A trip to the gammon ranges. Walks I've done there have usually been 4-7 days, visiting several permanent waterholes. From here, add about 3 days for getting there and back. Winter is the best time to go - you don't want to go in summer due to lack of water and the heat. Spring can be ok, but be sure to check the water situation!
The area is in the northern flinders ranges, and features spectacular red sandstone cliffs and gorges as well as views over vast plains and lakes (or salt-lakes usually - doesn't rain much there!). It's arid mountainous terrain: lots of prickly spinifex, some trees struggling for an existance in the (usually dry) river beds, and some scrub (though usually short and sparse). I'd have to say it's among the most spectacular areas for walking I know in Australia.
Much of the walking would be along dry river beds - often tracks, but often enough boulder hopping. There's mountains to visit and ridges to cross, with interesting things like scree slopes to navigate from time to time (more navigate around, I suppose :-). There are a number of permanent waterholes in the area - usually the only places you can get water! Mostly we'd camp by a waterhole, but sometimes dry camps if we want to go to some more interesting places - that means carting lots of water!.
It's important to talk to the ranger before setting out to let them know you're there and to determine the latest news on the state of the water holes: which have water in them, if there's been a dead animal somewhere etc... Once I went to a water hole that's rarely visited and found a dead goat in it (yech!!). We had to take water from it for one night and half a day - blessed puritabs (it was a while ago..) - though we still boiled it well! (as much in an attempt to get rid of the chlorine taste!). We'd contact the ranger a month or two in advance get a general idea how conditions are evolving.
It'd be a long drive to get there. Google maps says 1,630 km – about 23 hours 32 mins. Thats a pretty conservative estimate of the time, though you'd want a day and a half - with multiple drivers and comfy cars, one long intense day could work, but it wouldn't be fun. That means a total of at least 6-7 days, though 10 days might be better (after driving that far, you may as well take a good look around!). We used to take ordinary cars - the last 100km or so is on dirt roads, but they're pretty good (we'd talk to the ranger before we go about that, too!).
Winter is the best time to go. Temperatures are relatively mild and there tends to be more water around (if we're really lucky, it might rain on us!). I once saw snow falling there - somewhat of a miracle! Even in winter, the temperature's often over 30... Taking two or more cars is a good idea - partly for safety (if one breaks down or gets stuck, we have the other to help or go for help), and partly to setup a car shuffle (gives us more flexibility in choosing an interesting walking route).
I've lead a few trips there in the past, but havn't done any walking for a number of years, so I'd prefer to have a few people along with more recent experience.
So, what do you think? Sound interesting?
