no services are available between mt dare and birdsville. Day 19 - Birdsville to Innamincka via Walkers Crossing Track. Wandered amongst the tough little stunted trees that morning and admired their tenacity. A few groups tended to get on the UHF too much with pointless chatter, which is annoying because you need to all be on one channel for safety. Have I mentioned how awesome this all is. Note the red dots on the map for approximate camp site locations. Days 20 and 21 - 1372km home via overnight stop in Eulo. Most of the drone images are frames taken from video but it can also take high res photos too. You can see in the photo below the lack of distinct tyre tracks suggesting two or three days since the last vehicle had passed through. This time we took the direct route through to Oodnadatta camping at Arckaringa creek where there is plenty of fire wood. Jump to Latest Follow We finally had some traffic, just one vehicle travelling solo coming the other way who indicated that things were a lot busier up on the French Line. The drone is just amazing sometimes, especially to get a sense of the landscape in which you are a tiny speck. Day 17 - Knolls Track camp to QAA camp via French Line & Poeppel Corner. Walkers Crossing Track starts off traversing some of the wide open gibber rock plains that look like something straight from Mars. For this day, our 4th full day on the crossing, we wanted to ideally to get through Poeppel Corner and out to the QAA Line, which we knew from the first crossing would set us up well for the following day into Birdsville. The Rig Road had once been properly formed to allow access for trucks and drilling rigs but since the abandonment of the wells it has tended to revert to a more natural state. The following are links to Members' Blogs that contain the words Simpson Desert French Line. Just east of the corner, the French Line diverts north once it hits the 20km long salt pan we crossed on the second day of our earlier crossing. There was constant chatter on the UHF, which was jarring after days of just us and the dune faces were in pretty poor condition. Alice Springs (2 nights) Had to mark the occasion of official desert entry with a photo at the sign, although in reality we had been in a desert environment for many days already including the Old Andado Track. A vehicle recovery service is based at Birdsville and Mt Dare. Statistics for the desert crossing: Mt Dare to Birdsville 603km and 99 litres used for an average of 16.4 L/100km We both expected the desert to be a much more homogeneous landscape and that the joy would be in the accomplishment more than anything. MOUNT DARE HOTEL. You will need a … Once we start the crossing there will be limited help. MUST READ: You are strongly encouraged to read the following articles prepared by the knowledge experts at ExplorOz for your safety and preparation before undertaking any published ExplorOz Trek -. From AUD AU$4,995.00 . There is no fuel between Birdsville and Mount Dare (70km west of Dalhousie); driving in soft sand increases fuel consumption by almost 50 per cent in … You are currently missing out on so much! Desert crossing (4 nights) Usage is averaged from recorded data (* specific to this trek) and calculated based on trek distance. Be aware that this doesn't include maps or text just the route line. Towing a camper trailer with any dual-cab Ute can have dire … Day 14 - Mt Dare to camp beside Rig Road. This clear vinyl sticker with white or black lettering "www.ExplorOz.com" is designed to fit any size vehicle windscreen, rear window,... As a Business Member you can present yourself on ExplorOz with your Business Name in your Screen Name,... Suits beer, soft drink or water bottles. Sleeping out under the stars was awesome. This is in the running for worst road sign ever. We certainly got what was on the tin. The Birdsville Track was in very good condition with only a few corrugated sections and we made good progress down to the turn-off. But there we were out amongst it like a bunch of crazy botanists, albeit ones who didn't know the names of any of the plants. As good as it is to see Eyre Creek, cresting a dune to see Big Red is something else entirely because it means that you have made it .... so long as you can get up there. Having said that, the scenery was still pretty spectacular and we stopped on top of a couple of the biggest dunes to take it in. This morning we had perfect light for photos, where the orange sand glowed. Desert crossing (3 nights) Here's the intersection where we headed south on the Rig Road to get to the WAA Line. Had originally planned the return as three days but was feeling pretty good so pushed all the way home (approx 850km) on the second day. A