EXCEED January/February 2018 Vol 35 No:1 | Page 31

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Vol 35 No.1 - Jan/Feb 2018

29

Sunday 24 September Marree to Birdsville

After a great night spent at Marree with Peters group we had to say our fond farewells as they were going in the other direction. Our main goal for today was to get a burger at Phils in Mungerannie Hotel (well mine). Being up the front as trip leader has its advantages, you can get in and order and watch everybody wait while you are eating. Arrived safely at Birdsville and off to the pub for dinner. Graham decided to set up his tent with out a fly on it so that he could look at the start. Unbeknown to him he set up under a street light in the caravan park.

Monday 25 September Birdsville to Simpson Desert

Anna and I were excited that this day had finally arrived. We were going to tackle Big Red and then cross the Simpson. Two more ticks on the bucket list.

After a fun morning on Big Red (and I’m not telling if we made it up) it was time to begin our crossing and the first of many (approx. 1100) sand dunes.

Travelling over what seemed like countless dunes and salt p0lains already, the cruiser suddenly coasted to a stop! We had seemingly broken down in the middle of the Simpson Desert!

After making that dreaded statement (loathed by all 4x4 drivers on a trip) “ummm guys, my car just stopped and I cant start it” the convoy came to a halt. The hood was popped up and the investigation into the cause of the issue started. What could it be? After what seemed like hours (actually it was) the conclusion was we had ‘run out of diesel’. But how could this be when we still had 180lts of diesel left in the sub tank? We were approximately 153km from Birdsville.

To cut long story short, I’d run the main tank dry and couldn’t switch over to the sub tank (or so it seemed). The fix was to drain diesel from the sub tank and fill up the main tank. Fortunately, the ladies wisely suggested we make camp for the night, which was gratefully agreed to by all.

Around the campfire that night, among the many discussions, was to name our camp site for the night “Nick’s Corner’. A suggestion was also made to leave a Geocache at the location. The next morning I contributed my old billy as a receptacle and everyone contributed a little souvenir for the cache. There was also a note left in the cache. There was also a sign left on a tree marking the spot for the West to East crew to find.

Thanks to the East West group for all your help and support. Special thanks to Paul for his siphoning skills and for remembering the breath mint. John for his various phone calls. Scotty for crawling under and around the car looking for answers.

Nick and Anna D’Roserio 1106