Olsen's Tours and Training Blog

15 Aug 2011

Once again I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. If you want to know about this part of the trip, you’ll just have to come and to a Simpson Desert Trip with us.

Simpson Desert 8 Day Tag-Along June 9 2012
One for the Girls Female Only Tag-Along June 7 2012

Our last camp in the Simpson

Group photo at the vermin fence

I am not going to write any text about these two days of travel. I’ll let the photos speak for me.

Another great evening

Our cars parked at the base of the Knolls

Gidgea Tree- Lindsay Junction

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Lake views

Standing in three states

Apporodina Attora Knolls

Come join us in the Simpson Desert in 2012

One for the Girls- 8 Day Simpson Desert
8 Day Simpson Desert

Last night at Purni bore was quite interesting. We were overun by marsupial mice and native rats that had a field day tap dancing on my swag! This year has been a one in a hundred year wet season, and the mice are doing very well. These creatures are not your household mice, but marsupial mice- some of them are quite cute with rear legs for hopping like a kangaroo.

We set off from Purni bore not long after breakfast, and after cleaning up the rubbish left behind by others. Our intention as always was to travel along part of the French Line then detour down to the WAA Line. We usually camp somewhere along the WAA.

At the end of the WAA line there are a number of large “lakes”- claypans really, that are usually dry. This year we knew would be different. Driving across these claypans is very treacherous. It is far better to skirt around the dry shore all the way around the northern end. The lakes fall very very slightly southwards and therefore driest at the northern end. Sometimes it is possible to cross in the northern part of a lake where it is drier, but this should only be attempted by those who know this country very well. It is far batter to skirt all the way around the lake.

We deflated our tyres to the 350mm long footprint required (pressure is irrelevant as long as there is enough to hold the tyre on the rim), at the normal place, before heading into the looser sand dunes. We boiled the billy for our morning tea break at the same time. There was much discussion about tyre deflation over a cup of tea.

The French line was not too powdery, but when we got to the WAA line, it was badly overgrown and washed away by the huge rains experienced earlier in the year. This made for very interesting driving. It was slow, about 10 kph – but why rush when you are in the desert to enjoy it.

When we got to the clay pans, we found them very wet, with large areas of deep blue indicating water in the southern regions. we detoured north a very long way to a point where I have crossed before. The crossing point was very wide, about 2 kilometres in total with a dry island in the middle. The claypan was wetter than in previous years, but all but one car made it across without trouble. The other required the max tracks to back up and have another go. The girls had a ball getting the Patrol muddy.

Our camp site was a lovely swale I used many times before. Another exciting day drew to an end around the campfire after an truly amazing sunset.

Come along on our “Girls Only Simpson Desert Adventure June 7 2012”

WAA Line with more vegetation on it than I have ever seen

We skirted this lake for ages then found a place to cross- still wet though

Girls can do it!

The girls car

I am always a bit reluctant to leave Mt Dare. Many years ago, Justine and I contemplated buying/leasing the place and we still love it, but we have an adventure ahead of us so leave we must.

I remember many years ago, the first time ever that I drove from Mt Dare towards the dunes of the Simpson Desert, what an exciting adventure it was, crossing those amazing dissected gibber plateaus that seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon. The great rugged stones threatening to puncture a tyre at every turn of the wheel, but the breathtaking scenery kept drawing the eye away from the job of dodging rocks- I feel the same every time I travel this track.

We headed out of the homestead area past what I remember used to be a gate, and onto the first creek, not too far from Mt Dare. This creek is always a good place to stop, though many people would never notice, as it has some very interesting flora. We stopped for quite a while exploring, while many convoys blasted past, keen to “do the Simpson” as though it was something to be conquered rather than savoured for it’s beauty. We had only a short way to go today, about 75k, but we intended to take all day to do it!

After enjoying the flora and even tasting some of it (bush tucker), we moved on to our next stop at a water tank where we enjoyed a cuppa and re-filled our tanks. The water at Mt Dare had not yet recovered from the flooding and was not the best to drink.

From our morning tea stop we continued over rugged gibber plains and through creeks to the claypans of the spring country near Dalhousie. A right turn to the south took us across plateaus with fantastic views of the springs right down to the ruins of Dalhousie homestead. The date palms had been removed since my last visit, in an effort to get the springs flowing again- a great idea. Unfortunately many people will complain about the change, but I think it is for the better.

Dalhousie Ruins

We spent a great deal of time exploring this area before heading further south to Dalhousie springs for a swim and a lunch stop. I remember many years ago camping with Justine at the springs, and being the only persons there- that would be impossible these days, as it has showers and toilets and shelters, and is a very popular camping spot. We came to savour the desert experience, which in our minds does not include crowds, so we intended to move on after lunch.

