The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 3

It wasn't as chilly this morning, only about -1 deg C. We were up relatively early, had some coffee and a light breakfast before heading up to refuel at the Innamincka General Store. The timing was perfect as three of us had a bowser each, no waiting. Shane and Brett then got their Desert Parks Passes and we headed off towards Walkers Crossing as the was no sign saying road closed. However about 13 km down the road, just past the last camping area the road was indeed closed. So back to Innamincka where a quick chat to the General Store people suggested our only real option was to go north to Birdsville and cross the Simpson Desert from there. We had wanted to avoid that as there still may have been crowds from the Big Red Bash a couple of days ago. 

So we headed up the Cordillo Downs road and certainly saw a few more vehicles than we would normally have expected. The road was rough and sandy in patches but we could generally do 70-80 km per hour so it wasn't too bad. There were several washed out and wet patches that kept us on our toes. We stopped in at Cordillo Downs Station and made some lunch and had a look at the old shearing shed. 

Then we continued north finding a poor dead Prado sitting on the wrong side of the road with its front drivers side suspension completely broken. No one was there, so they must have got a lift to civilization. 

Further on we stopped into the Cadelga Outstation ruins for a quick look and took a few photos. 

At this stage we were separated by a couple of Kms on the road as the dust wasn't settling at all quickly. 

Once we crossed the border into Queensland the road immediately improved and we could cruise at 90-100 kph. The dust was still a pain and we were probably further apart on the road. Then a good run in on the Birdsville Development Road saw us in Birdsville around 5 pm. We decided to stay at the caravan park in town so we could avail ourselves of the hot showers and flushing amenities. Nearly all the crowd from last week had cleared so we got a nice spot by the billabong. 

We also refueled as there was no lines, this way we can head out first thing in the morning. Brett and Shane went off to the pub for dinner but I stayed back at camp resting up. It was another cool very clear evening and it got colder as the night went on. 

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