Simpson Desert (East to West)

The tour group will link up in Birdsville and get to know each other over dinner at the Birdsville Hotel. We will head out of Birdsville straight to the iconic “Big Red” sand dune. A bucket list challenge for any 4WD enthusiast, it will be made more difficult as our vehicles are fully laden with fuel, food and water.

The tour includes four desert camps as we make our way west across the desert. Our route across the 1,140 or so sand dunes will take us to Poeppel Corner and expose you to several desert tracks including the QAA Line, French Line, WAA Line, and Rig Road.

A bonus of doing the crossing east to west is that we can wash off the desert dust by soaking in the 37 degrees water at a true desert oasis, Dalhousie Springs. Can you think of anything better?

Another bonus of the east to west tour is that after the crossing, the tour isn’t over. As we make our way to Alice Springs, we will take a small detour to find the geographical centre of Australia, watch the changing colours as the sun sets on Chambers Pillar, visit galleries of ancient indigenous rock carvings, and see some relics of the old Ghan railway.

The tour group will link up in Birdsville by 4:00pm on Day 1. After topping up fuel tanks, we will get to know each other over dinner at the Birdsville Hotel. We will depart Birdsville in the morning of Day 2, so if you would like to take the opportunity to see some of the highlights around Birdsville before the tour starts we suggest arriving a day or two early.

We will head out Birdsville straight to the iconic “Big Red” (Nappanerica). This is the largest dune of the desert at some 40m tall, and the symbolic eastern edge of the Simpson. A bucket list challenge for any 4WD enthusiast, it will be made more difficult as our vehicles are fully laden with fuel, food and water. After taking on Big Red, we will make our way west across the desert. East to west is typically regarded as the more testing direction as the prevailing westerly winds make for a steeper upslope on the eastern side of the dunes. The steeper eastern approaches to the dunes will add to the challenge of crossing the Simpson, and our aim is not to damage the track for those after us. Our route across the 1,140 or so sand dunes will expose you to several tracks including the QAA Line, French Line, WAA Line, and Rig Road. At the end of each day’s travel, we will relax with a cold drink around a campfire (providing our own firewood). We will visit Poeppel Corner where South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory meet, and you will see areas of almost white sand in the east change to the well-known deep outback red in the west. We will see more sign of dingoes and camels than we see the animals themselves, but we will spot a huge variety of birds, lizards and other wildlife.

At the western edge of the Simpson, we will camp at a true desert oasis, Dalhousie Springs, where we can wash off the desert dust by soaking in the 37 degrees water of this artesian spring while watching another spectacular desert sunset. Can you think of anything better? After reluctantly dragging ourselves away from the springs, we will head to the Mt Dare Hotel to refuel vehicles and grab a bite to eat. As we make our way to Alice Springs, we will take a small detour to find the geographical centre of Australia, watch the changing colours as the sun sets on Chambers Pillar, visit galleries of ancient indigenous rock carvings, and see some relics of the old Ghan railway.

The tour will arrive at the release point in Alice Springs by 2:00pm on Day 9, so you will have plenty of time to settle into your chosen accommodation.

Having completed this tour, why not see one the hidden gems near Alice Springs with our three-day of the little known Finke Gorge. Highlights of the tour include Palm Valley with its red gorges, desert palm trees, cycads and spring-fed pools; and the remote Finke Gorge 4WD track which follows the Finke River bed and its picturesque waterholes. Then, if you want to take your Simpson Desert crossings to the next level, or simply need to return to Birdsville as part of your journey home, why not book a spot on our Madigan Line tour across the north Simpson Desert.

2024:

• Mon 16 - Tue 24 September 2024: book by 19 August 2024

2025:

• Thu 20 - Fri 28 March 2025: book by 21 February 2025

• Mon 15 - Tue 23 September 2025: book by 18 August 2025