Across the Simpson Desert (Day 3)

To Lambert's Centre, twittering, groves galore, humpty doos and loads of bulldust.
~ Always in awe as to how peaceful it is when we're camping. At night, away from the lights of cities and towns, the sky is bursting with such an array of stars and planet - it's breathtaking! 
So, after a great night's sleep, we had our tent all packed up in readiness for a 9.30 departure. I joined some of the other women to walk out along the track. The men were to catch us up in the vehicles as camp was disbanded. 
Saw an amazing amount of strange looking tracks from small animals and creatures which meant that'd be worthwhile doing some spotlighting after dark. Also came upon 4 birds in a Desert Oak - they looked like budgerigars, only more colourful. Bright orange breasts, turquoise necks and yellows, blues and greens. They were twittering as we approached, no apparent fear of us.
I'd walked 2.6km by the time my ride arrived ;-)  


Off we went, on to Maryvale and stopped at the store where we bought essentials like ice creams and also filled water containers.  A young lass with a small baby was running the store. She said she also did the cooking for ten men, as they were doing cattle work (made me feel quite lazy!)

After Maryvale, the track alternated between rocky and sandy conditions.
Quite a few sand dunes, albeit small, but we felt it was a foretaste of the Simpson. 


We followed the old Ghan line for most of the day. 

A few old relics, a shovel,
the Ghan track and herself

In some sections the rail track was removed, so we drove on the actual old Ghan trackline, however the corrugations were pretty bad. On the 'road' track there were
'humpty doos'  which were very frequent, so had to decide which was worse! (Humpty doos are much larger versions of corrugations in the road - not too bad if far apart, but when close together they're hell to drive on!)


Passed through some lovely groves of blue gums, then Mulga. Also a section filled with mauve flowers - a beautiful contrast against the red dirt.

The landscape is never boring, it's so changeable. Up and over a sand dune and you're presented with a magnificent panorama of ranges, or a grove of Deserk Oaks and their saplings waving (dancing) in the breeze.


Had a look around a couple of abandoned rail sidings and settlers quarters. They were substantially made, with concrete walls and floors. We all tried to imagine the life of the former occupants.

Arrived at the very dry Finke River and drove over it. That's where we experienced bull dust for the first time. It's like a very fine talcum powder which covers the windscreen (and everything else) instantly. A most strange and unique sensation. 
A willy willy welcomed us to the Finke Community and amongst other articles, a pair of pants were seen flying heavenwards!


After more humpty doos and corrugations, we arrived at the Lambert Centre around 5pm. This is the geographical centre of Australia. Apparently, Lambert is the fellow who pushed for this location to be marked. 

The campsite came together with no problems, everyone's got the hang of who does what and when.
The dunny rating was 9/10, particular mention was made of the landscaped path curving up to the door and new toilet rolls!


Mileage for the day 216km