How long to cross the simpson

hi stew1978
wouldn't that depend entirely on what gear you drive in
and how fast for how long each day and

dont forget morning tea break and the daily big dump or pee on a tree stops ????
cheers lol

We went across in 3.5 days a couple of months ago before all the rain made the salt and clay pans nearly impassable. 1 day we drove for 10 hours and only did about 90 kms and that was driving time not lunch in a convoy of 6 vehicles.
it so depends on the conditions at the time and our trip was fairly easy east to west. most days were 9 hour driving days.
you should take supplies to last a week then pack the emergency food for another few days minimum if you are only driving 5 hours or so.

Hi Stew,

In good conditions: 3 days, maybe 4 without rushing. Add another day if you want to smell the roses.

In conditions where the claypans and saltflats between the dunes are a little wet (like maybe now) it could take a bit longer. Also bear in mind that slippery conditions consume more fuel.

If, as in this year, we get more sustained rain in the area you could get stuck there for some time. So if that is possible, take water and provisions for an extended stay. Not wanting to be alarmist but changing weather patterns like we have had this year have made outback travel less predictable.

All the best and I hope you have a great trip.

It is condition dependent. If it is wet or very early in the season it can take quite a bit of time. Allow 3 days plus 2 is usually safe. It it rains heavily you could be there a while. Year before last before the Eyre crossing was open it took all day to do 30km to Poepell Corner from the west side. There were no tyre tracks to follow so it was get out and walk to locate the track and a way through. Basically it takes as long as it takes. Trying to rush to meet a schedule is not a good idea.

There is a route in the Treks section here which gives you a mixture of experiences. I would temper that with advice from Mt Dare and be prepared for last minute route variations.

Steve

5-6 to enjoy it.

We did it in 3.5 without rushing when the desert was at its wettest and we may have been delayed in a couple of bogs :-)

So 4 days would more than enough I would say

That is via French Track and WAA line West to East - Next year East to West.

Cheers Tony

I realise it changes from year to year but I didn't see much difference going either way. One side is chewed up more than the other because of *$%^&# who don't let their tyres down and think it's a good idea to spin their tyres to get up but otherwise there wasn't much difference.

Head down south along the lower tracks also. Different terrain to see rather than going up and down all day along the French line.

Hi Stew

From your question you have not travelled the Simpson before. As you would be aware there are 3 main routes across the SA side, and all very different. It is not a race to see how quick you can get from one side to the other, just take your time and stick to no firm time frames. As a first timer you should allow as a minimum of 4 days, but 5 - 6 would be good. Do a combination of all tracks and the most important thing of all, DO NOT RUN HIGH TYRE PRESSURES!!

If you start at 16psi you will not go that far wrong. Your speed of travel will be around the 30 kph mark, so you can see you are not setting any speed records. Your hours of travel per day is good, giving you the opportunity so see what is out there.

Have a great trip.

Cheers

Stephen

4-5 days and that also depends on the track you are taking, French line WAA line and so on.

We did it in the 5 days and that was the combined route.This was only travelling about 9.30am and started looking for a camp around 3.30pm.

Also I am a little concerned about my fuel storage.

I drive a 100 series Landcruiser on LPG. To convert to LPG I had to remove my sub tank. Because of this I also removed my 90 main tank and replaced it with a 140 replacement main tank. I now have 140L of petrol and 90L of LPG.

From what I understand it would be wise for me to take 200L of petrol. Is this too much or too little? 200L would mean having 60L of petrol on the roof which seems like a lot. I could keep the LPG full until I get to the desert and run on LPG for a while to reduce my petrol usage.

I plan to follow the trip as set out here http://www.exploroz.com/TrekNotes/Deserts/Simpson_Desert.aspx

Plan 4-5 days across the French line.

When we crossed Birdsville to Dalhousie Springs, I recon we made a mistake....
We should got in the "criss cross" mode, but didn't due to lack of time, we didn't.

Now I will have to go back and do just that, criss cross the Simpson,a nd follow more of the tracks


Cheers
Bucky