This is the first time that a hot air balloon has ever flown across the Simpson Desert. It is a huge undertaking – and has needed a lot of logistical preparation to make sure it can be done.

I’m really excited about it – and that my husband Nick is able to come too. I’m a bit nervous – but it is definitely worth the experience and making sure I can make as many people as possible aware of how much needs to be done for people with lung cancer.

Here’s a map of where we’ll be going in the hot air balloon – believe it or not!

We’ll be stopping off at some amazing places along the way before we arrive at the edge of the desert. There’s a day by day summary for you in the other pages, but you can see how far we’re going to have to travel on this map.

The Simpson Desert

Located within the driest region of the Australian continent, the Simpson Desert is one of the world's best examples of dunal desert, a sea of parallel red sand ridges some 300 - 500 kilometres long covering a total area of 170,000 square kilometres. Although it receives slightly more rainfall than the Sahara Desert, the mean annual rainfall of 130 millimetres is very variable and unpredictable. Summer temperatures can exceed 50° C.

The Simpson Desert lies across the corners of 3 States, South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

In the nineteenth century, the Simpson Desert was inhabited by 7 Aboriginal tribes, concentrated mainly around the watercourses on the desert boundaries. In good seasons, they moved into or through the desert itself, digging permanent wells along their route for survival.

Some of the wells the Aborigines dug were quite extensive, comprising tunnels up to 10 metres long, dug at an angle through sand to water-bearing layers. Many of these wells can still be seen but are no longer functional as they have filled with sand.

The first European to see the grandeur of the Simpson Desert was the explorer Charles Sturt in 1845, but the desert was not fully recognised and named until the 1930s when another Australian explorer and geologist, Cecil Thomas Madigan, named it after Allen Simpson, the sponsor of his subsequent expedition. The explorers who came after Sturt, mainly government surveyors, named a number of the familiar landmarks in the area.

The first successful crossing of the desert is credited to E A Colson who, with an Aboriginal companion (P. Ains) and 5 camels, travelled from Mount Etingambra eastwards to Birdsville in 1936. The first motorised crossing, by geologist Reg Sprigg and his family, was completed in 1962.