Tues, 2nd Oct, 2018 Cameron Corner Store, Qld to Cullyamurra Waterhole, near Innamincka, SA (sightseeing)

6am - sun rising over the NSW sand dune. Nice cool breeze – 15 degrees.

Kayleigh’s birthday today but no phone reception so will have to send her a belated birthday message when we get reception again.

Got packed up early to get in front of the OBT group.

Across the grid and back into South Australia heading west at 7.30am – not bothering to change to SA time which would be 7am as we will be back in Queensland in a day or two.

Over a grid and into Bollards Lagoon Station.

Onto the 118km red roller coaster as we head to the Strzelecki Track. One person said there are 215 sand dunes!! Easy driving as the road is formed so no fun for Steve ‘yet’.

Past Bollard Lagoon Station homestead. There is a track heading north along the border that Sidney Kidman put in when he was droving his cattle down this way – it is called the Bore Track and my notes say you have to get permission from this station to traverse it. 

Another shot of the roller coaster ride. Good fun.

Spotted some cattle at last.

No spinifex here so the red sand is more exposed.

‘Nick of Time’ Bore came up on the Hema – wonder how it got that name. Steve said they found water with the last bit of bore pipe or was it that they found the water before they perished!!

A dingo ran across the road ahead of us. Turned onto the top of a dune and then continued parallel with the sand ridges.

Onto Merty Merty Station. Spotted the homestead on a ridge further over.

Turned onto the Old Strzelecki Track which is east of the new one. The chap at the Corner Store said it was in better condition as it doesn’t get the traffic the new one gets from all the oil and gas mines around this area.

Information off the Westprint Maps we are using:

Strzelecki Track

John Conrick pioneered this track in 1867 when he successfully drove 200 horses from Mobel Creek Station, north of Quilpie in Qld, to Kapunda, north of Adelaide.

The Strzelecki Track developed as a stock route, even more hazardous than the Birdsville Track because it relied on waterholes, dams and wells. The only bore to be drilled on this stock route was Monte Collina in the Cobbler Desert. During periods of drought the Strzelecki Track was closed for years at a time. Many cattle from Innamincka Station were taken west to Mirra Mitta Bore and down the Birdsville Track rather than face the uncertainty of the Strzelecki Stock Route.

Although the Track was now been realigned to provide access to Moomba, and is a well-maintained road, parts of the old track can be negotiated between Innamincka and Merty Merty Station. Some of the old waterholes and wells are still visible. The Track closed as a mail route in 1935.

The Strzelecki Desert is similar to the Simpson Desert with many similar plants, soils and trees. The most notable exception is that the sand dunes run at a different angle. It is interesting to note that the longitudinal direction of sand dunes in Northern South Australia appear to radiate out from the top of the Flinders Ranges much like the spokes of a wheel.

Will do the rest of the Strzelecki Track when we do South Australia in more detail one day.

Interesting ‘bone’ sculpture just up the track.

Left the red sand ridges behind and onto grey dirt.

Past Santo pump thing then an oil pump thing which is called a Beam. There are 6 more around it that we can see.

Further along more beams. Got a photo of it going up and down.

Roads go off to more fields - Ulandi and Jena Fields then more pipes along the ground for the high pressure oil. Better not run over them.

An adult emu was strolling along. Then another one rang across the track in front of us.

No kangaroos this morning.

A storage tank had a flood height marked on it from the flood of 2010.

Winding back and forth over the grey dirt flats then sand ridges appear on each side of us but well in the distance.

Turned right on the new Strzelecki Track and pulled off into the bush beside the fence to have a cuppa. Hot dry wind greeted us – glad we have the air conditioner going. 

Further along this track is the Hot Rocks Power Station.

Innamincka, with a permanent population of 12, is set to be the proving ground for hot fractured rock (HFR) geothermal energy production when it swaps diesel fuel power for geothermal power. Innamincka sits atop the Cooper Basin which contains multiple granite fractures and water under pressures of up to 12,000 pounds per square inch (psi).

Across the grid then back onto the old track again and headed into the Innamincka Regional Reserve. Narrower track here as the oil/gas lot don’t use this one.

Dead cow by the road which was all blown up ready to burst – yuk.

More live cattle as we continue along. Another company – Beach Energy – has pipes running across the track from their wells.

A flock of corellas flew along beside us.

As we neared Innamincka we spotted some very healthy horses grazing by the road. Two were getting a bit frisky!

Turned onto the 15 Mile Track which runs parallel with Cooper Creek then goes south to Moomba on the Strzelecki Track or turns north west through Walkers Crossing on the Cooper and up to join the Outside Track of the Birdsville Track. Lots of signs and this is the map.

We pulled into the first camping area by the creek called Policemans. Toilet up on the high side then we dropped down closer to the creek.

