Wednesday, Apr 16, 2003 at 23:38
Emma,
I've answered all the past qns on this topic in the same vein as I will now - the main concern is that the
Simpson Desert as an access route for travellers falls under the management system of
the Desert Parks dept of the Dept of Environment and
Heritage in SA. Access to visitors on this route is via a permit system only (called
the Desert Parks Pass). Due to them being managers not owners, they can't actually BAN or enforce a BAN on people towing trailers, however as is their right, they strongly advise that it is against their wishes for trailers to be towed in the Simpson - and I have to support their wishes because we are their agents. They have also taken up significant advertising campaigns and they also help promote us and I actually agree with the concept that trailers have no place in this particular area. We have done numerous trips across the Simpson and have explored each line. In doing so, I have seen very few trailers on the actual French Line but a few on the
Rig Road where there are far less soft, steep dunes to cross at right-angles. I accept, and so to do the DEH, that trailers will continue to be towed across the Simpson, regardless. It is hoped however that by discussion such as this on ExplorOz, you might consider how best to minimise impact by doing so.
The suggestion is to travel the
Rig Road not the French and not the QAA - which is probably even more an issue.
The main issue is that the numbers of drivers crossing the Simpson are exceedingly high and this traffic is concentrated over a short period of time (few mths a year). Unfortunately, many people simply do NOT lower their tyre pressures hardly at all. As a guage, if at any time you find yourself struggling to crest a dune you must 1. reduce tyre pressures further and 2. use low range 4WD but in 4th gear to keep up speed but achieving better torque. It is a FACT that too many drivers do the wrong thing - mostly unintentional and due to lack of experience and knowledge. And this is just the drivers without the trailers...
The trailer issue is simply that most drivers already can't get the tyre pressure issue sorted and the extra weight and extended length of load across the rig makes dune driving with a trailer quite an art.
The effect of wrong tyre pressures means that the dune crests become chopped up by repeated grinding and struggling to get over the top, or by reversing and messing up of the "track" through the sand. The Simpson used to be quite easy to travel across, and still is when there are no tracks forcing your path. It does get harder when there are sand tracks criss-crossing all over the place and really uncomfortable when you are thundering up a dune face and hit (bottom out) in a hole left by a previous vehicle who has got stuck and had to grind their way out. These bumps and holes are all over the last section on the French (west to east) and all along the QAA. But it is avoidable if as a whole, us 4WDrivers took more care of what we do to the dune crossing.
Anyway, that's enough for me... go the Rig Line and enjoy it. It is certainly no less a great part of the Simpson and in fact you will definately see more wildlife and have more solitude.
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