Day One

We pick up at all Alice Springs Hotels and head south to Santa Theresa Mission. The church here has stunning murals painted by Indiginous artists. We will also visit the art centre and the craft centre before heading south to singular Rodinga Range. Through a cleft in the range the road heads out into a vast frozen sea which is the Simpson Desert. We camp in Sandhills.

Day Two

 Awake to birdsong and fresh brewed coffee. We break camp and travel south to the fascinating Old Andado Homestead, for many years the home of outback icons Mac and Molly Clarke. The house has been lovingly preserved and we will spend a fascinating couple of hours discovering the rigours of outback life in days gone by. Further south we cross the Finke River into South Australia. We travel on to Mt Dare Station Homestead which now lies in Witjira National Park to refuel for our desert crossing, We recross the Fine and camp on the Finke floodplain surrounds by huge coolabah trees at Mayfield Swamp.

Day Three

From Old Andado we head east to the Mac Clarke Acacia Peuce Reserve. The reserve protects one of only three copses of these rare and unique trees. We are now on the path less travelled as we wend our way to Camp 1a. There are some spectacular jump ups in the area. We camp on the floodplain of the Hale River, which rises two hundred kilometres to our north in the Eastern Macdonnell Ranges.

Day Four 

Our day is taken up with dramatic scenery changes. Fletcher Hill, an ascent of the Twins, a crossing of Allitra Tableland and the Colson Track before our camp among the Coolabahs at Illogwa creek

Day Five and Six

We are now deep into the sandhills. Our days will involve some challenging driving as the vehicles best some reasonably steep and sandy dunes. We will camp amongst Gidgee trees near Camps 8 and 12.

Day Seven

We arrive at the Hay River, mad obvious by the coolabah trees. We head south along the river floor soon turning eastward again. We are back in the sandhills again, and eventually camp in a gidgee grove

Day Eight

We arrive at Eyre Creek, which depending on the season can be an oasis of greenery or a barren parched riverbed of cracked grey clay. Both are beautiful. We will explore the ruins of Annandale Station. Annandale was taken up in 1876, and from 1896 until 1918 it was owned by the Cattle Baron Sidney Kidman. It is now part of Adria Downs, owned by the Brook family. David Brook’s grandfather managed Annandale. We will head south along Eyre Creek to our camp on the QAA line.

Day Nine

We cross Big Red and arrive in Birdsville. After a well earned shower there is the option of exploring Birdsville including the Bakery, visitors centre and the famous Pub. We travel south along the Birdsville Track to camp near the lonely grave of the Page Family in Sturts Stony Desert.

Day Ten

We visit Mirra Mitta bore, where the water exits the bore at almost boiling temperature, we travel through Mungerannie Gap for lunch at the Mungerannie Pub. After lunch we head south through Mulka Station, site of the driest recorded rainfall in Australia, and on the Etadunna Station. By arrangement with the owners of Etadunna we drive on station tracks out to the lonely ruins of the Bethesda Lutheran Mission on the banks of Coopers Creek. Here we will look at one of the most extraordinary stories of European/Aboriginal contact. We camp in the bed of the Cooper Creek.

Day 11

We head south to the town of Marree, where there is an optional chance to fly over Lake Eyre. Marree was a “Ghan” town, home to the Afghan Cameleers, and we look at some of the historic houses, including that of the famous Bejah Dervish. We continue south to Copley, with a shower at Lyndhurst. Tonight we camp on private property near a little known Aboriginal art site displaying thousands of stone carvings on the red walls of a spectacular gorge.

Day 12

Our morning is spent travelling via Nepabunna through the spectacular Gammon Ranges. Further south we arrive at Chambers Gorge. There is the option of climbing to the summit for some awe inspiring views, or wandering down the gorge amongst spectacular river red gums. If you want, do both.

Day 13

We cross the Flinders Ranges from the east to the west, stopping at Blinman, South Australia's highest town. We then experience the incredible Brachina Gorge interpretive drive. We follow the award winning self interpretive geological trail tracing 200 million years of geological history as we wind beneath the native pines and red quartzite ridges. We head further south taking station tracks to our camp at Warren Gorge, where it is possible to view a colony of yellow footed rock wallabys.

Day Fourteen

We depart Warren Gorge and head via historic Qorn through the Pitchi Ritchi Pass to Port Augusta. We lunch at the docks at Port Wakefield and arrive in Adelaide early afternoon and the end of an incredible adventure.

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