EXPEDITION SAND & STONE
Bindibu: Tri Desert Adventure
Welcome to the land where time began and one of the world’s last great wilderness frontiers. EXPEDITION SAND & STONE is a tri-desert tag along tour. A once in a lifetime journey through some of the most remote and beautiful parts of outback Australia. Featuring the Great Sandy Desert, the Gibson Desert and the Tanami. This expedition is a 2600km traverse including some of Australia’s most iconic attractions.
SORRY – 2018 TOUR FULLY BOOKED
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Type DurationTAG-ALONG
14 Days -
Style
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Camping
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Off-road
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Self-catered
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Tag-along
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Track Class Medium
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Group Size Small5

“But it was in Australia that I gained my first impressions of the beauty of the world, and it was the Bush that taught me.”
– Tom Roberts, Artist
Come with us – to where few ever travel. A beautiful gorge on Alice Springs’ doorstep – rarely seen, rarely heard – there’s roads, there’s tracks and sometimes we have to make our own. Just south of the gorge lie the eastern climes of the Great Sandy Desert and the fabled attractions of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Gently undulating and sparsely vegetated, the Great Sandy is largely characterized by short ephemeral drainages, several lakes and wetlands, red sand dune fields, and remnant rocky outcrops.
We follow in the footsteps of the Len Beadell learning roading ways – why and how places like Sandy Blight and Schwerin Crescent got their names, before heading north and tracking through the Gibson Desert towards the magnificent Lake Mackay.
North towards Dwarf Well and Razor Bore the desert is very remote. This is not for the faint-hearted – sections of the track are narrow and wattle and acacia encroach left and right. The worst of it we’ve cleared but be prepared to get dusty and scrubbed.
After Balgo the expedition turns West through the Tanami Desert eventually joining the infamous “Corrugation Road” via Tanami Downs and following it back into Alice Springs.
Waypoint Expeditions supplies a support vehicle fully equipped with recovery equipment, satellite phone, GPS tracking equipment, emergency locator beacon and remote area first aid equipment.
Each Waypoint Expedition is a carefully thought out, planned, and researched route to provide you with a unique experience where you not just “tag along” but participate in culture of place. We hope, by the time you have finished your journey with us, you will have a new appreciation of the cultural and historical significance of the Simpson Desert as well as its importance as one of Australia’s great wilderness areas.
Travel with Waypoint – experts in outback adventuring for over 20 years.
ALTERNATE BOOKING OPTIONS:
If you don’t want to use the online booking system there is an offline form below and a downloadable PDF form in the FAQ section.
TOUR INCLUDES
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14 days of intermediate to advanced 4WDing
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Invaluable tips and tricks to combat Australia’s desert regions
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Local expert and touring guide
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Knowledge about indigenous and European history of the area
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Knowledge about flora and fauna native to the area
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13 nights of million star camping
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Parks & Wildlife NT permit
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UluruKata Tjuta permit
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CLC permit
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Balgo permit
- private landowner permit
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Ngaanyatjarra permits
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Welcome (Alice Springs) and farewell (Alice Springs) dinners with complimentary drink.
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Satellite comms & tracking
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Remote Area Qualilfied and Outback 1st Aid Kit
TOUR DOES NOT INCLUDE.
- Travel insurance and other emergencies
- Liquors, beers and bottled beverages (pls be aware there are alcohol restrictions in place in some areas of Western Australia and Northern Territory.)
- Day 00 Rendezvous Alice Springs
- Day 01 West Macs
- Day 02 Uluru
- Day 03 Uluru Kata-Tjuta
- Day 04 Tjukaruru
- Day 05 Sandy Blight Junction
- Day 06 The Desert Rd
- Day 07 Nyirla Warlayirti
- Day 08 The Great Sandy Desert
- Day 09 Pintubi
- Day 10 Balgo
- Day 11 Tanami Desert
- Day 12 Tanami Rd
- Day 13 West Mac NP
- Day14 Alice Springs
- Download Itinerary Expedition Sand & Stone
The Expedition Sand & Stone traverses the tri-deserts of Gibson, Great Sandy and Tanami. The journey is very remote. It is a bush camping expeditionary experience.
