Are You Dune Ready?

If the call of the sandy heartland has you planning a trip, we have detailed a checklist to get you there and back safely.

- Justin Walker

SAND IN YOUR SHOES

Australia’s deserts account for an estimated 70 per cent of the continent’s land mass. Pretty impressive, but not half as impressive as actually getting out there and exploring and camping in one (or more) of them. Nothing beats that sense of utter remoteness offered by the combo of an endless red, sandy horizon, topped by the blue skies synonymous with this country’s desert regions.

The attractions of touring the deserts go beyond that sense of isolation and remoteness, also taking in the rich ties this landscape has with all Australians, whether it is the eons-old Indigenous culture, or the more recent European explorers’ history. Indeed, it is this sense of retracing the steps of these early explorers that is a big draw for visitors, and something that is far more enriched by the chance to also experience that ‘sense of place’ so ingrained in Indigenous culture – along with the physical reminders of their long residence here, in the form of reliable waterholes, petroglyphs, etc.

The other appeal is that, rather than being ‘the same thing every day’, a week or two (or longer) exploring one or more of Australia’s deserts really brings home just how unique each of them is in terms of the wildlife, Indigenous links, terrain, camping, the actual driving challenge and plenty more.