Click here to see maps of the trips below
OFF-ROAD TOUR
This is a shorter Tour designed for those with not much time, and falls into the school holiday period for some States.
Exploring Woomera where Len Beadell started the Rocket Range project, we head north to Coober Pedy. Swinging west along the famous Anne Beadell Highway we enter the Great Victoria Desert, visiting Tallaringa Well, Emu Atomic Sites, Anne's Corner & Vokes Hill Corner.
Turning south we meander through the Mallee and sandhills finally petering out into the Nullarbor Plain. The laid back village of Cook and the Transcontinental Railway Line are next on the list.
Returning to the Eyre Highway we travel east to Ceduna and civilisation. Getting away again we go north and follow "Googs Track" through the sandhills of the Yellabinna Regional Reserve back to the Trans-Con Railway. Getting into Glendambo, it's an easy wander back down the Stuart Highway to Woomera.
This Tour covers some extraordinary changes in landscape, sandhills, claypans & sweeping plains of Saltbush. Marble Gums, Black Oaks, Mallees, Spinifex & Mulga the best the Great Victoria Desert and the Nullarbor have to offer.
Our relaxed pace is a great opportunity to learn more about the plants, animals & early Explorers. Connie Beadell adds greatly to the experience detailing her father's participation in the projects that shaped the western deserts of Australia.
OFF-ROAD TOUR
Connie Sue Beadell & Mick Hutton follow the desert road network constructed by Len Beadell, Connie's father, from Papunya N.T. to Laverton W.A.
Leaving Alice Springs we move west along the Gary Junction Road to Sandy Blight Junction. Turning to the south we travel Len's "showpiece" road, the Sandy Blight Junction Road. This is beautiful country, red sandhills and forests of Desert Oaks.
Dotted along this track are 10 of Len Beadell's famous aluminium road signs, participants will have the opportunity to be involved with the maintenance of the desert plaques as we motor south.
Visiting Giles Weather Station, we then continue on the "Old Gunbarrel Highway" skirting the Rawlinson Ranges to reach Warburton.
In 1962 Len Beadell completed the Connie Sue Highway. Connie will be your guide, visiting many areas of interest not detailed on most maps.
The Great Victoria Desert country becomes prominent with Marble Gums replacing numerous varieties of Mulga. At Neale Junction we swing to the west travelling the Anne Beadell Highway to Laverton.
Connie relates the history of the road constructions as we travel, from copies of Len's diaries and family anecdotes from the 1950s & 60s. Connie also refers to the desert Flora as we travel.
Mick goes into the detail of various Explorers who traversed the country we travel through. Names such as Gosse, Tietkens, Giles, Terry, McKay, Carnegie & Hann will feature during the Tour.
This slow paced Tour allows time to explore, see & experience.
OFF-TRACK EXPEDITION
This expedition is exclusive to Beadell Tours.
Ernest Giles was born and educated in England and came to Australia as a young man. From early involvement with Exploration parties concerned with the Overland Telegraph Line he went on to become one of Australia's most travelled Explorers.
Giles became most famous for naming the Gibson Desert, after a member of his party, Alfred Gibson, who perished near the Rawlinson Ranges in 1874.
One hundred and thirty years after his final major Expedition in 1876, Beadell Tours intend retracing Giles' track from the Ophthalmia Range to the Rawlinson Range. This route takes in the Little Sandy Desert and the heart of the Gibson Desert.
Departing from Newman we will visit the Ophthalmia Range before venturing east through the Deserts. Features along the route include Mt Madley, Lake Cohen, McPhersons Pillar and the Alfred & Marie Range.
Desert travelling to be encountered will include, Sandhills, Mulga scrub, Spinifex plains, "Shotgun Gravel" & Eucalypt woodlands.
The Giles route will be Off-Track and approximately 700 kms long. There will be a remote area fuel drop for the Expedition. This fuel is included in the Expedition price.
**Special preparation is required for such an Expedition. There are conditions that will be compulsory, contact Beadell Tours for more information.**
POST-TRIP SUMMARY for "ROCKHOLES & RANGES"
OFF-ROAD and OFF-TRACK EXPEDITION
Len Beadell and the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party bulldozed & graded 6000 kms of roads in the western deserts of Australia during the 1950s & 60s.
The Callawa Track is the only one of Len's roads not shown on maps of the area.
Built in 1963, the Callawa Track was the completion of the road link from Alice Springs to the northwest near 80 Mile Beach. However at the same time another road was under construction in the near vicinity, the Kidson Track or as it is known now, the Wapet Road. The Kidson Track is shown on maps of the Great Sandy Desert, not Len Beadell's Callawa Track.
Our expedition starts in Alice Springs and travels the full length of the Gary Junction Road to Gary Junction, from there we start the Callawa Track to the north west. Leaving Well 35, on the Canning Stock Route, we start travelling The Great Sandy Desert to Picture Hill and cross the Kidson Track at Twin Gum Hill.
The Callawa Track takes us through untouched desert country, free of the Canning Stock Route and Rudall River National Park traffic. This is your chance to experience an environment almost free of human impact. The vastness of the Great Sandy Desert is truly awesome.
Continuing northwest we reach the remains of the Overland Telegraph Line running between Marble Bar & Broome. As Len did in 1963, we follow the O.T. Line south to the abandoned Callawa Station and on to the Oakover River. Few people ever travel this historic route; most do not know it exists.
The expedition finishes at Pt Hedland where all facilities are available.
**Special conditions apply, contact Beadell Tours for more information**
OFF-ROAD TOUR
This Tour is timed for the wildflowers and the warmer weather of early Spring. Connie Beadell & Mick Hutton will be visiting areas not normally on Tour itineraries.
The Great Victoria Desert is full of features both natural and man-made, from the abandoned mines of Laverton to the Sandalwood harvesting areas of the 18th & 19th centuries. Large Lakes, Springs and Breakaways dot the landscape, Eucalypts, Mallee and Acacias turn the desert into a forest unlike any other.
Explorers such as Giles, Carnegie, Lindsay and Hann travelled through this region, it has changed little from their time.
Travelling further east we visit Emu, site of the first atomic tests on Australian soil. This is an intriguing area and anyone who has read Len's books will find it a fascinating place.
We complete the Anne Beadell Highway after passing "Mabel Creek" Homestead and finish the Tour in Coober Pedy, where all facilities are available.
BEADELL TOURS
Mobile : 0408 841 447
Email : Beadell Tours
ABN : 40 947 959 130