Right now the Simpson Desert is blooming! All that rain Queensland has received over the last couple of months has led to this massive desert looking more like an English garden!
Wildflowers in yellows, white, purples, pinks, and red are growing everywhere. And the timing is perfect with the start of the walking season with Australian Desert Expeditions (ADE).
ADE has a number of tours into the Simpson this year that you can join and you only have to carry a day pack as the camels do all the heavy lifting.
Want to know what an ADE trip is like? Read the below story about when Great Walks did an ADE trip a few year ago.
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“In going round this lake, Kilroy who was ahead of the party stopped, saying he saw a beautiful bird, which he recommended me to shoot to add to the collection. My gun being loaded with slugs in one barrel and ball in the other, I stopped the camel to get at the shot belt which I could not get without his laying down.
"Whilst Mr Gill was unfastening it, I was screwing the ramrod into the wad over the slugs, standing close alongside of the camel. At this moment the camel gave a lurch to one side and caught his pack on the lock of my gun, which discharged the barrel; the contents of which first took off the middle finger of my right hand and entered my left cheek by my lower jaw, knocking out a row of teeth..."
This diary entry by explorer John Ainsworth Horrocks during his 1846 expedition of SA's Spencer Gulf exemplified the frequent struggle between man and beast in the early days of camels being introduced to Australia. Twenty-three days after being shot by the ill-tempered Harry the camel, Horrocks died.
However, early explorers persevered with using camels in expeditions and in 1860 the Victorian Exploring Expedition used them on their ill-fated crossing of Australia from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria, 3250km away. And although Burke and Wills didn't live to tell their story, camels proved to be the right choice for remote desert exploring due to their ability to live on very little water or food, walk for long distances with significant weight on their back and be able to adapt to changing environments.
Having all this history in my head I was keen to see what it was like working with camels on a modern-day survey of the remote Simpson Desert that I was doing with Australian Desert Expeditions, the only camel-based expedition company left in the country.
Off we go
After being picked up in Alice Springs, my party and I were driven about 250km southeast along a flat dusty track into the vast Simpson Desert. The aim of this trip – and of all ADE trips – is to survey and collect scientific data of Australia's central deserts, which is stored in the Atlas of Living Australia and other state-based scientific agencies or universities; and it's highly likely we'll be going where no European has been before, making the data even more valuable.
The camels had already been in the Simpson for a few weeks being prepared for their long-haul duties and having their custom-made pack saddles fitted, a design which hasn't changed in 180 years since camels were introduced here.
"We have a working arrangement with the camels, and after their initial training of the basics, we introduce them to trekking work," says ADE founder Andrew Harper. "Carrying a pack saddle requires skill – how to walk up and down dunes with a heavy load. Importantly, they learn a lot from watching the other camels, and this does make it easier for us."
On first meeting the 18 camels (one-humped, also known as dromedaries) that would do all the heavy lifting on our trip we were told to be cautious and quiet around them. Standing next to them they were intimidating in size but as I watched the cameleers working with the camels I saw no fear, just respect. Dr Max Tischler who was the lead cameleer and chief scientist on our expedition has a genuine rapport with the camels and he spoke to them in hushed, melodic tones. The other cameleers had the same approach and as the days went on us guests got more opportunities to handle the camels and learn from the cameleers.
Rise and shine
Life in the desert begins at sunrise and after a lovely sleep under a million stars I rolled up my swag and joined the others for breakfast. Every morning there was a joke around the campfire on how noisy some of the camels were at night.
As was explained to me, camels are browsers with a split-upper lip, 34 sharp teeth and a multi-chambered stomach. They browse (or graze on) plants with a high-moisture and mineral content. A camel gulps down its food without chewing it first, later regurgitating the undigested food and chewing it in cud form. Over morning coffee, the cameleers commented on the dishwasher noise coming from these sleeping giants as their digestive system got to work.
