Sydney  - A rite of passage for intrepid travellers has been a road trip across the Simpson Desert in central Australia.

There are not really roads, of course, just tracks laid down by explorers that help drivers get across the 176,500-square-kilometre expanse. A four-wheel-drive is the only way to go, preferably in convoy, and hopefully with lots of spares and someone handy as a mechanic.

Now, even the best-prepared traveller will be stopped from attempting the crossing in the torrid heat of the southern hemisphere summer. The 3.6-million-hectare Simpson Desert national park, an enclave within the desert, will be closed to all from December 1 to March 15.

Park spokesman Trevor Naismith said the move was to save the lives of visitors and emergency services staff.

"There have been a number of near misses and we have had deaths in past years in the northern parts of South Australia in relation to overseas tourists who are not experienced and are ill-prepared for the conditions," he said.

"The Simpson Desert is one of the most fascinating, majestic places in Australia, but in the middle of summer it's also one of the harshest and the least hospitable areas, and potentially one of the most unforgiving, dangerous places."

When vehicles break down, the call goes out by satellite phone and the rescuers have to go in.

Naismith said 50-degree temperatures were not the only risk factor. In the summer months, the heat softens the dunes - there are around 1,100 of them, as high as 40 metres and often 1 kilometre apart - and drivers more easily get bogged down in the sand.

Naismith said the ban was intended to save people, particularly foreign tourists, who "are often in a hired vehicle, with very limited four-wheel-driving experience, no real concept of the enormous distances involved and the difficulties that are encountered in driving in desert conditions."

He sounds like a spoilsport but you might think differently, if you were stuck in the Simpson Desert with a snapped fan belt and a faulty satellite phone. (dpa)