Snuggle up under the stars in Central Australia's Simpson Desert. Between Oodnadatta and Birdsville lies a wilderness of windblown dunes, running parallel for hundreds of kilometres. Traversing this tract of brick-red sand and salt lakes at the heart of Central Australia is an achievement in itself.

The Simpson Desert extends from northeast South Australia north into the Northern Territory and northeast into southwest Queensland's Channel Country. Our party followed the old Ghan railway line, skirting Lake Eyre to enter the Simpson at Dalhousie Springs. Routes across the desert are mainly survey lines set out by geophysicists some decades ago. Big Red, the last major wind-blown dune, lies just west of Birdsville, the last outpost in Queensland. From Birdsville, the way home followed the (in)famous Birdsville Track south to rejoin the old Ghan route at Marree.

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