Perth to Adelaide ..... 2'700 km ..... 5 days .....
Colours ...
Endless roads .....
Simpson Desert Roundtrip
The team:
Margaret & Peter in
OKA196
Gioia & David in a rented Toyota Troopy
us in OKANT01
Getting ready for the trip .... 4 weeks of supplies ....
Ready to roll ...?
1. night spot ..... Hancock's lookout ...... at sunset ......
.... in the morning ....
On the way north .....
Not much space for food and water here .....
Roxby Downs
(photo: P&M)
2. night spot ..... north of Roxby Downs ....
(photo: P&M)
Reaching the Oodnadatta track.....
.... photographer missing ......
... much better ....
Mount springs .....
... some hard-core cyclists .....
... some more dust .....
The weather does not look good ....
..... ups ......
3. night spot ..... Algebuckina Bridge .... a few rain drops during the night .....
Oodnadatta ...
... the pink roadhouse ..... last fuel .... and a new tyre .....
Will the rain catch up with us .....?
The first bull dust .....
4. night spot ..... Dalhousie Springs .....
(photo: P&M)
Some visitors .....
Dalhousie Springs ..... water temperature between 32 - 42 °C .....
(photo: P&M)
... life is hard .....
.... sun downer .....
... with some unwanted visitors ..... flies!!!!!!!
5. night spot ..... Dalhousie Springs .....
Towards Purni Bore ....
The first sand ....
Can be nasty if wet!
The first few dunes ...
... and its flora .....
... and fauna ...
The wetland has dried out ....
6. night spot ..... Purni Bore ...
... and another great sunset .....
We have reached the beginning of our adventure!
Hmmmm ....
... this makes a bit more sense ...
The first few dunes are easy ...
... then the OKAs have to lower their tyre pressure a bit more ....
Dune after dune ....
There are still some flowers left from the recent rains.
7. night spot ..... Colson Track / WAA Line ......
Now it gets serious!
(photo: P&M)
Sometimes it takes a bit more to cross the dunes .....
The axle sometime sinks down to the diff
in the extreme soft sand.
(photo: P&M)
... digging .....
.... snatching ....
.... not only for us .....
Idiots! As if it would decompose!
The good, the bad and the ugly .....
Radio announcement: "One Dingo and 3 vehicles heading east ....."
Another change in weather ....?
8. night spot ..... WAA Line ....
Beautiful weather again!
(photo: P&M)
... flies!!!!
Some repairs .....
(photo: P&M)
... has been bent upwards by 30° ...
Peter doing serious welding job ...
(photo: P&M)
Well done Peter! This will last for ever!
9. night spot ..... The Knolls ....
FLIES!!!!!!!!
Western Brown Snake .... very pretty ... quite dangerous ....
10. night spot ..... The Knolls ....
On the French Line now ....
The wind has blown the sand from the east in recent weeks making the crest of the dunes steep and very soft.
(photo: P&M)
The dunes are getting steeper and higher ....
We need a snatch .....
... every so often ....
Poeppel corner ...
11. night spot ..... QAA .... one tyre catches a nail ....
(photo: P&M)
Lucky! It did not go through!
Dingo ...
Lucky it is not wet anymore!
We are back on the main track .... traffic ....
... more traffic ....
Is he training for the Finke Desert Race .....?
(photo: P&M)
Dune after dune after dune .....
12. night spot ..... QAA Line .... Eyre Creek ....
The last few high dunes ...
(photo: P&M)
Finally: The Big Red!!
(photo: P&M)
View down from the Big Red
On top of Big Red ....
We did it!!!
... hmmmm .... they did it .....
The great team ....
Population: 115 (+/- 7000) ... love it!
 
Make sure no flies come in!!!!!!
The Birdsville Rodeo is on!
13. night spot ..... Birdsville ...
The Birdsville Track .....
Another hard-core cyclist ....
Walkers Crossing ..... Gibber plains ..... floating trees ....?
No, there is no lake out there! .... mirroring ... (fata morgana)
One can virtually see the curving of the earth!
No more need for the snatch strap!
14. night spot ..... Walkers Crossing ...
Technical problems .....
Bull dust .....
Innamincka ....
Looks good .....
..... yummy ....
.... tastes good too!!
Well deserved!
Mumba gas field ....
15. night spot ..... Klaus Bore ...
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