On the Northern Territory side of the Tanami Track (wikipedia / ExplorOz / Australian 4×4) which travels 1,032 km from just north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory to Halls Creek in Western Australia through the Tanami Desert, you will find the Rabbit Flat Roadhouse, which has been operating for 41 years.

On Friday 31st December 2010 it will be closing permanently and after that date, there will be no services or facilities available.

Until that time the services are available as follows:

Until Monday 1st November 2010 – open every day from 7am to 9pm (sometimes 7pm if no one is around)

From 2nd November 2010 to 31st December 2010 – they will revert to the “partial closures” as before. (Open Fri to Mon only for both fuel & camping)

They have EFTPOS and Credit Card facilities.

I travelled along the Tanami in 2002 and absolutely loved it. I spent a few days roaming around the area and stopped for a diesel topup at Rabbit Flat where i paid $1.50 a litre. When i left Sydney to start the trip i only paid $0.899 a litre. Being so remote I did expect it to be on the pricey side so it didn’t really worry me.

A – The start of the Tanami Track
B – The Rabbit Flat Roadhouse
C – The track ends at Halls Creek

I have a whole bunch of Land Rover related sites in my bookmark list, and i thought it was time i shared them for any of the sites visitors that are interested in, or currently utilise, the best brand of off-road vehicle on the market.

I’ve also added in a few of my favourite Land Rover videos from YouTube as well :)

Land Rover Official Sites

• Land Rover Worldwide
• Land Rover Australia
• Land Rover G4 Challenge
• Go Beyond
• Go Beyond TV
• Land Rover Online Merchandise Store -Australia
• Land Rover Online Merchandise Store – International

Land Rover 60th Birthday Video

Land Rover Clubs of Australia

• Land Rover Owners Club of Victoria (1963)
• Land Rover Owners Club Sydney (1966)
• Land Rover Owners Club of Western Australia (1968)
• Land Rover Club of the Australian Capital Territory (1960′s)
• Land Rover Owners Club of Brisbane (1986)
• Land Rover Heritage Society of South Australia (2002)
• Gold Coast Land Rover Owner’s (2005)

Australian Forums

• Australian Land Rover Owners Forum
• d2au

Other forums and sites

• DiscoWeb
• The D-90 Source
• The Registry of Ex Military Land Rovers
• Solihull Society
• Lloyd Allison’s Land Rover website
• Series 1, 2 and 3

Go Beyond

Land Rover Books & Magazines

• Land Rover books at Pit Stop
• LRO Magazine
• Land Rover Enthusiast

Expedition Equipment & Vehicles

• ARB
• Safari Snorkel’s
• Milford Cargo Barrier’s
• GME Radio Unit’s
• Cooper Tires
• 4wd Warehouse
• Nene Overland
• Rooftent

Camel Trophy

Last thing i need is a really early wet season…though we do need the water :(

The options i’m currently looking at:

Across mainland Australia from East to West
After driving from Melbourne into northern NSW, this one would start at Australia’s most eastern-point which is “Cape Byron” in New South Wales (28°37′58″S, 153°38′20″E – map) and would go through the middle of our great country to the most western-point at “Steep Point” in Western Australia (26°09′05″S 113°09′18″E – map). The return trip would be down to Perth, across the Nullabor and back to Melbourne.

In a straight line its nearly 4,000km or 2,479 miles one way.

Across mainland Australia from South to North
Starting at the Australia’s most southern-point at “South Point” in Victoria (39°08′20″S, 146°22′26″E – map)..or as close as i can get to it and then heading to out most northern-point at “Cape York” in Queensland (10°41′0″S, 142°32′0″E – map).

In a straight line its nearly 3,200km or 1,981 miles one way.

Here are some interesting links on Australian Extremities – Geoscience Australia and “Extreme points of Australia” at wikipedia.

The Burke & Wills Expedition Route
Starting at the monument at “Royal Park” (map) in Melbourne and following the track to “Karumba” (map) which is just a little north of where they actually finished and on the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria itself.

In a straight line its nearly 2,300km or 1,427 miles one way.