Nice spot with big trees, lots of corellas and turtles poking their heads out of the light brown coloured water.

I checked out the information board.

More info off the Westprint Maps:

Cooper Creek

Charles Sturt named Cooper Creek as he moved northwards during 1845 in search of an inland sea. His diary entry reads, “I gave the name of Cooper’s Creek to the fine watercourse we had so anxiously traced, as a proof of my great respect for Mr Cooper, the Judge of South Australia. I would gladly have laid this creek down as a river, but as it had no current I did not feel myself justified in doing so.” (The apostrophes on many place names, eg Cooper’s Creek, were later removed under regulations set down by a National Mapping code.)

Back out then along and down to Ski Beach.

2010 flood level is marked on the toilet wall up on the higher bank – boy that would have been amazing amount of water going through here.

Bit different to Ski Beach on the Murray – no nice sand here. It is a smaller camp area with lots of trees.

Next turn off was to King’s Marker. More info as we follow the track towards the creek.

Steve would have been swimming during 2010 flood.

This would have all been under water in the flood. So Wills died downstream and Burke upstream so King must have walked back along the creek to be found here. Interesting note at the bottom about King celebrating his birthday thereafter on the day he was rescued as he believed that was went his life was returned to him.

Info about the blaze which was made in 1947 to mark this site.

More information boards here. 

We continued down the track to the water’s edge. There is a wide sandy area where the creek narrows and the creek is wider up and down stream.

Back to the truck where Steve noticed a cairn off to the side. It said this was where King was found so not sure if it was here or down by the water!!

New campground area further along with a nice new dunny. I think I was the first person to use it.

Next one along is Minkie Waterhole. Lovely big gums – not good to camp under though has they have a bad habit of dropping their limbs.

Another flood marker and we are well up from the water. There hasn’t been any other floods marked.

Information about Sidney Kidman’s Coongie Station. The lakes are further north west from here.

We drove down to get closer to the water.

Lots of corellas, galahs and some very pretty green parrots flying about. Not happy about the corella above us who didn’t look below before he pooped.

Had lunch with the flies under a lovely big tree. We will have to look up about flies and see what their purpose in life is and what eats them, as it doesn’t seem that any birds do.

Even a pelican slowly worked his way along the creek. We feel like we are on the Mighty Murray again as the colour of the water, trees and wildlife are just the same, yet we are a long way north.

Some of the other campers had a swim across the creek. Lots of turtles popping their heads up – reckon they would get your bait before any fish did.

We continued along the track then turned up a track. Passed some old sheep yards.

Over a flat clay pan with red sand dunes on each side.

At the carpark there was another cairn – Wills died in creek 1861.

Further along we found the information board.

The stone cairn is near the downstream end of Tilcha Waterhole.

Headed back along the track we spotted an emu.

Back to where we turned off. Further along is the Town Common where you can camp for $5 per night along a long narrow waterhole called Queerbidie. We have a Deserts Parks Pass which we got to cover all these SA National and Regional Parks so we don’t have to pay to camp. Had to pay enough for that so will chose a camp that is under that pass.

Plenty of room to camp here. The trees have had the soil washed away from their roots over time and looks like they are trying to put some dirt back around them.

Across a dry Strzelecki Creek which was named by Charles Sturt in 1845 after Sir Paul Edmond de Strzelecki, a Polish-born explorer and scientist.

The Cooper-Strzelecki Junction

This was an important landmark for Sturt, Gregory and Burke & Wills who travelled along both creeks. When Cooper Creek reaches a depth of approximately 5 metres, water flows into Strzelecki Creek and runs southward to Lake Blanche.

Up the side of a gibber stone covered hill.

Into the township of Innamincka.

Innamincka

The explorer, Charles Sturt, visited this region in 1845 during his attempt to reach the centre of the continent. He named Cooper and Strzelecki Creeks. Sturt Stony Desert was later named in his honour. Augustus Gregory followed the Cooper and Strzelecki Creeks in 1858 while looking for traces of Leichhardt and Burke & Wills entered the Cooper region in 1860. These explorers were the first men to venture into this arid land. Cattlemen followed with their herds, to face the hardships of a land where the annual rainfall averages a mere 250mm.

Three police troopers set up a tent near Innamincka for use as a police station in 1882. A store was built nearby in 1884 and a hotel built at the intersection of the Strzelecki Track with the Cordillo and Nappa Merrie roads. By January 1892 the Town of Innamincka was proclaimed.

North of Innamincka is No. 1 Bore. Geologist Dr Reg Sprigg first recognised the land formation now known as the Innamincka Dome as a possible exploration site for oil. This was the first exploratory bore in the Cooper Basin and was drilled in 1959. The traces of hydrocarbons found gave an indication of the presence of oil or gas in the area.

