The Simpson Desert - one of Australia's greatest 4WD adventures

The Simpson Desert and the adjoining desert parks of South Australia are one of the largest arid region park systems in the world covering nine million hectares. This spectacular wilderness adventure is considered a ‘must do’ for many four-wheel drivers.

This adventure is also one of the most remote expeditions you can do in Australia where you are in a very remote desert for six days.

The Simpson Desert alone spreads across Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland. It is the world's largest sand dune desert covering 177 sq km and contains the world's longest parallel sand dunes some of which are over 200 km long.

The desert is underlain by the Great Artesian Basin, one of the largest inland drainage areas in the world. Water from the basin rises to the surface at numerous natural springs in the desert.

Much of the Simpson Desert is protected by reserves being Witjira National Park, Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert Conservation Park and Munga-Thirri National Park.

Our group had an adventure with raw excitement that we will reflect on and talk about for the rest of our lives. It is a place of wonderful serenity where you can explore the sheer magnitude of the ever-changing, endless landscape and discover its soul.

Map background courtesy of Qld. Govt.

Our purpose with this post is to give you just enough insight to spark your curiosity and enable you to plan your own expedition of discovery. Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.

This post tells the very memorable story of our expedition, Operation Desert Sky, in 2015, which was made up of eight vehicles and 19 very overstimulated adventurers. Our desert crossing route followed the French Line from Mt Dare, followed by the QAA line, to Birdsville. This expedition was planned & led by David Allan of Australia Through & Through on a non commercial basis.

Our trip also included the iconic Oodnadatta Track and Birdsville Track which are both significant adventures in their own right.

Our group ready to roll complete with sand flags and our trip branded T shirts. Our group, from left, is Campbell & Wayne (Blue Tongue), Joe (Enterprise), Phil (Elvis), David (Pilbra), David & Rosemary (Papa Smurf & Desert Rose), Fiona, Kel & Yvonne (Red Dirt), Bev & John (Maverick), Indris (Wombat) plus Wayne & Glenda (Beefeater)(taking photo)

The inclusion of 'Dedicated to Neil Mack' on the branding was in memory of Rosemary's father who passed away 4 months before this trip. Neil was known and much loved by many in our group. The slogan 'Improvise, adapt, overcome' was Neil's mantra.

Our trip began at Marree being the start of the 620km long legendary Oodnadatta Track.

The Oodnadatta Track was created to establish the Overland Telegraph line in 1870 that traversed from Adelaide to Darwin and was followed by the Great Northern railway, now known as the Old Ghan.

The string of springs following the Track made it possible for John McDougall Stuart to complete the first crossing of Australia’s interior from south to north in 1862.

One of my favourite pioneering stories is that of legendary Tom Kruse who was a mail carrier servicing the Birdsville Track between Marree & Birdsville from1936 to 1957.

Each trip took Tom 2 weeks where Tom regularly had to manage break-downs, flooding creeks and getting bogged in desert dunes. The truck in the photo is Tom's original Blitz Truck. Hundreds of other memorabilia items from Tom's legendary achievements are on display in the Marree pub. Tom became a household name after he starred in the award winning docudrama 'The Back of Beyond'.

Beresford Siding, an old Ghan railway stop, at Maree was once a important rail centre and base for the Afghan Cameleers servicing outback homesteads including those along the Birdsville Track.

Must see’s along the Oodnadatta Track include Coward Springs, Old Peake Telegraph Station ruins, Blanche Cup / The Bubbler Mound Springs, Alberrie Sculpture Park, Algebuckina railway bridge, Lake Eyre (Kati Thanda) and the famous Dog Fence (the longest fence in the world).

It was pretty chilly when we explored Peake Telegraph Station ruins and Blanche Cup. Our trip was in June as it is too hot in the desert in summer. The nights were cold but most days we were comfortable in just T shirts.

David (left) with brother John (right) & Kel (Centre)

Alberrie Sculpture Park

and Algebuckina railway bridge

The track also passes Kati Thanda (Lake Eyre) being Australia's largest lake and Anna Creek Station, developed by Sidney Kidman, being the largest cattle station in the world.

We spent the first night at William Creek Hotel staying in cabins rather than setting up our tents.

We experienced three vehicle problems on the Oodnadatta Track. Firstly, Wayne had part of the front mudguard coming loose.

Secondly, Wayne's 4WD lost a bolt that connects the rear sway bar to the chassis. The rear sway bar holds the diff in place. True to our 'Improvise, Adapt, Overcome' mantra, we managed to jack the sway bar back into position then slip a tent peg in where the bolt was missing which held things together until we got to Oodnadatta. Wayne was able to get a replacement high tensile bolt at Oodnadatta. The tent peg remains mounted in Waynes trip memorabilia in his shed.

I did try and recover a bolt for Waynes sway bar, from a wreck we came across, but alas wrong size.

