Of Desert Sands, Camels, And Serpents
SA4x4|November 2019
A team of adventurers re-create the original 1969 East-West Australia Expedition
Chris Collard
Of Desert Sands, Camels, And Serpents

Perched high on the crest of a sand ridge, the rising sun cast my elongated shadow to the west, which dissipated like a heat-induced mirage in the thick clumps of spinifex below. Beyond was another sand ridge, then a hundred more until the most distant collided with a waning dawn sky. Three hundred kilometres further lay Old Andado Station, our next objective. I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes, letting the crisp air fill my lungs as I mentally prepared for the day ahead. Opening them, I scanned the horizon for a hint of an existing track; any that did exist had been expunged by the winds of time since the last vehicle crossed this region 50 years ago. In the valley to the east, my crew pulled a billy from the coals, prepared the last cuppa java, and stowed gear. Sliding down the ridge to my Jeep, I pulled a whiskey compass from my pocket, pointed the needle due west, and turned the key. We needed to cover 50 kilometres before sunset and it would be a long day.

The previous year I’d met with Aussie Ben Davidson, publisher of Jeep Action magazine, in Las Vegas. He shared that in 1969, a man by the name of Ian McDonald rounded up a group of friends and three Jeep CJ Overlanders, and set out to not only cross the continent from coast-to-coast, but also attempt a transect of the northern Simpson Desert – one of the country’s most remote and inhospitable regions. He also mentioned that McDonald and the expedition’s filmmaker John Eggleston were still alive and might be interested in one last hurrah.

Esta historia es de la edición November 2019 de SA4x4.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición November 2019 de SA4x4.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE SA4X4Ver todo
SA4x4

Uganda The Pearl Of Africa

This trip, the very last in the series of stories from Dan Grec’s two-year Africa round trip, details a scary mishap and some extraordinary wildlife encounters

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 2020
Chewy, But Edible
SA4x4

Chewy, But Edible

Take another look at those garden pests

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 2020
Auto Perfection?
SA4x4

Auto Perfection?

Adding a six-speed auto to Mahindra’s workhorse ups the game for this value proposition

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Defenders On Tour

The second 2019 Defender Trophy event kicked off in Limpopo and was unique in that participants camped in three different countries…

time-read
9 minutos  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Rad Rig The Dream Catcher

Motorhome world’s one-of-a-kind luxury globetrotter

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 2020
The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader
SA4x4

The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader

A very important distinction needs to be made between the offroader and the overland traveller; often the two are thought to be the same.

time-read
5 minutos  |
March 2020
Steelmate TP-S9
SA4x4

Steelmate TP-S9

Solar powered TPMS (External sensor)

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Light on the dark side

VW AMAROK DARK LABEL

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 2020
Monkey business!
SA4x4

Monkey business!

Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are the most widespread of the African monkeys; occurring from the Ethiopian Rift Valley, highlands east of the Rift, and southern Somalia, through the eastern lowlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia (east of the Luangwa Valley), Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and all nine provinces in South Africa.

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 2020
SA4x4

GREAT ZOOKS

There are a few mishaps as a bunch of Jimnys tackle one of Lesotho’s premier off-road challenges, Baboon’s Pass

time-read
10 minutos  |
March 2020