Day 1
Distance travelled: 641 Kms
Saturday 30th August 2008: Our trip officially started when we pulled away from home at 6.46am after Bruce and Maree had arrived. Our first destination was Orroroo where we had arranged to have a cup of coffee with Sally’s father on our way through to Hawker. It was a concern to us to hear that Oodnadatta had 23mm of rain on the Friday night as too much rain would see the Oodnadatta Track closed to traffic blocking our path. Hoping for the best, we continued to head to Hawker where we were to meet the other two vehicles travelling with us on this trip.
We stopped to offer our assistance to a vehicle roll over 10kms Adelaide side of Mallala where the vehicle had gone up and over the railway line before coming to a rest on its wheel. Once the ambulance had arrived, we left the scene and headed north. Soon after 10.00am the Orroroo coffee was in our bellies and we moved towards Hawker. Water was running over the roads in some of the creeks just north of Carrieton indicating to us that the rain had fallen in the north of the State. As we drove up out of the Yanyarrie Creek, we hit a kangaroo with our vehicle, heard the bang on the bull bar but did not see the kangaroo after that.
It was 11.20am when we arrived at Hawker and refuelled before meeting up with Kerry, Mellissa, Heidi, Danika, Uncle Frank and Jenny who were to be our travelling companions with Bruce and Maree for the trip into the Simpson Desert. Passing by Leigh Creek at 2.21pm and some refuelling at Lyndhurst at 2.58pm, we arrived 9Kms south of Marree at 4.10pm which was to be our first camp site for this trip.
Day 2
Distance travelled: 246Kms
Sunday 31st August 2008: This setting up and packing away tents each day was going to be a bit of a challenge compared to packing the caravan for a trip away but as time went by, it all became a little more organised. We were on the road again by 9.02am for the short drive into Marree where all of us refuelled before taking a few photos and pushing on towards William Creek. The Oodnadatta Track was in very good condition. Lake Eyre South comes very close to this part of the road so it was an opportunity to take a few photos of the lake as we went passed. It was a short drive off of the Oodnadatta Track to have a look at the Mound Springs and the Bubbler which were natural outlets for artesian water.
We arrived at Coward Springs at 2.00pm which gave us the chance to stretch our legs as we walked around to view the camping area and the spa. After arriving at William Creek to find the Oodnadatta Track had been closed north to Oodnadatta, we thought it was a good time to have a beer at the local Hotel. The only road on the northern side of William Creek that was open to traffic was the Coober Pedy road so we decided to head that way until we found a suitable camping spot for the night or until the roads dried out. We started to set up our second camp at 4.16pm wondering how far we would be able to travel the following day.
Day 3
Distance travelled: 154Kms
Monday 1st September 2008: As soon as we were out of bed and had breakfast, Kerry used his satellite phone to get a road report for the Oodnadatta Track to find out that it had been opened allowing us to proceed. With the later than normal start to the day because of waiting for the road report, it wasn’t until 9.53am before we started to travel towards Algebuckina Bridge on the Neales River which was to be our destination for our third night. There was plenty of water and mud to contend with along the Oodnadatta Track and everyone took advantage of the cement floodway at the Neales River crossing when we arrived at midday to wash the underside of the vehicles making for some interesting photos.
While driving to look at the Algebuckina Bridge, Bruce selected 4WD low range to climb a hill to a lookout only to find that his transmission wasn’t working properly and would not allow him to move the transfer lever back to 2WD. We had to remove the vehicles centre console and take the transfer lever out of the top of the gear box to force the shift mechanism back to the correct position. The vehicle now had no 4WD to do the Simpson Desert Crossing but that wasn’t going to spoil the trip as we had plenty of snatch straps to help drag him across the sand hills when required. We set up our camp on the banks of the Neales River for the night.
Day 4
Distance travelled: 279Kms
Tuesday 2nd September 2008: To date out trip had covered 1065Kms, approximately one quarter of the estimated distance for the two week period. On the road again by 8.45am with our destination being Oodnadatta where we were to have showers and lunch. Arriving at 9.48am, we arranged for the showers which were now letting us know that we were in the outback by the condition of the buildings and facilities on offer. It was a casual stop here with no rush being made, after all we were on holidays.
With us all feeling a little cleaner after the showers, we drove on heading in the direction of the Lambert Centre. While we had stopped on the side of the road near the old Abminga Siding, a dragon lizard tried to run up my leg. Well when something runs up your leg and you have no idea of what it is it can cause for some excitement and today was no exception. I had no idea of what it was so I yelled to Sally to look out and by the tone of my voice Sally that took instant fright. It is something that has to be experienced to see the funny side of it.
There was still a fair bit of water and slippery road to contend with and one part of it caused Kerry to slide into a water hole and get bogged which required him to be pulled out. After the fun of getting Kerry out of the bog, it wasn’t much further down the road before we set up camp at 4.10pm for the night along a creek a few kilometres south of the Northern Territory border.
