TIL... for someone like me who's never been to Australia and doesn't know much about its geography, that's a pretty crazy story!
And it turns out Connie Sue is still out there, running desert tours except not now because of lingering Covid restrictions.
> Connie's work background started with 10 years of general nursing and midwifery, 14 years as a violinist in the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and has studied Computer Systems Engineering at TAFE part-time.
Long before I wrote earth scale digital mapping software in 1990s (yes, before google Maps .. and even Keyhole) I was taught how to use a theodolite by Len Beadall (I was ~ 12 or so at the time and pretty keen).
If you're interested in the landscape those roads pass through, here's a 13 minute intro:
Good roads until 6:00 minutes in .. and then they take the David Carnegie Rd.