Thursday, Apr 25, 2002 at 00:00
Chris - your reply suggests that you are thinking of crossing the
Simpson Desert in a Subaru. Plan carefully if this is so. I crossed last year and one of the water crossings after
Purni Bore came over the bonnets on fullsized 4wds. It would have been half way up your windows. Eyre Creek claimed a Disco for 9hours and 2 Landrover utes for an hour or so. Toyotas and Nissans had no problem while we were there but a Subaru would not have had the clearance or entry/departure angles needed to get into and out of or across the creek. Whilst you might manage much of
the Desert, you could easily be stopped by difficult sections.
People who advise you to tackle off road conditions in non off road vehicles simply have not experienced what these roads can hand out at times. I saw a Commodore towing a full sized caravan near
William Creek on the
Oodnadatta Track when
Lake Eyre had water in it. He was doing OK but had no idea what difficulties he could encounter if it rained or he hit a bad patch of road going a little too fast. On tracks such as the
Oodnadatta,
Birdsville and Strzlecki tracks I lock in 4wd to aid stability - imagine how much greater safety margin I have than a Commodore with a van behind!! I imagine he went
home and told people that 4wds weren't needed in the outback as he had done it in his car.
DON'T even consider the Simpson unless you are accompanied by at least one full sized 4wd and of course take a
HF radio or Sat phone and lots of recovery gear. Also keep an eye on
the Desert parks bulletin website for road conditions. I was surprised at how often
the desert was closed because of high water and/or mud between
Dalhousie Springs and
Purni Bore. Mind you if you cross these areas when they are dry it's a breeze but a few hours of rain makes them impassable. The actual desert conditions would play havoc with your lack of ground clearance. Discos which are allegedly full sized 4wds constantly scrape the sand because of poor departure angles. Imagine what a 4wd car such as a Subaru would do!! Good luck with your travels and I look forward to reading about them!
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