With two good years of rain, the Simpson Desert is looking magical. The Madigan Line is the most northern track across the desert so come with me and the FJ, and explore the landscape.
Fantastic film mate, thank you for the amount of EFFORT you have went into to craete this.. I have run over 1/2 this country on foot and 1/2 the world nearly and no footage.. I been running very long distances for 10yrs now and triathlon ironman 800km a week for 8yrs and 450km wk running no footage, so THANK YOU truly appreciate the effort you went to, how beautiful is the Australian outback.. Im getting ready to go cross the Simpson on foot unassisted. Blessing to you and this great country Australia
That would have to be about the best that I've ever seen that area look in a crossing video. Beautiful, and I'm not usually a huge fan of deserts. Thanks for the video.
Nice to see a 4WD vid without blaring rock music....I'll be on this track in a week or so in my OKA truck...and btw I also have an "Effie" in which I did a few French Line xings....nice to have that 160L tank even if it's not diesel!
Hey gary i did the Simpson myself this year absolutely loved it once again the colours out they're absolutely fantastic. I also remember you did a video similar to this with your daughter some years ago I expect she's a lot older now but that was a fantastic video as well. The Madigan line is the only part of the Simpson that I haven't done and you've actually inspired me to go back out there again in a year or 2 to complete the trip thanks for the video once again.
About to travel the Madigan alone in a few weeks. Have crossed the Simpson before with the wifey…she not coming this trip. I’m well prepared. Driving a RANGER Really looking forward to some alone time. Love your video. Cheers
Fantastic video Gary. You’re getting about a bit, this is lovely. It reminds me of the Pilbara a bit. The wild flowers are sweet and reminded me of things I saw. I was so impressed by the waxy loveliness of the Sturt Desert Pea but, although it is exquisite, the mauve “candelabra” of the mulla mulla was my favourite. You’ve got budgies and all sorts in the Simpson. The galah tucked into a tree crevice was a real cutie. They must miss you at a certain place of learning…
Excellent video mate, I thoroughly enjoyed it. At 4:56 I now what's its like to set up that shot, lots of running back to the car. I loved the solitude at 9:07. Thank you for taking us along on your adventure and sharing those incredible sunsets/sunrises.. Subbed. Cheers, Grant.
Really love these colors! I'm surprised your channel doesn't have many subscribers and views, but the real enjoyment is in the trip itself, seeing the magical landscape and wildlife. Thanks for putting this together in a stunning video and sharing!
What a top production! I really love your format, we ran across the Madigan Line in June and I'm yet to piece together our video, you've given me some inspiration
Followed your link on FJCC. Thanks for sharing this stunning record of your journey Gary, the photography is brilliant. Look forward to seeing your other work. Subscribed.
Wow Gary... you're a blast from the past mate. MTB Dirt past that is. Just found this vid today (brilliant work by the way) and will definitely check out your channel to see what one of the really nice guys has been up to for the past decade or more. - Steve (Mad Aussie)
Thanks for your kind comments Steve - I'm still around and still riding mtb's 😎 I do miss the MTB Dirt days as it was so much better than Fb & the like. Funnily enough I saw Squirrel and Zep at a mtb race recently. Hope you and Leanne are well. Thanks for stopping by.
A great journey Gary. When I first came to live in WA , we spent 3 weeks exploring in WA up to Karratha. There is something compelling about the outback. It’s so peaceful and full of variety. Good on ya traveller.
Hi Gary, RU-vid algorithm worked its magic and here we are. Thank you for an amazing video. Can appreciate the time and effort that goes into producing something like this. How nourishing for the soul to do this solo trip. Truly inspirational. If you don’t me asking, what camera /gear did you shoot this on please and what editing software? Results speak for themselves. Cheers, Daniel
Thanks Daniel, it was a combination of quite a bit of different kit. Where possible I would use a Canon C70, birds shots Canon R5, through the windscreen iPhone 13, on roof GoPro 11 and drone shots DJI mini 3 pro. It was edited in Da Vinci Resolve on a Mac. I travelled solo which made the filming much easier as I wasn’t holding up a group as you could well imagine there was a lot of setting ip, driving passed then running back for the camera. It was fun and I appreciate your comments as they help reinforce the worth of doing it. Cheers, Gary
I have 190lt on board in tanks plus 80lt in jerry cans which was more than enough. By the time I got to Birdsville I still had 300km of fuel left (after 800km from Alice).
Brilliant video mate, nice job. I am hoping to tackle the track from Finke to Birdsville. I just need to work out how much fuel to take. Where did you last fuel up before making the trip across? And how much fuel did you use? My set up in regards to weight looks similar to yours.
My last fuel was Alice Springs but Finke would be closer to the start. The FJ averaged 23lt/100km in the dunes with a 4L petrol. I carry 190lt in tanks and I had 4 jerry cans for safety. I had still enough fuel for over 300km when I got to Birdsville.
Thank you for the information. I have an FJ also. I have the earlier model before the duel tank, so I am about to fit an 84L Long Ranger tank. I was then going to carry possibly 2 to 3x 20L jerry’s. I am now looking at coming down from Alice as well and fuel up in Santa Teresa before following the Santa Terese trail South East before meeting up with the Madigan just North of Old Andado. Then shooting across to Birdsville. But friends I am traveling with might want to visit the geographical center of Australia not far out of Finke. I’ve been there before so we might just make our last fuel stop in Finke.
