Quote:
Originally Posted by AstralTraveller
Robert,
The issue with these maps is that they are out of date. Back in the 80's I was using paper copies of these maps which I think were last updated in the 60's. Offhand I can think of two occasions when we attempted to follow tracks which just petered out and disappeared. On one occasion it could have been dangerous. Another time we wound up on an unmarked track which fortunately was a shortcut to where we were going, but we didn't know that.
cheers,
David
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David,
I should have mentioned the age of the data in my review.
Agreed, the tracks have often changed since the maps were published.
But there is a little something called a compass to check the bearing of a track that you are on!! (hahaha).
However, In my experience, the formed roads have, for the most part, stayed much the same.
In many ways, Australia is still very much the unknown continent, in that nobody can really tell you what exactly you are going to see when you stand on a particular ridge or in a particular place.
Because, in reality, a lot of mapping of the Australian back country is often inaccurate, it is always best to use a variety of data sources for navigation, as you have indicated in your post.
So, for those who are only used to city mapping (which tends to be accurate), one just has to get used to the fact that it could look quite different on the ground, no matter which map you use.
I always cross-check my route with all available mapping, for instance Google Maps and Hema maps. (in particular, with a recent satellite image)
However, I never really expect the mapping to conform exactly to what I am actually going to find on the ground.
Yes, the 1/250K topo maps are far from perfect, but the same goes for all the other available mapping.
For me, these topo maps remain a useful engine for exploring the landscape of Australia.
There may be people out there who do more bush navigation than I do, and who can therefore comment more accurately on the age and reliability of the various mapping sources for Australia.
Cheers,
Robert