Having missed a number of the shorter club trips this year and having Michael Slade’s proposed itinerary for a Simpson crossing, which did not eventuate during the June holidays, I felt that a long trip during September had to be organised. Not only was this a good excuse to get away for a while, it was also to maintain club tradition of having at least one long trip every year. Four families expressed initial interest, but in the end only two cars departed Melbourne on Sunday 23 September. Neil Halls and son

Phillip together with Alan Foster and his son Luke occupied the luxury Lexus while Nick Wirubov and son Alex together with Alex’s school mate Sam occupied the plodding Patrol. A new development for this trip was the involvement of a Melbourne Grammar parent, as Alex and Sam are both MGS students.

In a pre-trip meeting Neil and I decided to follow Michael’s itinerary with two minor changes. We decided to drive the French Line instead of the Rig Road and to do the trip from east to west instead of the other way. With the itinerary settled, it was time to pack the cars and head off.

Leaving Melbourne at 6.00 am, we made excellent time up the Calder Highway. After a coffee stop in Charlton for introductions all around and a quick refreshment it was on to Mildura to catch up with friends over lunch before continuing to Renmark for our overnight stop. The second day on the road proved to be a little more interesting. The ensuing events had their genesis the previous Tuesday when I had an UHF radio installed in the GQ.

Having a long range fuel tank in the GQ as well as an auxiliary, I was curious to see if I could reach Leigh Creek just on the fuel I took on in Melbourne. Just before Burra, on the second day, I noticed the low fuel warning light come on and after a few more kilometres, I decided to switch to the auxiliary tank. Usually when I switch tanks, the fuel gauge moves to indicate the level in the new tank. This time it stayed on near empty. Another 10 kilometres down the road and less than 1 kilometre from Hallet the trusty GQ came to a gentle halt. It was clear that I could not access the auxiliary fuel tank in the normal way. Neil towed me to Hallet where I filled the main tank. We also took the opportunity to have a look at possible causes for the problem. As the tanks had been installed by Brown Davis, I called the work shop and spoke to one of the mechanics under whose instructions we were able to ascertain that the selector valve linking the two tanks was not being activated due to lack of power. We decided to continue on to Peterborough, where I though I could get an auto electrician have a look at the problem. As we were driving along, I decided to check the other electrical components and turned on the compressor switch. Instead of the compressor coming on, there was a pop from the fuse box and all my panel gauges died.

Arriving in Peterborough just before lunch I was told that the earliest any one could look at the car was late that afternoon. Neil and Alan suggested that they have a look at the problem them selves. Given that the day was extremely wet, it was not the most pleasant task crawling around under the car trying to find where the various electrical leads went. Finally it was discovered that two wires at the back of the panel were loose. When these were connected to the fuel tank selector switch, the selector valve started to make promising noises when the switch position was moved from one tank to the other. Having sorted that problem we adjourned to the local bakery for a well-earned lunch.

Over lunch we discussed the panel problem and decided that if one switch could have been incorrectly wired that there was a high possibility that the compressor switch could also have been incorrectly reconnected causing a short circuit that blew the fuse. After a quick call to ARB for some advice, Neil and Alan were able to reconnect the wires to the correct terminals and get everything working again. Finally we were back on the road towards our next overnight stop at Leigh Creek. As we travelled north we were extremely pleased to see that the showers were becoming less and less frequent and intense, for we had visions of being stuck in Leigh Creek waiting for the Birdsville Track to dry out. At the police station that afternoon we were relieved to learn that there had been very little rain between Leigh Creek and Birdsville and that all the track were open.

Tuesday, day 3 of our trip dawned fine and warm. After a quick visit to the Leigh Creek coal mine to have a look at the worked out section of the open cut mine as well as a truck and a drag line, we finally hit the dirt just past the township of Lyndhurst. Our first stop was at the ochre pits where aboriginals obtained different coloured clays from which them made paint for use in their ceremonies. Next was the abandoned township of Farina with its now restored underground bakery. All the other buildings being in various stages of collapse. Marree was our final stop before taking the north east track out of town towards Birdsville. Our plan was to drive as far as Mungeranie and set up camp near the waterhole. As the track was in excellent shape, we made fast time and arrived soon after 3.00 pm, too soon to be setting up camp. We scouted the waterhole and decided that it would be a good camping spot for some future trip. We carried on for another hour or so before finding a shady creek where we set up camp.

