Tony and Maree's Camping Trip
Our work commitments take us all over the world, so when we holiday we have no intentions of going somewhere that involves flying or a hotel room. This year we were able to fit a desert trip of 25 days into our schedule.
With the amount of rain we received last summer we knew we had to be prepared for every possibility, but the thought of seeing the desert ‘Green’ was possibly a once in a lifetime event.
For us, with a strict budget, preparation is definitely the key to remote travel. Over the years we have collected a decent amount of camping gear from Jarrod (I have a tent addiction), but this trip would be different to our others as we would be setting up camp in a different place nearly every night. So I was allowed to buy a new tent, (YEAH!!!!) one that we would be able to put up and down quickly. After many discussions with Jarrod we took his advice and purchased the Outdoor Connections ‘Tanbar’ tent. And it was perfect, we had it down pat, we would be set up with bedding and our luggage in, within 10 minutes. Usually deciding where to put the tent would take longer.
We also were able to solve our drinking water solution at Camping Country. We bought a water tank that Jarrod normally fits in his camper trailers and after removing our back seats we were able to fix it to the floor. It worked wonderfully and we didn’t even need to refill it on our travels.
Off we set, heading straight for Cameron’s Corner and down the Strzelecki Track, free camping all the way. Once we got to Lyndhurst we found out our friends from Adelaide, we were meant to be meeting up with had car troubles before they got off the bitumen in Port Augusta, they would be stuck there for 3 days. So we decided to meet them in Coober Pedy. Onward we travelled camping at the Farina Ruins, which was lovely, meeting up with fellow campers by the campfire. This was also our first of many nights with mice. Luckily, none in the tent but they ran all over and under the tent. We then set off up the Oodnadatta Track, marveling at the many sites and the water in Lake Eyre. After meeting up with our friends, we got back on the Oodnadatta and headed for Dalhousie 
Springs then spending a couple nights camped in the Simpson Desert. (Eyre Creek was still flooded) We spent the next couple days exploring the French Line dunes and were amazed with the amount of vegetation between the dunes. After an overnight stop at Mount Dare Station and, for some, a few too many drinks with Dave the Owner, we headed for Yulara. Spending a couple days at Uluru and Kata Tjuta, then Kings Canyon and Palm Valley, we did about 30kms of hikes, we then hit Alice Springs.
We restocked and headed across the Plenty Hwy to Boulia and down to Birdsville to camp a couple nights. Spending our last day altogether out at Big Red, which we had to ourselves. After a little time ‘playing’ on the dune we parked our trucks on top of Big Red, pulled out our awnings had lunch and relaxed. It was absolutely amazing, bright blue sky, red sand and massive lakes either side of Big Red.
The next morning we headed east for Coolum and our friends headed south down the Birdsville Track to Adelaide. From Coolum and back we did nearly 8000km in 25 days, saw many unforgettable sites and met some lovely people. We are hoping next year we’ll be able to fit in a trip to the Cape.
Thank you to Jarrod, his Parents and his Staff for looking after us for all these years and always putting up with me coming into the store to browse and chat.
Maree and Tony Carolan
