Ruins at Dalhousie

A slight change of plan today as we got to Dalhousie at dinner time and decided we may as well keep going for the extra 55 km to Mount Dare.
The first part of the route, from Oodnadatta to Hamilton Station was a bit rougher than the Oodnadatta track had been yesterday but we still made good progress along the 100 km stretch. After Hamilton Station the track was pretty bad, having more corrugations and washouts. The final part, from Dalhousie to Mount Dare, was a lot rougher with bad corrugations and some major washouts. It was clear that the track gets flooded on a regular basis and there has been some recent flooding with big ruts in the track.

The track at Mount Dare

As we approached the Mount Dare hotel the track was completely submerged with signs showing an alternate route to bypass what was basically a large pond where the track had been. We had to drive through the last part of the water but it wasn’t deep.
We booked in for the night, bought a sand flag and our desert parks permit and ordered food for later on. (Steak and chips again !). The sand flag was going to be a bit more difficult to attach than I’d hoped but the Mount Dare staff drilled a hole in the winch bumper for me to help secure it so it should be OK. The flag itself is 3 metres high so mounted on the winch bumper it meets the required 3.5 metres from the ground requirement.
Sand flags are mandatory in the Simpson Desert, the idea is that having a tall flag on the vehicle should warn oncoming traffic of your presence, particular when approaching the blind crest of a sand dune.

Mount Dare Hotel

We did consider staying here for two nights to keep to our schedule but in the end decided we’d crack on tomorrow and take our time in the crossing. If we arrive at Birdsville a day earlier than planned then we’ll stay an extra night there.
The meal at the hotel was excellent and we had an enjoyable evening chatting to the owners and staff and a group who are also crossing to Birdsville, setting out tomorrow.