Big Red - Birdsville 2021
Submitted: Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 14:50
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Mike & Kendra Cruisn1
Hi all – The next instalment in our sojourn around Australia: The
Big Red Sand Dune (
home of the Big Red Bash) - a must do when visiting the red centre;
Birdsville. For those travelling the Simpson it's the either the first or last
sand dune of the 500 you will transverse. To those just visiting a must see at sunrise or sunset and take the challenge and drive up the dune. On our visit the winds had made many drifts in the dunes, so we decided on the middle track which had the smallest lip at the top. Lots of fun and another tick on the bucket list.
Cheers Mike and Kendra
Big Red - Birdsville 2021
Reply By: Nomadic Navara - Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 15:26
Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 15:26
I have heard that you are not permitted to drive up the eastern side of the dune to get to Big Red. Does that still apply? Do you have to cross
Little Red and go up the western side to get to Big Red?
AnswerID:
638146
Follow Up By: Mike & Kendra Cruisn1 - Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 15:34
Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 15:34
Yes you have to go up
Little Red to get to the top of Big Red. To go up Big Red you must either go down the dune and go back up (as in our video or coming from the
Simpson Desert Track and heading east ( the last dune) you come up Big Red - go across and down
Little Red.
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Follow Up By: Peter_n_Margaret - Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 16:42
Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 16:42
Since when?
For a while it has been necessary to drive along the eastern side if the dune from the base of
Little Red to the base of Big Red. Before that it was possible to drive in to the base of Big Red from across the clay pan. The Station closed that route a few years ago.
Last time that we drove across Big Red (from the west) was 2018.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
ps... it is generally accepted that there are 1100 dunes to drive over crossing the Simpson, but I never counted them :)
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Follow Up By: Mike & Kendra Cruisn1 - Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 16:57
Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 16:57
Looks like there's some confusion in travelling from west to east or talking about the east side of the Big Red. There was only one route available when we did it last week- except there were cheat tracks to go around if you couldn't make it up the dune. As for how many dunes - lol I'll let you know after I do the track next year. ps Checked my
exploroz traveller to get my east and west orientated .
Cheers
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Peter_n_Margaret - Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 17:04
Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 17:04
My point is that there (was?) is a N-S track between the bases of
Little Red and Big Red on both sides of the dune. You can (could?) drive from one to the other on either side without driving to the top anywhere, depending on which side you came from.
Is that now not the case?
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Member - McLaren3030 - Friday, Oct 01, 2021 at 08:24
Friday, Oct 01, 2021 at 08:24
Unless they have blocked off the track coming from
Birdsville, you could drive up the East side of Big Red when we were last there in 2018.
Macca.
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Reply By: nick g1 - Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 17:15
Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 17:15
The official count of sand dunes to cross in the Simpson is 1157!
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Follow Up By: Mike & Kendra Cruisn1 - Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 18:38
Thursday, Sep 30, 2021 at 18:38
Yep stand corrected lol
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Friday, Oct 01, 2021 at 21:36
Friday, Oct 01, 2021 at 21:36
.
The "official" count seems to vary between 1000 and 1200 depending on which official is telling it!
I have not even tried to count them but it never seemed anywhere near that number so I suppose that many in the count were very small ridges.
Hope you can get this track thing sorted because I was planning on taking the Sprinter up the eastern face and over next time we are up there.
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Saturday, Oct 02, 2021 at 07:37
Saturday, Oct 02, 2021 at 07:37
If you are approaching from the east (and not crossing the desert first) you will be able to ask the local info centre as you go through. Please report back your findings.
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