Driving the Simpson Desert a challenge and a joy
I was always sceptical about a trip to South Australia’s Simpson Desert. How interesting could sand dune after sand dune possibly be?
I was always sceptical about a trip to South Australia’s Simpson Desert. How interesting could sand dune after sand dune possibly be? But from the moment we started, I knew I’d be obsessed with the desert.
Even as someone who isn’t huge on the whole camping thing, I wouldn’t do it any other way. In fact, the camping was the highlight. You pull over wherever you decide to end your day and set up. The sunset colours are spectacular over the red sand and undisturbed sky. Then, by a campfire, watch the moon and the stars rise.
With no TV or internet, it’s early to bed and up to watch the equally alluring sunrise. On multiple mornings we woke to dingoes on the dunes around us.
We did the Simpson Desert from east to west, a direction generally considered harder because of the way the wind pushes the sand to create a steeper side on the west. We left Birdsville with a group of eight cars. We came out the other side with only four. The desert should not be underestimated.
I had expected it to look similar to the Sahara, without a single tree, just great untouched dunes. But there were beautiful desert shrubs and tiny, winsome flowers and the track was pretty well dug out. Since it is a single track with drivers going in opposite directions, you rely mostly on your radio to know where others are. It’s essential to learn how the system works. Announcing you are just “cresting” over a dune without saying where is unhelpful to oncoming traffic.
We finished at Dalhousie Springs, a much-deserved rest spot where night swims under the stars are amazing. Well worth a drop-in after an adventure that was not at all monotonous. If nothing else, the Australian desert will give you so much respect for those who were there before you.
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