Day 5
Distance travelled: 320Kms
Wednesday 3rd September 2008: We were now finding our tents dry each morning which made it much better to pack them away for each day’s travel. On the road by 8.20am and heading for the Lambert Centre, the geographical centre of Australia a location that only a few of us had been to before. It was around 10.00am when we arrived at the Lambert Centre to find that the Australian flag had only been replaced with a new one the day before, it is nice to see the place is cared for. After a short stay here, we headed back to the settlement of Finke for a quick look before going to Mount Dare for our last refuelling stop before crossing the desert. As we drove away from Finke, Bruce’s UHF radio handset stopped working so he had to use his smaller handset which would only normally be used when backing his caravan at a Caravan Park.
It was this leg of the trip that we started to find ourselves having to open and close road gates. Any gates found closed should always be left that way when passing through them as it prevents stock from wondering where they are not supposed to be. We arrived at Mount Dare at 12.55pm for fuel and lunch before heading to Dalhousie Springs for the night where we arrived at 3.30pm which gave us time for a quick swim in the Dalhousie Springs which is naturally headed to around 38 degrees. There were showers at Dalhousie campground but for some reason the hot water taps had been removed so it was cold water only. This was the only location for the entire trip where we were eaten alive by mosquitoes. Our first dingo was also sighted here walking around the campground looking for something to eat.
Day 6
Distance travelled: 168Kms
Thursday 4th September 2008: 8.24am and we were heading for the local dump to dispose of our rubbish before heading into the Simpson Desert as all rubbish will be required to be taken with us. Between Dalhousie Springs and the Simpson Desert, Kerry’s bbq box shook off of his roof rack hitting the road and breaking apart.
After a quick stop to have a look at Purni Bore, we arrived at the start of the Simpson Desert French Line at 11.35am where we let our tyres down to 18 PSI as recommended. The first sand hill at the start of the French Line was big enough to make most of us think that it was all going to be too much to expect a vehicle to make it over the desert in only 2WD. While it only took Bruce two attempts to get over the sand hill, it was hard going for his vehicle in such conditions. With the excitement of being in the desert, we drove until 4.00pm and which time we set up our first camp in the Simpson Desert.
Day 7
Distance travelled: 162Kms
Friday 5th September 2008: The early morning sunrise light made the sand hills a rich red colour to look at and to photograph. Heading further into the desert by 8.30am, the travelling was now slow with roughly 20 kilometres being covered each hour. We reached the Erabena Track at 10.10am and now started to drive towards the Lone Gum Tree where we ate our lunch. Someone had tied a normal size toy koala bear up in the tree as well as a baby one nearby. It seemed weird to see such a gum tree growing in the desert all by itself.
From the Lone Gum Tree we returned to the French Line via the Knolls Track where Bruce got the only flat tyre that anyone had for the entire trip. Once back at the junction of the French Line and Knolls Track, we set up camp for our second night in the desert. With it now being 3.47pm, it was time for a bit of relaxation before our evening meal which was a stew prepared and cooked by Jenny.
Day 8
Distance travelled: 94Kms
Saturday 6th September 2008: All being packed up, we were moving along the road towards Poeppel Corner by 8.20am. We were now in a routine with the packing so it was becoming easier as the days passed. We had read that there was something like 1,100 sand hills in the Simpson Desert to cross and by the third day we had no reason to doubt this. Bruce called on his radio at 11.06am to say that his temperature gauge was reading hot and he had to pull over. Within a few minutes we had the radiator out of his vehicle only to find out that the core had corroded through and that it wasn’t going to be an easy fix. With this in mind, we refitted the radiator and added some magic powder to it as we filled it with water and this was enough to allow us to get through with it.
Prior to arriving at Poeppel Corner for lunch, we were greeted by the South Australian National Parks Ranges who did the usual Parks Pass checks and greeted us as friends. One of the Ranges was from Port Augusta and knew some of our travelling party which was a surprise being so far from home. It was a big day today for Bruce and the snatch strap with the total number of pulls now growing to 10. It was to be our final night in the desert tonight with camp being set up at 3.53pm.
Day 9
Distance travelled: 121Kms
Sunday 7th September 2008: With our earliest departure for the trip, we were on our way at 8.04am wondering just how much of a challenge Big Red was going to be when we arrived. As we drove, the sand hills were getting further and further apart with more and more vegetation growing across the desert. The wild flowers certainly didn’t let us down as we crossed the desert with a lot of yellow, white and purple flowers scattered across the sand. As we drove the sparse sandy desert slowly filled with trees and the odd creek and water course. Vehicle traffic had now increased with the end of the Birdsville races and most travellers moving on.
When we arrived at the base of Big Red, it was decided that we would stop and eat lunch to allow the crowd to finish their play in the sand at Big Red. Looking at Big Red from the bottom, it didn’t look half the height as it did once on top looking down. We decided to try the side track first to gain some experience before tackling the main track straight up the front. With the side track under our belts it was time to tackle the main one. Not as easy as one thinks with several attempts required before I made it up and over the top.
