How much water should you take on an Outback trip?

We are always told to carry plenty of water when we head to the Outback. But what do we mean by ‘plenty’?

Recently, an Acting Police Commander in the NT suggested we should carry four litres of water per person per day when out in the scrub. That comment was made after a large police search found two young fellas that had got lost south-east of the small Aboriginal community of Arlparra, located on the Sandover Highway, north-east of Alice Springs. While the young guys were lucky to survive their ordeal, the comment by the police officer got me thinking.

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To preserve drinking water, use water from other sources

How much water can you carry when heading to the desert?

Recently, we were out in the middle of the Gibson Desert with a group of like-minded travellers and, as you’d expect, water was a subject that was often talked about. How much we had, where could we get some, was it drinkable and when was our next chance to fill, were just some of the questions asked. When I asked the aforementioned question, I was absolutely gobsmacked when I found some of the bigger campers in the group were carrying around 400 litres of water.

“You don’t really need that much,” I spluttered, “That’s nearly half a tonne of weight,” I continued, somewhat flabbergasted.

You have to think frugal when you are travelling across our vast desert landscapes and some of these people obviously weren’t. Still, water is the most essential fluid you are carrying, closely followed by the amount of fuel you require to go from A to B; and both are heavy!

How much water should you carry? Is four litres per person per day enough?

Well, four litres a day will keep you alive if the poop hits the fan, but you’d be a bit pushed for water on a normal trip when you include water for drinking, cooking, washing dishes and washing yourself.

We kind of work on eight to 12 litres for the two of us when travelling in our remote country and we’ve found that to be heaps with a good safety margin.

Sure, when we get to an outpost like Warburton, or even a reliable source of good water such as the remote Jupiter Well, we splash out a bit, washing clothes, enjoying a good shower and refilling our water tanks. And you’ll find there’s a number of these wells and bores, many fitted with a hand pump, scattered across the remote desert country that provide delightful water.

On a 15-day trip along the Canning Stock Route you’ll find good water at a number of the reconditioned wells, so you don’t need to carry any more water than say 80 to 100 litres for a couple of you. A crossing of the Simpson, where there is no water between Mt Dare and Birdsville, normally takes four to seven days, so again, you don’t need to carry more than 60 to 80 litres of water.

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Spray bottles will help limit water use

How do we save water and use so little?

Well, either use paper plates or, when you need to wash plates and utensils, use a spray bottle of water and detergent for the not-so grubby ones.

If we have food-covered pots and pans, the paper towel gets rid of most of the food debris before using a minimum of hot water to wash and clean them.

Showers are not an everyday thing and when we do, we keep them to a minimum. The procedure is easy enough – wet yourself down, switch off the tap, soap up, and then rinse yourself. If water is really scarce but you badly need a wash, grab a plastic 1.5- to 2-litre bottle, drill some holes in the bottom, fill with water and use that for a wash down – you’ll be surprised how far that two litres goes.

The moral of the story is, for travellers, water equals weight … and weight out on the bush tracks is a killer of vehicles and trailers.

However, you really need water, so always make sure you are carrying enough for those essential needs – like keeping you and your party alive. Know where you can restock and keep what you carry on board your vehicle or camper to a minimum. Anything more than 15 to 20 litres a day for a couple or young family, even on a long desert trip, is too much and you need to rethink your water use!