National Oka Gathering

NT National Parks are pretty cheap and there are some great spots.
Maybe worth contacting them and asking for suggestions of an "out of the way" and more remote spot that they would support, along with an offer to do a day or 2s volunteer work as an extra "contribution".
Cheers,
Peter

The West’s and OKA 390 will definitely be up for it , What ever site is agreed.

Instead of sitting around doing SFA why not do the 5 centre points run.

Interesting enough for the bush-bashers but easy enough for those not wanting to be tossed around every day.

There are some really great places along the arc from Johnston, Lambert, Geodetic Median, C of G and Furthest Point.

Start at the top or bottom.

Here are the details and maps
www.xnatmap.org/adnm/docs/recolls/centres.htm

Lang

Lang wrote: Instead of sitting around doing SFA why not do the 5 centre points run.

thanks Lang
Even more pertinent with all National, State, and Local Survey and Mapping related agencies working hard this year to update to GDA-2020.
Have visited most of the 5 historic points over the years based on interest from my early Surveying career.
...Spent many long hours doing Astro Shots under the stars. Electronic Distance Measuring EDM via Tellurometer was cumbersome and unreliable. There were no satellites. The only way to get accurate remote location was Astro and Geodetic triangulation.
Hours of night observations followed by daylight comps, field reductions and recalculation.
Already things of the past now but it was not that long ago.
The National Mapping work was huge and the early geophysic suryeyors like Madigan were clever tough blokes.
The shift from the old "local" Australian Geodetic Datum to an International Geocentric Datum was an inevitable requirement of GPS but GDA-2020 does have its advantages, one being no need for updates to cater for continental drift of 7cms per year and the need to link coords to their epoch datum.
...Don't worry, the coords of the corners of your title all move together!
...That is ....unless they change the rules for cadastral re-estalishment and someone mixes up the epoch of the coords of the front road alignment with an old one used to set the coords across the back of your block!

Cath and I are keen for anywhere in the centre we were meant to be in Alice now but this pandemic put a stop to that got a few people to catch up with there so we can make double use of the trip

It's encouraging to see increasing interest for a National get together of Oka owners though selecting a suitable venue is a bit tricky.

My thoughts are somewhere near the centre of the country and readily accessible would be good for access 'fairness' for all. Not necessarily a 4WD destination though not en-route to or at a major tourist spot would be preferable. A lake, river or waterhole is always good for 'aesthetics', flaura/fauna etc. but not all that common in the centre especially for a less frequented camp site. Available cooking/washing/drinking water is always good as is firewood, shelter and shade. Pet friendly too. As a bonus toilet facilities, internet/phone access are all very nice too and if the whole lot can be got at no cost or for a minimal fee then all the better

There's a lot of boxes to tick here for the 'perfect' venue and in reality a compromise will be end result. It's really a matter of prioritising what's most important in selecting a venue.

There's a couple of good potential sites near Alice Springs such as Owen Springs and Native Gap Conservation Reserves for example and even Old Andado to the east of Alice Springs which are all good contenders but either no camping, difficult access for the uninitiated or possibly too crowded/unavailable for a medium to large (assuming 12-20) Okas but with room for more if required.

Tony's suggestion of Ruby Gap, a beautiful venue could certainly accommodate a large group of Okas but is not exactly easily accessible especially for heavy Okas with skinny tyres. Langs suggestion of doing the 5 centre points as outlined by Rick is a good one but not I think every ones cup of tea if you're familiar with the area.

A better solution may be to select a 'transit point' as the gathering venue. With a number of vehicles potentially coming from all points converging on a central location why not have like minded Oka owners traveling singly or in groups visiting their preferred places along the way to and from a National Oka Gathering venue ?

With this in mind I reckon Eringa Waterhole ,approx. 30 km south of the SA - NT border on the Oodnadatta - Mt Dare Rd would be a good choice.





