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Confirmed Trips 2021

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These were our trips for 2021 as we advertised them (we only ran the first due to Covid-19 restrictions).
Please click on link below to view a post trip summary.

 

Click here to see basic maps of the 2021 trips described below.

Desert Updates

 

WHAT ARE TOURS?

Oxford Dictionary : Tour - a journey through a country, town or building etc visiting various places or things of interest

 

    Tours for example would include travel along the Beadell roads and include most of the sites and features along the route as well as the history of the area. Sensible preparation is required and basic facilities such as fuel, water, showers and food items will be available from the various Roadhouses several times during the tour. We normally average about 150 kms per day with a day-off from travelling mostly included.

    One of Beadell Tours main aims is to make sure you return home after the trip knowing far more about the Australian western deserts than when you left. To do that we offer smaller groups more points of interest and historical information at a slower pace.

      Tag-a-long vehicles & camper trailers are welcome to join our tours.

    Vehicle & Tyre choice is an important consideration for all tours and expeditions. Please click the links to Mick's articles explaining what to look for, as well as what to expect in regard to road conditions -:

    Vehicle Suitability for Long Range Desert Work

    Tyre Choices for Normal and Heavy Work

    Road Conditions in the Western Deserts

 

Anne Beadell memorial plaqueconvoySturt Peas

 

** Please note -: Final itineraries for all trips are dependent on permit approvals
and of course any Covid-19 restrictions. **

 

"THE FORGOTTEN FRONTIER"

OFF-ROAD TOUR

(booked out)

 

    The history & features of the Nullarbor are unknown to travellers as they motor across the bitumen Eyre Highway. First settlement, the various explorers & the countless years of Aboriginal occupation are subjects that are now forgotten except for a few local historians.

    Beginning from Coorabie the tour heads north through the Myall woodlands on the eastern edge of the plain visiting sites used by Aboriginals & explorers in days gone by. Daisy Bates & the atomic testing at Maralinga becomes the focus nearer the railway line before swinging south across the true Nullarbor Plain where the view of the horizon is uninterrupted. Pushing west the trip will wander about between sites of interest using the roads & tracks from bygone eras, including the ancient travel route of the original occupants. Reaching Eucla we resupply, see the sites & Wilson Cliffs then weave our way back east via a different route than previously.

    Beadell Tours are hoping to show & explain the Nullarbor as a place of interest & unique history. A short trip packed with a variety of conditions & environments at a slow pace.

    Please note - if G2G passes are still required for entry to WA we will remain at Border Village instead of going to Eucla.

 

lovely Nullarbor country
Lovely Nullarbor country

 

 

 

** Please read our post-trip summary ( for summary click here ) **

 

 

 

"SOUTH EAST GREAT VICTORIA DESERT"

OFF-ROAD TOUR

CANCELLED

 

    Another shorter tour through a variety of unique country and an extraordinary amount of human history spanning thousands of years, a very thought provoking tour on many levels.

    The Nullarbor these days is scarcely visited as travellers pass it over as not worth seeing. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Nullarbor or Undiri as it was once known has a surprisingly complex history of aboriginal movement, explorers & pastoralists. We hug the eastern edge of the vast plain visiting a number of significant sites including Ooldea, made famous by Daisy Bates 100 years ago. We wander from site to site until Cook is reached on the Transcontinental Railway Line via the Nullarbor Roadhouse.

    Heading north, we transition out of the Nullarbor into the environment of the Great Victoria Desert which is like no other in the world and 6.5% of our land mass. Huge Marble Gums, sprawling Mallees of massive proportions & bright green Spinifex rings metres in diameter. An almost untouched wilderness of a size that is hard to comprehend. We cross the sandhills heading north to arrive at Vokes Hill Corner. Len & the Gunbarrel Road Construction Party built the Vokes Hill Corner Road in the early 1960s.

    Now on the Anne Beadell Highway, we head east following the sandhills of the Great Victoria Desert to Anne’s Corner, named by Len Beadell during the 8 year road project that opened up the western deserts in the 1950s & 60s. Emu is next, the atomic testing fields of 1953, followed by vegetated arid country to arrive at the 5000 km Dog Fence before our arrival at Coober Pedy, the opal centre of Australia.

    A short trip packed with a variety of conditions & environments at a slow pace.

 

Anne Beadell Highway
Anne Beadell Highway

 

 

 

 

 

"WUHAN WANDERER"

OFF-ROAD TOUR

CANCELLED

 

    From the S.A. Dog Fence we use the Anne Beadell Hwy to enter the Great Victoria Desert, the largest desert in Australia. We visit Tallaringa Well then Emu. Time is required to see everything at the Atomic Test sites, it was a far larger operation than most imagine. During the trip, road sign Plaques put in place by pioneer road-builder Len Beadell will be seen. His daughter Connie Beadell is now in charge of the Plaque maintenance. Explorers are also a focus, men such as Giles, Tietkens, Lindsay, Forrest, Maurice & Terry. Entering W.A. we continue following the Anne Beadell Highway to Ilkurlka Roadhouse & Neale Junction taking some small detours along the way as we push west to the small desert edge town of Laverton, all the while still passing landmarks noted by that hardy old explorer Frank Hann.

    Leaving Laverton we venture to the south east using a variety of tracks both well-known and little used. Still within the confines of the Great Victoria Desert we pass hills & ranges, isolated lakes and see the great change in vegetation that takes place as we move closer to the Nullarbor. This area was once famous for Sandalwood production and the remnants of the industry can still be seen as we follow the tracks put in for the harvesting of that product, one of W.A.s early financial stalwarts.

    The Western Myall woodlands signal the edge of the desert country and the beginning of Nullarbor, this is special country that most travellers don’t know even exists. Coming out onto the vastness of the plain begins an adventure unlike any other. The phrase "big sky country" is entirely appropriate and yet Nullarbor still holds secrets to this day. It is not what most people imagine it to be.

    Quite simply this trip has something for everyone. Come along and see for yourselves.

 

Pea near Lake Rason
Pea near Lake Rason, Sept 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOUR ORDER FORM

(Require a pdf reader)

Travel Information - general guide to touring with us
Vehicle Preparation - important basics
Road Conditions - what to expect
Tyre Information - detailed help regarding tyres, tubes and repairs
Vehicle, Koni & Communications - choices and help with common problems
Interest Pages - includes Len, Anne, Desert Articles & Updates plus Handy Links

 

BEADELL TOURS

** Please note change of address **
 
"Lynwood"
35 Watsons Creek-Tilmunda Road
Watsons Creek, NSW, 2355
Home : 02 6764 0199
Mobile : 0408 841 447
Email : Beadell Tours
 
ABN : 40 947 959 130

 

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