in the Outback

This week brought tragic news about a young man who perished in outback Queensland after his car became bogged and he tried to walk 10km in 45˚C heat.

This is a deadly reminder to everyone to STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE if you breakdown. The reason for this is that a vehicle is much easier for search teams to find than a human wandering around the bush.

Two other tips for outback survival:

* Before you go, make a plan about what you’ll do if you breakdown
* Tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to be back. Ask them raise the alarm if you’re not back when expected.

Camps Australia Wide’s iPad/iPhone app

Camps Australia Wide’s iPad/iPhone app is now available. The cost is $51.95 (NOT $59.95 as we said in the video), and there’s also an optional 29.95 annual subscription that will keep you always up-to-date with the latest campsites.

You can purchase the app in the iTunes store or direct from Camps Australia Wide

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The post Outback Travel News: November 11 2012 appeared first on Travel Outback Australia.

An update about a great adventure destination for beginner travellers to the outback, news about sat phone hire for the Simpson Desert, some unique tours out of Alice Springs, and Qantas flight specials.

In this week’s outback travel news update:
00:53 – Feature destination: the Oodnadatta Track
02:23 – Five essential tips for travelling the Oodnadatta Track
03:58 – Book sat phones now for the 2013 Simpson Desert season
04:32 – Unique tours from Alice Springs
05:04 – Qantas outback summer flight specials

Feature Destination: The Oodnadatta Track

Oodnadatta Track is a great introduction to outback driving and bush camping for beginners.

It’s a big, smooth track (really, it’s a good gravel road), with plenty to see and do along the way.

We especially recommend it for families, as there’s plenty of places for the kids to swim, some great campsites, and lots of  old railway and Overland Telegraph  buildings to explore along the way.

The Oodnadatta Track is just over 600 km long; starts in Marree and finished in at Marla – and it’s a real alternative to the Stuart Hwy if you’re travelling to or from the Northern Territory.

5 essential travel for the Oodnadatta Track

•  Although we’ve seen 2WD vehicles on the Track, we recommend that you take a 4WD, just in case there’s been some rain, or you’re planning on a side trip to the Peake Telegraph Station ruins or Lake Eyre

• At a minimum, carry 2 spare tyres OR have the ability to patch and repair – and make sure you know how to change a tyre

• Always carry spare radiator hoses and fanbelts. Even if you don’t know how to change them, some one will always come along who DOES know how to change them, and having the spares will save you an expensive tow truck recovery

• Hire a sat phone OR have a UHF radio installed. There are UHF repeaters along the Oodnadatta Track which are monitored and you’ll be able to call for help if you need it

• Water – make sure you’ve got 10 litres, per person, per day, and a little spare in case you need to top up your radiator.

 2013 Simpson Desert Satellite Phone Hire

Satphone hire is available from Mt Dare Hotel for Simpson Desert Crossings.

It’s advisable to book now for the winter 2013 season. There are only 15 satphones available, and they book out quickly.

Satphones can be returned at the Wirrari Information Centre Birdsville (they can also be hired there).

The cost is around $140 for 4 days hire.

More information: Mt Dare Hotel.

 Central Oz Tours

If you’re looking for something different when you visit Central Australia, take a tour with Al Barnett of Central OZ Motorbike tours.

Al’s one of the best known tour guides in Alice Springs, and he’s been running these tours for 20 yrs.

You can take a ride on a Harley, or design your own 4X4 adventure.

No matter what, you’ll experience the outback with a real local and see places that many other tours don’t even know exist.

Contact Al: http://www.centraloz.com/  or phone: (+61) 0407105899

Qantas Summer Flight Specials

Qantas have some great summer specials for travel to Alice Springs and Uluru between 14 Jan 2013- 28 March.

You can fly from Sydney to $249 each way from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.

Details here: http://www.qantas.com.au/

Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next week!

The post Outback Travel News 7 November 2012 appeared first on Travel Outback Australia.