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The BFGoodrich East-West Jeep Expedition completed the crossing of Australia, traveling nearly 6,000 kilometres through the remote Simpson Desert from Cape Byron to Steep Point.
There are few topics that pique the adventurer’s imagination as venturing into the planet’s wild and remote locales. Throughout the epoch of time, human spirit has drawn these rugged individuals to the far corners of the earth in an attempt to sail, hike, or drive to where others have yet to venture. This year marks the 50th anniversary of such an endeavor, a small group of Jeepers that pioneered a new path through Australia’s Simpson Desert, the Seven Slot Line.
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Chris Collard
The BFGoodrich East-West Australia Jeeps lines up in front of the Birdsville Hotel.
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To reach the abandoned oil well at Beachcomber, launching point for the Simpson’s northern reaches, the team initially travelled the QAA Line.
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Between Beachcomber and Old Andado, there were more than 500 sand dunes to cross. Running BFGoodrich KM3 Mud-Terrain tires at 10 psi allowed the Jeeps to clear most ridges without issue.
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When “El Jefe,” a Jeep JL Overland, led the team to the geographical center of the Simpson Desert, it became the JL to reach this landmark.
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With many kilometers to travel each day, the team was up before dawn to get an early start on the day.
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The fleet lines up for a sunrise shoot on Day 4 of the Simpson Desert crossing.
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Some sections of the Simpson Desert reminded the team of their past travels through the Southern African savannas.
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The BFGoodrich East-West Australia Jeep Expedition marches across the desert like a caravan of camels in the Sahara.
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On Day 3 the team met with master storyteller Dave “Emu” Parkinson near the intersection of the Colson Track. He entertained the crew with wild tales of his many years traveling the Outback.
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The BFGoodrich East-West Australia Jeep Expedition was led by Off Road Hall of Fame inductee Chris Collard in “El Jefe,” the Jeep Konection 2019 Jeep JL Overland.
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When the BFGoodrich East-West Australia Jeep Expedition reached Old Andado Station, they turned north toward Alice Springs.
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The BFGoodrich East-West Australia fleet included Jeep Konection’s 2019 Wrangler JL Overland. It was upfitted with a Warn Zeon 10-S winch with Spydura synthetic line and a Factor55 Flat Link Pro thimble. Underneath is a Teraflex 2.5-inch lift and Falcon adjustable shocks, Long Range Automotive auxiliary fuel cell, and Dana 44 axles with ARB air lockers. Other tools of the trade include MaxTrax, Bestop top and floormats, an ARB compressor, Dometic fridge freezer, and Teraflex tire mount.
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Each night, the expedition team set camp under a million the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere.
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En route to the Finke National Park, the terrain and vegetation transition from an endless sea of sand and spinifex to volcanic outcroppings and forests of eucalyptus.
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The team stops for lunch along a creek in Palm Valley.
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After departing Alice Springs, the team followed the Boggy Hole Track south to Uluru (Ayers Rock).
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Australia is known for it “bull dust,” fine silt that develops in the parched regions of the Outback.
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The 1,000-kilometer long dirt road to the Tjukaruru Roadhouse, the most remote roadhouse in Australia, is home to thousands of feral camels, which roam freely across the majority of Western Australia.
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The BFGoodrich East-West Australia team chases the setting sun as they move west toward the India Ocean.
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Steep Point National Park offers hundreds of kilometers of sand tracks, great camping, and fishing. The expedition followed a two-track through the park to the most western point on the continent.
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“El Jefe,” the team’s 2019 JL Overland, leads the BFGoodrich East-West Australia team along the shores of Shark Bay in Western Australia.
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After 15 days and nearly 6,000 kilometers, the team celebrated reaching Steep Point, the westernmost point on the continent.
Sans services between the towns of Birdsville and Alice Springs, expedition leader Ian McDonald and his team needed to be fully self-reliant during the 900-kilometers crossing. Carrying all fuel, food, and water needed for the two-week passage, they succeeded in not only piloting their Jeeps through the sands of the Simpson, but also completed a full crossing of the continent from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
This July, a small group of modern explorers departed Cape Byron in an attempt to follow McDonald’s route from the easternmost to the westernmost points on the continent. The 2019 BFGoodrich East-West Australia Jeep Expedition was organized by Ben Davidson, publisher of Jeep Action Magazine, and led by American journalist Chris Collard. McDonald, along with original expedition member and filmmaker John Eggleston, both of whom are in their eighties, joined the team in Brisbane and would go as far as Alice Springs.
Driving five Jeeps ranging from a 1996 Wrangler TJ to a 2019 JL Overland, they made their way through Channel Country to Birdsville and on to an abandoned oil well known as Beachcomber. They then set a course due west toward Old Andado Station as McDonald’s team had done five decades earlier. While most travelers to the Simpson follow the QAA and French Lines, well-established two-tracks, the Seven Slot Line had only been traversed once and the winds of time had erased all traces. What lay ahead were more than 700 sand dunes and endless miles of thick spinifex to navigate.
Although this leg of the journey represented only 300 of the multi-week expedition, working their way west at an average speed of 5 km/h, it took five days of dawn-to-dusk driving to complete. McDonald and Eggleston, who took 12 days to traverse the same section of desert in 1969, shared tales of the challenges during their crossing. Most notable their equipment.
As Eggleston pulled a litre of milk from one of the Dometic 12-volt fridge/freezers, he said, “We didn’t have cold food after the first few days. We had basic food, a good tool kit, and as much fuel as we could carry.” His team utilized 55-gallon drums, while Davidson’s group relied on auxiliary fuel cells from Long Range Automotive. McDonald used heavy steel sand ladders, but the new team made use of lightweight Maxtrax sand mats. Successful sand driving requires floatation, and the team’s BFGoodrich KM3 mud-terrain radial tires were a significant upgrade from the bias ply tires of the 60s. One item of significant importance was a constant on both expeditions, and that was their choice of Warn recovery winches. They arrived at historic site of Old Andado Station near dusk on July 14th, where they enjoyed their final night in the Simpson before moving on to Alice Springs to restock sundries.
During the second leg of the journey the team passed through Palm Valley and Finke Gorge National Park before traversing Boggy Hole Track to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuṯa (The Olgas). Western Australia is home to some of the most isolated regions of the country, and there are few sealed roads. Turning west on the Great Central Highway they spent evenings camped in dry creek beds under the Southern Cross, prepared the billy each morning on an open fire, and sourced fuel from Tjukayirla, the most remote Roadhouse in the country.
When the Jeeps reached the rugged cliffs of Steep Point, the most westerly edge of the continent, they had travelled nearly 6,000 kilometres, more than half of which was on dirt tracks. It was a bittersweet moment. They had succeeded in their quest to follow McDonald’s route across the Simpson Desert, but as is the case with any journey of exploration, it had come to an end. The team raise a dram of Scotch whiskey in honor of McDonald, Eggleston, and the hearty souls of yesteryear that planted the seed of inspiration and began planning their next great Jeeping adventure. Keep tabs on the crew’s next adventure at www.sevenslotexpedition.com