Coward Springs is the sort of place you could stop for days – but with work barking at the door we stuck to the plan and headed west. Again amazing landscapes on every crest.
Our first stop was at Strangeways Springs – on Arabana land and named after Henry Strangeways in the late 1850s who established the first Adelaide to Darwin telegraph. This small village (now in ruins) sits on top of a mound spring – with beautiful wildflowers among the old stone faces.

We stopped for lunch at the William Creek Hotel- yet another quirky outback pub in a tiny town of little else serving all things meat and chips. David had the veggie burger, clearly not their mainstream fare.

After a quick re-fuel (most expensive yet at $3.17/l ) we moved on keen to do a side trip to the Painted Desert (90km off the track just before Oodnadatta). 

The Painted Desert is a series of rocky outcrops rising out of dead flat plains. Not sure of trhir geology but the layers of different rock/sandstone/salt etc give them the appearance of a water colour. Absolutely mesmerising and should be up there on everyone’s bucket list. Like Ularu the rocks have different appearances with different light. We did a sunset viewing and had intended to go back for sunrise, but after a close encounter of the cattle kind (thankfully only enough for an adrenaline rush) we were put off driving back in the dark.

Spent the night on  Arckaringa Station- we had the whole place to ourselves. Gorgeous night around the camp fire (probably our latest bed time yet at 10pm!).

Cows were a bit curious as to who had invaded their territory and came to check us out- nothing like having a massive bovine snuffling through your rubbish bags and sniffing at your underwear on the line!

Arrived in Oodnadatta round lunchtime. Everything is pink down to the petrol bowsers and rubbish bins. We are now set up in the Pink Roadhouse tucking into a huge feast – coffee is great

First (short) leg of the Oodnadatta Track today. Like the Birdsville it’s recently graded so not too many corrugations, but a much more interesting route. A mix of historic and quirky points of interest (I’ll let the photos below speak for themselves).


By far the most spectacular part of the day was our stop at the Lake Eyre look out. Hard to describe the sheer beauty of the vast expanse of the salt pans  with the water behind. We walked as far as we could towards the edge. Initially quite crunchy we were able to walk out across the pan- but the further we walked the further away the water seemed. Eventually the salt crust thinned and we found ourselves sinking into the murky black mud below so we had to retreat. We were passed by one optimist who had bought a stone with him to throw into the lake- not sure if he retreated it or if ‘his ghost will be heard as you pass by that billabong…..’

Complete with political statements

We finished our day at Coward Springs-where we will spend the next 2 nights. This gorgeous oasis is on a working date farm which also hosts an artesian bore. The small ‘cafe van serves great coffee and all things date including date scones (2 down xxx to go). The showers are heated by a wood burner which you need to fire up in advance. This place should definitely be on everyone’s must visit outback list.  Loving the short rest from the road and not having to pack up/down for a couple of nights.

Mound Springs

David 2 in Coward Springs did a quick drive from our camp spot to Mound Springs-these mounds are formed when layers of salt and sediment bubble up from the artesian basin, making for spectacular landscape.

We were pretty much the last ones to roll out this morning. Nice to have a leisurely breakfast and hot shower. Hit the road round 9.30 aiming for Marree or thereabouts. 

This second part of the track was more interesting than the first. It travelled parallel to the sand dunes between the Strzlecki and Tirari deserts. 

The Birdsville track follows the old mail route from Birdsville  (Qld) to Maree (SA). Originally Henry Ding delivered the mail by horse & cart along the track until the much celebrated  Tom Cruize (no, not Tom Cruise) took up the mantle driving  the route in a pick up truck (or many trucks as it seems based on the ten or so rusty old trucks on display along the route claiming to be his). As legend had it he drove the track once a fortnight drought or flood  from  1936 to 1956. Not sure why Tom is immortalised and not Henry (as surely he did it tougher by horse?) but that’s the fragile nature of fame I guess.

Highlights for this part of the track were crossing the dog fence again – this time complete with high pitched alarms to stop the dingoes crossing the cattle grate (darn near piercing the humans’ ear drums also) and a side trip  down the ‘old’ Birdsville track to Coopers creek. 

This ‘old’ route was used when Coopers Creek flooded and had a (now derelict) ferry to ferry cars across the creek in times of flood.

We passed through Maree pretty late in the day, stocked up on fuel but deciding to free- camp about 20k along the Oodnadatta  rather than stay in town. Had a fabulous little camp site nestled on the side of the old Ghan line which provided shelter from the road.

