9-Day Simpson Desert 4WD Tag-Along Tour

Step into one of Australia’s most iconic outback adventures: the 9-day Simpson Desert expedition. Begin in Birdsville (Qld) and traverse the endless red sand dunes of the Simpson, following the K1 and K2 sand ridges to the NT border. You’ll climb Big Red, drift across parallel sand lines, and end your journey at Ross River Homestead or the East MacDonnell Ranges. This is not five-star luxury – it’s raw, magical, million-star camping under Australia’s clearest skies.

Don’t dream it – do it. This is real outback. Real driving. Real adventure.

he Spirit of the Simpson Desert

The Simpson Desert isn’t a place to defeat; it’s a place to understand. Spanning three states across the heart of Australia, it is a living landscape of colour and quiet — over a thousand parallel red sand dunes stretching beyond the horizon. Here, every sunrise glows deep ochre, every breeze carries the scent of spinifex, and every night unveils a sky dense with stars. Travelling the Simpson is about rhythm, patience, and connection — not about racing from A to B, but slowing down long enough to feel the immensity of Country.

A Landscape of Story and Survival

Beneath the endless dunes lies a history written long before tyres touched this sand. This is the traditional land of the Wangkangurru–Yarluyandi people, whose knowledge of waterholes, songlines and desert ecology sustained them through millennia of harsh seasons. Travelling respectfully through their Country means recognising the desert not as empty, but as alive — full of meaning, memory, and movement. Our tours follow the old routes of explorers like Cecil Madigan, yet always acknowledge that these tracks trace far older paths, known and named long before maps existed.

An Experience in Stillness and Scale

Crossing the Simpson invites you to let go of the rush of the modern world. The hum of your 4WD fades into the wind as you crest each dune to find another sweeping valley of red sand and silence. Camps are simple — a fire, a cup of tea, and the Milky Way arching overhead. It’s in this simplicity that travellers rediscover something profound: the feeling of being small in a vast, beautiful world, and the peace that comes from it.

Why It Matters

To experience the Simpson Desert is to glimpse Australia as it truly is — ancient, delicate, and immense. Olsen’s Tours & Training doesn’t aim to conquer the desert; we help guests experience it with respect, curiosity, and care. We travel light, leave no trace, and share the stories that make this landscape sacred. For those seeking solitude, clarity, and reconnection, there’s no greater classroom, no greater cathedral, than the dunes of the Simpson.

Deep Cultural Landscape

Travel respectfully through the traditional lands of the Wangkangurru–Yarluyandi people, the long-time custodians of the eastern Simpson Desert. Their Country spans the iconic red dunes, salt pans, and desert channels you’ll cross on this journey.
Further west, the desert transitions into Lower Southern Arrernte land — country rich with ancient songlines and Dreaming tracks that follow the shifting sands and dry riverbeds.

Olsen’s Tours travels under the necessary desert park and Aboriginal land permits and operates with full respect for these custodians, ensuring your journey contributes to ongoing care and protection of this fragile and sacred landscape.

Begins Birdsville
Ends Arltunga (Alice Springs)
2026 Dates: 6 June – 15 June
2027 Dates: 7 June – 16 June