While the night was dry and clear, the wind howled down the creek bed threatening to carry away our tents. How Neil, Phillip and Luke were able to sleep out under the stars I do not know, but they did. At least they did not have a flapping tent to contend with.

Being less that 200 km from Birdsville, we decided to abandon the easier Outside Track and proceed to Birdsville on the road less travelled – the Inside Track. While the latter is significantly shorter, 146 km as against 174y km, the time taken is significantly longer. The Inside Track can be divided into 3 distinct sections. The first 50 km or so is a station access track and while fairly corrugate, it is wide and obviously maintained. Unfortunately by sticking to this track we ended heading off too far to the east as we found out by plotting our GPS position on the map, both paper and Neil’s electronic version that he had on a lap top computer connected to his GPS. We then back tracked until we found another track leading further west, but that took us too far to the west. In between the two, we had seen evidence of a badly overgrown narrow track. We proceeded along it for a couple of kilometres before checking our position again and establishing that we were on the right track at last. This was confirmed a little later when we found the Pelican Waterhole.

Average speed along this section of the Inside Track was kept to below 20 kph, making for very slow progress. Nonetheless, it was certainly more interesting that the main track would have been. At last the overgrown track gave way to a more frequently used station track and we were able to pick up speed again for the remaining 70 km to Birdsville. Watching the GPS, tracking our northward progress it was soon time to stop and draw the proverbial line in the sand. We had reached the location of the South Australian and Queensland borders, which was celebrated with a photo stop.

A short time later we emerged from the wilderness to join the QAA line taking us into Birdsville. Just before turning onto the QAA, we noticed a sign indicating that the Inside Track was closed to public access!

A quick walk around Birdsville and a visit to the Birdsville Working Museum rounded out a fun filled day. Our lodgings for the night were in the new wing of the Birdsville Hotel, where on registration, travellers need to provide either the registration number of the car or aeroplane!!

On Thursday morning we awoke to a bright and sunny morning, eager to head off into the Simpson, at last. After some last minute purchases and taking on fuel, we were off towards the first test – the infamous BIG RED. As a matter of interest, Neil in the Lexus set off with a total of 145 litres on board and another 40 in two jerry cans. My Patrol had 220 litres on board and another 20 in a jerry can. The objective was to get to Oodnadatta a total of 700 km away.

Travelling from east to west we approached the first sand dune with the main track going straight up and over. There appeared to be two other alternatives that went across the face of the dune at a much lower angle. Neil made it up and over at the first attempt while I had to play with tyre pressures until he was able to get over as well. Having some time up our sleeve, we decided to have a further play with Neil and Al going over a couple of more times. I had trouble going over from west to east and after about three attempts gave up in the interests of saving fuel. It was at that stage that we found out that the Big Red itself was about 1 km to the north of where we were.

Heading off in a westerly direction again, we came across the access track to Big Red, clearly sign posted. No such signpost was available on the approach from the east. Neil decided to have a go at Big Red while I opted to walk up instead. On his first go, Neil got to the cusp at the top of the dune before slowing down for a chat with Alan and myself – a fatal mistake as the loss of momentum forced the car to stop in the soft sand with no way to go but down. Neil then had another couple of attempts, but in the end concern about fuel for the remaining 3 days forced him to abandon Big Red and push off into the desert for real. With unfinished business at Big Red, it is more than likely that we will be back in that part of the world at some future time to have another go.

The rest of the day was spent driving the QAA line towards Lake Poeppel. Very quickly we lost count of the dunes as they came up very quickly one after another. Only one or two were as high and as tough as Big Red and here Low 4 had to be engaged and in my case play with tyre pressures to get over the most difficult dunes. With all the hard driving in soft sand, one forgets just how hot the tyres get during the course of the day. Pressures that start out at around 20 psi quite quickly build up to 24 to 26 psi and for the toughest dunes this is too hard.

On the way up to Birdsville, we were told on a number of occasions that we were heading into an absolute riot of wild flowers. Unfortunately, on our traverse of the desert, we realised that we were several weeks to late. While there was plenty of vegetation, most of the flowers had dried out. This was not entirely surprising, as daytime temperatures were in the high forties.