While we were playing in the sand Bruce got bogged going around the chicken track in 2WD and requited two Toyota Prados to pull him out taking the number of times he needed to be towed to eleven for the entire Simpson crossing. After a couple of hours playing, we pumped our tyres up and headed in to Birdsville for a beer in the famous pub before setting up camp in the Birdsville Caravan Park at 3.11pm where everyone enjoyed hot showers.
Day 10
Distance travelled 435Kms
Monday 8th September 2008: Sally and I were packed and out of the Caravan Park by 7.55am to give us time to photograph Birdsville while the rest of the party did their packing. With everyone all fuelled up, we headed for Innamincka at 8.48am. When we arrived at Cadelga Ruins, Bruce was again concerned with the temperature of his radiator. There wasn’t much we could do at this stage other than to keep the radiator full and to watch the temperature gauge.
Arriving at Cordillo Downs by 1.23pm, it was an opportunity to inspect the famous wool shed which was built in the late 1800’s. Not much to see between here and Innamincka where we arrived at 4.20pm. We had a look at the Innamincka Trading Post and went to the Hotel and booked an evening meal for 6.30pm. Off to what is known as the Town Common which is one of the many camping location along the Cooper Creek system where we set up camp for the next three nights before returning to the Hotel for our meal.
Day 11
Distance travelled: 206Kms
Tuesday 9th September 2008: Today was set aside for a look at the attractions around the Innamincka area starting with a 71km drive out to The Dig Tree where there is a tree which bears the blaze made in 1861 with the message “DIG 3ft NW” which gave Burke & Wills party instructions for finding provisions buried for them by the support party. On our way back into Innamincka we called in to see Burke’s Memorial. Although this is a significant site in Australia’s history, we were a little disappointed with the memorial as there was very little information at the site itself.
It was lunch time by the time we had returned to Innamincka so we had a break before heading out towards Wills Memorial and Kings Marker at 2.03pm. Wills memorial was like Burkes memorial will no information at the site other than the memorial itself. Kings Marker was more appealing to us than either of the memorials were. Bruce and Maree were not travelling with us today as they had made arrangements to have the Pajero radiator repaired at the local Mechanical repair shop in Innamincka. Once back at the camping ground, we placed two yabbie nets in the Cooper Creek to see if we could catch some yabbies. After checking the nets during the evening to see that we had only caught two small fish, we put the nets back in the water hoping that we would have better luck in the morning.
Day 12
Distance travelled: 224Kms:
Wednesday 10th September 2008: After checking the yabbie nets first thing in the morning and finding another four small fish in the nets, it was decided not to leave the nets out any longer. As Sally and I were the only two who wished to visit the Coongie Lakes today, we left the others at the camp sites and headed for the lakes at 6.39am. It was a very comfortable 112Kms out to the lakes as the roads were in good repair with a grader working along the way. On our way out we saw the second of the three dingos seen on our trip. The main lake was surrounded one end by a creek water system and steep sand hills to the other end making it very diverse area to visit and to admire. Anyone who doesn’t see Coongie Lakes while in this part of the State is missing out on some very pretty scenery. Once again it was lunch time when we arrived back at Innamincka. After refuelling and a hot shower, it was back to the tents for a lazy afternoon.
Day 13
Distance travelled: 641Kms
Thursday 11th September 2008: We had light rain during the night and again while we were packing up the tents in readiness for our days travel. The rain was more of a nuisance than of any value to the area. It was 7.45am as we drove to the Trading Post before heading to the rubbish dump to dispose of our rubbish and then start heading towards Cameron Corner via the Bore Track which attracted a $10.00 fee payable to an honesty box.
We arrived at Cameron Corner at 11.15am and after visiting the corner display and the run down shop, we ate out lunch before moving towards Tibooburra. After some of us refuelling here, it was onward towards Broken Hill to find a suitable camp spot for the night. As we moved towards Broken Hill, the ground remained bare with very little to no vegetation and trees to camp around. At this point we decided to make a dash for Broken Hill and arrive there just on dusk and camp the night at one of the Caravan Parks a day ahead of our schedule. After arriving at the Broken Hill Caravan Park at 6.05pm, Kerry and I drove to the local KFC and bought out takeaway tea for the night.
Day 14
Distance travelled:534Kms
Friday 12th September 2008: After a quick visit to Bruce and Maree’s daughter’s house, we were on our final day heading for home by 8.57am. The holiday was almost over now with our entire planning paying dividend as we had the days available to us to see what we wanted to see on this trip. Bruce and Maree were still in Broken Hill to come home on a day that suited them. It was a short stop at the Oodla Wirra fruit fly Checking Station before we arrived at a Parking Bay at 1.01pm to say our final farewells to the others in our party as they were to turn and head towards Peterborough and we were to continue straight on to Adelaide.
Sally and I arrived home at 3.42pm only to start to unpack the vehicle that had been out kitchen and supply van for the last two weeks. Our vehicle was the dirtiest that it had ever been due to the wet Oodnadatta Track and the dust of the far north. I am sure the car wash attendant wasn’t all that too impressed after I had been there on the Sunday to rinse some of the dried mud off of it.
