The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 7

We woke up about 7'ish and it wasn't too chilly. After some coffee and a few Sao's for breakfast we decided to have a last minute soak in the spring. And it was an excellent way to start the day. Sometime after 9 am we headed off for Mount Dare to refuel. Parts of the road were good but the last 9 or 10 Kms into Mount Dare were pretty rocky and rough and it was hard to find a comfortable speed to drive. Fuel was expensive ($2.40 per litre) but you have to expect that out here. I needed just over 100 litres for the 580 Kms (601 km according to the gps) from Birdsville. I was quite happy with 17.4 litres per 100 km across the Simpson. 

We had a quick rest and a Magnum there before heading north along the Binns Track stopping occasionally to take photos. 

The road was mostly good but there were some patches of Bull Dust that almost swallowed the cars. We also stopped at Old Andado station for a look at the old homestead and then later we called into Mac Clark Conservation Area. 

We continued north towards Alice Springs but as the sun was going down and the dust was making it hard to see we pulled off the road and found a nice little spot to camp for the evening. There was tons of wood around so the evening camp fire was nice and warm. It wasn't too chilly but it was definitely noticeable when you walked away from the fire.

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 6

Not quite as chilly this morning but we still had a leisurely coffee and breakfast around the camp fire. We headed off around 8:30 am west along the Rigg road. The track wasn't too bad and we cruised along nicely. The road then turned northish and at one point I think I actually got up to 60 kph. At The abandoned Mokari 1 oil well we stopped and hid behind some dunes , using them as a windbreak and had some left over roast lamb wraps for lunch. 

Then it was onto towards the French Line where the traffic got bad for awhile and the road even worse. We cleared the traffic and then it was only occasional eastbound cars that got in our way. The road got a bit better as we went on and ended up stopping at Purni Bore to stretch our legs and take a few photos. 

After that the track improved significantly and parts of it were nearly Highway like as we got closer Dalhousie Springs. 

We pulled into Dalhousie Springs camping area and found a spot in the dry dusty area and immediately headed off for a soak in the warm springs. This was great after several days in the desert. We came back to the cars, setup camp, relaxed a bit and then put some air back into the tyres for the rough road to Mount Dare. The camp host came around and explained there were to be no fires and don't leave anything out as the dingos will steal it and run away with it. Sure enough before the sun had disappeared completely we had seen two dingos wandering around. We had a bit of dinner but as we were sitting around talking there was a onslaught of mozzies come to suck our blood.  So we quickly cleaned up and retreated to our screened beds for the evening.

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 5

It seemed much warmer overnight but it was still chilly getting out of bed in the morning. We had coffee and leisurely pack up, hitting the track around 8:30 am. We had about a half an hour of crappy humpy track before the turn off to Knolls Track which we head south on. The track was noticeably better and the driving much easier. We stopped to look at the Approdinna Attora Knolls and climbed up to the top and took some photos. 

We continued south down Knolls Track until it met the Rigg Road and we turned west onto it.

Not long after passing a group of eight cars with a couple caper trailers we stopped for some lunch. Then it was onto the the Lone Gum, once again stopping for some photos. 

We made camp early to set up for a roast lamb in the cap oven. On stopping I found that my fire extinguisher (which I carry in the camper) had worked it's way loose and set itself off. Luckily it was confined to a small compartment and a quick dust pan and broom cleanup had it all sorted out. 

This topped off a couple of other problems from the rough roads. They were a spillage of olive oil, which was relatively easily cleanup and the breaking of a small bottle of cumin in a plastic storage box, this box also had a bottle of lemon juice that managed to leak, so I needed a more extensive cleaning exercise for that problem. While we were whiling away some time I got the drone out and started to take some photos and videos. 

Brett was taking some product shots of his new roof top tent so we did a couple of fly arounds to get some video. Unfortunately, it went a little wild while trying to do a preprogrammed circle around the car and crashed into the back of the car. There was no damage to either the car or the drone so all was good.

PS. The roast lamb and veges done in the camp oven was sensational. There is enough left over lamb for lunch tomorrow.

