ROAD TO CAMERON CORNER 2021

I had already visited Surveyor General, Poeppel and Haddon Corners, and Cameron Corner was on the bucket list to complete the set. I left Broken Hill with pre-conceived ideas about what I would see between there and Tibooburra. I was to be pleasantly surprised. And then we hit the dirt, and experienced what would eventually create a number of small issues with my caravan ... yep, I was towing a van ...
00:00
00:11 Start
01:05 Broken Hill
02:06 Stephens Creek
08:14 Lookout/Rest Area
10:25 Camp site day 1
15:11 Packsaddle Roadhouse
27:18 Peak Hill
28:14 Camp site Peak Hill
31:40 Milparinka Turn Off
33:13 Milparinka
41:07 Tibooburra
50:34 Road To Cameron Corner
56:08 Cameron Corner Turn Off
01:02:09 Salt Lake
01:04:30 Waka Homestead
01:07:09 Sturt NP
01:15:18 Wild Desert Field Station
01:21:34 Scenic Drive Turn Off
01:25:35 Wild Desert Visitor Area
01:28:56 Border Gate Cameron Corner

[@Kelvin555s]

Really enjoyed this video, as mostly showing the view from front dash.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks Kelvin. That's my style, you are a passenger travelling with me. Cheers, Laurie.

[@k00lmum61]

Hey Laurie, I enjoyed this. Cheers John and Anita

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks mate.

[@boomermcgee2389]

As usual, a fantastic production, well presented and narrated, I am however glad that you have taken a bullet for us so I don't need to harbour the expense and time of driving all that way just to view bugger all, it seems pointless to me unless it was part of a larger trip that ended up somewhere interesting,

[@lauriekibblewhite]

G'day Boomer. It was a bucket list item. I had been to Surveyor General's Corner, Haddon Corner and Poeppel Corner, so it was only natural I had to complete the set. New Years Eve would seem to be the time to make it worthwhile ... you can celebrate NYE 3 times in an hour as you deal with our ridiculous "Daylight Saving" time adjustments. 😁 Cheers, Laurie

[@beforetheinternet]

@@lauriekibblewhite - what about Gregory and Greaves Corner, MacCabe Corner, and Townsend Corner?

[@lauriekibblewhite]

@@beforetheinternet G'day again. Are you on Tesla Motors Club as Vostok. If yes, answers some of my questions in the other answer. Nah, they don't count LOL. One's close to a main road, (altho I believe I've been thru Mungindi ... I think), and the the Vic/SA ones are just the Vics being awkward. 🤣. Cheers, Laurie

[@christinehoiles5525]

Looks diabolical Laurie… road was good many years ago..

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Hi Christine, it's the luck of following (or not following in this case) the grader. It wasn't the worst bit of road I've been on. That was this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5XUcmSdi6t3g80 Thanks for dropping by and commenting. Cheers, Laurie.

[@cbrjosh]

Hi Laurie, Great video and gives a good idea of what the roads are like. We're heading out that way in August 2022 for our first time. Can't wait. I don't suppose you remember which roads/tracks you took from Tibooburra? I was trying to follow on Google Maps but the detail wasn't quite there. Cheers, Josh

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks Josh. I just took the Cameron Corner Road out of Tibooburra, bear right at Waka Rd, and then the "scenic"route to Cameron Corner. It looks complicated on the map, but was pretty straight forward. I definitely would not recommend Google maps. Hema's Sturt NP map is clear, Outback NSW map, or Great Desert Tracks South East map. Definitely dedicated paper maps. Enjoy your trip. Cheers, Laurie

[@cbrjosh]

@@lauriekibblewhite I have the Great Desert Tracks SE map. Looks pretty straight forward. Great to see what the roads are like. Hopefully all the floods from the last month or so have dried up by August. Cheers

[@lauriekibblewhite]

@@cbrjosh I was trying to get there before it rained, and in fact was trying to get to Thargomindah. We did it ... sort of. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmStXn-ipd59msU :)

[@briananddianehardy8598]

Hi Laurie, just come across your video, very informative for us as we plan to include Cameron Corner in our annual trip this year.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thank you guys. I'm sure that you will enjoy the trip. There is a more complete coverage in my playlist Road Trip 2021. Depending on which direction you are coming from, there is a day by day coverage of the trip. It covers everything, warts and all ... and there are plenty of warts 😅😅Cheers, Laurie.

