Simpson Desert Crossing. Sept 2020
What an awesome trip! So many fantastic memories. 7000 kms, much of it offroad, 21 nights.
Here are a few of my personal recollections:
From our first night at Widgiemooltha Tavern not getting much sleep due to all the roadtrains passing in the night. Waking up to my tent flapping open with the rain coming in.
Googs track from Ceduna to Mt. Finke was one of my favourite tracks with lots of windy, soft, sand dunes and a nice lunch spot at the lake.
Coober Pedy was interesting with horizontal rain as we drove in, visiting underground churches, a working Opal mine and a crashed spaceship just to name a few.
The Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta as well as the pink truck, pink Volvo and even pink canoes.
Dalhousie Springs with its 38 degree natural bathtub and tiny fish that nibble at your feet.
3 nights crossing the Simpson, 1200 sand dunes, being watched by a camel as we played frisbee, a dust storm almost blowing us away on the second night and dingo prints all over the campsite. Climbing Big Red and having a BBQ on the top, meeting Grant Denyer at the Birdsville Tavern.
Lots of Interesting Outback pubs including Mt. Dare, Birdsville and Mungeranie where they seem to decorate the ceilings with all sorts of nick nacks including hats, shirts, stubbie coolers, footy jumpers, old pictures, number plates, badges, bras, nickers, flags, beer cans, helmets, thongs, cow horns etc.
Maree was interesting looking at the old train station and trains and other historical things from its heyday as a major railway town for the Ghan in the late 1800’s.
Farina was a fantastic stop to check out this real outback Ghost Town, with its many ruins and its underground bakery that is still in use but wasn’t open when we went.
The flinders Ranges were absolutely stunning, including Razorback lookout and Wilpena Pound. We stayed at Willow Springs Station and did their 79km 4WD Skytrek track that took over 8hrs to complete.
On the way back along the Nullarbor we stopped at the Head of the Bite and saw a mother Humpback whale and her calf right close to the shore!
What I really enjoyed the most was travelling with the crew from All Tracks. Everyone is very friendly and always very helpful. Some of these places are very remote and travelling in a group like this makes it much less daunting as you know there is always help if you need it. The jokes and humour keeps you going especially on the long drives. So thankyou everyone involved in making this a wonderful trip!
Story by Keith.