Deano

Well located centrally at 80 K's south of Lamberts Centre of Australia and pretty well located in relation to other points of interest and access roads Eringa Waterhole is a bit of a central Australian oasis. It's not well frequented as it's not on the bitumen or main tourist routes but easy 2WD access (rain and grader willing ) from either Kulgera on the Stuart Hwy or Oodnadatta on the Oodnadatta Track. From Alice Springs (300 Km to the north) an alternate route is along the Old Ghan Hwy and Finke Desert Race route via Finke. A stones throw from Dalhousie Springs and the western edge of the Simpson Desert or the Madigan Line for those with more ambitious travel plans
Chambers Pillar, The Painted Desert, Rainbow Valley and Finke are some nearby attractions







Eringa is a permanent waterhole about 1 km long and 100 metres or so wide with plenty of room for camping along its south side. It was the site of Sydney Kidmans first cattle station the ruins of which are towards the western end of the waterhole.



From a camping perspective Eringa Waterhole has abundant water suitable for washing, cooking etc, plenty of bird life, shelter and shade especially at the eastern end and is 'pet friendly' as it's not a park or a reserve. Firewood is in short supply and there are no toilet facilities. I don't know about mobile coverage but would consider it very unlikely. Best of all it is a free camp

Deano & Kaye

Eringa Water hole is a great spot and certainly suitable for a large group and as D&K say, the roads are good even though the area has a very remote feel to it.
In 2016 we escorted some Dutch friends towing a 23ft caravan through there. They wanted to see some "remote" Australia and this fitted the bill perfectly. We never saw another vehicle.
These video clips are between Eringa and Abminga rail siding.

This falls into the category of "slow TV".
It had rained not long before we went through and there was still a little bit of surface water about.


One thing though. It is private property (not sure which station) so it would be polite to ask permission to gather at the water hole for a few days.
Cheers,
Peter

Thanks Peter , I've got a feeling it's been 'excised' or whatever from the original station but have friends in Alice following it up

ExploreOz has the following information :

Hamilton Station is a family owned cattle property but camping is no longer offered (effective 2017). Please DO NOT call in or phone to check.

Bloody hell !! is there nowhere to camp in this country any more ??

Deano & Kaye

I am getting excited...

My memory is a bit hazy, but I reckon that some time prior to 2016 they/someone to stop camping at Eringa, but in 2017 when we were there last it was OK again. No idea of the politics or anything else about what happened, how or why, so some local advise would be useful.
And all that might not be relevant to the ExplorOz statement either which may be referring to an area near the Hamilton Homestead.
Be nice if your Alice contacts can clarify.
Cheers,
Peter

Hamilton used to offer camping and cabin style accommodation up until a few years ago.
Back in our early days of Simpson Desert trips prior to Witjira national park being established they also sold fuel, Mt Dare was still a large station that encompassed what is now NP including Dalhousie Springs.

Have emailed Hamilton Station but so far no response

Deano

All things being equal, Joanne and I would be up for it in 003. Happy with any camp location but like others would prefer to be in a bush location. We were hoping to run up through that way via the Flinders ranges this year but that's not going to happen.

Cheers

Rob

Owen springs is lovely.
There is a pound that is reputed to be stunningly good.

Is Hamilton station off the the north side of the Larapinta trail?
Or are there some coordinates?

The NT gov is not overly excited to see a heap of infected people fronting up, so there is some question marks surrounding when roads are open.

These roads will be closed to most people, but the locals doing drug, alcohol, or other running enterprises... seem able to do OKA type of work in a 2wdr Falcon.
The fines can be high depending one's means to pay.

Hamilton homestead is 100+km north of Oodnadatta in SA.
Eringa waterhole is another 70+km NW of the homestead.
Cheers,
Peter

Just had a look at Eringa Waterhole on Google Maps - there are a few pictures, and it looks like a brilliant place for an Oka meet! Great choice!

Yes Eringa looks the place, nice drive for most to get there too.

Old mate at work mentioned the dragon tree soak, and said some Okas were there a few years back.
A few hours away from the centre.

As mentioned here:
dandjribbans.blogspot.com/2014/11/mclart...esert-tree-soak.html

Holmz wrote: Old mate at work mentioned the dragon tree soak, and said some Okas were there a few years back.
A few hours away from the centre........................

A bit more than "a few hours away" ............................

Kayes Great Sandy Desert Journal

Deano