The swimming is always very enjoyable, the warm water seems do soothe all the aches and pains of days on the road.

After a lunch break, we were back on the track, which these days skirts around Spring Creek delta, on what used to be the wet weather bypass. It is a long way, and a sandy track with a few surprising bumps here and there. Pretty soon we were about to cross our first dune, pass the site of the Elka Seltzer bore and airstrip then arrive at our camp at Purni Bore.

It is a source of constant amazement and bewilderment that people who now travel out here do so much damage to the environment. Gathering firewood is to be banned in 2012 in Witjira NP- you can see why. For God’s sake people, if you want firewood, choose dead stuff laying on the ground. Don;t chop standing wood- even if it looks dead- it isn’t.  And DONT PUT CANS IN FIRES!!!!!

Fireplace as we found it

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8 Day Simpson Desert Adventure www.djolsen.com

All Female 8 Day Simpson Desert Adventure- with female guide.

Our normal practice is to wake at first light, get the fire started and boil the billies. This morning we awoke before first light to the sounds of Bruce’s radio.
Bruce who comes from Coolah likes to listen to the ABC every morning.

Once underway we paused at the monument for photographs before backtracking to Finke. At Finke, Jeff and Gowan decided to do a bit of sightseeing around the old railway station.

The road from Finke to Mount Dare is always an interesting drive with a variety if terrain including claypans and Coolibah lined creeks. I called Mt Dare on the radio to let them know we were coming and got the customary response from Jeff, telling us he would lock the gates. We stopped at windy Charlotte waters for morning tea and a look around the ruins of the old telegraph station.

There was the customary stop at the South Australian border for photographs before we set off across the gibberish plains again. Not long afterwards, the old Mt Dare windmill appeared on the horizon.

Mt Dare has always been a favorite place. The meals, hot showers and cold beers are always welcome.

As usual I woke to the first bird call and had two billies on the boil by the time the sky developed some colour. Everyone was up and about at sunrise enjoying the light display on the pillar.

Some elected to do a short walk amongst the dunes to take one last look at the fantastic rock formations.

We were underway again at 830 backtracking over the Charlotte Range and Hugh River to the Maryvale Store. We all took on a little fuel at quite a reasonable price before purchasing icecreams.

We had arranged for the Tijikaka art gallery to be open, where we enjoyed looking at some if the art objects created by these very creative people. We enjoyed chatting with an Arrente woman, who allowed me to practice some of my Pitinjitjara language skills while she taught me some Arrente words.

We then backtracked some more to Rodinga siding on the old Ghan railway line before setting off traveling along the bed if the old railway line for the better part of five hours.

Lunch was enjoyed at Bundoomba siding in the shade of the old cast iron water tank used to fill the steam locomotives that used to travel the track.

Pretty soon we found ourselves at the Finke river where everyone got their first taste of sand driving.

I think Paula was disappointed when I directed her to take an easier route up the southern bank, but we needed to stay on schedule, and the important lesson had been learned – deflate, deflate, then deflate some more. Paula would soon have plenty of sand driving practice.

We made our way through Finke then on to the Lambert Centre where we bush camped among the Mulga.

Once again I was disappointed to see campers had left cans in fire places. Hey people – aluminum and steel cans rarely if ever completely melt in camp fires. If you carry them in to a site, please carry them out!!!

It is always an exiting day when we depart Alice Springs for our 8 day tour of the Simpson. Today was twice as exciting because my Nissan decided to give some slight trouble, requiring a new brake caliper. Despite the mechanical issue, we departed on time and headed for the Old South Road.

When we started on the gravel, everybody was instructed about the footprint method of tyre management.

The old poles of the Overland Telegraph line marked our way southward to Ewaninga where the most amazing petroglyphs tell the stories of the old people.

From Ewaninga the spectacular colours of the landscape had everyone busy taking photographs. The desert oak lined sand ridges are beautiful.

We continued past Tijikala and on to the Chamber’s Pillar road. We crossed the ancient Hugh River where the 1870 construction crew gathered timber for the telegraph poles.

We gathered firewood before cresting the Charlotte Range where we were greeted by a spectacular view of Chambers Pillar about 8 kilometers away.

We continued over the sand ridges calling ahead on the radio until we reached our campsite at the foot of Chamber’s Pillar.

The camp here is one of the most picturesque we visit. The air is so clear that the light falling on the pillar and Castle Rock is and between the desert oaks has to be seen to be believed.