Thirdly, John's 4WD developed an oil leak en route to Oodnadatta. Amazingly, John & Bev (Maverick) drove back to William Creek, got a new seal fitted and caught back up with us at the Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta- we couldn't believe it!

We overnighted at Oodnadatta Pink Roadhouse however there are also some great campsites on this track such as William Creek and Coward Springs.

Our next leg took us to Mt Dare where we made camp for 2 nights which would be the last civilisation we would see for six days until we reach Birdsville. This stop included last minute checking of vehicles, with one flat tyre already, and topping up our fuel and provisions.

This expedition is different from most trips in that poor preparation could lead to the potential of a life threatening situation or a very expensive recovery situation. It would cost many thousands to get a broken down vehicle recovered from the middle of the desert. In fact, we saw two such vehicles on our trip that were waiting for a flat top rescue.

After a short 70km drive from Mt Dare, we made camp at the outback oasis of tree lined Dalhousie Springs which is the largest collection of artesian springs in Australia.

It was fantastic spot for a swim in warm spa waters and so nice to find in the desert.

We enjoyed a wonderful hot spring swim and then savoured a magnificent sunset during our group dinner.

After leaving Mt Dare we came across a family who had shredded a tyre on the unforgiving gibber and we helped get them mobile. After all, it is an outback obligation to stop to help anyone in need.

We were now entering remote country and started to see the desert unfold before us.

The Simpson Desert starts here - we were not to see civilisation for another 5 days.

51km east of Dalhousie is Purnie Bore being a man made wetland. After Purnie Bore, we began to see the first of our serious sand dune crossings.

Not far into our journey, we came across this ute with its chassis bent like a banana waiting for a flat top to come and rescue them. This was potentially caused by towing a trailer across the sand dunes which is not recommended.

Our desert crossing included 1,200 sand dunes to cross with our group fully pumped and up for it! This followed many months of planning and intense anticipation.

The tracks of the Simpson Desert were created during seismic surveys in the search for gas and oil during the 1960s and 1970s.

These are the world's longest parallel sand dunes some of which are over 200 km long. The name Simpson Desert was coined by Cecil Madigan after Alfred Allen Simpson, an Australian industrialist, philanthropist, geographer, and president of the South Australian branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia. Alfred Simpson was the owner of the Simpson washing machine company.

UHF channel 10 UHF is used in the Simpson Desert to check for oncoming traffic over the crest of a sand dune. So, the lead vehicle uses two radios, one on channel 10 and the other on the convoy channel.

Our red flags, of a specified size and colour, are a mandatory legal requirement in the Simpson Desert to warn oncoming traffic as we approach the crest of a dune.

This photo shows a typical 'swale' in between each sand dune.

Someone with a sense of humour had gone to a lot of trouble to erect this sign in the middle of the desert. However, the authorities had less of a sense of humour and we noticed it was removed not long after our trip.

My mate Kel, stoking the fire, was our Fire Chief for the trip and got legendary status among the group as he had the fire going every night before everyone else had even finished setting up their camp - plus he still had his own camp set up first! Kel's fire set up included the BBQ plate, billy stand and overhead flood light. Absolute legend.

My mate Wayne (left) (Blue Tongue), John - my brother (Maverick), Rosemary (Desert Rose) and I (Papa Smurf).

Phil (Elvis) & Dave (Pilbra) all ready for Smoko. All our vehicles were set up with a kitchen in the back with a view of being on the move every day. Phil became known as 'Elvis' as his voice was dead ringer for Elvis when using the radio.

The above photo shows a typical campsite in a swale of the sand dunes. The Simpson Desert would have to be the worlds biggest camp ground and every site idealic.

Buddies Wayne & Glenda (Beefeater) taking a break followed by the regular morning briefing. Glenda holds some sort of record for being able to knit while engaged in rough 4WD'ing.

Like most trips, the story telling around the camp fire was rich and the stories seemed to get more embellished as the night went on.

Brothers John (right) & David

At the end of the French Line we arrived at Poeppel Corner where three state borders intersect. Augustus Poeppel, after whom the point is named, conducted a survey in the mid-1880s to find the exact location of the central Australian colonial borders.

After Poeppel Corner we moved onto the QAA Line for our final leg into Birdsville.

We did not all make it over every sand dune every time but there was no shortage of help when anyone got stuck.

We dodged a bullet in some of these swales that had been very wet before our arrival. These swales are also very salty so it was good not to have all that wetness sprayed under the vehicles.

35km out from Birdsville, we came to the mother of all sand dunes, 'Nappanerica', or 'Big Red' which is 40 metres in height.

Lined up ready to take on Big Red.

Conquering Big Red demands skilled 4WD'ing that separates the men from the boys. However, if all else fails there is an easy track to the side which is the far right track.

