First leg from Cooper Creek was side tracking to lInnaminka to re-fuel  (we are currently using 1 litre per 6.5km-eeek) and replenish food and water before heading further north. Innaminka is a tiny town (population 21) in far north west SA which consists of a well stocked general store and pub. Being the only town within 300ish km with fuel, it’s a thriving hub by day and  today was no exception. Those that weren’t lined up for fuel were lined up at the shower block, run by  the local  community. The store owner told us they were gearing up for their local races on the weekend and expecting a huge influx o people- it seems all the country towns in this area of the outback time their races so tourists can do a circuit – and hundreds  do.

From Innaminka, we back tracked into Queensland and continued our journey north  along the Queensland SA border.

We are in real desert country now, the road alternating between Gibber rock and sand, and between dips, and crests and long, flat, rocky expanses. The rocks and corrugations made us feel like we’d spent hours on one of those 1970s vibrating weight loss machines.- I‘m expecting my jeans to be looser in the morning.

Arrived at Haddons corner mid-afternoon. It’s the border of the  north east corner of SA  and Queensland- again named after the 1800s surveyor who mapped this part of the border.  Not sure why these corners feel so special but we all agree they do.  This one is literally in the middle of nowhere – and we had to cross a couple of dunes to get here but an absolutely magical camp spot for the night – not another living thing in sight.

From Haddons Corner we headed north. along the outskirts of the Simpson. Aiming for  the  Beetoota Hotel. – only about 120km away but 2.5 hours on these roads. 

The weather  is warming up now- high 20s during the day and cool but mild evenings. It’s a dry heat but it’s easy to imagine how relentless it must be in the hotter months when daily temperatures are  40-50 degrees.

A highlight on the drive was the Deon Brook lookout- established in 1996 in memory of a young local girl who died in a helicopter crash.  Set on the one high point within cooee, it provides an incredible vista of the vastness of the desert- with long veins of treed dry creek beds. Easy to imagine how it would have come alive in the rains last year.

We arrived at the Beetoota hotel just after midday, and were enjoying a beer under the verandah not long after. .

The. Hotel offers free camping and $5 access to hot showers – well worth the investment after a couple of days without.

As it turns out we arrived on the hotels 100th birthday and on the eve of the Beetoota races, so the joint was jumping. 

They served up an amazing all you can eat roast pork dinner-  cooked in camp ovens over one of the biggest fire pits I’ve ever seen- with birthday cake for desert.- delicious! Add a foot tapping mix of ‘beer songs’, Aussie bush songs and country/western made for a fabulous night.