AG Outdoor | 93THE ESSENTIALS
Permits:You’ll need a Central Land Council transit
permit to cross Aboriginal Land on the Colson Track
and for the Hay River Track. You can apply for permits
online atclc.org.au. For more information on permits
contact Jol Fleming at Direct 4WD on (08) 8952 3359,
0408 485 641 or visitwww.direct4WD.com.au
A Desert Parks Pass is required to enter the Simpson
Desert Conservation Park and Regional Reserve, or
when travelling east of Mount Dare. These can be
organised online atwww.environment.sa.gov.au/
parks/Park_Entry_Fees/Parks_Passes/desert-parks-pass.
Vehicles:You need a well equipped and capable
4WD to take on a crossing of the Madigan Line. You’ll
need to be able to carry around 250L of fuel, all of
your supplies and water for 10 days or more, tools,
spares, camping gear, cooking gear, camera gear and
more. Large utes equipped with heavy duty
aftermarket suspension and Light Truck construction
all-terrain tyres are ideal.
Safety:A crossing of the Madigan Line takes you
into seriously remote country, so you will need to
carry a comprehensive fi rst aid kit, a satphone or HF
radio (or both), suffi cient water and fuel, and plenty
of food. Your vehicle must be in top mechanical
condition and you should carry spare parts and tools.
You’ll also need at least two spare tyres and a tyre
repair kit. Always scan UHF Ch10 for approaching
vehicles.
Reading Cecil Madigan’s account of his 1939
expedition across the northern Simpson Desert is an
essential read for anyone wanting to travel along the
Madigan Line. It’s called Crossing the Dead Heart and
is available through a number of bookshops.
Maps: Hema Maps ‘Great Desert Tracks Simpson
Desert’ map not only provides accurate mapping of
the Simpson Desert, but also off ers plenty of useful
information on touring in the area. A paper map such
as this should always be carried in addition to any
digital mapping you may be using, such as Hema’s
excellent Explorer, which can be run on Apple and
Android devices. Hema’s Great Desert Tracks Atlas &
Guide is also a fantastic resource. See hemamaps.com.example and set up camp between the dunes to
shelter from any overnight wind, but for days
Michael had pestered us to camp on top of a dune
so that he could photograph the next morning’s
sunrise, and on this afternoon he fi nally managed
to persuade us. The dune top was wide enough for
all three vehicles and there was plenty of space for
our swags.
By now we had settled into a routine and it only
took a few minutes to set up camp. Syd had the
fi re going in no time and Michael, as he did every
evening, headed off into the dunes, loaded with
camera gear, searching for something to shoot:
lizards, bugs, ants, plants, camels, dingos, birds –
you name it, Michael shot it. While Dave and Mel
set up their swag, I topped up the Defender’s fuel
tank, and Brad ensured that everyone had a chilled
article in hand before we settled in around the
campfi re.
As the sun dropped slowly below the horizon,
the moon climbed high into the clear sky, refl ect-
ing a brilliant yellow colour at fi rst, and then a more
familiar white. Our luck with the weather held and
the air was still overnight, prompting Syd to com-
ment on our dune-top campsite the following
morning: “I could get used to this high-rise living.”
And the sunrise? It was absolutely spectacular!
THE FINAL RUN
After brekky it took us two hours to cover the 19km
to Camp 14, and 20 minutes to drive the next one
kilometre to Camp 15. Then after two-and-a-half
days heading east across hundreds of dunes, we
turned south along Hay River towards the Blaze
Tree at Camp 16. Running south between the
dunes proved a lot easier than trying to cross them
and, compared to what we had been through, we
were now experiencing freeway-like conditions...
albeit a sandy, twisting freeway.
We made it to the Blaze Tree by midday. Cecil
Madigan wrote in his account Crossing the Dead
Heart: “I blazed a gumtree in the river at this camp,
Camp 16, on the largest tree we could fi nd, which
was only about a foot in diameter... I would be
much interested to know who next sees this tree.”
If he were alive today, Madigan would no doubt be
astounded by the number of people who’ve seen
the tree since he blazed it in 1939; today there’s an
array of posts there placed by visitors who felt the
need to mark their visitation.
Whereas Madigan headed east from Camp 16
towards the Northern Territory/Queensland bor-
der, we continued down the sandy Hay River Track
towards Poeppel Corner. The track doubles back to
the west for 12km towards Beachcomber No.1 Oil
Well and we had some big sand dunes to climb,
but the vehicles were much lighter than when
we’d set off from Mount Dare several days earlier
and the dunes didn’t present a problem. We set up
camp about 2km shy of Beachcomber and would
push on to Poeppel corner the following morning.
Poeppel placed the original corner post in the
middle of Lake Poeppel in 1880, but Lawrence
Wells moved it 300m east to the edge of the lake
after it was determined that Poeppel’s survey chain
had stretched.
We doubled back 14km to the QAA Line and
headed east towards Birdsville through the Simp-
son Desert National Park. Here we found a nice, fl at
campsite west of Eyre Creek, and knew that the
following morning we would only have a short run
into Birdsville.Our Madigan Line adventure had come to an
end. Dave and Mel made their way back to Mount
Dare via the French Line while Brad and Syd
headed south along the Birdsville Track to catch up
with a mate at Mungerannie. Michael and I took
Walkers Crossing Track to Innamincka before the
long drive back to Sydney.
In peak season, much of the Simpson Desert is a
busy place, but you can still experience blissful
solitude along the Madigan Line. We saw no other
travellers between Old Andado and Hay River.
Where else in the world can you get away from it
all like that?The crew poses next to the marker
signpost for Madigan’s Camp 14.