[@tonygersbach375]

Its because Broken Hill used to do business with its nearest capital which is Adelaide, hence on SA time.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Coming from WA where we don't indulge in the time shift game, I just had to have a snide remark about all the time differences. I'm a naughty boy. My name should be Brian. LOL. Thanks for the heads up, I did wonder what the reason was, but was obviously too lazy to check it out. But despite that, they at least play the right code of football in Broken Hill (home of the mighty Brent Staker. Cheers, Laurie

[@beforetheinternet]

Thanks for the video Laurie. That road doesn’t look too bad - the road to Kings Canyon before it was sealed was just as bad if not worse from memory. I’m planning to drive my EV out to Cameron Corner maybe later this year. Possibly the first. I’m not concerned about traction (it’s a 4WD) only ground clearance, but none of that road looked like you need high ground clearance. I’ve read that sedans can take that road provided it is completely dry the whole way. Would you agree?

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Hey there BTN. The condition of the road changes depending on when it last saw the grader I understand. But generally it should be ok for a properly equipped vehicle. I'm interested in the EV thing. According to the NSW electric vehicle charging map, the closest charger is Broken Hill (Charger type: AC (level 2) Plug type: Type 2 No. of charging stations 1 ). I don't know if I am reading the map properly, I haven't checked how to use it. But assuming that what I interpret it to mean is correct, Broken Hill is 469 kms from Cameron Corner, and that means a return journey of around 950 kms. That's a hell of a range. Is your EV a Hybrid, a Tesla, or a standard (is there such a thing) plug in EV? Other than Tibooburra, there is precious little in places for charging via a 3 pin plug I would have thought. I confess that altho I have tried to follow how these things work, that I know precious little about the subject. An EV is considerably heavier than a standard ICE vehicle, and tyres are another consideration. A Landcruiser type vehicle is heavy, but shod with Light Truck Tyres. Tyrepressures on these types of road should be lower than normal road pressures. I would be interested to hear from you as to how you are planning to do your journey. It would certainly help me understand the EV thing a little more. My daughter owns an EV, and told me that on a recent trip from Perth to Busselton, her range was less than for the same distance around the city. Speed, air conditioning, and all the bits that consume power are going to affect your range I would have thought. Damn man, you've got me thinking about this, and my brain is struggling. 😂. Please let me know, and educate me. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Laurie. PS. I saw where damage to the battery can necessitate a complete battery change. One of the examples was a battery that had been damaged on a speed hump. If that is indeed correct reportage, then I would think that road clearance should be a concern. There are some horrific dips on that road. Laurie

[@beforetheinternet]

@@lauriekibblewhite Thanks for the reply… I have a Tesla Model 3. Yes the closest fast charger is at Broken Hill. The plan would be to leave Broken Hill on a full charge, drive 330 km to Tibooburra and stay overnight. Battery would be at about 33% on arrival. There are powered campsites at Tibooburra - on a 15A caravan socket, it would take about 15 hours (say 6pm to 9am) to fully charge the car again. Return trip to Cameron Corner is 290 km from Tibooburra - well within Model 3s range, even if the going is hard. But having gone that far we’d stay overnight at Cameron Corner Store, to take it all in and chat to the locals. That would provide an opportunity to top the car up some more overnight off a normal socket. A Tesla weighs considerably less than a Landcruiser (1730 kg vs 2250 kg) but yes more than a petrol sedan (e.g. Camry 1420 kg). Yes you’d need to be careful to not damage the underside of the car, but that is true of any vehicle. The battery has steel armour plating underneath, it would take quite a hit to damage it. If the road is purely gravel/sand, no rocks/boulders, I wouldn’t be worried. Just need to drive at the appropriate speed and be careful going over the big dips. If ever do this I’ll make my own video 😄

[@aussiedrifter]

G'day Laurie, Great drive & scenery Mate, just the country we love & thank you for sharing it with us. Yeh the bloody corrugation's can be bad & very vehicle destroying, we run 42 inch tyres at 100 PSI Highway & deflate to around 50 or 60 PSI depending on the conditions & average 60 or 70 KPH off road. The road surface of our tyres is about 12 or so inches long deflated & we run Hendrickson torsion-bar & Airbags on the read with HD springs, Dual shocks & Airbag assist up front. Our in cab comfort is maintained with a pair of ISRI air-ride buckets, but anyway Mate this was great to watch & it appears that you generally cruise around 80 on road the same as we do. Safe Travels as Always Mate, Steve.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks Steve. What vehicle are you running? Yep, I drive 75-80, drive to a "fuel number". Basically stock standard pauper pack HZ105 with aftermarket turbo. Cheers mate, Laurie