From afar, the track seemed to be an endless traverse of a featureless landscape and our initial impression was that we would be crossing endless kilometres of sand covered with short scrub. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The vegetation of the inter-dune flats was constantly changing. Sometimes the flats were covered in short grass, at other times it was low scrub. Occasionally, the vista resembled the African plains with sparse trees 4 to 6 metres tall and then tall lush green plants resembling lilies. Every now and again, the flat would be covered by a salt encrusted dry lakebed.

At Lake Poeppel, our westward heading changed to a southerly direction as we drove along the lakebed toward Poeppel Corner and the meeting of three states. The lakebed was flat and smooth and it was a pleasure to be able to drive at more than 20 kph for a change. The sun was already well on its way down by the time we arrived at Poeppel Corner and it was quite tricky getting some of the shots to make sure the setting sun did not shine directly into the lens of the camera. Two markers indicate the locations of the meeting of Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory. The wooden marker was placed in the late 1880’s during the second surveying of the Simpson Desert. Not far away is the modern concrete post, which was erected in the 1960s during one of the modern desert surveys.

Other than the two survey posts, the area around Poeppel Corner was dry, dusty and uninviting so after a little while we were back in the vehicles and heading west again. This time the main objective was to find a pleasant spot for our camp. After crossing Lake Poeppel and two or three more dunes, we found an ideal spot and set up out camp for the night. There was just enough time for one or two cold beers and a couple of holes of tinny golf before the sun set and it was time to feed the hungry hordes.

On reflection, the amazing thing about our first full day in the desert, was the small number of people we met along the way. We passed one convoy travelling east to west like us and met up with only two or three groups heading in the opposite direction. From discussions before starting the crossing and reading some of the reports, we were expecting many more travellers to be crossing the desert. Just as well the numbers were small as it made the crossing a very pleasant experience.

Our second full day in the desert was pretty much the same as the first. Hot, dry with plenty of sand dunes to cross. Most were a simple affair, easily crossed in High 4. However, every now and again a monster would rear up and a couple of attempts were required to get over. After each unsuccessful attempt, tyre pressure was reduced by 1 or 2 psi, until the pressure was low enough to get across. Having so much time to experiment, it was instructive to see just what a difference a couple of psi can make. It also raises the question about the conventional wisdom of reducing tyre pressure to 18 psi and leaving the pressure there for the entire trip as such low pressures result in unnecessary side wall wear. We found that most dunes could be crossed with pressures in the mid 20’s – that is unless you are driving a Lexus and run 30 psi for the whole trip. Oh what a difference the extra grunt makes.

Lizards were in abundance on the second day and we saw a large number of skins as well as a goanna and a Bearded Dragon.

Progress was a lot slower on the second day with the French Line being rougher and a little more difficult that the QAA line was the previous day. In nine hours of solid driving we only covered 150 km on the second day while on the first we covered over 170 km and that was with a stop to play on Big Red.

At about 5 that afternoon, the occupants of the Patrol were ready to stop for the night. However, there did not seem any interest from the Lexus to stop any time soon. The reason soon became clear when Neil called to say that the outside temperature had reached 47 degrees and that it would be more comfortable in the cars than outside setting up camp. We could not disagree as we were quite cool with our air conditioning running at full bore. The Lexus passengers were not so lucky having to put up with flow through ventilation in the interests of conserving fuel.

With the diesel Patrol, it became clear on the first day that a shortage of fuel was not going to be a problem while Neil in his petrol driven V8 was having to play the conservation game.

As the sun reached the western horizon, we spotted a wide flat area and stopped for the night. Once again the first order of the day was a couple of cold cans and a snack followed by a round of tinny golf before adjourning to camp to cook dinner and enjoy a superb bottle of red in the cool of the evening.

During our four nights in the desert sleeping under the stars another of our expectations did not come to pass. We had expected days to be hot (but not above 40 degrees in late September!) and the nights to be cold. To that end we had all brought plenty of warm clothes. We did not use them in the desert, as the nights were very mild. Shorts and Tee shirts were standard dress at all times. The other pleasant aspect of the sun going down was that flies disappeared completely and we were able to enjoy our dinner with no unwanted guests wanting to share your meal.