Hmmm…all of them have sections that will require a permit of one type or another so its off to do a few more weeks of research before a decision is made :)

Of course…in Australia we will only be receiving the Defender 110 SVX model (the one at the bottom of the image above), as for some bizarre reason the really cool short wheelbase Defender 90 model was only available though Australian Land Rover dealers for a very limited time a few years ago.

None the less…the Land Rover Defender SVX is a pretty cool looking vehicle in either its 110 or 90 format, and at AUD$62,990 RRP it’s a pretty good deal when you compare it against what you get for the same price in a Land Cruiser or other “serious” 4WD vehicles.

Below are the specs for the Land Rover Defender 100 SVX…

Exterior Features:

• 16″ Alloy wheels with bright finish centre caps with silver logo
• Satin Black finish for intake covers and heater covers
• Body Coloured Wheel Arches
• Titan Bonnet Badging
• Front Grille and Headlamp Surround
• Front Undershield
• Side Steps
• Rear LED Bulbs (includes reverse and fog lamps)
• Santorini Black Metallic Paint
• SVX Metallic Badge
• Metallic Rear Defender Badge & Silver Land Rover Roundels
• Locking Wheel Nuts
• Body Coloured Roof
• Heated Rear Window and Wash Wipe
• Front and Rear Mudflaps
• Rear Folding Step
• Rear Door Stowage Net
• Sunroof

Interior Features:

• Leather Recaro Front Seats
• Rear Seat Trim to Match Front Seats
• Garmin satellite Navigation and Cradle
• Clarion High Ice Audio System with Upgraded Speakers, Sub Woofer and Amplifier
• iPOD Interface
• Metallic SVX Key Chain
• Numbered Commemorative Plaque
• Machine Aluminum Gear and diff Knobs
• Titan Switch Panel
• Satin Black Body Wrap Decals
• Unique Cubby Box Lid with interior lights
• County Grey Leather/Dune Cloth Trim
• Air Conditioning
• Carpet Floor Mats
• Leather Steering Wheel
• 7 Seats
• Electronic Front Windows
• Remote Central Locking
• Heated Front Windscreen
• Heated Front Seats
• Leather Bound Handbook Cover

Safety & Security Features:

• Anti-lock Braking System
• Electronic Traction Control
• Ventiliated Disc Brakes
• Perimetric Alarm with Immobiliser
• First Aid Kit
• Fire Extinguisher

Hmmm…it would certainly make a great expedition vehicle…if only i didn’t love my 2001 Land Rover Discovery 2 TD5 so much…but then i have always regretted not buying one of the special, and very limited (250 units only), edition Tomb Raider Defenders that they did in late 2001 :(

It’s on again.

Land Rover invite you to register to see if you’re good enough to represent Australia against a total of 36 men and women from 18 countries in the world’s ultimate adventure.

This is the third Land Rover G4 Challenge, and it’s planned to take place over three weeks, in Asia, in 2009.

You will run up mountains, cycle down valleys, kayak rivers, swing from bridges, and of course drive for thousands of miles against the clock, and your rivals.

And you’ll be helping to raise funds for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society. As part of the International Federation partnership, Land Rover will also donate a vehicle to the National Red Cross, or the Red Crescent Society, associated with the winning team at the Challenge Finals.

This is arguably the toughest challenge in the world. Land Rover wouldn’t have it any other way.

Are you up to the challenge? Click here.

2008 Promo Video

Hmmm…as tempting as it sounds (and looks), i imagine i would get out-classed by some 24 year old extreme outdoor adventure junkie….though i’m sure that I could still give him a run for his money ;)

Anyway…the deadline for entries into the Australian National Selections is 5pm EST on July the 15th, 2008.

