Lyndhurst to Innamincka via Birdsville Track and Walkers Crossing

We stock up on supplies at Marree after a long hot trip from Montecollina. Marree was a railway town when the famous Ghan travelled through these parts. Today it's a very quiet town. We head for Birdsville and along the track we reach Clayton Station. There's a wetland on the left, that's worth a stop and walk around. Quite remarkable to see as much birdlife out here after so much desert. A good campsite and toilet here also. The day begins to cloud over and the underside of the clouds turn pink. There's rain in the distance so decide to head for Mungerannie. The rain gets closer. We don't want to be caught out here in a downpour. We barely reach our campsite before it hits. The wind has whipped up a sandstorm and the rain buckets down. What a welcome relief, now it's time for a cold beer and sit in a warm water pool beside the wetland. Some fellow travellers tell us how the road had turned to "slip sliding mud" after the rain. Next day we head for Innamincka.

Walkers Crossing Track leaves the Birdsville Track about 120kms south of Birdsville and is roughly 240 kms to Innamincka. Roughly, because in some places the track is ill-defined and could be a worry if you don't have some direction finding aids. Particularly towards the Moomba end of the track around the gas and oil fields.

The surface changes from gibber plains to dirt to very deep sand and deep bulldust sections. Extreme care is required if travelling alone along this track. There were 10 vehicles in convoy driving northwest and we didn't see another vehicle travelling southeast. There was no water point until Cooper Creek outside of Innamincka. The ambient temperature in the back of the Land Rover was 50 degrees celsius.

We needed a rest from the heat and busy schedule so spent a few days beside the Cooper Creek near Kings Memorial marker before moving on to Innamincka for a "hot shower". After stocking up and refueling we moved to Cullyamurra Waterhole and Burkes Grave Memorial. What a harsh land we live in. We decide the next leg will be a side trip to Coongie Lakes. Coongie is 120kms north of Innamincka along a sandy track through sand dunes. There are 2 good campsites at Sandy Creek Waterhole and Kurdriemitchie Outstation. We move to Coongie to camp beside a lake amongst the dunes. There's prolific birdlife here year round with flocks of Pelicans, Spoonbills even Seagulls. A remarkable place so far from the sea. Now it's time to head to Birdsville.

Next we choose to drive the Cordillo Track to Arrabury, Planet Downs and Betoota to hit more windy weather.

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Last updated July 31st, 2005