I found another friend.

We wandered over to the information boards first.

Next door was the National Parks building with a big cairn in the garden. Plaques about Sturt and Burke & Wills.

The building was originally a nursing home but now National Parks office is here.

On the direction finder it had Cooktown but no Cairns – that’s a first.

We went inside and noticed information boards along one of the verandahs.

Inside one room was all the info about the building and the work of the Mission. Wow what an experience for those nurses.

On another wall was about the Aboriginals of the area.

Some bits and pieces on display.

On the other side there were more photos of plants etc and these great ones of the Strzelecki Creek during the 2010 flood.

Shame they don’t have a better sign out front as I reckon a lot of people miss reading all this thinking it is just the NP office.

Over to the pub. Great plaque about Burke and Wills out the front. Still trying to figure out why Wills died one side of Innamincka and Burke the other and they found King in the middle. Will have to read some more.

Into the pub for a look around. Lots of great photos, newspaper clippings and the back wall is covered in signed money. The OBT crowd are having a ball inside chatting.

Look at that – its cuppa time in Qld.

We went next door to the Trading Post.

Checked out the old Beaufighter engine. Steve was impressed with the gears on the front. Another photo to send to David.

Steve got the truck to top up the tanks, $1.80c/l (it was $2 at Cameron Corner).

Steve commented there was a lot of air coming out so we stopped in case we weren’t actually getting the right amount of diesel. When I mentioned it to the chap in the store he apologised and said he was running the tanks down as he has bought his own bowsers and will be installing them shortly so he can buy his fuel from whoever he wants. Steve asked about his pick up in the tank, worried we might have got some rubbish but he assured us that there was still 2,000 litres in the tank so it will be ok. He didn’t charge us for that first bit so we backed up to another bowser and finished filling the tanks. Very nice of him. We chatted about things and he said there was 60% chance of getting 2ml of rain tomorrow. I said should we be worried and he laughed. He said it will disappear before it hits the ground.

We bought an ice cream each then wandered over to read the information about Sidney Kidman and the Cooper Catchment.

Certainly hotter today and the wind is very hot too. Drove up the hill then down the gibber stone track to the rubbish tip as there were no bins in ‘town’. Looking back over the main area then the two houses further up the rise.

Drove back through ‘town’, there are a few streets and stopped to check out the site of the old Police Station.

Across the road is the bottle dump from the hotel.

Across the Cooper Creek causeway – upstream then downstream.

Along the other side of Queerbidie Waterhole where there are more camping sites available.

Back across the causeway then up another street to where accommodation was available in old train carriages and a few blocks for industrial area. There are bench house sites for sale with a couple of hills further up the ridge.

Out of town where the ground is all gibber stone. Turned off to head down to Burke’s Memorial beside another section of Cooper Creek. Through open gibber plains and mesas and a range to the other side.

Back into flood plain grey soil again as we reached the Cooper. Love all these big trees.

Walked along the waterhole and read the information boards along the way. Lucky they all kept such good journals in the old days so we have this history to refer back to.

Interesting information. I am confused though about the spelling of coolabah or here it spelt with an ‘i’.

Burke’s grave under the coolabah tree and more information. Still haven’t read why he was here and King was back towards Wills.

There is another camp area back from the car park for the memorial but it didn’t have nice views of the creek.

Headed back out then we continued on to Cullyamurra Waterhole which is further upstream.

Cullyamurra Waterhole

This is one of the most magnificent waterholes in Central Australia. It was formed by mammoth floods in the Cooper being restricted at a very narrow gap, the Innamincka Choke. The turbulence created by this flow has gouged the riverbed out to a depth of 28 metres. The waterhole has never been known to be dry. The SA Lands Dept built the flood recorder on the north side of the waterhole in 1966. At the same time they recorded the depth of the waterhole with hand line and lead.

We drove along the high bank checking out various spots. Didn’t spot the flood recorder though it probably washed away with the flood.

Found a spot with a nice clean toilet nearby which is handy. Set up camp. Steve went looking for firewood and spotted a dingo in the floodplain nearby. There is a sign in the toilet about them.  Had our drinks overlooking the creek. 5.30pm it was still 34 degrees. Lots of birds singing which is lovely and the whistling kites are a lovely sound in the bush.

Our route for today.

After a while we noticed the ground was being invaded by black ants. They didn’t seem to bite but they are everywhere. The temperature hasn’t dropped and now the bugs have moved in big time. We pulled the table well away from our light and played Dice for a while after dinner with our feet up.

9.30pm 29 degrees but there is light breeze now. When the breeze changes direction all the bugs disappear but soon return when the wind blows back the other way again.

As we got ready for bed we saw lightning flashes in the south. That’s why it has been so hot today.