Watti Watti/Central White Lake Survey

Watti Watti/Central White Lakes Survey

15 Day Survey - July 17 > July 31, 1 day flight/13 days trekking/1 day flight

Survey price: $9060 Fully Booked - waitlist only

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This survey departs from and concludes in Adelaide. The survey price includes return flights Adelaide > Simpson Desert.

Survey Grade:

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​This survey continues on from the preceding Great White Lakes Expedition but swings southeast and heads back towards the Warburton River floodplain. The entire survey will be in the Munga-Thirri Simpson Desert National Park in South Australia.

The landscape consists of towering red/washed out white dunes in very open country and we may see some isolated stands of gidgee in the first few days of the journey.

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You walk alongside our team of packcamels accompanied by 5 cameleers who are your crew for the duration of the survey.

Our cameleers are not 'tour guides', they are experienced and seasoned stockmen/women who are specialists in handling and working with camels, and have a wealth of experience in walking the desert and knowledge of its flora & fauna, and are respectful of our First Nations people who call the desert home.​ The survey will have up to 3 scientists who will be conducting benchmark surveys in ornithology, botany and also setting pitfall traps to capture nocturnal creatures as they wander on the dune crests.

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Walking in this landscape is on firm sand and occasional claypans. If the eastern Simpson receives good soaking rain in late March/early April, there may be a profusion of yellow flowers such as poached-egg daisy & 'Yellowtop' covering the landscape, and supplying our camels with fresh feed.

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May, June and July is ideal walking weather in Central Australia and over the course of a 5 to 6 hour walking day you would walk approximately between 8 to 10 kilometres.  Our pace of travel is determined by the camels and their ability to negotiate the dunes or other landforms in the landscape. They carry all your personal gear, and all you have to carry is your day pack. We will of course be stopping as required depending on what we see as we walk along.

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This is a very real, very Australian desert experience, and camels are the perfect cross-country vehicle and so we don't follow roads or tracks, and there is no vehicle back-up: we don't need it! Camps are chosen for the availability of camel feed, and we never camp in the same place twice. And in addition, as we are Australia's only scientific organisation that also specialises in remote desert travel, you won't 'bump into' any other groups of trekkers.

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