Desert Parks Pass is required to cross the Simpson Desert. This was one of the best day's driving on a 4WD trip I've ever experienced, so much variation between the dune crossing on the WAA and tracking along dune tops on the Knolls. Fuel consumption for the 920 kilometres between Mount Dare and Birdsville … This track can be very corrugated . We are at a cross road for travellers, visit Ayers Rock (Uluru) to the west, Alice Springs to the north, Queensland via the Simpson to the east and the Oodnadatta track and the Flinders Rangers to the south. We retraced our detour to the Lone Gum bck up to finish the last 30km of the WAA Line and you can see why the pace is slow; the relatively natural and undamaged track still has lots of up/down through the relatively broken ground between dunes, which contrasts to other areas of the desert where the interdune zone is wide and almost dead flat. Well not quite straight because we planned to divert south to the WAA Line. Next time we're passing through I think we'll stay at the hotel too, it has a good vibe and is well organised. After a while the track turned east again and we started to look for a camp site. And then we were there; lots of people having a swim but this didn't seem to phase the cockys too much (look closely at the trees). 15psi and I was up the top before you could say I wonder if he'll get stuck. There was quite a few sites that had seen previous camps and we settled in to a small bowl-like area nestled between small dunes to get out of the wind a little. Distances are often calculated from either Mt Dare Homestead or Oodnadatta because they are your last stops for fuel (diesel and petrol), water, a telephone and your last chance for supplies (although very limited). Mt. It will take 3 days to travel the 600 kilometres between Birdsville and Mt Dare. But we did have a nice time watching the sun go down, even though the flies were the most annoying for the entire trip. The first few miles had us all wishing we were back on the WAA. It is lucky we actually stopped and had a closer look because from a distance it was just a few scrawny bushes. 106 km Note to self for next time, overnight in Cunnamulla it's a great little town. This Simpson Desert crossing from East to West, via the QAA Line and the French Track, was 530 km from Birdsville to Mt Dare and was part of a 15,000 km trip taken from Noosa (QLD) to Broome (WA) via the Simpson Desert and Tanami Track, Gibb River Rd., Gulf Track and back to Noosa. To be honest I could have kept going for a few more days it was such good fun. We had to stop not long after Dalhousie to fix an issue with the Defender's rear door. Eyre Creek is one of the major rivers that feed lake Eyre. Happy to have made it and even talking about going again sometime. So Mt Dare to Birdsville via the rig rd, knolls track, french line, the corner and through to Birdsville. With camp setup all that was left was to settle in & enjoy the afternoon and evening. Mt Dare Accommodation - Mt Dare Hotel. The going was pretty slow thanks to lots of offset wombat holes in the track churned up by too much traffic but the scenery was starting to look better. The route crosses the dunes at right angles and there's about 1200 of them in all. The trip across the French Line from Dalhousie to Birdsville is regularly done by tourists with just 2 to 3 camp stops. The French Line (or shot line as it's called) is the shortest and most direct route across the Simpson. Its nearest neighbour is Finke, along a 105km 4WD track that can only be described as shocking. Day 15 - Rig Road camp to Lone Gum camp. There was even a convenient pile of dead wood ready for a fire. The Mount Dare pub opening weekend. Between Birdsville on the east and Mt Dare on the west, there are roughly 1,100 sand dunes, the biggest being the legendary ‘Big Red’, the closest sand dune to Birdsville. It … Dare to Birdsville. There would not be a better loaf of old fashioned traditional white bread anywhere, so we always get one. RouteID: 33: Map. Strange consistency to the crust; soft and crunchy. Poeppel Corner marks the third and final state border corner for us with two on this trip and Cameron Corner two years ago. The diversity of plants on the edge of the salt pan was amazing considering how harsh the environment is in which they grow. Note the lack of vehicle tracks in this photo taken before we passed them. Found a great spot amongst the trees and setup for our final night in the desert. Designed to stimulate conversation about where you've travelled,... Get the ExplorOz Traveller app and you can download all ExplorOz Places, Treks & EOTopo offline maps to use in your smartphone, tablet, iPad, or laptop - CLICK HERE. We love the subtle