WAA Line Simpson Desert
WAA Line Crossing the Simpson Desert
In this blog post we take you through the WAA Line in the Simpson Desert and what to expect on one of the less commonly driven tracks when completing a Simpson Desert Crossing. We did the WAA Line for the first time in May 2021. During this trip we did not do a full Simpson Desert crossing due to road closures to Mount Dare. Instead, we did a loop back to Birdsville over five days, along the QAA Line, French Line, The Knolls Track, WAA Line, and the Erabena Track back to Birdsville along the French and QAA Lines.
We will summarise a few key points about the Simpson Desert below which we have addressed in our other Simpson Desert track posts in case you missed them.
When to Travel to the Simpson Desert
The best time to travel to the Simpson Desert is between May and October when it is cooler. The Simpson Desert is closed between December and mid-March due to the summer temperatures. You will need at least four days to cross the Simpson Desert depending on which route you decided to take. Our first crossing was done back in July 2020 along the QAA and French Lines which took approximately three and a half days from Birdsville to Dalhousie Springs. This is the shortest Simpson Desert crossing route. Taking the WAA and QAA Lines would add at least another half a day to your journey.
- Travel between May and October.
- Simpson Desert closed between December and Mid-March.
- There are more than 1,000 dunes in the Simpson.
- You need at least 4 days to cross the desert depending on your planned route.
East to West – Knolls Track to Rig Road
The WAA Line runs parallel to the French Line, between the Knolls Track and Rig Road when travelling East to West. The WAA Line is approximately 120kms and expect to average around 20km/h per day. This average speed includes a few breaks but is roughly what sort of distance you will cover on average each hour in the Simpson Desert. As a result, plan for one full day to complete the WAA Line. If you choose to drive the WAA Line as part of your Simpson Desert crossing, this will take slightly longer than doing the more popular and shorter route along the French and QAA Lines. It does take longer as you need to take both Rig Road and the Knolls Track which will add another 50kms or so to your total route. Work on an extra half day of travel compared to doing the French and QAA Lines. Although taking the WAA Line will add a bit more time to your Simpson Desert crossing, now that we have driven both the WAA and French Lines, we would recommend the WAA Line over the French Line when completing a crossing. On top of this you still need to drive the French Line between Poeppel Corner and the Knolls Track, so you get the opportunity to drive both.
WAA Line is Quiet
Our recommendation in taking the WAA Line over the French Line when completing your Simpson Desert crossing is mainly because it is far less popular. Most travellers choose to cross the Simpson Desert along the QAA and French Lines. More travellers’ leads to more traffic and therefore worse track conditions. The WAA Line is far less driven and as a result you see less people, which we prefer, and the track is usually in better shape. Although less traffic does lead to more vegetation which can wreak havoc to the sides of your 4WD. We however did not find this to be a massive issue in May 2021, with some sections a bit overgrown but nothing that we could not avoid. If you do prefer isolation, which is what a Simpson Desert adventure is all about, then the WAA Line is a far better track choice over the French Line. We did not see another soul while driving the WAA Line compared to seeing well over 15 vehicles along the French Line. For this main reason we would prefer to add the WAA Line to a Simpson Desert crossing over driving all the French Line. When we did drive the WAA Line in May 2021, we did find the track conditions to be far better than both the French and QAA Lines in relation to bumps and corrugations caused by towing trailers, running incorrect tyre pressures and or not driving in 4WD.
Dunes Are Smaller
The dunes along the WAA Line are far smaller than those on both the French and QAA Lines. That does not mean they are always easy to navigate over. We found that although the dunes are not as steep, they can be challenging and more technical at times. Not that we had any issues driving over them, but the dunes along the WAA Line can have double dune crests which you need to be aware of when driving over them. The tracks up the dunes can also twist and turn up them which could be difficult for some less experienced drivers. Compared to the QAA Line which has straight runs up most of the dunes which are by far the steepest in the Simpson Desert. The French Line has some similarities where the tracks twist and turn or snake up the dunes, but they are far steeper on the French Line.
We did find that although the dunes are smaller on the WAA Line, they did contain large holes caused by the prevailing winds known as blowouts. It is advised to be aware of these blowouts as they can appear suddenly when driving over dune crests or around bends. Any significant blowouts usually have bypass tracks to get around them but be aware they exist as the larger ones could cause severe damage if hit with any speed. As always drive to the conditions and take your time. Even though the general track conditions we found to be far better, these blowouts did lead us to drive at similar speeds to the rougher tracks as there are many of them.
