Power Kite Forum

Aussie Cross Country Adventure

Slartibartfast - 11-1-2013 at 04:51 AM

Hello, I'm new to this forum but am fairly active on the Australian "Extreme Kites" forum.

I am writing here as I have a few cross country expeditions I'm really keen to attempt and I'd like to find some buddies to attempt them with :). Soooo I thought I'd drop a line to see if there was anyone here interested in an Aussie Cross Country Adventure.

The three expeditions I have been thinking seriously about are:
1) the "Encounter Bay Adventure", which is a 185km run along the coast from Kingston S.E. to Middleton)
2) The "Strzelecki Desert" 130km from "Lake Callabonna" to "Cameron Corner", and the big one
3) An expedition across the mighty "Simpson Desert", 400km of desert consisting of some 1300 sand dunes from "Dalhousie Springs" to "Birdsville".


So, if anyone would be interested in such an adventure drop us a line and I'll be sure to get in contact with you.


All the best,
Slarti.

pyro22487 - 11-1-2013 at 05:38 AM

Man those sound awesome especailly that 400km run I here sand dunes are a pain to deal with though. I am planing on heading to a small sand dune area to try kiting them. Anyways if I lived anywhere close to you count me in but man I'm jellous of your areas.

Kamikuza - 11-1-2013 at 06:31 AM

Welcome Slarti!

Good luck with the adventures!

Bladerunner - 11-1-2013 at 07:45 AM

Welcome and best wishes with the trips.

Sort of the complete opposite of the Iceland adventure being put together !

Slartibartfast - 15-1-2013 at 02:12 AM

Thanks guys.

I seem to be having trouble garnering much interest for these adventures.
I've also posted in RaceKites.com, KiteCrowd.com and of cause eXtremeKites.com as well as messaging PTW directly but alas I have not had much interest. Anyone know how I might be able to find some like minded adventurers?

elfasa - 15-1-2013 at 03:10 AM

Heya man,

They sound immense :)
Contact a member called 'sand yeti' he's on here and Kitecrowd. He does loooooooots of buggying and all dune and desert locations in the UAE where he's from. If anyone would be interested, he would.

Take care
Tim

Slartibartfast - 15-1-2013 at 03:27 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by elfasa
Heya man,

They sound immense :)
Contact a member called 'sand yeti' he's on here and Kitecrowd. He does loooooooots of buggying and all dune and desert locations in the UAE where he's from. If anyone would be interested, he would.

Take care
Tim
Yeah, thanks.
I have actually been in contact with Mr Yeti as well.

He is a first rate fella and buggied the "Birdsville Track" a number of years ago, a little before I was on the scene -other wise I would have been there for sure! I was asking him about the Simpson crossing and at the time he wasn't so interested in another adventure but perhaps it will be worth rattling his cage again. He really seems like a top bloke (:

cheezycheese - 15-1-2013 at 06:57 AM

If it weren't for the finances I would join you in a heartbeat !!!

Bladerunner - 15-1-2013 at 07:50 AM

I go on these adventures all the time ! Then the alarm clock goes off .:ticking:

Keep working at this ! You will be living my dreams ! :cool:

erratic winds - 15-1-2013 at 08:42 AM

Loved reading about H20Extreme's Boris Polo's trip across the chalibri desert in kenya in The Kiteboarder Magazine, looking forward to seeing pics and hearing about your trip!

Sand-Yeti - 20-1-2013 at 04:26 AM

Slartibartfast, I know we've had some correspondence on crossing the Simpson Desert. It's the kind of trip that adventures are made of.
There is a lot of logistics that go in into planning an expedition to ensure you survive as well as having chance to succeed. The biggest unknown is the wind that can have you marooned for many days. A 400 kms run across dunes in good wind conditions would take about 3 days but realistically you should look at trying to manage 100 kms a day. You would need to have support vehicles because trying to rip up dunes will be very hard if you are carrying all your food & camping on the buggy.
I had a good wind day on 28 Dec. last year where I made a round trip through the desert (half of it was through sand dunes) for 182 kms. I was actually moving in the buggy for over 8 hours. My stop time was 26 minutes. I'm still toying with my plan to buggy from Dubai in the UAE to Salalah in Southern Oman, which is about 1200 kms as the crow flies on the edge of the Empty Quarter. I don't know whether I will ever do it but do still dream about it.