beauty of the different desert wattles and there was now some in full bloom that hadn't been only two weeks previous. All that was left – OK, after playing on Big Red for a while – was to roll into Birdsville for some brews. The cost for a "Desert Parks Pass" is $150 per vehicle; this is valid for one year and can be used for all Desert Parks in South Australia, they can be renewed at a discounted rate for an additional 3 years consecutively. This is the beauty of allowing five full days for Mt Dare > Birdsville, a leisurely pace. The Finke Desert Race trip takes riders from Birdsville to Alice Springs, crossing one of Australia’s greatest deserts. We got to the 15 Mile Track, from where you find all the camp sites on the Cooper Creek, at around 4pm. Simpson Desert. The 18km run south to the Lone Gum is along the Erebana Track down a wide swale between dunes and was relatively fast but it was now late in the day so rather than head back up to the WAA we decided to find a camp nearby. Mt Dare to Birdsville across the desert is approximately 510km. Mt Dare Hotel is ideally situated on the Western edge of the Simpson Desert just 10km south of the Northern Territory border. Anyway we stopped a few times on the bigger dunes and had lunch under a tree between dunes and any day you can do that is a good day. Eventually found a good spot nestled down between two dunes that were relatively close together. Besides myself and Bruce were the entertainment!! From the north, via Mt Dare; From the south, via the Oodnadatta Track through Hamilton Station and Bloods Creek; From the east, via the French Line/Simpson Desert; The most popular way in to the springs is from Mt Dare Station. And then we were there, back in Birdsville. Day 18 - QAA camp to Birdsville. On the Western edge of the Simpson Desert, Outback SA. 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The track crossed or skirted a couple of these salt pans and we stopped in the middle of one for a closer look at the surreal landscape. It can be done in 5 days though like all these desert routes, it pays to plan for an extra few in the case of bad conditions, slower than usual drives and the odd recovery. Both myself and Bruce are or were […] Please note: driving distances given in the tables below are only approximately.Every time when I plan a trip to Australia I go crazy because diverse maps and sources always come up with different numbers. The sunset was not as flashy as when there's clouds but was still pretty amazing to see the deep colours and the sliver of the waning moon. The overall sense of calm and quiet is difficult to explain. One that had blown onto the track came home with us and now takes pride of place as centre-piece on the table on our deck. You can just make out the intersection up ahead with the turn off to Lone Gum. Old Andado Track to Mt Dare However, we started to notice sandy ground and slight dunes as we got closer to Purni and the excitement levels went up a bit. It's a strange sight to see a forest in the desert and you can tell it would be a major water course when in flood. Sometime that morning one of the few dingos to be seen on the trip was spotted. One of the best trips we have done. Simpson Desert Crossing Alice Springs to Mt Dare Dalhousie Birdsville Boulia Alice Springs 9 days. These were relatively uneventful days travelling through some very harsh, dry country. Tonight, we are about as in the middle of nowhere as you can get anywhere on earth.... Today we start the morning with jaffles (toasted sandwiches). After having traveled the Simpson twice from Mount Dare to Birdsville and the Canning Stock Route as well as many other remote tracks the Madigan Line may be the next treck on my list. The going was pretty slow thanks to lots of offset wombat holes in the track churned up by too much traffic but the scenery was starting to look better. Plenty Highway including night at Gemtree If you haven’t done it, do the detour via the painted desert its worth a look. We lowered tyre pressure to something more appropriate for sand and got into the swing of it; and getting that feeling of "now I'm really doing it" very strongly. And my, how we enjoyed them: just as CT Madigan did at his ‘Camp 25’ – the Birdsville Hotel. http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Park_Entry_Fees/Parks_Passes, To purchase our maps for offline use, you will need to purchase an. Better done in winter as it\'s cooler and no flying pests. The Real Outback - Oodnadatta Track (Leigh Creek to Mt Dare). There is also plenty of tight turns to weave around outcrops and erosion channels. We also came across many small animal footprints and tracks; plenty of dingo but also small marsupials and lizards that