Simpson Desert 2015

Hey hey

Chasing some info from those who have done the simo crossing and where you went. Ive looked at my hema maps and cant seem to get a smooth drive without having to do long detours.

Issue i have is a couple we are driving with want to do Ayers Rock while out that way but are pretty keen on only doing the simo from west to east(we live in brisbane so east to west makes more sense) so im getting lost on what to see in Northern Territory to bypass the simpson and come around thr back. Any ideas?

Then there is all the tracks in simo. Qaa, frenchline, waa, rigs road, etc. Which ones are worth seeing?

Locations that are a must see ie, finke, dalhouse springs, mt dare, poepel corner, any others???

Looking at taking 4weeks minimum for the trip as it will be the last big trip until the wife and are set in for a kid and wait until they are old enough to take on other long trips.

Any feedback and ideas would be greatly appreicated. Also a lost of must haves on the car to make it easier. My understanding is the lighter the better so ive already started culling some bits from the gear.

Rusty

Bump. anyone done it from Brisbane to Mt Dare?

alot of info is telling us from west to east so doesnt help me alot lol

I did a bit of research on doing a double crossing via bike a few years back but then left to go overseas.

I can link you to some ride reports to read starting from Birdsville if you're after general routes and things to see. You're right though most people go the other way apparently west to east the dunes are better shaped to get over the top.

Also from memory the WAA line sounded easier by all reports going East to West compared to the French line.

Yeh we have done a first draft of what we want to do and it works out we can do it either way we want by obviously changing the route. Any information would be tops as Google is so unreliable sometimes lol.

Also should I be taking 2 spares?

Thanks
Rusty

Can't help with a 4wd list of spares as I'm only just moving from adv touring on a bike to a 4wd with the missus so i'll be following your progress with interest as a red centre trip is on my list of things to do with the D22.

These are done on bikes but might be worth a read to see photos of the landscape and get a rough idea of routes you can take.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=910854

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=734726

RustyNav09 said:

Yeh we have done a first draft of what we want to do and it works out we can do it either way we want by obviously changing the route. Any information would be tops as Google is so unreliable sometimes lol.

Also should I be taking 2 spares?

Thanks
Rusty

Click to expand...

in my experience travelling throu desert( Atacama Desert, Chile), it shouldnt be a problem with tyres or any major thing if you are servicing the D22 before the trip. The hardest part is dealing with dust, heat, bad humor and again heat. I would take care of the cooling system and parts of drivetrain that could have some overwearing because of sand.

what I always carry are oils(engine and gearboxes), brake fluid, coolant, fuses, duct tape, plastic zip tie, grease with lithium, WD40 and contact cleaner.

Sorry but my country isnt that bigger than yours so we are not far than 300kms from any civilization!.

greetings!

Sorry to reply late but this is the first opportunity to look in this area. I am looking for info on the border track vic/sa. Any way have done simpson trip in june 2014; east to west trip. First time for me but not for a couple of blokes I travelled with. Being from Victoria the reasons for this was too miss traffic that would be generated with Finke River Races. We would have travelled with them west to east on original schedule going home.
Any how it was a good move as Big Red was our first dune and we had the joint to ourselves for 2 hours before we pointed into the desert. (What a view from Big Red).

Covered all your places you talk of as we travelled QAA to K then French line. No regret as first timer going this way as it was spectacular. The Dunes gave us minimal trouble this way but you can see on the west slopes where trailers are cutting up the track.

Would suggest after Mt Dare shoot of too Old Andado. Dirt and definitely 4wd drive only but well worth a visit, then return to Finke or travel old Andado track to Alice Springs.

My navara is not super modified but well looked after and it had no issues doing the simpson. In 4 car convey the only issue was a troopy breaking a spring pack shackle. Experienced blokes in our group said it was best/easiest crossing they have had.

Have fun Rustynav09

Rusty, have a look at some tagalong websites to see whether they have packing lists for spares and fuel?

Hey Rusty, i Just got back from a 2 week trip to the Simpson from Melbourne. We went from Birdsville to Dalhousie springs via the WAA line, QAA Line and the Rig road then onto purnie bore, then to Dalhousie and finally down to Oodnadatta we're we got some fuel.