Tyre Pressures
As per our other posts on tracks in the Simpson Desert, remember to drop your tyre pressures. We had our tyre pressures at around 15 to 18 PSI for our entire Simpson Desert trip. Keeping your pressures this low will make the drives up the sand dunes that much easier as well as being more comfortable when dealing with all the bumps and ruts that you find along your route. There are many sand dunes that are thick in sand and running low tyre pressures makes navigating over them so much easier. Running the correct tyre pressures does also help keep the track in the best condition possible for other travellers.
Camping on the WAA Line
While in the Simpson Desert you can camp anywhere along the WAA Line if it is within 100 metres of the main track. There is an abundance of spots that you can camp so it is just a matter of looking out for a great spot somewhere between the sand dunes when you are ready to setup camp. While in the Simpson Desert Regional Reserve you can have campfires. But remember that as soon as you leave the Simpson Desert Regional Reserve and cross into Witjira National Park, which is clearly signposted, you are no longer allowed to have fires. Please make sure that you do not chop down any of the small trees or break off any branches when having a fire. You are in the desert and the vegetation must be protected.
Use Channel 10
There will always be other travellers coming in the opposite direction while completing a Simpson Desert crossing. Always ensure that you are on channel 10 whenever you are in the Simpson Desert. This is the channel where everyone can communicate. Whenever you get in your 4WD and start to drive, make sure you let everyone else know that you are moving, what track you are on, and in which direction you are travelling. If anyone else is within range they will hear your radio call and can respond. Now you are all aware of each other and in which direction you are all travelling. Along the QAA Line there are clear call point makers which make it easy to distinguish where everyone is, but these become rarer along the French and WAA Lines. If you are aware of other travellers, you can then make sure you look out for them into the distance when you are on top of a dune and can ensure that you do not run into each other over the crest of a dune.
Call up on channel 10
Example: “Two vehicles heading west along the WAA Line”
If you see someone in the distance, radio that you have a visual. This way everyone can travel safely. Carry handhelds if traveling with other vehicles so you can have chit chatter on another channel keeping off channel 10. There is nothing worse that hearing a group of vehicles chatting about all sorts of nonsense blocking channel 10 so that you cannot communicate with other vehicles. CB radios can broadcast for many kilometres so only use channel 10 for proper broadcasting of messages, not general chit chat.
Flies Can Be Terrible
In our two Simpson Desert crossings we have either experienced hardly any flies or millions of flies. When we did our Simpson Desert crossing in July 2020 there were hardly any flies to be found. Compared to when we did our trip in May 2021, where we were swarmed by millions of flies from 8.00am to 6.00pm. When the flies are exceptionally bad you will most likely want to wear a fly head net. You will also want to plan when you pack up and setup camp when the flies are less bad. Although we did start to setup camp between 5.00pm and 5.30pm most evenings, we just chose to deal with them. Just be aware of them and be prepared with head nets as this will make life far more comfortable.
WAA Line Summary
Here is a summary of the key points made above about the WAA Line in the Simpson Desert.
- Goes between the Knolls Track and Rig Road (east to west).
- Crosses Erabena and Colson Tracks which can take you to the French Line.
- Runs parallel to the French Line.
- Approximately 120 kms long.
- Dunes are smaller than those on the QAA and French Lines.
- Beware of blowouts, large holes, that are common on the WAA Line.
- Camp anywhere within 100 metres of the WAA Line.
- We would drive the WAA Line over the French Line every time.
- Far less traffic along the WAA Line compared to the French Line.
- For most tracks we used high range (will depend on your 4WD).
- Tyre pressure of 15 PSI.
- You need a compliant sand flag.
- Takes a day to complete.
- Average around 20km/h.
- Over 1,000 sand dunes in the Simpson Desert.
- Make sure you have a UHF and are on channel 10.
- Use handheld UHFs to communicate between multiple cars to keep off channel 10.
- Call up on channel 10 when approaching dunes.
We hope you have enjoyed our post on the WAA Line in the Simpson Desert. If you would like to read our other posts on the Simpson Desert, Outback Australia, and planning for such a trip, you can read them here. To keep up to date on future posts, join the 4WD Adventurer Community here. For more regular updates please follow us on Instagram.
Thanks for reading legends.
The thoughts of Peter.
08/03/2023 @ 10:33 PM
Was impressed with the waa line article hoping to do my first crossing this year, west to east and back.
09/03/2023 @ 12:27 PM
G’day Warren
Thanks for reading and the feedback, appreciate it. Hope you can make the trip and have a fantastic time. The desert never disappoints!
Cheers mate.
Peter