Munga Thirri Simpson Desert Central

Munga-Thirri Simpson Desert National Park Central Survey

Munga-Thirri Simpson Desert National Park Central

16 Day Survey - June 12 > June 27, 1 day flight/1 day 4WD/13 days trekking/1 day flight

This survey has been booked by a private group

This survey departs from Brisbane and concludes in Adelaide. The survey price includes flights Brisbane > Birdsville, and flights from the desert to Adelaide.

Survey Grade:

This survey continues on from the northern survey and will also spend the entire time in the largest national park on the continent, the newly gazetted Munga-Thirri Simpson Desert National Park in South Australia.

Unlike the preceding survey, this trip will gradually walk south and west and conclude near to the K1 Line. We have only walked in this part of the desert once before and are very keen to have a good look around this fascinating area.

The landscape consists of towering red/washed out white dunes in very open country and it is unlikely that we will see any large stands of timber.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Moderate

Further information

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