7th September 2009

Today we farewelled Birdsville and started our Simpson Desert crossing.Butch led the way and after about 40mins we came across our first sand dune - Little Red.The boys deflated the tyres whilst Cath and Mel climbed to the top of the dune to take some photos.All the boys made it over the dune with no problems - dune 1 down only a few hundred to go!Next stop Big Red!We spent a bit of time playing at Big Red - the highest dune in the Simpson Desert - with all the boys making it up and over the chicken track.It took Matt a few attempts to get to the top as our vehicle was quite a bit heavier than the others but he got up there eventually.No one made it up to the top on the main track.The cars just ran out of steam and sunk about ¾ of the way up.But it was all good fun and soon enough we had to say goodbye to Big Red and continue on our way before we used up all our fuel on Big Red!

We travelled west along the French Line and it was dune after dune after dune - up and down, up and down!Four wheel driving all the way.Gee it was fun!We got stuck a few times and had to reverse up and try again.

The scenery was just beautiful!The desert consists of very red sand with a smattering of green vegetation.Every now and again we would pop over the top of a sand dune and be looking down at a green valley covered in a blanket of wild flowers.The colours and the contrasting vegetation were amazing.It really was beautiful.

We had planned to camp at Poeppel's corner - the place where Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory meet - but didn't quite get there so set up camp just of the main track before it got dark.It was quite windy today and it was hard to find a sheltered spot to camp so we parked the cars in a semi circle to try to block some of the wind.We set up out tents, which were full of sand before we finished, and decided not the put the bedding in until later.It was at this time that we realised just how soft and fine the sand of the Simpson Desert is.The boys got the camp fire going so we cooked up a nice roast in the camp oven for dinner and sat around the fire chatting and admiring the stars.It's time likes this that we realise just how lucky we are!

8th September 2009

Off we go again!We continued west along the French line - up and down, up and down - before stopping for lunch at the Knolls Track turn off.From here we turned on to Knolls Track and headed south to the Rig Road.There weren't as many sand dunes along these two tracks but it was still enjoyable none the less.We had a quick stop at the Lone Gumtree - the only gum tree that grows in the Simpson Desert - before continuing along the Rig Road and setting up camp.We had another lovely night around the camp fire before hitting the sack.

9th September 2009

We continued along the Rig Road today until it lead us back to the French Line where we followed it west until we were out of the Simpson Desert National Park.We stopped for lunch at Purni Bore before travelling to Dalhousie Springs for a quick dip in the hot springs.It was quite a warm day so we were all looking forward to a cool dip......except this was a warm dip with the swimming hole being quite warm and full of little fish that suck or nip on your feet and legs!So after a quick beer and a swim we were back on the road and headed for Mt Dare which would be our camp for the night.

The road from Dalhousie to Mt Dare was very rocky and we were extremely lucky that no one did a type or broke a window on this road.Mt Dare was a welcome site - probably because there was a pub there - and we quickly set up camp and set about relaxing.Unfortunately not long after we arrived Butch received the sad news that his father had passed away so he would be leaving us in the morning to head back to Melbourne.It was a sad end to another great day.

10th September 2009

Our group is now down to 5 - Matt, Mel, Ged, Cath and Andy.After getting our car looked over by a mechanic - the front diff was leaking - we hit the road headed for Alice Springs.We decided to follow the Old Ghan track (the path of the original railway line from Adelaide to Alice Springs) with our first stop being the Lamberts Centre of Australia - the geographical centre of Australia - from there we backtracked to Finke, which was an eye opening experience as it was the first Aboriginal community that Ged, Cath and Andy had been to.Matt and I had been to Hermannsburg in NT earlier on but it was nothing compared to Finke - there was rubbish and mangy dogs everywhere and really wasn't a very nice looking place. Quite sad really.From Finke we continued north along the Old Ghan track where we had to doge the old railway spikes lying randomly along the track as well as be careful to stay on the road and not end up on the Finke Desert Race Track which paralleled the road.At one point we noticed that the road had gotten really bumpy and discovered that we were actually driving along the race track - the signage at the last corner was a bit confusing!

In the early afternoon we arrived at Maryvale Station and stopped off at the store for an ice-cream before continuing on to Chambers Pillar where we planned to camp for the night.We finished setting up camp and went for a walk to watch the sunset on Chambers Pillar - it was beautiful!The colours were amazing and it was a lovely walk and a lovely evening - well worth the long, rough drive in.

Tonight is our last night camping with Ged, Cath and Andy.Although we will spend a few more days together we won't be camping.So in honour of our last camp night and to celebrate our great trip from Birdsville to Alice Springs - the boys cooked dinner and did the dishes while Cath and Mel sat by the camp fire drinking wine!What a great night at one of our favourite campsites so far!

11th September 2009

Hello again Alice Springs!

We decided we wanted to spoil ourselves a bit while in Alice so checked in to an apartment for our few days here.After checking in we did a quick tour of town and a bit of shopping before heading home for a quick dip in the spa.Then it was out to dinner and back to the apartment for a few drinks.

12th September 2009

Another quiet day in Alice, a bit more shopping before heading to the casino for dinner and a few drinks.

13th September 2009

Goodbye Ged, Cath and Andy!Thanks for being such great travel mates.

A hangover day for Matt today.Another night in Alice for us.