2014 Simpson Desert Meetup Trip Report

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This is my take on the" Meet in the middle 2014"

FRIDAY 27 JUNE 2014

We left Home at 5:30pm on Friday night and had planned to travel to the Meet up via Pt Augusta to Coober Pedy on to Oodnanatta then up to Dalhousie Springs.
Well we got a phone call from AB (totally unexpected) saying that Stropp had been in touch with him to pass on a message that he was catching up with the Vics at Oodnanatta at lunch time. AB said he was at Orroroo! Hung up and talked to Nev and we decided to meet up with AB and MudrunnerTD and Winnie the next day at Hawker. Rang AB back to tell him and all was good. So we then change course and were on our way to Quorn to stop for the night.
Ended up staying at a parking bay Pt Augusta side of Quorn and as it was late we just opened up the tent and fell asleep excited for what lay ahead.

The first photo of many taken through the window with the goal post!



SATURDAY 28
Up early next morning as we had arranged with AB that we would catch up properly at Hawker, waiting for the phone call to confirm. Well AB forgot didn't he...........................!!!
As you all know he and Winnie had a rough night at Orroroo with the tents being flooded that they forgot us.............!!

We had taken our time waiting for the phone call and little did we know they were on their way to Leigh Creek without us!!!
I rang to find all this out so we hit the road at 110km and didn’t stop. Missed out on our Coffee at Hawker !! Bugger!

We got to Leigh Creek and saw the Guys in the car park. They had just got there!! Really??
(Apparently they stopped at Hawker and Parachilna along the way.) We took a bit of a hit with the fuel economy as we were hoofing it fully loaded.

Huggs all round (Shaggz likes hugs!) and we were all friends. I think with Darren it took a while as I'm sure he was a bit suss about someone who 6 weeks out said they would go when everyone else took 2 years!! hahahaha Suckers !!

Winnie had to buy a pillow as he had left his behind at Orroroo so we all hit the shop!! There was only one so made it easy. We all bought supplies that we need (or had left behind!) and I finally got my Coffee and was good.
We had lunch and filled up with fuel. ($185.7) Then there were 4.





Daren kept a quick pace and we were soon at Maree.





Had a quick stop to visit the Toilet (not sure what they had the night before??) then on to William Creek where we found Stropp waiting for us.

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Then there were 5.


We camped at Algebuckina Bridge where Winnie and AB dried out their soaked tents. It was very windy so perfect for the soggy tents.



After dinner the boys went to scout for wood for the campfire and the wind died out for a perfect night.







We all enjoyed the fire and got to know each other better. (Shaggz still had to convince Darren but he was slowly coming around!)


SUNDAY 29

Up next day early.



Such a pretty place and we had it all to ourselves.





Headed on to Oondatta to fuel up.



The Oodnadatta track was a bit rough.





Stopped......not sure why?? Maybe Darren was lost?? hahaha



Nope....this is the way to go!!



Pink Roadhouse Oodnadatta

AB, and Winnie had similar fuel consumptions so both were happy. ( Little did I know it was a start of something special!! hahahaha) What happens in the Desert stays in the desert except when it goes on the forum!! hahahahha







Breakfast!






This is the way to Delhousie Springs via Hamilton Station.

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The start of the National Park between Hamiltion Station and Delhousie Springs.







Delhousie Springs Homestead.
The ruins are being restored up to roof line. So good to see our history being preserved.







Got to Delhousie Springs camp ground about 12:30 for Lunch. Roofy and Jane, Katwoman, Steve and Emily were already there. Was so good to see them as I had already met them the time I went to the Forum High Country Meet up several years ago





AB, Winnie, Stropp and us went to Mt Dare for fuel (at $2.45L by the way.)
OMG....the road was the worst I have ever been on. Big gibbers and huge dried wash outs.





Mt Dare







We went back to Dellhousie Springs via Bloods creek which was longer in K's but took the same time!!
Stropp lost a shackle that his winch was hooked on to on the bad roads. We were tail end charlie but sadly we did not see it... Bugger. Got the sack ..one job!!...hahahaha.
Darren asked Stropp to be tailend charlie for the rest of the trip!!...........hahahaha
Turned out to be a good thing for Stropp to watch our butt as we were most of the time Vehicle number 8 down the back, going slow and sucking up everyone’s dust !!

Back at Delhousie Springs we hit the Hot Springs. Was absolutely Awesome!! We took Zac (Darren’s son) and Em (Kats daughter) down for a swim.
Had dinner and we all sat round for Forum bonding and drinking!! Some bonded more than others!! Some drank more than others!!!!! Hhahahahaha Happy days!

