Day 4 - Birdsville to Lake Thomas (Part 1 - Birdsville to Eyre Creek)

 So where is Lake Thomas?  It's the first salt lake after Lake Poeppel on the French Line!

Today was a big day out in the desert and a long day of driving.  The day started with packing the vehicles, ensuring the weight distribution was right as this is the heaviest load on the Jimny and the biggest dunes.  We are getting lighter every kilometer we travel.

Tyre pressures are key for sand driving and whilst the dunes are apparently steeper on approach heading from East to West through the desert, the Jimny handled them all even with the overloading - with carrying an additional 60+kgs in fuel (3x20l Jerries) plus 40l in the tank.

So in talking tyre pressures, my go to pressure is 11 PSI for most sand driving.  This might seem low but we are talking about a vehicle that has recommended tyre pressures of 23 PSI in the front and 25 PSI in the rear.  As we were fully loaded - I increased the pressure to around 13 PSI cold for the desert crossing.  I have gone down to 8 PSI when I do North Ngkala Rocks bypass with dry conditions but usually air up again once I am through.  I haven't had an issue going through the South Ngkala Rocks bypass with 11 PSI, no matter how soft and chopped up it is - but momentum is your friend.


The obligatory shot in front of the Birdsville Hotel - just a little down on the shocks!  The FJ has a number of Jerry Cans up on top but only one was full as Gary has long range tanks installed.  The extra Jerry Cans were for the trip back via the Madigan Line.

Gary hadn't had much to do with Jimny's before this trip so I think he was a bit concerned at the start of the trip - just needed to watch the Jimny strut his stuff up a few dunes with a few wheel lifts (it's a Jimny thing) to put his mind at ease that he wouldn't need any recovery gear out.

This is Gary and the FJ Cruiser (definitely non-standard features on this beast) doing a pre-trip video and talking to the camera on Big Red.

The little beast - locked and loaded.  Just about to point it west to cross the Simpson Desert and just over 1100 sand dunes before we roll into Dalhousie for a swim in the hot springs and then off to Mt Dare Hotel for a cold cider!






We arrived at Eyre Creek for lunch after a fun mornings drive from Big Red.  The desert wasn't as green as our previous crossing as the rains and floods had been further north.  There had been some recent rain but the wild flowers weren't out yet and the desert seemed drier than we had experienced it - but not for long as it is in flood as I write this blog of our trip.

There was a small puddle of water in Eyre Creek which was being visited by lots of Zebra Finches, Budgies, Doves and some White-plumed Honeyeaters.

For more photos and videos - click on the following link:

Birdsville to Eyre Creek - Photos and Videos


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