Left Birdsville round 10am to start our much anticipated journey south along the Birdsville Track. Based on its reputation we expected a really rough and narrow track – however the track was recently graded so much wider and smoother than expected. That being said the track traverses the Sturt Stony Desert which is true to name with large areas of corrugations and gibber rock , which claimed our third Anderson plug in as many days.

We had intended to spend 3 days on the track, however trees were scarce and it was near impossible to find a sheltered camp spot. Not fancying a long afternoon in the sun in the company of a trillion flies we decided to press on .

A word on flies-they’ve been particularly relentless in this neck of the woods. Fly nets are mandatory wear and we are getting used to their presence at every lunch stop and the accidental protein intake they bring to every meal. I won’t even mention the joy they bring to comfort stops. Jatz has become an expert fly catcher snapping like a little alligator at the rate of a Gatling gun.

We reached the Mungerannie Roadhouse ( the half way point) round 4pm and set up camp.

Great evening chatting to fellow travellers in the beer garden followed by some late night repairs.

Left Beetoota  round 9 this morning aiming to get to Birdsville round lunchtime so we would have time to see the sights as well as do all the things we need to do before we set off down the Birdsville track.  

Felt pretty amazing to arrive in this iconic town- a bit more slick than I had imagined it- I guess I’d expected something a bit more rustic and ‘quintessentially ‘outback’. While tiny it now services the entire region with medical services and supplies- and of course is a hub for campers coming on and off the Simpson desert and heading down the Birdsville Track.

First task was to do the washing- our clothes were almost ready to walk to the laundry on their own – absolutely full of red dust. It was a hot dry 29 degrees here today (sorry Melbourne peeps) so we left them flapping on the line and went exploring. 

No trip to Birdsville would be complete without attempting ‘Big Red’, the last and largest sand dune on the Simpson Desert (about 40km out of Birdsville).  Some (A & D) preferred the technical challenge and drove up –  I’ll spare you the very important yet eye glazing details re: diffs, gears & tyre pressures that make this possible).  Others (me) enjoyed the physical challenge and climbed up- a bit of huff and puff but the view at the top is nothing short of breathtaking.

From there we explored the track along the Diamantina River- the main waterway in south west Queensland.  It is such a beautiful oasis in this barren neck of the woods, with little secluded camp sites marked out all along the river for free camping- note for next time when we don’t have so much washing.

In the continued spirit of an outback pub crawl we finished our day at the Birdsville hotel- a beautifully maintained  historic pub with the usual quirky bar decorations and great counter meal. The best lamb shanks I’ve had in a long time!

Tomorrow we begin our journey down the Birdsville track. It spans the 600km or so from Birdsville to Maree. We are loaded up with fuel, water, food and enthusiasm and good to go.

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.

Following the long orange stripe from Cameron Corner  north today. Rows and rows of crests and dips with gorgeous vistas from the top of every crest. Impossible to capture the essence of the huge landscapes  in photos.

After 2.5 hrs with no sign of other humans we stopped for lunch – made our wraps in the middle of nowhere then drove on the further 100ish km to the Bourke & Wills Dig tree.

The dig tree is a coolabah tree on the banks of Coopers Creek. Bourke and Wills and the other members of their expedition reportedly used Coopers Creek as a base and the dig  tree (a gnarled old coolabah) as a communication tool  ‘planting’ (aka burying) ,expedition record books and food supplies around the tree and carving messages on the tree regarding key dates and locations of the  buried items. Fascinating detail on information boards.  At the point of the dig tree the creek forms quite large waterholes (billabong) – so strange to see so much water  after driving through 300k of desert . 

We were intending to travel on to Innaminka , but it was so beautiful here that we decided to free-camp by the creek.

Another day of crossing the treeless plains today. We hit the road round 9.30, planning to go to the Keeping Place but unfortunately it was closed so we turned west towards Cameron Corner.  Open only to 4WD at the moment, the first 75k of the road was recently graded (in fact so recently that the grading machines were still on roadside. The remaining 60k was pretty rough and ready with teeth rattling corrugations. We decided there’s money to be made driving along the road picking up all the bits that fall off peoples rigs. David and I almost parted with our awning poles but noticed just in time – now firmly secured with gaffa tape.

Passed the  Dog Fence en route. The dog fence, traverses the border between NSW and Queensland and SA  and was initially constructed in the 1800s to manage the rabbit plague (ie rabbit proof fence). It is now maintained to keep the SA and Queensland dingoes away from the sheep grazing areas of NSW. The original fence was 8614km and the current fence which is 5614km is the longest man made structure in the world.