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 4

It was even warmer this morning when we got up, around 4 deg C. We had a relatively slow start packing up and making use of the civilized bathroom amenities. We eventually left a bit before 9 am and headed west towards Big Red. We aired down (16 psi front and 18 psi rear for me), turned off stability control and put the sand flags up. Then climbed Bid Red without any worries. We stopped on top for a few photos and then drove off the steep side for a fun trip down.

 

Then it was off west on the QAA Line Track over the dunes, we travelled behind another car for awhile and he did all the radioing ahead as it was quite busy. The dunes weren't particularly hard except for a few scallop holes near the top and the main problem was some humps between the dunes which needed to be taken slowly. The other car eventually dropped off and we continued on with Shane up front, me in the middle and Brett coming along behind. 

Lunch was at a spot where a Shane thought was the Hay River Valley, or that's at least what his GPS told him. The traffic got less as the day wore on and we stopped for some photos by one of the salt lakes.

 I was going to put the drone up but it was too windy. We eventually turned south towards Poeppel Corner and drove along side one of the salt lakes, it was probably the smoothest section we had driven all day. We got to Poeppel Corner and eventually got to take some photos after the previous group had finished taking their million photos. Just as we were leaving a red helicopter arrived and landed so the passengers could look at the marker. 

After that, the track (French Line) went down hill badly and got very bumpy with continual small humps, although the dunes weren't as high. This was very tedious and tiring and we were lucky to average about 10 kph. We were aiming for Knolls Track but we ended up about 10 km short of it as the sun was getting low and making it hard to see the track ahead. We found a nice spot off the road with tons of fire wood and setup camp for the evening. After relaxing around the camp fire for awhile we cooked some dinner and sat around the fire until about 9 pm, when we all went to bed quite tired.

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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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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 2

It was bloody cold in the morning definitely less than zero, although I was nice and warm under a blanket and a sleeping bag, except when I needed a quick toilet break outside. I stayed in bed until I saw Shane getting the fire going and once it was roaring I ventured outside. We had a leisurely coffee and light breakfast but continued to sit around the fire for awhile. Finally we got packed up and headed off a bit before 9 am. 

We drove west towards Thargomindah and stopped briefly for a look at Lake Bindegolly but there was no water to be seen. In Thargomindah we had a quick toilet stop which turned into an early lunch when we found a food caravan setup across the road which had very decent pies and burgers. They had only been open a couple of days and didn't have proper signs yet but the food was excellent. 

We continued west but the country side was pretty boring and had a quick stop beside Cooper Creek to stretch our legs. 

The road got quite narrow in places and both Shane and Brett ended up with chips in their windscreen from passing cars. Twenty or so klms from Innamincka we stopped by a dry creek and loaded some firewood onto Shane's roof rack. 

In Innamincka there was a line up for fuel at the local store so we continued onto the camping area and found a spot for the evening. We relaxed around the fire for awhile before cooking dinner and then sitting around the fire again as the temperature dropped. 

It wasn't as chilly as the previous night but still quite cool. We headed off to bed relatively early and settled in for a good sleep.

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The Simpson and Kimberleys trip, 2018 Day 1

Got up at 5 am showered and did the final car and fridge packing. Noticed that the camper battery was pretty flat, so I put the spare AGM battery and dc2dc converter in the back footwell replacing a 10 litre Jerry of water.  Headed off just before 6 am and had a smooth run up the M1 to the Logan Motorway and then onto to Toowoomba. I stopped for brekkie at Maccas and it took them ages. As I was passing the next Maccas I noticed Brett waiting in the drive through. I got to the Bowenville Reserve camping area a bit after 9 am and met up with Shane, with Brett rolling in a little later. 

We headed west to Dalby where Brett made a quick stop at Supercheap to pick up a tyre gauge. Then after a fairly boring drive we refueled in St George and had a late lunch. Continuing west we had a few close encounters with kangaroos and emus before stopping for a quick refuel in Cunnamulla. As it was close to sundown and there were more Roos in evidence we turned off the main road and found a quiet spot to camp for the night. 

The camp fire was excellent with lots of dry wood around and we had a quick drink and a bite to eat before retiring relatively early as it was getting very chilly away from the fire.

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