After breakfast the process of packing the camel begins and it's very military-like as the camels need a strict routine to help them be compliant. All the gear is lined up in two rows and the camels, brought in two groups, stand alongside their own pack saddle to have it placed on top of them to be fitted and fastened with a strap or ‘girth’ that goes from one side of the frame under their large belly and tied to the other side. Once the pack saddle is secured, whatever each camel is carrying is fastened to the frame – jerry cans, swags, food, bags, surveying equipment etc.
Once the loads are tied down – and triple checked – we begin our day's walk. The camels are in two lines or 'strings', A string and B string. They are known as strings as each group of nine camels is attached to each other with one long string which encourages each camel to follow the one in front of it. The lead camel on each string is the most experienced and generally most chilled camel in the group, further encouraging compliance. Us guests were affectionately known as C string.
Eyes on the prize
One thing you notice exploring the desert at walking place (camels walk 4-5km/h) are the subtle changes in the environment; things you would easily miss driving along in a 4WD. There was time to stop and study the small pockets of eucalypt woodlands, acacias and various grasses. We even found a few Indigenous artefacts – axeheads, cutting tools and stones used for sharpening. These small items could easily be missed but Charlie, our resident geologist and botanist, had an excellent eye for things that stood out of the ordinary in this vast sandy landscape.
"Even in this day of 4WD travelling, the best way to see the deserts is to walk them,” says Andrew. “With the demise of the stockman and his horse, and the Aboriginal leaving of the Simpson and Western Deserts in the 1900s, very few people walk the remote desert any more for extended periods. Consequently, the stories the desert holds have been missed over the last few decades. The desert deserves to be approached gently, so its mood is revealed. The way people have always approached these areas was on foot, as we have done today. That reveals the country – the continuum of country."
Each day in the Simpson my eyes grew more accustomed to looking for things out of the ordinary and I was excited when I discovered a large ancient cutting tool half buried in the sand. It was made of stone not from the area we were walking in, which is why Charlie reckoned it had been carried there by someone a very long time ago. One highlight of our wildlife spotting was a native peregrine falcon, one of the fastest birds of prey that reaches speeds of up to 300 km/h. These raptors swoop down on their prey, catching or stunning it with their powerfully hooked talons, before grasping and carrying it off to a perch to pluck and eat it.
Mucking in
After a long day walking in the unrelenting sun – it was very early into the walking season – we made camp. The first thing that happens is the camels are lined up in two rows per usual and their packs unloaded. Once their pack frames are removed the camels are separated and tethered to trees so they can rest and graze.
It was then time for us to set up various surveys to see what animals and plant life exist in that area. Drop traps and spring traps were set in the hope of catching some curious marsupials who would be roaming the area at night so a count can be done. In the morning the traps are checked, anything caught is recorded and released. It's estimated that three-quarters of Australia's biodiversity is yet to be identified and 45 percent of continental Australia has never been comprehensively surveyed by scientists, highlighting the important work ADE is doing.
Within a few days us guests had become part to of the survey team, helping out where we could, standing back when told to. We got to know the camels (and their idiosyncrasies), the cameleers and the volunteers on the trip, people like camp medic George Vasey.
“Camels. They get a bad rap. Totally underrated,” says George. “You have to work with them to truly appreciate the 'ship of the desert'. I have worked in the past with large animals but to turn these once feral animals into well trained 'tautliners' is testimony to the animal itself and the cameleers involved.
“Powerful. You just have to look at big Claude’s shoulders and legs. Front row every time! The hydraulics in Sarge’s feet are something to view as you walk alongside him. Intelligent. I am sure Jaffa wondered at me as he looked down upon me from his lofty height. And to prove that one can be beautiful and brawny – nice long brown eyelashes you have Eddy!
“Personalities abound amongst the strings and I am sure the head cameleers feel like the primary school teacher at the beginning of the year trying to organise their young pupils that maximises their potential. Mission might be a lifelong task!”
We've learnt a lot about life in the Red Centre from the two-legged – and four-legged – kind. We’ve become accustomed to the natural rhythm of the land, slowing down our pace, breathing deeply, being aware of our surroundings. It’s something you want to take home with you, like the desert is giving you a gift as you leave.
Words_Brent McKean