2006 Land Rover G4 Challenge video (i think)

Probably spend a nice “quiet” night at the Jamieson Brewery, and take the opportunity to stock up on some Jamieson Brewery beer like their Jamieson Raspberry Ale (mmmm…very nice), Jamieson “Beast” India Pale Ale, Jamieson Brown Ale and Jamieson Mountain Ale before heading out early onto mountain tracks for the rest of the day :)

Of course in amongst all this “work stuff”, a long time buddy (from my 10 years in Sydney) and I are also planning to do a two-day 4wd expedition through the Kanangra-Boyd National Park and Blue Mountains National Park…it will probably follow a similar path to the one I did in September of 2002

The equipment is all packed and loaded into DSCVRY (my 2001 Land Rover Discovery) and an Expedition diary, photos and videos are all planned…now i just need to finish my keynote presentation so I can get my head into expedition mode :)

I covered a huge area, driving around 14,000km in the 29 days and took a heap of photos including shots of the following (listed in alphabetical order): Aboriginal rock art, jumping crocodiles at the Adelaide River, Alice Springs, Arnhem Land from a plane, Ayers Rock / Uluru, Blyth, Boab trees including the Prison Tree, the Bungle Bungle Ranges, camels, the Cat Tree, the Chamberlain River, the Daly River, Darwin, lots of desert terrain, the Devils Marbles, Docker River, my dscvry, Dundee Beach, the East Alligator River, the Finke River, the Gibb River Road, Giles, Giles-Mulga Park Road, the Great Central Road, Grosse Bluff, the Gunbarrel Highway, Island Lagoon, the site of the Island Lagoon NASA tracking station, Kakadu National Park, the Karunjie Track, Kata Tjuta, Kulpi Tjuntinya, Kununurra, Lake Eyre, Lake Hart, Lasseters Cave, Len Beadell paintings, Len Beadells grader, Len Beadells grave site, Litchfield National Park, the Lost City, Nourlangie, Olga Gorge, Oodnadatta and the Oodnadatta Track, Palm Valley and its rare Red Cabbage Palms, the Petermann Ranges, Rum Jungle, the Tanami Desert, the Tanami Road, The Olgas, Tjukururu Road, Tjunti, the Ubirr art site, Warakurna, the West Arm, Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater, Woomera, the Woomera Rocket Park and areas of the Woomera Rocket Range and Wyndham with its crocodile farm…like i said…I was gone for 29 days.

I’ve made a few trips out to this amazing part of Australia, and even though I’m more of a mountain person at heart, I love spending time in terrain that is so different from what I was surrounded by while i was growing up. Hopefully i can plan a trip out to the region again in the near future…but this time with my good 10 MegaPixel still camera and a video camera as well :)

[album: http://www.expeditionoz.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/albums/2002/200207_santwa/]

I’ve just driven past the Diamantina hut and I’ve grabbed my first view of Mt Feathertop of the trip :)

As always, the trip across the Dargo High Plains was a great drive and i did a few quick side trips to places i haven’t seen in years.

First up i turned off the road near Mt Ewan and headed down a track to grab some photos of the three Treasures Mt Ewan Huts. Further up the road it was time to get another hut photo and this time i parked the Land Rover and walked into the site of the Lankey Plain Hut. In the last fire season we lost a lot of the old cattlemans huts that once covered the Victorian mountains so i am trying to grab as many photos of the remaining ones as i can. For more info on huts in the alpine regions of Australia visit the Kosciusko Huts Association and the Victorian High Country Huts Association.

After walking back to DSCVRY i drove along and turned off onto the Blue Rag Range Track. I’ve always wanted to drive this track up to the Blue Rag Trig point at 1,721m, as from a distance it looks like you would get an amazing view from up there. It’s definately a 4WD track and about 2km into it i came across two 4wd vehicles coming the other way. After they had pulled over they told me that the track up ahead was in really bad condition and one of them had actually damaged his suspension on it. As the purpose of this trip is to reach the peak of Mt Feathertop, i decided that the Blue Rag Trig point and its view would have to wait for another expedition.

After reaching the intersection with the Great Apine Road at Mt Saint Bernard, a heap of bicyles appeared on the road as there was either a big alpine hill climb event on or a training event for the Alpine Audax or the Bright Boot Camp both on at the end of January. The amount of cars parked near Diamantina Hut is also pretty good indication that a lot of people are probably spending the night on the track to Mt Feathertop.

I’m going to head straight through the Mt Hotham ski village and over to Omeo and Anglers Rest as i wouldn’t mind reaching the Blue Duck Inn for a nice cold ale before heading up onto the Bogong High Plains :)

[album: http://www.expeditionoz.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/albums/2007/20071231c/]