The Simpson Desert Adventure Comes To An End

As our great Simpson Desert Adventure comes to a close, we sing to celebrate one of the greatest 4WD adventures you can travel across Australia. With a final destination of Birdsville’s Big Red, we take these final few days to reflect on what an incredible journey it has been. Having travelled over 5,000 kilometres and over 1,100 sand dunes we celebrate the spectacular trip with a couple of cold ones down at the famous Birdsville Hotel.

This once in a lifetime trip has offered us some pretty incredible sites along its tracks including Uluru, the Red Centre, Kings Canyon and The West Mcdonald Ranges. We’ve travelled across Plenty Highway and seen a wide range of wildlife from lizards to emus, kangaroos and Camels. The Simpson Desert certainly did not disappoint! Having followed in the footsteps of the great Cecil Madigan along the Madigan Line this trip has been an amazingly educational and inspiring road trip.

Birdsville’s Big Red

After some well-earned Breakfast, the team makes their way over the 1,140th sand dune of the adventure, the last and final sand dune of the trip. The Big Red! To celebrate, we break out the bubbly and cheers to the ultimate 4-wheel-drive adventure. With a couple attempts up the big red, we enjoy a couple of drinks at the top as we watch the sunset on a glorious holiday.

Big Red sits at 40 metres high, just 35km from the town of Birdsville. Marking the symbolic edge of the Simpson Desert, watching the sunset at the top of this dune is an absolutely incredible feeling you do not want to miss! Big Red, originally called Nappanerica, got its name due to rusting iron particles which turned the dune a dark orange-red colour.

If you’re planning a trip out to Birdsville for the Big Bash or the Birdsville Races, we could not recommend travelling up the Big Red any more! The Big Red provided the group with the most incredible finale being able to take in and look over the hundreds of sand dune we crossed to get to this destination.

Birdsville Hotel

Coming into Birdsville from the Big Red, we arrive to the welcoming committee of the ARB team from right around the state. Store owners from right across the state have arrived for the annual ARB conference. But, before we went back to work, we enjoyed the most delicious pub feed from the famous Birdsville Hotel.

Built-in 1884 by William Blair, the Birdsville Hotel is a destination in its own right. Having lived through floods, fires and even cyclones, this pub symbolises the real spirit and character of the outback Australia.

This award-winning pub offers visitors accommodation, pub fare, quality wine list, refreshingly cold drinks and an absolutely authentic outback experience. This iconic pub is a ‘must-do’ for any outback traveller.

If you missed the rest of our trip across The Simpson Desert to Birdsville’s Big Red, Catch-up on all the stories from our ARB Central Australia Adventure here.