Logistics of 5 in one vehicle across the Simpson (2 adults x 3 kids)

[r4ndll Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close r4ndll]

I’ve booked a 14 day tag along tour through the Simpson in Sept. Understandably my wife is a little upset I will be going without her. We can’t leave the kids with anyone for 3 weeks whilst we do it. So either I go alone, or we all go. Tour leader is happy for kids to come along as long as we are comfortable. (The kids will be 3, 7, 9)

So I’m interested on viewpoints of those who’ve done the trip as to whether we are dreaming or this is possible? Those who I met in Tas will know my kids are pretty good travellers. It’s mainly the logistics of the trip that concern me. (eg some recommend 4 litres water per day, some 6 etc.)

The longest we will be in the desert will be 5 days between Alice and Birdsville, so 5 people x 6 litres per day = 150 litres water (plus additional reserve?) + Food + Fuel + Spares + Camping gear. We can possibly off load some water to the tour leader’s vehicle if required. Longest distance will be 750km between fuel so we should be ok with Prado’s 180L but maybe need to carry an extra Jerry of fuel? We will be doing off track between Batton Hill and Mt Knuckey then Hay River, K1 and QAA.

Route is:
Begin Maree
Night 1 Oodnadatta Pink Roadhouse
2 Mt Dare Hotel
3 Alice Springs
4 Batton Hill
5 Desert
6 Desert
7 Desert
8 Desert
9 Desert
10 Birdsville
11 & 12 Innamincka
13 Cameron Corner
14 White Cliff

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

First question is, are you allowed to take your trailer? If so then I would think no problems, if not it gets a little tricky.

Cheers Andrew

[Boneyone Member Find all posts View Profile Close Boneyone]

Just do it, it will be all worth it. As far as water goes, just make sure you keep the drinking water for drinking. There will be plenty of opportunities for collecting water for washing dishes etc.

[electron Member Find all posts View Profile Close electron]

Batton hill had drinkable water last time I was there. Fuel is available as Jevious near the Hay river track turnoff.
I did the French line across the Simpson in a Subaru wagon in 1997 with 2 adults and 3 kids with another 6 Subarus and a couple of big vehicles, you just need to plan and pack well.

[404pug Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 404pug]

I did the Simpson 3 or 4 years ago on an a tag along and there was a family of 5 in a Prado. They had a great time. Pack carefully and lightly and all will be well. You shouldn't need the extra jerry but take trip leader's advice. Make sure that you have good suspension with air bags for the big load. I have spent weeks on trips with 3 kids in the car years ago. Today, give them their own music and headphones so you don't have to listen to kiddy music for weeks!!!

[r4ndll Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close r4ndll]

Just do it, it will be all worth it.

That's what my heart is telling me. It is my head that is the issue!

First question is, are you allowed to take your trailer? If so then I would think no problems, if not it gets a little tricky.

Cheers Andrew

No trailers. ��

It's the Batton Hill>Birdsville stretch that seems hardest to deal with. Trip leader is solo in a hilux so can take some water for us so might be ok on that front.

I'm thinking two malamoo pop up tents and self inflating mattresses to keep weight down.

Batton hill had drinkable water last time I was there. Fuel is available as Jevious near the Hay river track turnoff.
I did the French line across the Simpson in a Subaru wagon in 1997 with 2 adults and 3 kids with another 6 Subarus and a couple of big vehicles, you just need to plan and pack well.

Good to know.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

No trailers. ��

Pity, that would have made things easy.

All things going to plan we will be heading down the Hay River in May, we will take our trailer and will just be the 2 of us, hope we can fit it all in

Cheers Andrew

[Brisey Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Brisey]

If you can offload other gear to other cars as well as water you should be OK.
Won't be any room for luxuries though.
Also won't be much room for the kids feet.
Just make sure the other cars carry things like tools, oil, hi lift jack etc so you don't have to.

[talk2tiny Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close talk2tiny]

Just have a crack at packing everything and then lay it all out on the grass and throw half of it out. You'll be surprised what you can do without. I went with just dad and myself and we were 500kg's over weight but we did take a lot of luxuries that weren't really necessary. I culled a lot when I took the kids to the cape. You might want to consider yoga mats for the kids. Slightly bulkier than airbeds but lighter and you won't be spending each afternoon blowing up air beds. We use them for the Joey Scouts on concrete floors and they don't seem to mind so you'll probably be fine on them out in the desert. Drawers will make your life a lot easier too. They add extra weight so it's a trade off but having everything in it's place will make evening setups much less stressful and more importantly, morning packups become a lot easier too. Definitely try for a few practice trips with your planned setup. It is an awesome trip though so definitely go for it if you can.

