Anne Karin and Karl - Thursday, May 9 2002
Visitors from Switzerland

Preparation for an Outback Trek
Australia is a country of superlatives and contrasts. For a long time, a trip to Australia had been at the top of our list of places we wanted to visit. Now, we have been there and we met open, kind and helpful people, we stayed in multicultural and modern cities, and were enraptured by the bizarre rock formations, strange animals and deserted landscapes. We made allowance for the heat, rain and flies and enjoyed a touch of freedom. Our ideas and expectations were fulfilled in every respect.

As keen travellers with slightly grey hair and past the backpacker age, we usually organise our trips on our own. From experience, we know that serious preparation is very important. We wanted to travel through the Outback for two weeks with a four- wheel driven bush camper van to experience this closely. But how should this be done? We had neither ever driven a 4-wheel driven car, nor had we had any experience or knowledge of how to manage a 2600 km long trip on dirt roads far away from civilization. On top of that, just before our holiday started, we heard about an Austrian couple that got stuck in the sand with their car near a salt lake and the woman, by acting wrongly, died of thirst.

It was clear to us, the necessary knowledge had to be gained from someone who had experience. By the time we took over the bush camper van at the latest, we were glad to have acquired the assistance of a specialist. The simple explanations of a car rental organisation would not have brought us very far. David, who had made outback travel his profession, assisted us and brought us outside Adelaide to an area where we could practice various situations, which could occur in the Outback. We drove up and down sand dunes, we learned how to conquer slippery parts with counter steering, and we raced through swampy seagrass. We also learned how to make a full stop on a dusty road, how to start a throttled engine on steep slopes and lots more.

Impressive was also the extracting of our bogged down Bush camper van out of sand holes. Not, as expected, by gentle continuous pulling by a second car, but by a run up and with an elastic towrope being catapulted out. The dry theory concerning water storage, satellite telephone, drive mechanism and the behaviour towards animals on the road (full brake without swerving) was taught to us at the loading bridge of a truck (tailgate of the ute - Ed), while having coffee from a thermos jug, all in English, and with much patience to ensure that we could understand it all.

David shunned neither trouble nor time in conveying to us the necessary knowledge and he even gave us tips and tricks in writing for the trip. We are indebted to him for a breakdown-free journey and the comforting feeling of security, which we had on our beautiful trip in the Outback.

Anne Karin and Karl

Simpson Desert Adventure Trek 2001
Excerpts from the Taylor's travel diary,

Day 1
Finally packed and after two weeks of dummy runs, it all fits into the Pajero! First leg Adelaide to Farina with eight vehicles on a trek into the desert, with our leader the legendary Tighe McIntyre. We met with few of the group along the way, having our first stop for lunch at Quorn. Our timing was perfect, as the old steam train arrived in town exciting the kids no end. Continued on to Farina for our first night camp. After setting up camp we were treated to a superb BBQ prepared by Rose back in Adelaide and cooked by Tighe. A great place to camp, a wood heater shower and four thousand neighbours, noisy but fine sheep indeed!

Day 5
Morning came and a few dingoes had visited our campsite during the night - to Tighe's delight sniffing at his swag! As we headed off from camp it wasn't long before we came across a couple of dingoes. Checked out Purnie Bore - now closed off. The kids were given the job of counting the sand hills - but with so many they soon gave up and opted to enjoy the fun instead. Deflated our tyres to around 18psi here also. The track was quite sandy with lots of corrugations and limestone patches. Stopped overnight near the Colson Track.

Day 7
Head to Poeppel Corner - once again weather was perfect. At the post for Poeppel Corner - it was another Kodak moment with three states SA, NT and QLD meeting together.

Eyre Creek was almost dry - but Tighe had a few stories to tell with this one on a previous trip - lucky for us not so wet! Swallows had made many mud nests in the riverbanks and saw a few birds in the ponds of the riverbed. We made it - Big Red in sight - so big! After a few tries all made it to the top even if we did have to take the sidetrack. Kids had a ball rolling down the sand. What a challenge was Big Red!

We're all eager to get to Birdsville, with a promise of a shower, bed and pub dinner - pre-booked and enjoyed by all!

Day 9
Came down the Birdsville to the Cooper Creek crossing and the barge they used to use, later lunch at Lake Harry. Refuel at Marree then down the track to the 'black road' again. We had our accommodation pre-booked at Angorichina Village - a perfect holiday base. For our last night had a group dinner at 'The Prairie' (Parachilna Pub) - an excellent meal and a great night had by all!

Footnote
We all had a terrific time - enjoyed the many sights, friendships of our group and many memories our trip - with many thanks to Tighe for his fun times and excellent leadership and to Adventure 4WD for organising the trip of a lifetime!