If you're seeking a challenging 4WD adventure in the
Simpson Desert away from the hustle and bustle of the main French Line then the Madigan Line in the northern
Simpson Desert may be for you. Be warned however, this route is not easy. There are extremely steep dunes to cross and the sand can be very soft. Few people use this route so whilst it is quieter, you are also far from help if needed. You should not attempt this route for your first desert crossing.
This route follows in the footsteps of Cecil Madigan who in 1939 was the first European to successfully find his way across this area of the desert. Madigan and his party made the journey with camels and took 35 days. These days, you can drive in his footsteps stopping at each location where he made
camp. Your journey by 4WD will take just 5 days.
The Madigan Line is regarded as the most interesting way of crossing the
Simpson Desert and is certainly much less crowded than the main French Line. Note that the Madigan Camps are not necessarily indicative of good
camp sites for travellers, but are historical points from C.T. Madigan 1939 Expedition. These points are all marked with a yellow pole and
plaque and most are in clear, flat open areas.
Check the permit conditions and take note that some of the route is now one-way only being west - east, so you need to start the trip from Old
Andado near Mt Dare and head east across the desert arriving in
Birdsville.
To ensure you get the most from this excursion, you could try to get hold of a reprint of Madigan's book "Crossing the Dead Heart" - See
https://www.westprint.com.au/crossing-the-dead-heart-madigan.html. Some details are documented in our History section below. Another good read would be Denis Bartels book, the "Desert Walker". Denis was the first person to successfully retrace Madigan's Line and his trip is the inspiration for the 4WD adventurers that have since followed. See
http://www.solarnavigator.net/books/denis_bartell.htmToday, your trip along the Madigan Line can be started from
Alice Springs or Mt Dare. Both routes of which converge at
the junction of the Old
Andado Track & the track to
Mac Clarke Conservation Reserve, so for convenience of all users, we've provided this route from that
junction (37.5km from Old
Andado).
From this starting point you will begin to follow in the footsteps of Cecil Madigan making your way in a mostly easterly direction for 9.7km to the
Mac Clarke Conservation Reserve. This reserve protects the Acacia peuce (Waddywood, Waddi Waddi, Waddy Waddy) which is one of the most rare and striking trees of the Australian arid zone. It grows in this reserve on a stony wind swept plain in one of the driest
places in Australia and is only found in 2 other
places -
Boulia &
Birdsville. About 1000 mature trees are protected in this reserve - named about a former
Andado pastoralist whose interested in the trees led to the declaration of this reserve.
Camps 1A and 2 are easily located.
Camp 1A is the location of the
plaque from the original
Camp 1. The actual site of
Camp 1 is on private property and is inaccessible, so the
plaque was moved to somewhere more accessible. Camps 3, 4 and 5 are on aboriginal land. Permits to access them are not being granted. You are also requested NOT to visit
Camp 2 due to it being a sacred site used for women's business. If you do choose to visit
Camp 2 your next destination will be
Camp 6 so you'll need to head back to the south and then east, passing through a tiny section of land at the apex of two triangular areas of Native Title. That point gives access to the Colson Track and then it’s cross country to
Camp 6. Most Madigan Line travellers simply go north up the Colson Track and then strike out across country to
Camp 6. It’s all clearly shown on the
EOTopo map. The route then continues almost due east with each of Madigan's Camps
well marked. The permit from CLC now restricts travel through this section to one-way traffic only - (west to east). The dunes here are extremely steep and this minimises head-on incidents and ensures less track damage from failed attempts to cross from east to west.
When you reach
Camp 15 there is a three way
intersection, take the track to
Camp 16 and Madigan’s Blazed Tree. From here, most travellers will head south along the
Hay River Track and onto the QAA Line for a final climb over Big Red and then an easy run into
Birdsville. However, if you are a purest and want to faithfully follow Madigan's Line, you'll need to apply for permission to access the private lands on which the remaining Madigan Camps now lie. See our Permits section for details. From the Blaze Tree, if you have sought such permission, you will strike east cross-country until you reach
Camp 17 which lies just before the
NT/QLD border. Adria Downs permission covers Camps 17 to 22 , camps 23 and 24 are prohibited. On Adria Downs you'll you'll travel alongside Eyre Creek and just past
Camp 21 you'll pass through
Annandale Homestead ruins, once part of S.Kidman and Co from 1896. The Madigan comes to its end at
the junction with the QAA Line approx 20km west of Big Red. After crossing Big Red its a short easy run into
Birdsville where Madigan's final
camp 25 was just across the road from the
Birdsville Hotel.
Visiting “
Camp 25” you need to enter the
Birdsville Hotel, where you'll see the
plaque on the door between the Bar and the Dining Room. And finally, ensure you visit the Memorials to Madigan and to Ted Colson which are across the side street from the pub.
How to Use this Trek Note
- To download this information and the route file for offline use on a phone, tablet, headunit or laptop, go to the app store and purchase ExplorOz Traveller. This app enables offline navigation and mapping and will show where you are as you travel along the route. For more info see the ExplorOz Traveller webpage and the EOTopo webpage.
Environment
The
Simpson Desert is the 4th largest desert in Australia covering 170,000 square kilometres. It straddles three states: the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland. Much of the Simpson is protected within four national parks (or conservation
reserves), protecting a total of 54,338 square kilometres of land. The desert consists of 1100 parallel sand dunes that run north-north-west to south-south-east. Some of these dunes are 200 kilometres long.
History
The first aerial surveys of the deserts of Central Australia were undertaken by
Adelaide geologist Dr Cecil Madigan in 1929. He then named the
Simpson Desert after Alfred Allen Simpson, who later funded Madigan's subsequent ground expedition in 1939 on camels to explore and document the unchartered areas of the northern
Simpson Desert. Madigan’s expedition crossed the desert in 35 days with a party of nine, pioneering the use of mobile radio communication and making extensive botanical collections to study the ecosystems of the desert. This was the first scientific examination of the
Simpson Desert. In 1946 he published his book detailing the journey. The book is called "Crossing the Dead Heart".
While Madigan's expedition was a success and achieved a much better understanding of the desert ecosystems, nothing of significance came of it until the oil and gas seekers arrived some 25 years later and forged tracks such as the French Line but no tracks were made in the northern area where Madigan had travelled.
In 1977 a group had tried to re-enact Madigan's journey but failed and had to be rescued. It wasn't until 1979 that anyone cared to make another attempt. The avid adventurer Denis Bartell took Michael Richardson (then editor of Overland Magazine) and 2 Suzukis setting off from Old
Andado Station. There were no tracks and they had no GPS equipment but Denis was able to navigate and locate trees that Madigan had blazed and with the use of a compass found the camps that Madigan had noted in his journal. Their trip took 7 days from Old
Andado to
Birdsville. This brave feat set the scene for other four wheel drivers to follow him.
In 1990 Ron Moon and his son Trent drove the Madigan Line. It was one of the very early crossings with no track or GPS equipment. Later, in 1994 Owen Correa Outback Expeditions accurately marked the positions of all of Madigan’s camps and visitors today will find each
camp is marked with a star picket and yellow sign. There are also numerous plaques along the way. These modern improvements have led to the popularity of the route and improve ease with which it can be traversed. Today, the Madigan Line can generally be completed in 5 days.
TrekID: 27808