- West MacDonnell Ranges
- Finke Gorge National Park
- Mt Connor
- Uluru
- Kata Tjuta
- Lasseter’s Cave
- Pangkupirri Rockholes
- Blaze Tree
- Sir Frederick Range
- 200 Mile Stone
- Gibson Desert
- Lake Mackay
- Dwarf Well
- Razor Bore
- Yagga Yagga
- Balgo
- McGuire Gap
- Tanami Downs
- Quartz Ridge
- Mt Doreen
- Tilmouth Well
Please make best efforts to minimise impact on the desert environment
- Keep to well-defined access routes across the desert to avoid damaging the vegetation and fragile landscape
- Rubbish comes out – place in strong plastic bags (do not bury, it will be dug up)
- Keep the camp clean and tidy
- Burn or bury toilet paper
- Keep dirty/soapy water away from natural water supplies
- Conserve firewood
- Use of firearms and chainsaws is not permitted
- Abide by fireban regulations
- Do not feed animals
- Every animal, plant and rock is protected
- Aboriginal and European artefacts/sites are protected
Expedition Sand & Stone tri-desert journey is 2698km
Alice Springs [389km] Curtin Springs
Curtin Springs [105km] Yulara
Yulara [232km] Docker River
Docker River [381km ] Kintore
Kintore [183km ] Kiwirrkurra
Kiwirrkurra [515km] Balgo
Balgo [561km] Yuendumu
Yuendumu [365km] Alice Springs
Yes – the longest distance between fuel stops is 561km through mostly 4WD terrain. Depending on the fuel capacity of your vehicle you may need to carry extra fuel. Recommend at least 1 x 20lt jerries of additional fuel for most vehicles.
This question is about preference and capacity but recommended you carry at least 80lt of drinking water and 80lt of general usage water. There may opportunity to refill general usage but the longest time between drinking water refills is 5 days.
Yes. However due the difficult nature of some of the tracks, the fragility of the environment and other considerations off-road caravans are not encouraged. But we can arrange for them to stored securely in Alice Springs.
4WDs that have medium to high clearance and a high/low transfer case, with a quality set of springs and shock absorbers as well as All Terrain / Mud Terrain tyres with at least 70% tread. UHF Radio either hand held or fitted is a must as well. These expeditions are not suitable for AWDs.
WayPoint will assist and guide you in the basic skills of 4WD driving and sustainable 4WD driving to suit the terrain in which we will travel however consider doing a 4WD course prior to the trip as some advanced off road techniques will be required.
No more than 200km per day. Most days are between 50-80km. We discuss the following day’s events around the campfire at night, or at our morning briefing sessions before departure. We are normally on the road at 9.30am each morning and stop for lunch between 12pm-1pm. We stop at all points of interest throughout the day and try to set up camp around 3.30-4pm each day.
We will do our best to get you going again but if we can’t, we will discuss the options of getting your vehicle recovered and to where it can be repaired. We strongly recommend you have cover with a nationwide motoring association and also take out travel insurance.
EXPEDITION SAND & STONE is available once a season. Bookings can be made online via the payment gateway or an offline booking form.
The most important thing to pack is a sense of adventure. Don’t worry if you have misplaced yours as you will soon find it on the tour! Once your place has been confirmed a briefing kit with all the information you will need will be sent to you. It will contain list of suggestions, spare parts, maps, camping requirements, etc.
If you become sick on the trip all efforts will be made to maintain your comfort and enjoyment. Our Expedition Leaders are first aid trained (Remote Area First Aid) and experienced in emergency management. In the event of an emergency the tour leader carries a Spot Tracker emergency beacon for emergency assistance and a Sat phone. Vehicles are also fitted with UHF radios for local radio contact and satellite tracking.
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