From the top of Big Red

On the other side of Big Red, the Big Red Bash was being packed up and demobilised. Our trip coincided with the Big Red Concert Tour, that is held annually at the Big Red sand dune, and we planned to attend. However, our overall trip took a tad more than planned which meant we missed the concert, yet thats a good reason to come back.

After 5.5 days since we left Mt Dare we arrive at the welcome sight of iconic Birdsville. There was a sense of relief about making it through the desert. Despite how well prepared you are, it's not a given that you will get through without problems. So, with this in the back of your mind, it feels pretty awesome when you roll into Birdsville. A bit like conquering heroes.

The iconic Birdsville Hotel with part of our convoy lined up outside.

Birdsville has a population of 120 which swells to 5,000 during the annual race meeting in September for which the town is most famous.

The State of Origin was on the night we arrived so we spent most of the night at Birdsville pub with a big crowd.

Birdsville was located at the border of South Australia and Queensland to collect tolls from the droves of cattle being moved interstate.

Many of Australia's pioneering European explorers traveled through the Birdsville district well before the town was gazetted. Monuments to acknowledge the feats of Captain Charles Sturt, Burke & Wills, Cecil Madigan are located here.

The Birdsville Bakery is about just as popular as the Birdsville pub.

We needed a big table at the Birdsville Bakery for our group. They even sell camel pies, yet I did not see any of our group tuck into one. There are quite a few things to see in Birdsville and we could have easily stayed a tad longer.

After resting up with a 2 night stay in Birdsville we ventured off into the last leg of our journey being the remote and iconic Birdsville Track.

The Birdsville Track which is one of the most iconic outback journeys in Australia. This journey is littered with history and full of the mystique of the outback.

The Birdsville Track is not considered a very hard track. It is a good, wide stony track covered with large pebbles (gibbers) but don't be complacent. It is still an absolute requirement that you make ample provision of fuel, water and supplies. The photo shows an example of the gibber stones.

The legendary Birdsville Track was established in the 1880’s as a stock route between SW Qld and the railhead at Marree from where cattle were trucked to the Adelaide markets. Cattlemen needed 5 – 6 weeks to cover the 524km. In those days up to 50,000 head per year travelled this route with mobs of up to 2,000 beasts.

This is very harsh country where sometimes even the dingoes struggle to survive like the half starved dingo that was adopted nearby in Innamincka who was christened 'Wingnut' because of his thin body and big ears. His teeth fell out from malnutrition and he went after everything soft to eat. After one incident of pilfering from the pub stores, Wingnut devoured 80 packets of gum and a packet of cigarettes in one binge.

We took 2 days to get to Marree stopping at Mungeranie Roadhouse overnight which is the only fuel en route. Just before we got to Marree we came across a road train full of cattle, with a brand new prime mover, that had rolled at 3.15am necessitating many cattle to be put down and buried. Two of these heavy haulage trucks had arrived at Marree to start the recovery of the road train.

My mate Wayne loved this trip so much he made this memorabilia display for his shed to celebrate a highly memorable trip. Note the tent peg on display which was the peg used to hold his car together along the Oodnadatta Track.

Tips for the Simpson Desert crossing:

The Simpson Desert crossing is a very remote expedition which can be very hazardous and should only be undertaken after lengthy and careful planning. Do not attempt to access such remote areas in an ill-prepared vehicle and without adequate emergency communications equipment. Do not under estimate the limited supply of fuel, water and provisions in such remote areas as well as the possibility of encountering extremely harsh elements and conditions. You can find yourself in an 'extreme risk' situation.

Cost of vehicle recovery in the event of breakdown or accident, at the furthest point, will be in the thousands. If this is critical information for you, make your own enquiries to verify cost.

Other Tips:

• We carried a sat phone for emergency communications;

• Buy SA Desert Pass on line before you leave home.

• Our desert pass came with the 'Desert Parks Handbook - South Australia', by the South Australian Government, as an excellent resource to plan our trip;

• The Hema Great Desert Tracks - Atlas & Guide is a god resource for planning your trip.

Some of our stats:

• We used 98 litres of diesel, in our Prado, from Mt Dare to Birdsville being 479km - @ say 20 litres per 100km;

• Marree to Mt Dare: 3 days;

• Mt Dare to Birdsville: 5.5 days - averaging say 15kph;

• Birdsville to Marree: 2 days;

• From Mt Dare to Birdsville we used 7 litres of water per person per day over the 5.5 days;

• Rosemary & I used 11 butane canisters for our stove over 5.5 days.

David & Rosemary Allan – the faces behind:

May adventure & discovery be your constant companions.

Reflection:

For me, a trip is memorable when I am enriched by a deeper sense of connection to a place which triggers an emotional or spiritual response. This comes from feelings of Awe when I feel part of something bigger. Such as, seeing dramatic landscapes, being caught up in the history and sensing the passion of the human spirit.

A memorable experience will cause me to day dream about the next trip even more than the last trip.

Remember: Your adventure begins the moment you decide to go.