Our first night in the desert was really exciting. The remoteness, silence and so many stars. It was dry and dusty which made starting a fire a breeze as any timber took seconds to light. Cooked breakfast over the camp fire which is fairly quick and easy before breaking camp and continuing our journey across The Simpson.
Back on the QAA Line it was sand dune after sand dune after sand dune. You lose count after a while but each of them is different with some smooth and others dug out a little on the western side. We never had any problems getting over them, though coming from the east its a steeper climb we still found it fairly easy going. Just take your time and roll over the top, no need to flaw it and but yourself at risk.
Along the QAA trail you sometimes come across some strange things. Once such thing, is the Undies Off Tree. I don’t know how it came about, but people have left their underwear hanging on a tree, so of which have been thrown fairy high.
As you drive across the desert you often need to cross a salt pan. Thankfully for us they were all dry so crossing wasn’t an issue, but take care as if you leave the main track there may still be some soft spots.
160 Km from Birdsville you reach the fist main junction with the Hay River Track. There are several ways to go from here, but as it was dry we headed directly south along the salt pan before turning west again towards Poeppel Corner.
From the junction of the K1 lines its a very short drive to Poeppel’s Corner.
Poeppel’s Corner
It’s hard to believe that you are standing on the border of Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory. The original corner post would have been a timber pole which unfortunately Poeppel’s equipment was a little worn and not measuring correctly, so the first post was put in the wrong spot. The surrounding lakes such as Lake Poeppel were all dry, but must look amazing when filled with water.
