Thread: Birdsville-Mt Dare travel time

Originally Posted by WhiteD3

Just starting out on planning a possible trip. Could anyone (who's done it) comment on the travel time from Birdsville to Mt Dare please?

Via the QAA and French lines, 520km.
I gather there's no fuel available between these two places?
Recommendations on camping spots on the way? Dalhousie Springs, etc?

Cheers.

3-5days, depending on how quick you like to travel, I'd definately plan a stay at Dalhousie, most people drop in for a dip on move on

Fuel? haha, no servo's in the simpson

Can be done in 1 to 2 days (not recommended) but if you wish to 'experience' the wonder of the Simpson I'd have to agree with 'rovercare' and suggest 3 to 5 days. Taking your time is less stressful on vehicle and participants and allows time to relax and observe what the Simpson has to offer.

Unfortunately, the QAA and French Line are the most travelled routes and therefore it's hard to get that feeling of isolation that other routes (eg Hay River or Madigan Line) offer.

Allow time at Big Red, Eyre Ck, Poeppels Corner, Approdinna Knolls, Purni Bore and Dalhousie Springs however, I wouldn't camp at any of these - only because I prefer to stay at more pristine and remote areas. Good camp spots can ususlly be found in the swales between the dunes, the only problem in some areas is the abundance of spinifex.

Your assumptions re fuel are correct.

Enjoy your trip.

Agree with the others as well, we did it 3 days with no rush Birdsville to Dalhousie, if I was to do it again I'd plan more for 4 to 5 days, I would probably spend an extra night at Dalhousie, the spring there is wonderful

Baz.

We did it in 3 day with a Series III and a 200Tdi Defender (Mungerannie to Dalhousie). That included losing some hours with break downs (wheel falling off (4 hour delay, but we found most of the wheel nuts!), broken hub flange and repair (30min), flat tyre (30 min), LPG connectors on the SIII affected by dust, requiring refueling rather than switching fuel (30min).

Across the dunes we averaged 20kph. We spent a day at Dalhousie.

I would recommend :

[1] set camp earlier and enjoy the desert solitude, hence travel less kms per day.

[2] spend at least 2 days at Dalhousie sight seeing the ruins and soaking up the thermal springs.

Originally Posted by Michael2

We did it in 3 day with a Series III and a 200Tdi Defender (Mungerannie to Dalhousie). That included losing some hours with break downs (wheel falling off (4 hour delay, but we found most of the wheel nuts!)

I am yet to do outback travel but have done plenty of research on it.

I would have thought that spare wheel nuts would be at the top of the list of spares to take.

Dave.

Originally Posted by Mr Whippy

I am yet to do outback travel but have done plenty of research on it.

I would have thought that spare wheel nuts would be at the top of the list of spares to take.

Dave.

There were spare wheels and wheel nuts, but the preference was to find the alloy wheel nuts and continue to run with four matching alloys, instead of a spare on a steel rim. We found 3/5 wheel nuts and it ended up with 4 wheel nuts per back wheel. From this point on it was dubbed the gelding because it was missing a couple of nuts.

3 days is minimum. We went Mt Dare, Dalhousie to Birdsville. Filled up at Mt Dare, carried a Jerry of diesel but did not have to use it, I was in a 300 TDi Defender.

Birdsville to Mt. Dare is approx. 640 Km, from memory. It is harder going than West to East because the generally Westerly winds tend to give a smoother approach on the West side of the dunes. You are correct, no BP between. We used 3 X 10 litre jerry cans (plus full tank) on our last trip in the D2, West to East. Don't think about towing anything across unless you enjoy turning a pleasant trip into a pain in the arse.
Birdsville via 'Little Red' and then to Poeppels Corner is an easy half days drive assuming you don't need to divert at Eyre Creek which can add another half day minimum or full day plus if you make the most of the 30 Km+ diversion to the North. Very scenic and good campsite at the ford.
Once you get to Lindsay Junction you will need to decide if you want to proceed via the French Line (most common and boring as buggery) or head South and pick up the WAA or Rig Road. Most go via the French Line to get the "Tick In the Box, I've crossed The Simpson prize" which is arguably the busiest, boringest and hardest route. Give a bit of thought to which way you go from here. Lots of good places to camp along the way and very interesting. Knolls Track, the Rig Road , Mokari Aerodrome, WAA line and on to Purni Bore is a more interesting route IMHO than the French Line. An easy half day from here to Dalhousie Springs which is worth a two day stay-over, make sure you've got the Aeroguard. The trip out to the old Homestead is a well worthwhile diversion as is the swim in the spring. Early morning (dawn) is best.
From here an easy run to Mt. Dare, but take the track via 'Bloods Creek' as it is far easier on you and your tyres. It may be longer in distance but is shorter in time and pain.
A good next nights stop is Eringa Waterhole, generally unpopulated compared to Dalhousie Springs which can be very crowded.

Deano