Madi’s Manoeuvres.Hay River Track/Lake Caroline junction to HRT Simpson Desert camp 1. Day 15- 15 June 2024.

We got into camp later in the day yesterday, which meant a rush to set up. Also fighting with mozzies and prickles everywhere. So forgot the dressing tent till it was bedtime and need to change into pjs. Bugger!!!! Going to be a tricky pack up with all the prickles.

Needed to lighten the load on roof rack so up early to get the two front Jerry cans down and start packing up.
Thanks to Steve for helping get the jerry cans off the roof, I managed to get the fuel in myself this morning, the 10 L size is manageable. Changing tent on the other hand was not compliant this morning, thank thanks Brian and Ann for their help.

Mozzies were pretty vicious as the sun set last night and they made a bit of an appearance this morning at dawn. Beautiful Sunrise with peaks and purples in the clouds and cockatiels flying over in that light which managed to blur them.

With fuelling up and packing up and avoiding prickles, we did really well to be on the road just before 9 am.
With me in the lead I was lucky to see a bunch of budgies keeping pace beside me and catching the green colours in the early morning light. Another day in paradise!

As I crested a dune this morning, with the sun behind me, a flock of budgies zipped past and turned in the light which caught them perfectly in the light and displayed their iridescent green colours- just magnificent words can’t describe!

Further along there was a flock of budgies and wood swallows flying together and landing on the ground together. The greys and greens mixed together looked fantastic.

This morning we’ve seen an array of birdlife including budgies, swallows, zebra finches, Willy wagtails, Nankeen Kestrels, crows, hobbies, wood swallows and myriad other little brown birds.
There was a call from Mary M of a group of five camels Group disappearing over the sand dunes, unfortunately I was a little ahead and only got a glimpse in the rear vision mirror.

The sand dune we are following alongside is looking incredibly red in the morning sun. Despite having seen hundreds of red sand dunes the colour never ceases to astound.

Passed by our previous campsite and on a bit further for a lunch stop. There was a huge Orb spider busy binding a moth in web. More birds have been seen and we continue on our way.

We all pulled up as Steve stopped because he almost ran over a lizard.

I got out to have a look why he was stopped and as I passed Mary & Phil‘s car this little orange snake slithered in front of me and under their car. I didn’t have my phone dammit. It was orange the colour of sand, about 30 cm long with a black band behind its head. We could see where he slithered out but were not quick enough to get round and get a photo. Looking things up tonight I believe it might have been a juvenile Banded brown snake. I stole a photo from google.

A short time later a beautiful big bunch of budgies took off and turned in the light again just perfectly positioned in their precision flying team. Still too fast for me get a video.

We stopped at Camp 15 of the Madigan Line to get our Madigan intersection shot before heading off to the last camp we can access on this trip, Camp 16 of the Madigan Line.

We are back in the Simpson Desert on the Hay River Track now heading towards Poeppel Corner and on beyond that to Birdsville.
Next stop just before 3:30 was at Camp 16 which is the last Camp of the Madigan Line we can access. The rest of the Madigan is closed due to wet conditions. Camp 16 has a blaze tree where Cecil Madigan blazed M39 into the tree, it can no longer be seen.

Planning to stop to camp about 4:30 and aiming for a camp spot on the map, however it was already occupied. Finding camp along here for six vehicles is not easy so we backtracked to a spot that Stef and Steve had spotted in the lee of a dune.
After setting up we watched the sun set across the desert from the top of our dune. The colours intensify and deepen in that hour. I know some people can’t understand why we do this. It is just an amazing part of the planet.

Had a tasty Butter Chicken in the camp oven and sat around the campfire chatting and enjoying a drink and port with chocolate after tea. The night is a little cooler but totally silent, with no wind. The moon is out about half full so stars aren’t as bright. This certainly is the life!