Yes thats right I am in Qld for bit then back into South AUS to Innamincka area.
Even the silver flash has been behaving quite well, nearly 4000 k's since I left Adelaide which was the last time the flash misbehaved badly. The metal dude is playin the game nicely at the moment.
Some highlights of the Birdsville track:
The only civilisation was the Mungerannie pub and wetland full of birds etc fed by an open water bore. An oasis in a dry outback zone or was it all just a sun mirage???
I went kayaking on a very large permanent waterhole on daimantina river about 60 k's south of Birdsville. The river also goes through Birdsville. Quite remote beautiful place with lots of birds
The changing landscapes from dry gibber rock plains to low grass and shrub plains of the Goyder lagoon to sand dunes with different vegetation to sandy plains with dunes running parallel to the track and also going between the Tirari and Strezlecki desert dunes.
Oh yeah when i was at the Mungerannie pub a group of dudes who were comin down the track told me they had passed a german lady travellin on a bicycle.. So next day I saw her up further and offered her a cuppa, so we had a chat for about an hour which was good. I am used to talking to Germans from university, so all good.
Birdsville is the same as last year when I was here except it is a fair bit warmer at the moment. Its gunna get busy here 7/8th Sept for the big race w/end, I will be long gone. Think there may be a race meeting at Innamincka soon, have to check the date. Paid $6 for a loaf of bread from the bakery! Also cost $9 for a schooner of beer at the famous pub. It costs approx 3.50 down Brissie way! At least the fuel is near the same as last year. Only $1.79 litre. I paid far higher in Sth Aus. Are you surprised if I tell you Birdsville is 1600 k's from Brissie???
There is a croc catcher in town lookin to catch Kyle the 5ft freshwater croc in the permanent waterhole at the Diamantina river here. Kyle has been here since May. It is a mystery how he got here as he is at least 1000k's south of his normal home area, possibly a fisherman bought him down from north or he got washed down in a previous flood. Anyway Kyle is going to go live at the fun park area at Coomera south of Brissie for a bit.
Had a chat to the information dudes here plus looked at their maps. Birdsville is about 130k's east from the Northern Territory border which goes through part of the simpson desert. The 3 states of Sth Aus, Qld and NT meet together at a place called Poepells corner. So I will be headin out that way for a look in the next week. Its a 340k round trip from Birdsvile to there and return.
So now I have done 2 of the three main outbck tracks in Sth Aus being the Oodnadatta and Birdsville tracks. The 3rd track called the Strezslecki starts at Innamincka and goes back down to Lyndhurst near Marree, and is about 450k's long and goes past the Moomba oil and gas fields in the cooper basin.
To get to Innamincka from here is approx 450 k's south east back into Sth Aus through som dry rough track country which I went on part of it last year (and bashed my engine oil sump on a large rock) or a more circular series of tracks of approx 580k's length which is the way I may go so as to see different country than last year.
The Cooper creek comes down from Qld through Innamincka and there are some lovely campspots along its permanent waterholes which i went to last year. Also the cooper creek goes through a permanent lake system north of Innamincka called Coongie lakes Nat Park (on its way to Lake Eyre when in flood) so this should be a good place for kayaking when i get there too. The Innamincka area is famous for where the illfated Burke and Wills expedition leaders perished. in the mid 1800's. Lots of historical info and sites to check out there
Well I will keep doing the hard yards here so as to keep you all mentally challenged by my posts.
Here are some pics of the Birdsville track, more to come. Also lots of pics of the Oodnadatta track and Witjira Nat Park too. Plus videos. Time Time I need more time!!
Well time to go and have a cuppa with a family i met on the Birdsville track who are in the caravan park here.
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| Most of the outback tracks in Aus have these satellite controlled road signs. Heavy penalties apply if you go on them when they are closed |
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| A regular outback dude |
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| North of the dingo fence the only reliable food for the dingo other than rabbits is killing cows on the pastoral stations. These dingoes were brazingly starting to eat a recent dead cow only 15 metres from the track edge. Even some crows joined in. |
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| Can you pronounce this name? There are lots of long names like this in the outback. Makes you wonder where they get them from. Possibly part european part aboriginal names??? |
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| This is the mighty Cooper creek crossing on the track. I camped 2 nites in there. Apparently when it floods down from Qld can be up to 5 k's wide. there is a small car ferry a few k's away for when it floods. |
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| Sunset from the cooper creek camp. Rare cloud on horizon as mostly blue sky days here. |
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| The Mungerannie pub approx half way along the track, a welcome sight. No other places along track. |
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| Some of the old mail trucks used by legendary outback mailman Tom Kruse at the pub. There is another one at Marree. |
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| The pub has a small pool fed by warm bore water at the camp ground. see black pipe bottom right. |