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

The longest we will be in the desert will be 5 days between Alice and Birdsville, so 5 people x 6 litres per day = 150 litres water (plus additional reserve?)

We have a family of 5 as well (in a 150's, so less room) and crossed the desert in 2012. We took 3x20ltrs of water + 2x5ltrs of water and this was plenty as we never looked like using what we had. The weather will be cooler and therefore u won't feel like drinking that much water. U don't usually use much water in washing up, so the 150ltrs is a bit of an overkill but I do see why they recommend as in emergencies, etc, but u will b travelling with a group.

We crossed from Birdsville west and didn't refill our water until we got to Coober Pedy about a week later....

[andoland Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close andoland]

There's no way you'll need 150 litres of water for 5 days. In all the trips I have done (Madigan line twice, Hay River, French Line, CSR, Cape York, etc.) I have carried no more that 75 litres at a time for a family of 4. This year we crossed the Simpson via the Madigan Line again, which is a 7 or 8 day trip, and didn't use all of this water. You get plenty of fluid intake from juice, food, other drinks, etc..

One bloke I travel with did the CSR with his family of 6 in their Patrol with no trailer. They had a lot of gear on the roof but it was all light stuff.

You have to work out how to pack light, which means being ruthless - don't take massive big camping chairs, don't take a table, 3 sets of clothes for everyone is enough, take baby wipes to wash with, only take one set of cutlery and plates for each person, don't pack air (i.e. make sure things are in boxes pr packets that don't need to be and use every bit of space). If you need a few cups of some ingredient to cook with then just take a few cups, not the whole package, etc.. There's another thread on here about packing light.

The other advantage of packing light is that you don't have a heap of stuff that you need to pull out of the car each night and pack back up again each morning.

You can do it and everyone will have a ball.

[r4ndll Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close r4ndll]

Thanks. All. I am definitely thinking we can do it now.

Just have a crack at packing everything and then lay it all out on the grass and throw half of it out. You'll be surprised what you can do without. I went with just dad and myself and we were 500kg's over weight but we did take a lot of luxuries that weren't really necessary. I culled a lot when I took the kids to the cape. You might want to consider yoga mats for the kids. Slightly bulkier than airbeds but lighter and you won't be spending each afternoon blowing up air beds. We use them for the Joey Scouts on concrete floors and they don't seem to mind so you'll probably be fine on them out in the desert. Drawers will make your life a lot easier too. They add extra weight so it's a trade off but having everything in it's place will make evening setups much less stressful and more importantly, morning packups become a lot easier too. Definitely try for a few practice trips with your planned setup. It is an awesome trip though so definitely go for it if you can.

Yeah, I'm developing a plan. I used to hike a lot in my teenage years and was in the army cadets so am used to the hiking mats. My wife on the other hand... so if I can do 4 hiking mats and a dune mat for her I should be good. Same with packing, my longest hike was 80km over 4 nights fully self contained, so I can be ruthless. I'm thinking ditch the oztent and using my two hiking tents which gives us 20 kg back. Longer set up, but lighter. I still might get 2 malamoo instant tents.

We've got the Drifta drawers which have a table, and used them for the 5 of us on Fraser for a week so know we can fit it all in. That didn't include water but I had 30 liters on board for the trip.

I can also be ruthless - you can wear the same underwear for 4 days right? Front, back to front and inside out, right?

We have a family of 5 as well (in a 150's, so less room) and crossed the desert in 2012. We took 3x20ltrs of water + 2x5ltrs of water and this was plenty as we never looked like using what we had. The weather will be cooler and therefore u won't feel like drinking that much water. U don't usually use much water in washing up, so the 150ltrs is a bit of an overkill but I do see why they recommend as in emergencies, etc, but u will b travelling with a group.

We crossed from Birdsville west and didn't refill our water until we got to Coober Pedy about a week later....

That's good to know and eases my concerns a bit. I've seen recommendations of between 4-6 per person per day. So just went for the highest.

If you can offload other gear to other cars as well as water you should be OK.
Won't be any room for luxuries though.
Also won't be much room for the kids feet.
Just make sure the other cars carry things like tools, oil, hi lift jack etc so you don't have to.