would probably be blown over in a couple of hours. All up 620kms and we had 4 vehicles in our group. We camped at Ski Beach but couldn't get the best creek bank sites due to other groups already settled in. In this third part we cross the desert west to east via some of the iconic 4WD tracks. The bore itself is pretty desolate but does support wildlife without draining the artesian well now that its flow rate is managed. Distance is based on the travel mode shown (Driving, Straight, Cycling, Walking etc), Direction is straight line from start to end, Avg Speed & EST Time is calculated from GPS data. After that it was not too long before we were back at the French Line with about 40km of dune crossing to get to Poeppel Corner. The salt pan they overlook is called Lake Tamblyn. Fuel usage was about 125L on average. The culmination of so much planning and setup and day dreaming. From other directions, driving tourists are able to bring caravans, Winnebagos and campervans to the caravan-friendly town. 3 talking about this. Frustratingly, the track surface is obviously churned up by vehicles that have struggled on dunes that to be honest are not difficult at all. Dare, on the western edge of the Witjira National Park, features one of the most remote hotels in Australia, the Mt. This is the real deal. The last full day of driving in the desert was mostly enjoyable but still with a few yawing and pitching sessions up dune faces. Mt Dare Hotel, Mount Dare: See 63 traveller reviews, 32 candid photos, and great deals for Mt Dare Hotel, ranked #1 of 1 B&B / inn in Mount Dare and rated 3.5 of 5 at Tripadvisor. ! This is usually the time of lowest wind and soft, golden light and we never failed to see beautiful little details or just enjoy the desert. Not a Member? Doesn't follow the treknotes route. WITJIRA NATIONAL PARK TOURS Mt. It's not difficult or technical driving but concentration is required and I found an enjoyable rhythm to it. Also, there are often several routes to choose from, hence the … Bolts from one of the hinges had disappeared and a roof rack mount had come loose. Alternatively, if you already have another raster mapping software program (or an HN7 device) you can try downloading the route line data files via the Download Trek button shown below the map on this page (OR purchase EOTreks Route Files). Also I really enjoyed stopping on top of the larger dunes; the view into the distance was really something especially the way the little track disappears into nothing. We lowered tyre pressure to something more appropriate for sand and got into the swing of it; and getting that feeling of, Statistics for the desert crossing: Mt Dare to Birdsville. Probably could have done the same on the way out but I don't really like driving too long in a day and really prefer to avoid being on the road after 4pm anywhere there's a high risk of wildlife encounters. Dare is Join the ExplorOz community from just $49.95 (12 month Personal subscription) - CLICK HERE. 603km and 99 litres used for an average of 16.4 L/100km The turn off to Mt Dare is at Coober Pedy Via Oodnadatta. There is no fuel available across the desert. How's the serenity when there's a dozen touring motorbikes there at the same time. You will only get unleaded at each of these places. If you don’t have that much fuel capacity on board then you can fill up at Mt Dare. 66km Fuel For Mt Dare To Birdsville In ZD30 via Desert? The Knolls Track is named for the Approdino Attore Knolls. In the end that plan worked out well. We still had Walkers Crossing down to Innamincka to come but the feeling of achievement at dinner that night was something you don't get too often. In this map you can see where the WAA Line intersects Knolls Track and where we turned north. Anyway all fixed after a little work and no further issues were experienced for the whole trip. Get the full ExplorOz experience when you become a Member. Duration: 9 Days (approx.) Trips, Touring and Treks. Mt Dare Hotel is ideally situated on the Western edge of the Simpson Desert just 10km south of the Northern Territory border. One thing that had intrigued us since the first desert crossing was these small dead bushes that grew in clusters. This was its first trip and I'm still getting used to it. Birdsville > Innamincka Embed this Map This option provides html code for webmasters who would like to embed this Trek map or Image into their own website. This one looked the healthiest, wandering along and then pausing photogenically on the crest of a dune. It made us think of Harry Potter broomsticks and perhaps they would be grown in farms. Most of the track is pretty harsh, flat country but there was a lovely section through low dunes that looked spectacular