Rossco and Nicole turned up at around 9:00pm and now we were complete.

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MONDAY 30

Monday was a relaxing day.
Our set up.



Our new step ladder/table!!....Thanks Darren...hahahahaha



We all sorted out our cars by opening the bonnets and leaning on each others bull bars looking at the engine! I jointed in and...... well it was soon apparent that I did not have a 4.2 and was reminded constantly! They say size does matter!! hahahahahahaha

The sand flag saga was funny as AB, Muddy and Winnie put theirs together. (sorry no pics)

We all swam in the springs (I think Rossco and Nicole went before the sun came up) which was such a treat.


Nev and I went for a walk and the Volunteer who was on duty caught up with us and gave us a guided tour which was an added bonus.

Taken from a hill behind the Springs.



The Springs





After lunch we went down to have a swim and found AB, Stropp, Rossco and Nicole, Darren and Zac, and Winnie were in the Springs having a few bruskies. We got in and joined them.



The little fish that were biting us while stand still in the water.



Selfie!!



Was such a relaxing time....then............... they ran out of beer and asked me to go and get some more!
Yeah right..........NO!

10 mins passed and Darren said if i got the beers I could see what it was like to drive a 4.2 and could drive his car!
Well that was tempting.................I thought about it and Shaggz said she would go and get more beers if she could drive ALL the 4.2's! Agreed! Suckers!! hahahahaha............ Shaggz likes 4.2’s (its the bigger size!! hahahaha)..................... hahahahahahahaha (Need to stay tuned for this one).

The bribe...




When we got there on the Sunday (Shaggz) had greeted Kat and her family with hugs all round. Well............Darren must have been watching because he thought Kat's daughter was our daughter. While we were all swimming he was concerned as to where our daughter was so we strung him along for a while letting him think she was................hahahahahaha that will teach a 4.2 driver!!

We all finally got out and had dinner then sat around bonding again telling stories and having a few drinks.

As tomorrow was THE DAY we were all in bed by 8:30 excited.

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TUESDAY 1 JULY 2014.............THE DAY HAD FINALLY ARRIVED............2014 MEETUP IN THE MIDDLE

All up early and excited. The plan was to leave at 8:30 but we were all ready by 8:00. What an awesome sight to see our 9 Vehicles all loaded and sand flagged up. Felt really proud to be part of such a group. Did a slow drive by of our awesome convoy through the camp and we were on our way with much excitement and anticipation..............(goose bumps!!)

THE SIMPSON DESERT



Lets go...............



The roads were pretty bad





The first stop up the road (of many) we all got out and checked our vehicles as the corrugation got bad.



Got worse. Stropp lost his second winch shackle!










The convoy stopped many times for different reasons and we all checked our vehicles. (We had found the lens on our Kmar light had a screw just about out.)









Stopped for Lunch.

The children playing hacky sack with a milk carton....






At Lunch time did the usual vehicle check and I found our HF radio whip was missing!!!

It had rattled off but not only had it come off it had broken the whip mount as well and left a dent in the car on the way down!!!!!! I carry a spare whip in case one gets broken but was useless as it had nothing to screw to! Darren being a great trip leader went back 5km looking for the whip but didn't find it. (I think he likes us now!!)
We had met people going the way we had come so Darren jumped on the radio and asked them to keep a look out for out whip and to let the Admin of Nissan Patrol.com.au know if they found it.........One can only hope. Darren went way beyond............... so thank you.



Winnie had a screw come out of his steering wheel!
(When Winnie got home and was cleaning the car he noticed a rattle from behind the steering wheel. He took the steering wheel off and the one big nut holding it on was about 2 threads from coming off... OMG Don't even want to go there............ as to what could have happened!!)

Sand flags came loose, dashes developed rattles that sounded like a 30 piece orchestra and other stuff happened that showed up later!!

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After lunch left the rig road onto the WAA road and the sand hills became real.





We all stopped to let our tyres down further.



We then continued to enjoy the drive. The terrain was constancy changing.







3:15 we stopped to set up camp.









Happy hour!!!



Some had dinner and others watched their dinner cook. Hahahaha

Winnie, AB and Darren’s dinner took 6 hours to rotisserie!! Was very entertaining watching it cook and Rossco kept saying the batteries were going to run out at any minuite and Winnie did not have any more!! hahahahahahahahahaha Was better than watching TV!!