Yeah - thinking of off loading all clothes and sleeping gear to the roof which leaves a lot of space in the rear. Won't take a high lift as there will be 2 on the trip already. We will just use local accommodation either end to make it easier.

There's no way you'll need 150 litres of water for 5 days. In all the trips I have done (Madigan line twice, Hay River, French Line, CSR, Cape York, etc.) I have carried no more that 75 litres at a time for a family of 4. This year we crossed the Simpson via the Madigan Line again, which is a 7 or 8 day trip, and didn't use all of this water. You get plenty of fluid intake from juice, food, other drinks, etc..

One bloke I travel with did the CSR with his family of 6 in their Patrol with no trailer. They had a lot of gear on the roof but it was all light stuff.

You have to work out how to pack light, which means being ruthless - don't take massive big camping chairs, don't take a table, 3 sets of clothes for everyone is enough, take baby wipes to wash with, only take one set of cutlery and plates for each person, don't pack air (i.e. make sure things are in boxes pr packets that don't need to be and use every bit of space). If you need a few cups of some ingredient to cook with then just take a few cups, not the whole package, etc.. There's another thread on here about packing light.

The other advantage of packing light is that you don't have a heap of stuff that you need to pull out of the car each night and pack back up again each morning.

You can do it and everyone will have a ball.

Thanks. Would have loved to see the patrol!

As above, the more I think about it, the more I am sure we can do it. I reckon that with all the accessories and family on board, we have about 300kg payload to play with for camping gear, food and water. I'll run it over a weighbridge to check though.

I got hold of the trip requirements and its 4 liters per person per day + 10 for the car. So that's only 110. I am thinking a foot well water tank or a flexi tank off the cargo barrier (40/50 Litres) + 3x20 litre Jerries + a pack of water bottles from IGA that can be stuffed in various places around the car. The kids are still small so it shouldn't be an issue. We will run the large tank dry until Alice/Jervois and then fill up. We can offload a Jerry or two to another vehicle.

My Drifta drawers have a sneaky table in them. Its the one thing I really really love about them. It takes up next to no space.

I'm happy to just change the underwear everyday, so clothing can be minimal.

You are right about the food can be done light if we plan correctly. If I told my kids they were eating Peanut Butter Wraps for lunch everyday, they'd be over the moon. Minute steaks every night for 5 nights for mum and dad. MMMM!

[r4ndll Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close r4ndll]

Finalised Routes

Planning is coming along - School have ok'd having the kids out for a week, work leave finally approved, almost have the car ready, almost have a route done (apart from a night in Mildura as apparently its the music festival and everything is booked out). Any suggestions on the places to see along this route?

This is the current plan - sleeping in cabins and motels up to Maree to save pack up times
Friday, 23 September - Final Pack
Saturday, 24 September - Sydney to Wagga Wagga
Sunday, 25 September - Mildura
Monday, 26 September -Hawker
Tuesday, 27 September - Maree
Wednesday, 28 September - Oodnadatta
Thursday, 29 September -Mt Dare
Friday, 30 September - Alice Springs
Saturday, 1 October - Batton Hill/Jervois Station via East MacDonnell Ranges
Sunday, 2 October to Weds 12 October - Mt Knuckey, Hay River Track, Poeppel Corner, QAA, Birdsville, Innamincka, Cameron Corner, White Cliffs
Thursday, 13 October - Cobar
Friday, 14 October - Parkes
Saturday, 15 October - Parkes
Sunday, 16 October - Sydney

[mickwebs Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close mickwebs]

Marree to Oodnadatta in one day you are not going to be stopping to look at much. we just did that last week and there is so much to see along there. We had 3 in the car and brought 25 of our 65 liters back home with us. we thought water would be an issue but it wasn't. Enjoy sounds like a great trip

[r4ndll Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close r4ndll]

Marree to Oodnadatta in one day you are not going to be stopping to look at much. we just did that last week and there is so much to see along there. We had 3 in the car and brought 25 of our 65 liters back home with us. we thought water would be an issue but it wasn't. Enjoy sounds like a great trip

Yeah - not my itinerary from Marree but its all very flexible but just the main sites I believe on that stretch. Main purpose of the trip is Hay River Track so that's kind of a transit leg. We might be back this way in 2017 on our way to Gibb River and have a few more days.

I'm only going to run full of water from Alice to Hay River