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CROSS THE SIMPSON DESERT
The mighty Simpson Desert is the stuff
legends are made of, a seemingly endless
stretch of rich, red soil that presents itself as
the ultimate challenge. The largest parallel
sand dune desert in the world, it stretches
across the south-east corner of the Northern
Territory, and creeps into Queensland and
South Australia. Crossing it is not for the
faint-hearted, but the rewards are rich
including seeing the desert come to life with
colour when the spring wildflowers bloom.
If you don’t want to go it alone, there are a
number of tour companies plying the desert
dunes and tracks: Tri State Safaris do a
12-day Simpson Desert Crossing; Outback
Spirit offers a 14-day Simpson Desert
Expedition; and Tagalong Tours of Australia
has 12-day Simpson Desert tours heading
east to west or west to east.BE THE FIRST
ONBOARD
Great Southern Rail, operators of
iconic rail journeys on The Ghan
and Indian Pacific, is adding another
epic Aussie journey to its roster, with
the launch of the Great Southern in
December this year. Be one of the
first onboard as the train travels
from Brisbane to Adelaide over four
days and three nights, cruising
through the NSW north coast (day
one), stopping in the Hunter Valley
on day two, and exploring the Great
Ocean Road and the iconic 12
Apostles, before arriving into the
South Australian capital. Prices start
from $2299 per person, but the
satisfaction of being the first in line
is priceless.45