On day three (we had lost track of days by that stage) it was an early start again with the camp being packed and both vehicles on the track by 8.00 am. An hour or so later we arrived at Wonga Junction, the end of the difficult part of out crossing. The road to the south was the Rig Road, while straight ahead was the track to Purni Bore and Dalhousie Springs.

Arriving at Purni Bore, Neil was extremely disappointed to see the previously extensive wet lands completely dry and the bore itself pumping out a small quantity of water that was immediately piped to some distant location. A notice indicated that the bore was to be repaired however, we had heard elsewhere that the flow had been reduced on purpose to return the area to its "natural state". Which version is true only time will tell. Not having any reason to stay a minute longer that necessary we pushed on to Dalhousie Springs and a planned swim to cool off in the intense heat that had again built up during the course of the morning.

Unfortunately, with the temperature of the water in the high 20’s or low 30’s it wasn’t so much of a cooling off as a soaking off of three days of desert dust. Not quite what one would call a refreshing swim, but pleasant nonetheless. After the swim and a quick lunch we decided to press on as it was too early to camp at Dalhousie Springs and the area with all the redevelopment going on was not the most pleasant. Again, we were surprised by the lack of people with five or six vehicles in the day car park and a further two in the camping area. So much for the expected hordes of tourists outnumbering the flies by 2 to 1!

After a quick tour of the ruins of the Dalhousie Station, it was on to the Pedirka Track to Hamilton and then the Oodnadatta Track. While the Pedirka Track was as rough as anticipated, once we were on the Oodnadatta Track, we were again surprised to find it in excellent repair. After an overnight stop by the side of the track it was on to a mandatory fuel stop at the Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta. This was a touch and go affair for Neil whose Lexus was starting to run on fumes only. At one stage there was the possibility that we would need to make a short run to the Roadhouse with a jerry can to bring back extra petrol, but in the end, Neil made it all the way with a couple of litres to spare. On comparing fuel usage after both cars were refuelled, it was found that the Lexus used a total of 182 litres of petrol for the run from Birdsville to Oodnadatta while the Patrol used a total of 115 litres of diesel over the same distance.

We had planned to spend the night camped on the banks of the Neales River where we had arrived in time for lunch. However, after looking at the old Algebuckina Railway Bridge, a swim and lunch the sky darkened and we were caught in a spectacular thunderstorm. Rather that sitting around in the cars waiting for the storm to pass, we decided to press on towards William Creek before making a decision about a stop for the night. Over a cold beer at the William Creek pub we found out that the track out to Lake Eyre North had been significantly upgraded and that the run would take just over an hour. We arrived at the lakeshore just in time for a short walk before the sun set beyond what water was left in the lake. Walking on the dry lakebed was an interesting affair, as just below the white salt crust was a black extremely sticky mud. No wonder there are warnings everywhere not to drive on the lakebed.

Just before the sun set we set up our chairs and with a cold beer in one hand and a camera in the other, we watched the sun go down. With clouds from the recent thunderstorm still covering patches of the sky, the colours and patterns were spectacular and everyone used up plenty of film in an attempt to capture the moment.

During the evening, more thunderstorms were in evidence, but they passed to the north and south of us. As a result, we had a dry night, but one that was illuminated by flashes of lightning around us while directly overhead was clear.

The next morning the two cars parted company with Neil, Alan, Phillip and Luke heading off for a run directly to Melbourne while Alex, Sam and I had a leisurely run to Parachilna for an overnight stop. After a much needed shower, it was off to sample the famous FMG – the signature dish of the restaurant attached to the refurbished and extended Prairie Hotel. For the uninitiated FMG stands for Feral Mixed Grill – a combination of grilled emu, goat, kangaroo and camel.

The following day was to be our last day of the trip. Instead of stopping in Mildura as initially planned, we drove straight through from Parachilna to Melbourne, arriving home at the reasonable hour of 10.30 that night. In all, we were away for a total of 10 days during which we covered some 4.500 kilometres. We had crossed the Simpson Desert, saw Lake Eyre half filled with water and drove three of the classic outback tracks the – Birdsville, Oodnadatta and Pedirka. The only thing we were not able to do was to get over Big Red. That challenge remains to be achieved on another day while enjoying Australia’s great outdoors.

Cheers

Nick Wirubov - TL