This month marks the 50th anniversary of the first crossing of the Simpson Desert and Nissan is part of the celebrations with two of the original participants.
Geologist Dr Reginald Sprigg and his family made the first trip from Birdsville in 1962 behind the wheel of the Nissan Patrol G60. Their crossing of the 176,500 square kilometer desert with 1,000 parallel sand dunes took 12 days.
The 50th Anniversary crossing will be led by Dr Sprigg’s two children – Doug and Margaret – who today run the Arkaroola Sanctuary. They will drive a Nissan Patrol G60 identical to the one driven by their dad.
As part of the re-enactment crossing, a 50th anniversary cairn will be erected near Birdsville and Nissan Patrol owners from throughout Australia will be invited to attend the finish in Birdsville.