We  arrived at Cameron Corner early afternoon. Cameron Corner- named after the explorer/surveyor, is the point at which NSW, Queensland and South Australian borders intersect- so you can stand in three states at one time – and we did.

Had a late lunch at the Cameron Corner store – an outback pub by another name- and we are now staying in their camp behind the pub- 5 bucks per night per person and use of hot showers- score!!!

Woke up at 5.30 this morning to the sound of munching, mooing and shuffling around our tent . A bull  and a couple of his girls had come up to graze- they took off when we got up but did leave a few deposits.

The thing about these magical camp sites is it’s almost impossible to pack up and leave in the morning. So despite getting up early we didn’t get on the road until about 9.30.  

Today we headed north up the Silver City Highway, following  Sturt’s Steps route the path Charles Sturt  took when searching for the ‘inland sea’.

Again vast uninhabited landscapes,  but with. vegetation changing all the time from sparse and  flat to trees and rocky outcrops. No water in sight but surprisingly green..  Quite a few cattle and sheep grazing along the roads.  This is very much emu territory- the flocks of emus on the run are an amazing site.

Did a half way  stop at the Packsaddle Roadhouse- a  little oasis in the middle of nowhere – being the only fuel/food stop almost all travellers stop there for a quintessential pub meal. Great vibe and lovely people.

Our end point today is Tibooburra, the gateway to Cameron Corner, Sturt National Park and Birdsville in the north.  It’s a small town rich in Aboriginal history and home to the Aboriginal Keeping Place Museum (which we hope do visit tomorrow).
We’re camped on the Tibooburra Aboriginal Land Council Canpground, an absolutely tranquil setting on a bone dry creek bed.  Quite a few people here tonight but plenty of room to spread out and all  pretty quiet around their campfires.

As we sit under the night sky sharp eyed David jut noticed a perfect line of 10 ‘stars’ moving across the sky. After much googling (gotta love 5G) we were relieved to see we weren’t having an intergalactic experience it seems – they were 10 of Elan Musks 4000 plus Starlink satellites- but we still like to imagine we’ve seen UFOs.

GETTING THERE:  Early entry started from 8am, but being in no rush we joined the looooong convoy of cars round 9.30 (unlike the eager beavers rolling out round 4.30am!). It took us 10 minutes to do the first 10km out of Broken Hill and a further 4.5 hours the do the remaining 30k to Mundi Plains. A test for all our bladders- one of our party (me) could hold on no longer. With nowhere to hide I opted for loud and proud – opened the two side doors and tried  to position myself so I wouldn’t become you tube fodder. No  internet at the bash so Im yet to find our if I was successful or not.

In the spirit of ‘what happens on tour stays on tour’ the six of us (N, D, J,A, J&J) reflected on the highlights for our ‘bash’. Our thoughts below.

Number one by far- being together with family (Cuz’s and sibs) in this awesome location.- with all the usual ribbing that goes with it.  And yes Hax tribe – we did talk about all of you!!!

Number two:  participating in the world record breaking Nutbush with 6200 plus other souls. I do have to admit sustaining the Nutbush for 5.5 minutes isn’t as easy as it was in  my 20s but we stuck it out to the very last star jump (photographic evidence below)

Equal number 2 – the music. 

Three days straight of live performances and an absolutely fabulous line up. – mostly 80s bands.  Some of the all round favourites  were Icehouse and The Angels (who certainly still have their mojo), Furnace and the Fundamentals (who re-mix iconic hits into amazing medleys –  warning- leads to uncontrollable foot tapping, singing and random dance moves.

Number 3, just the sheer size of the event. Ten thousand people watching a concert under the outback sky is almost a spiritual experience, and the logistics and coordination required to get them there is hard to fathom.

GETTING OUT

For the Hax/Bennet sleeperinerers it only took us about  35 minutes to roll out to the main road (plus the two hours to pack up all our junk). For the super organised dawn risers (Jim and Janet) it took  approximately 5 hours. The moral is- sleep in and never do today what can be put off until tomorrow!

We are now sitting outside our tents at the Mr Gipps sheep station- 7000 sheep (black faced dorpers – a meat sheep that look like goats to us- but we didn’t want to offend the farmer). Just had our first shower in 6 days (or 7 for Andrew) and are now ready for bed (at the very late hour of 8.10!).