This would have to be the hardest crossing of the
Simpson Desert that I have done. The weather was hot and with all the wind over the past few weeks the sand was soft.
Started out at
Dalhousie Springs with a hot easterly wind blowing. Two days before that the wind was coming from the north. The wind kept the flies away but it had me a bit worried. One of the members of the convey asked me if the wind would cause any problems. I said lets wait and see.
The run out to
Purni Bore was easy enough and the run down the
Rig road to our first
camp didn't reveal what we were in for.
Once we were on the WAA things started to get tough. Soft sand with a lip at the top of the dune that was almost vertical. The wind from the north had pushed the sand into the left side of the top of the dune. The wind from the east had pushed the sand back to form a vertical wall. The wind usually blows from the west and this makes a easy run up the dune and a steep run down on the other side. Now
we had a gentle slope with a vertical wall at the top and a steep drop off on the other side.
The only good thing about the wind blowing is that the track was not chopped up as much as usual. The wheel tracks that I would have followed were not there, so I had to stop and get out to see where the track went.
I was happy when we made it to the turn off to the
Lone Gum Tree. At an average of 10km/h we were dropping behind time and the petrol Prado's were going through fuel quicker than a V8 Range Rover.
After the
Lone Gum Tree we continued on the
Rig Road to the Knolls Track. We had been able to make up some time but the fuel was starting to be a worry.
When we made
camp on the QAA Line we took stock of how much fuel was left and decided that if we pooled our fuel that we should be able to make it to
Birdsville.
The dunes on the QAA Line are bigger and getting higher with some vehicles have a few goes at getting over. Tyre pressure was lowered again but this only helped a little. At last Big Red was in front of us. It looked very different. No tracks up the straight run up the face. The side tracks were hardly visible with vertical walls of sand at the top.
I walked to the top of Big Red. The bowl at the top was also different. It was all filled in and the track from the east was a simple drive. A couple of vehicles drove up while I was there and they said it was very easy. When they saw the decent on the other side they said they would wait and see if we maid it up before they would give it a go.
After 3 attempts I asked the back up vehicle to give it a go. He made a bit further than I did but after 2 attempts he also gave up. The rest of the convey also had a go, with a petrol Pajero getting the highest but the sharp turn at the top bringing all the vehicles to a halt.
On to
Little Red. Came across a vehicle at the bottom of the dune. He had been there for 6 hours. After a few attempts he was waiting for another vehicle to help him over. While he was waiting he watched the lip of the dune get bigger.
More air out of the tyres 15psi in the front and 18psi in the back. A long run in 3rd high and the first vehicle makes it with the front of the vehicle getting air and sand flying. After that it was a bit easier but sill the toughest crossing I have made.
As far as I know there were no other vehicles to cross Big Red that day and a few had to go around the end of the dune. This is why the crossing of the
Simpson Desert or any remote track should not be taken lightly, even if you have done it before.
Wayne