Australian_Geographic_Outdoor_2016_07_08_

AG Outdoor | 85

Any crossing of the Simpson Desert offers the prospect of a great adventure but chances are you’ll have to share this

iconic destination with many other travellers. If you yearn for the track less travelled, the Madigan Line will provide the

solitude you crave... and a whole lot more.WORDS DEAN MELLOR PHOTOS OFFROAD IMAGES

T

HE SIMPSON DESERT COVERS an area of
170,000km2 and consists more than 1100
parallel sand dunes, some of which are
200km in length. Located almost smack bang in
the middle of the continent, it’s rightly described as
being a remote destination, but that doesn’t stop
hoards of 4WD travellers loading up their vehicles
and taking on the challenge of crossing the desert
each year, especially in the peak outback touring
season from May to October.
The most popular route sees tourers head west
from Birdsville along the QAA Line and then via the
French Line, covering 507km before arriving at
Mount Dare. There are no facilities along the route
so travellers have to be completely self-suffi cient.
Another route to the south takes in the Warburton
Track and the Rig Road. Then, to the north, is the
Madigan Line, named after Cecil Madigan whose
expedition crossed through here in 1939 using a
team of camels.
Madigan’s crossing of the Simpson, which is
documented in his book Crossing the Dead Heart,
began at Mount Dare in the west and headed east
towards Birdsville. While the fi rst European crossing

out there: road trippin’

this part of the Simpson Desert in 1939, “The suc-

cess of an expedition depends primarily on the

preliminary organisation.”

We calculated we would have to be self-suffi -

cient for at least 10 days and that we’d need vehi-

cles capable of carrying 250-plus litres of fuel. Utes

were the ideal solution for carrying all of our gear

and we decided that the best utes for a trip like this

would be a Toyota LandCruiser, a Nissan Patrol or a

Land Rover Defender... so we took one of each.

Our party would consist six souls. Photographer

Michael Ellem and I would use a Defender 130

Crew Cab so we could carry camera gear inside the

cab rather risk it out the back with the mud and

dust. Brad Newham and his mate Syd Groves

would drive a Patrol Coil Cab, and Dave and

Melissa Cox would join us in a LandCruiser cab

chassis.

Brad, a mechanic by trade, used to operate the

workshop in Birdsville and is a very experienced

desert traveller, while Dave and Melissa Cox were,

up until recently, proprietors of the Mount Dare

Hotel.

Although capable 4WDs straight off the

of the Simpson Desert was made by Ted Colson in

1936, Madigan referred to this as a ‘southern cross-

ing’, and was intent upon crossing the centre of

the desert in 1939. Ironically, subsequent surveys

have shown Madigan’s route to be as far to the

north of the geographical centre of the Simpson

Desert as Colson’s was to the south.

While there is no discernible track marking the

Madigan Line, especially early in the touring sea-

son, Madigan’s route through the northern Simp-

son is well documented and yellow posts mark

each of Madigan’s campsites, placed there in 1994

by Dave and Joan Owen of Aussie Tracks. Modern

GPS technology certainly makes navigating this

part of the Simpson Desert much easier than in

days gone by.

TRIP PREPARATION

Wanting to follow in Madigan’s footsteps, our tour-

ing party decided to cross the Simpson from west

to east, starting at Mount Dare and fi nishing up at

Birdsville. We’d put in several months of prepara-

tion prior to departure, [hopefully] leaving nothing

to chance. As Cecil Madigan said before he crossed

Desert Heart

ROAD TRIP // MADIGAN LINE, SIMPSON DESERT

The Madigan Line, through

the northern Simpson Des-

ert, is an extremely remote

off -track adventure.