thanks to the yellow wild flowers covering some slopes. It was however easier driving than the lines that head straight over dunes. To read from the start go to Part 1 or YouTube. But there's more than that; it is a variable, beautiful, harsh and epic place that is a joy in itself as much as an accomplishment to cross through. We crossed the Simpson Desert from Mt Dare in the west to Birdsville in the east via the Frenchman’s Track, WAA Line, The Rig Road, Knolls Track and the QAA line. The Mount Dare Hotel, rebuilt in 2006, wins as the most isolated hotel in Australia (sorry about that, Mungerannie and William Creek). They are just small flat-topped outcrops that would otherwise be unremarkable but in the extremely flat landscape of the desert they stand out and the view from the top is pretty good. Mt Dare to Birdsville via French Line, Rig Rd, WAA, Knolls Track and QAA Line. We took it steady being careful to avoid the larger rocks and heavily rutted sections where people had clearly been caught by wet ground at some point. 139km You are correct, no BP between. What looks like and from a distance actually is a straight line still requires a lot of navigation around small scale obstacles so the pace was pretty slow but it was really enjoyable. I had understood that it was a closed track and had not planned totraverse it but after reading your report I am now keen to include it on my next venture into the Great Aussie Outback. Dalhousie Springs to Spring Creek Delta Bypass, Spring Creek Delta Bypass to Freeth Junction, Freeth Junction to French Line & Alka Seltzer Bore Access, French Line & Alka Seltzer Bore Access to Purnie Bore, French Line & Rig Road to French Line & Colson Tk, French Line & Colson Tk to French Line & Erabena Tk, French Line & Erabena Tk to French Line & Knolls Tk, French Line & Knolls Tk to French Line & Thomas Track, French Line & Thomas Track to Poeppel Corner, Poeppel Corner to QAA Line & French Line Access, QAA Line & French Line Access to QAA Line & K1 Line, QAA Line & K1 Line to Narrow-leafed Hop Bush, QAA Line, Narrow-leafed Hop Bush, QAA Line to Gypcrete Interdunes, QAA Line, Gypcrete Interdunes, QAA Line to Salt Bush Flats, QAA Line, Salt Bush Flats, QAA Line to Georgina Gidgee Interdunes, QAA Line, Georgina Gidgee Interdunes, QAA Line to Spinifex Dune, QAA Line, Spinifex Dune, QAA Line to Simpson Desert NP East Boundary, Simpson Desert NP East Boundary to QAA Line & Annandale Ruins Access, QAA Line & Annandale Ruins Access to Eyre Creek, QAA Line. But first our morning walk on and around the dune near camp & breakfast. Earlier in the trip Jill and I had started a morning ritual to wander the dunes nearby camp on first getting up, even before the coffee making started. It seems the good people from the Hema map patrol were camping behind our nearest dune.... Get a Membership account to gain access to a wider range of services offered by this website, featuring:-BlogsDiscounts from our ShopGPX ... Our covers are of a premium quality printed using 3 year UV rated inks and vinyls for excellent durability and long life.... ExplorOz Tracker is an online tracking service exclusive to ExplorOz Members (see Membership Subscription).... NOW ON SALE - PENDING RELEASE OF 2021 COMING SOON. Did it twice to make sure we had good footage. There's no others for hundreds of kilometres and apparently not much is known about its age or origin. However we did notice a sapling growing right next to it so conditions must have been reasonably good. Cresting a dune to see Eyre Creek is a pretty special moment. All of us had been to Innamincka a couple of times but none had taken the Walkers Crossing Track. Bridsville to Innaminka via Walkers Crossing is a relative easy drive for a high clearance 4wd. Sheep were the initial mainstay of pastoralism, but the focus shifted to cattle by the turn of the century. The next section through to Purni Bore was relatively uneventful with the track and scenery being pretty flat. Ep.47 ROADTRIP AUSTRALIA - YouTube. Dare is approx. This is also the northern edge of an area of the desert that contains a myriad of salt pans and mud flats to the south. We went via the Blood Creek ruins just for something different and some sections were nice but mostly it was annoying corrugations or stony gibber sections. Chambers Pillar I had excellent toast for the next week. 360 km. Day 16 - Lone Gum to Knolls Track camp. Statistics for the desert crossing: Mt Dare to Birdsville The Simpson is larger than you think and split across multiple national parks, regional reserve and conservation park as well as private pastoral land and indigenous land holdings. Become a Lifetime Member of ExplorOz and you'll never have to renew your membership again!