1st Week of Simpson Desert - Birdsville to Alice Springs

Okay this is going to be a big one.   Just our first 7 days of the trip.  Second 7 days to come.   We met up with Gold Class Adventures tour guide Shane http://www.goldclassadventures.com/ and our group of 6 cars and 14 people in Birdsville Thursday morning after the Big Red Bash.   Crazy seeing a road train with 4 tanks on it for the gas station.  We all got going and headed out to Big Red the biggest sand dune in the Simpson Desert.

After Big Red we traveled down the QAA Line and stopped for camp just before the Northern Territory border.   The wild flowers were incredible.

Day two we kept on the QAA Line taking a detour to Poeppel Corner where three states meet.  NT, QLD and SA.   Then started heading North on the Hay River Track. 

Day 3 more Hay River Track which was a lot of winding roads.  Poor drivers were very tired at the end of the day.

Day 4 more Hay River Track and a stop at Lake Caroline where we got good and truly stuck!!!

Day 5 and Day 6 we traveled on the Hay River Track until we reached Batton Hill and we camped there.  We passed the Tropic of Capricorn and some secret meetings of the men's club over vehicles.  Had our first showers in 5 days.  It was rainy so we didn't stay for the two nights we had planned.

 Day 7  and 8 we were in Alice Springs.  We traveled down the Plenty Highway to get to Alice Springs  So much to see we could have done another week easy.   We did some day tours to Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap while getting showers, fuel, and some more food.   It also was the coldest in history in Alice Springs at minus 3.9.   And some of us were in tents not upgraded to cabins!!!!  The pipes were frozen in the morning.    Saw our second  dingo.