[@aussiedrifter]

@@lauriekibblewhite G'day Mate, We run a 2000 HINO GT1J 4X4 truck 8.0Lt Non Turbo (Ex-Rain Forrest Tour Bus) fully loaded we come in at 14 Ton, we have a range of 2,300 km & carry 750 Lt water & I wont go into the electrical/generator set-up it would probably send you to sleep Mate. Anyway we just tootle around for a few months at a time with no need for towns etc & thank you for asking Mate, Steve.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

@@aussiedrifter Bit different to my rig, but mine is my home, it is where I live, wherever I might be. Towns are necessary for fuel, food and water for me, otherwise I like to stay away from other people as much as possible. Not very neighborly of me I know, but I depend heavily on 240v with my computer gear and the like, and unfortunately, there is a noise factor attached to it. I keep out of their way and we are all happy ... I think LOL. Cheers, Laurie.

[@aussiedrifter]

@@lauriekibblewhite G'day again Laurie, Mate we are in our early 60s & exactly like you we live full time in the truck only returning to my Mates workshop for maintenance, repair's & bulk shopping for the next trip. Were registered as itinerants & our truck is our home & only real asset & we pace our travels & stop overs from fortnight to fortnight if you get my drift. Like you we steer clear of other people & always find & prefer to travel & camp on our own, because to us (& if you think were strange or not) society & some peoples values really dont mesh any more with how we were brought up & our values as well as respect. So No Mate I do not think how you live is unsocial or strange at all, one thing I think of reading your reply is that were not alone in our thinking mate. What do you recon? Anyway Mate Safe Travels as Always, Steve.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

@@aussiedrifter I'm with you all the way Steve. How do you register as Itinerants? Interesting. Do you guys do Facebook? Cheers, Laurie.

[@mikewinkworth7955]

Fantastic mate. It is like I am sitting in the front with you and getting a running commentary. I have been out there and was great seeing it again. Last time I went to Tibooburra the majority of the road from Broken Hill was dirt. Thank you for sharing all of your journeys with us. Such a pity you haven't got thousands of followers. Just love your work.

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Thanks Mike. Please keep spreading the word and sharing the videos. It will help a lot. Cheers, Laurie.

[@Mick_4591]

Great videos but they are two long that i fall asleep

[@lauriekibblewhite]

G'day Mick. That video is a heavily edited version of the trip from Broken Hill to Cameron Corner. It's designed to give the traveller who is planning to do the trip, has done the trip, or is not in a position to ever do the trip, an idea of what is involved and what to expect. There are another three videos covering the same ground, but showing the trip in it's entirety ... between 30 mins and an hour long. It was a video blog if you like of my 2021 trip. My videos are not the flim flam "look at me" videos that seem the rage these days, but a look at the country we live in thru the windscreen. It's not about me, altho you do get to know me ... I think ... without having to look at my ugly face. 😂This video is in fact a documentary. And if it sends you to sleep, Imagine me ... I had to drive it, film it, edit it, and watch it a thousand times until I (think) I got it right. 🤣🤣. In seriousness, thanks for commenting, thanks for supporting me, and please give me shit anytime you want to. I appreciate that you woke up long enough to comment. 😴Luv ya mate. Cheers, Laurie.

[@ayktbrs]

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[@leebuck4860]

Great video mate,definitely going to have to make the effort to get up there soon as I’m in Broken Hill so I’ve no excuse not to. Also just wondering what the go was with the pass to get into the Queensland side? Was it only because of Covid travel restrictions or something else?

[@lauriekibblewhite]

Hi Lee. Yes, it was because of Covid. I had more fun eventually getting back into WA. The whole trip is covered in my 2021 Road Trip series which follows the entire trip from Albany to Perth via everywhere else 😅. The trip was designed originally to get to Cameron Corner, but because of the circumstances, let me cross off a lot of other bucket list items as well. 2021 ROAD TRIP DAY 33 - Cameron Corner to Noccundra covers the trip beyond the corner. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4KbdpuBpa2Meq8 cheers, Laurie

[@brianclark9654]

Hi laurie good video was planning a road trip out there unfortunatley the roads after waka look a little too rough for the mx5. Will check out your other videos

[@lauriekibblewhite]

G'day Brian. Yes, it's not really MX5 country. I guess it depends on whther you get it just after the roads have been graded, but that is a lottery in itself. Thankfully, there's an awful lot of Australia to see that is more readily accessible, and far from the maddening crowd 😁. Thanks for watching. Cheers, Laurie.