Simpson Desert (West to East)

The tour will link up in Coober Pedy and get to know each other over dinner at a local restaurant.

As we leave town, we will make a small detour to see the Breakaways, Moon Plain and the dog fence before continuing to Oodnadatta. The Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta is the last fuel before Birdsville.

We will visit the ruins of Dalhousie homestead before arriving at a true desert oasis, Dalhousie Springs, where we will soak in the 37 degree water of this artesian spring and watch the first of several spectacular desert sunsets.

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

A bonus of doing the crossing west to east is that we have consumed much of our water, food and fuel so our vehicles are lighter as we take on the iconic “Big Red” sand dune before arriving in Birdsville.

The tour will link up in Coober Pedy at 4:00pm on Day 1, where you will receive a brief on the tour before we start to get to know each other over dinner. We will depart Coober Pedy on the morning of Day 2, so if you would like to take the opportunity see some of Coober Pedy’s highlights before the tour starts, we suggest arriving a day or two earlier. As we head out of Coober Pedy we will make a small detour to see The Breakaways, Moon Plain and the dog fence before continuing to Oodnadatta. The Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta is the last fuel before Birdsville, so we will top up our tanks and grab a bite to eat. After lunch we will make our way along the edge of the tiny Pedirka Desert, visit some relics of the old Ghan railway and the ruins of the Dalhousie homestead, before arriving at a true desert oasis on the western edge of the Simpson Desert, Dalhousie Springs. This is our camp for the night, so we will soak in the 37 degrees water of this artesian spring and watch the first of several spectacular desert sunsets.

Over the next five days we will make our way east across the desert. West to east is typically regarded as the easier direction as the prevailing westerly winds make for a more gentle upslope on the western side of the dunes. Our route across the 1,140 or so sand dunes will expose you to several desert tracks including the French Line, WAA Line, Rig Road and QAA Line. At the end of each day’s travel, we will relax with a cold drink and socialise around a campfire (providing our own firewood). You will see the sand colour change from deep red in the west to some areas of almost white in the east. There will be a huge variety of birds and lizards to spot, and plenty of sign of dingoes and camels - although seeing them can be more of a challenge. We will visit Poeppel Corner where South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory meet, and take on the iconic “Big Red” (Nappanerica). The largest dune at some 40m tall, Big Red is the symbolic eastern edge of the Simpson and a bucket list challenge for any 4WD enthusiast.

The tour will arrive in Birdsville by 5:00pm on Day 7 and conclude with a group dinner at the iconic Birdsville Hotel where we will relive our adventure and farewell new friends. A camp site at the Birdsville Tourist Park on this final night is included in your tour price.

• Sun 7 - Sat 13 September 2025: book by 10 August 2025