Crossing the Simpson Desert has become a mecca of rugged desert driving well known all across Australia and has become the pinnacle trip for people who want to prove their metal on some of the toughest desert sand roads in the world!

The Simpson Desert is massive, and covers approximately 176,000 km², it is the fourth largest desert in Australia and features the world’s longest parallel sand dunes which can be up to 200km long! It is situated fairly close to the geographic center of Australia, and covers parts of South Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland.

Despite its massive size there are no towns, or cities located within the Simpson, which is part of the reason why it has become a pinnacle of remote area touring, so anyone who attempts to cross the massive expanses of red sand should come prepared with enough fuel, food and water for the whole trip or the consequences could be dire!

So what do you need to tackle the arid and scorching Simpson desert!

A solid and well maintained 4WD

The Simpson Desert Conservation Park is shut from 1^st December until 15^th March due to the summer heat. This should give you some idea of how harsh, remote and unforgiving this area is, it is crucial your 4WD is in tip top condition, with no “sketchy” parts that could give out on you!

The vast distances to any real help mean you have to be prepared for just about anything, with all the correct spare parts for your vehicle, and proficient knowledge on how to fit them to your vehicle, along with things like spare oil, coolant (antifreeze is also an anti-boil) and along with all of these bits and pieces, a quality set of tools like the Adventure Kings Bush Mechanic Tool Kit offers all of the accessories you need to get your 4WD back on the tracks. including spanners sockets pliers, saws, hammers and just about everything else you could need!

Upgrades!

There is nothing for 2 days in either direction, and if you need something more than just an old roadhouse, you will have to go further, much further, so it is important to include on your list of vehicle preparations to include a way of carrying all of the extra fuel you may need along with some of those campsite extras that will make life a lot easier on the tracks!

The first and foremost upgrade everyone crossing the Simpson desert should make is a vehicle mounted 5W UHF with a high gain antenna. You can get an Oricom UHF380PK for under $300 including an installation kit, with a 6.5dBi antenna for plenty of reach with a UHF antenna mounted high with high gain output you will be able to reach approximately 20km in the desert making contact with other travelers possible, and if you monitor channel 10 you’ll be able to hear their transmissions get louder and clearer as they approach your convoy!

The next upgrade is a sand flag, these are usually a 3m long whip with a 300mm x 300mm high vis mesh flag with a high vis reflective X, these are mandatory, and allow oncoming travelers to see you over the dunes, particularly when travelling at speed. You can get your hands on a quick connect minewhips flag for under $150 and have absolute visibility when crossing the dunes!

The last important upgrade is a steel roof rack, with a steel roof rack you can include all of your important gear, and even a handful of fuel jerrycans for extra fuel range, keep in mind that it can take over 4 days to traverse the Simpson desert, and you are all alone out there, with the French line being the most direct route, and reaching well over 400km in length, you will find that your petrol 4WD can use double the amount of fuel driving through soft sand, than it would on hard terrain like the highway, and diesels can use up to 50% more fuel than when on highways!

One of the longest length trips across the Simpson is through the Madigan Line reaching over 800km and taking over 2 weeks to complete, some serious preparation needs to be undertaken to confidently tackle what is not really a track, and more a point to point via GPS navigation, this is where a VMS Touring 700HDX will come in handy, displaying all of your travelled routes, distances traveled, and distances remaining, you’ll have all of the information you need to tackle some of the most remote countryside in the world!

This is just some of the preparation you can take to get ready for your Simpson desert trip, so soak up the atmosphere and enjoy a great time driving through some of the most remote places in the world!