(Travelled 164km)

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WEDNESDAY 2 JULY 2014

Everyone was up and ready to go by 8:00
The terrain was so different to what I expected which was great as it mixed up the experience.



















Went to the Lone Gum.
A poor tree all alone out in the Desert and not a friend in sight!! Pretty remarkable really that it has survived.







We saw some motor bike riders and over the radio they were speaking another language!! Good on em! (no pics)

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The Motley crew...

1929.JPG 1930.JPG 1931.JPG 1932.JPG 1933.JPG 1934.JPG 1936.JPG 1937.JPG 1938.JPG

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The roads were different again as a grader had been out fixing up an airstrip. The roads were wide and not too bad except for the hills that were whoopsie doooos. Up and down, up and down, up and where did the road go? Holy crap!!.......... there it is, and down....(phew!!) Went on for ages. (Photos don't show it very well)







Lots of driving without needing to stop.









Our sand flag thread stripped!! Had to do a few minor adjustments....like put it on the roof!!! These roads were taking their toll!!





Hope Darren knows where to go.................I have no idea!! hahahahaha




Camped at the corner and was a good spot.






Rossco had problems with his brakes. The line had worn through by continuous rubbing on the fire wall and brake fluid was coming out. A temp fix was put in place so hopefully it would hold.



(travelled 220km)

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THURSDAY 3

Every one slept in and was a bit slow getting going.

We had set a shower on Wed night and the usual appitude test with the shower tent next morning! Darren gets the prize!! Thanks Darren or we could still be there!! hahahahahahah



Can you spot Zac?




We left at 8:45am and didn’t get very far down the road when Rossco reported that his brakes had given out.



On opening the bonnet it was evident that we had a problem as there was brake fluid everywhere. Some bush mechanics and shared spares gave us another temp fix.



While they were fixing Rossco's car Kat showed me that she had had a fight with a sand hill the day before and hurt her hand. Changing gears was very painfull.



Off we went. The terrain was different again. Bush stripe material!



Stopped and Roofy had a problem as well. A bit of lubricant spray and we were on the road again.



Poeppel Corner was next and we had Lunch there. Was such a buzz to be able to be in three states at the same time!!





Roofy and Jane checking the spot where the first marker was placed.



Taken at Poeppel's corner. Guess which state??



Back on the road and Darren our fearless leader had a moment and kept going instead of reading the signs that pointed to the right!!

The sign on the left even said wrong way!!! hahahah
Well sort off.....someone had crossed out the w and turned the o into a b! etc but you still got the idea!!



Even funnier is AB and Winnie just followed!! hahahahaha
Kat came to the corner and as she was far enough behind that she didn't see which way they went she go on the radio and asked. The rest of the convoy by this time had caught up and we were all waiting...............three sheepish vehicles appeared.........hahahahahaha



Back on the right (hahaha) road and we came across a red Landrover who did not have a radio!! Some people should not be allowed to get out of bed in the morning!!!

We were now into the soft sand and most has a moment where they picked either the wrong gear or lost momentum or both and had to back up.



Can you see my hand up??!! Hahahahaha Me and a sand hill had a moment!! Lucky for me I won. There for a split second it wasn't looking good!! Got the heart pumping, and taking deep breaths!! No pics or change of undies!! Hahahahaha

More tyre adjustment was needed and it was good to be driving in softer sand. (Minus that one sand hill!!)





Set up camp as we had ran out of day.

Had a few vehicle injuries. Our diff locker hose had come out of the housing. Roscco came to the rescue and helped Nev secure it back.



Darren I think had a rear sway "somthing" brake. I missed it as I was concentrating on our vehicle and he had already taken it off. (sorry no pics)
Had dinner and sat around telling stories.



Was really good to see that everyone was getting on so well and helping each other out.
(Travelled 156km)

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FRIDAY 4

Up and moving by 8:20

Took photos of everone. Hahahahaha We all look our best in the morning when we are camping..hahahaha (not posting these!!) hahahahahaha

Testosterone



Testosterone / Estrogen



Roofys car was making noises again.
Our lockers were working all good now after Rossco helped Neville fix them.
Back on the road.







And a lot more traffic. Had to stop this time.



Met another vehicle going the other way without a radio! Wonder if he was related to the radioless Landrover?? Darren gave him a serve and rightly so. Lets hope he listened (hahahahaha pun not intended) and didn't kill someone!

Big Red was the next sand hill!!