Desert Parks Bulletin
No. 820 | Updated: 2 October 2024
It is important that campers and other park visitors are self-sufficient, and carry their own cooking, cleaning and personal hygiene products with them.
Please respect other campers and park visitors by keeping a safe distance and practicing good hygiene.
Safety in the Outback
Outback daytime temperatures can reach high 40s. If you are travelling in the Outback, you should bring appropriate clothing, ensure your vehicles are properly prepared and equipped for outback travel and any emergencies or delays. Take extra water, food and fuel supplies. Ensure good communications equipment, either HF Radio or Satellite Phone and an EPIRB or PLB. Ensure you notify a responsible person, such as a family member, of your plans prior to travelling into remote areas, and seek local advice.
If you attempt driving in sandy conditions and get bogged, do not attempt to get the vehicle out without ensuring 4WD and hubs are engaged, tyre pressures are decreased and sand is removed from the path of the tyres. If you become stuck, do not leave your vehicles to walk for assistance as this can have fatal consequences.
Speed limits
Check road and weather bulletins and local conditions before travelling into the Outback. Speed limits of 40km per hour apply within all parks. For up-to-date public road information outside of National Parks, please call the Transport SA Road Condition Hotline on 1300 361 033 or visit the Transport SA website.
Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park
Halligan Bay Point Public Access Route – Open to 4WD (Caution at soft sections – please drive cautiously and to track conditions)
Level Post Bay Public Access Route – Open to 4WD (Caution at damp areas)
Tallaringa Conservation Park — Open to 4WD
Future closures of the Anne Beadell Highway by the Department of Defence are 21st November 2024 to 18th December 2024
Extreme caution at ponded water, washouts and corrugations, plus rutted sections.
The tracks within Tallaringa Conservation Park are un-maintained 4WD tracks and conditions can change unpredictably.
Online park bookings or a Desert Parks Pass is required, as well as a tourist access permit to access this area from the Department of Defence.
Innamincka Regional Reserve and Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park
Extreme caution at ponded water, washouts and corrugations, plus rutted sections from visitors driving on wet tracks. Access to campsites can vary, some are not suitable for large caravans.
Please note that chainsaws and fire wood collection is prohibited in Innamincka Regional Reserve and Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park, with no wood fires permitted at Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park. Bring firewood with you and take your waste material home or deposit it at the Innamincka township refuse site.
Dogs, generators and powered water craft not permitted within Malkumba – Coongie Lakes National Park.
Coongie Track Innamincka to Kudriemitchie Campground – Open to 4WD
Coongie Track Kudriemitchie Campground to Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park – Open to 4WD
ALERT: The following information for visitors is pertinent:
High Clearance 4WD access only; Not suitable for Caravans; Soft and narrow sandy sections, lower tyre pressure; Caution on dune crests, dune flags recommended; Do not drive through ponded water; Do Not drive off track, past or around track closure markers as there are many areas of cultural significance.
15 Mile Track – Open to 4WD
Merninie Loop – Closed due to flood damage
Cullyamurra Waterhole – Closed due to flood damage
Burke’s Grave – Open to 4WD
Queerbidie – Open to 4WD
Policemans – Closed due to flood damage
King’s Marker Campground – Closed due to flood damage
King’s Marker Day Visitor Area — Open to 4WD
Ski Beach Campground – Open to 4WD
Wills Grave – Closed due to flood damage
Minkie Waterhole Campground – Closed due to flood damage
Old Strzelecki Track (on Innamincka Regional Reserve only) – Open to 4WD
Bore Track North – Closed due to flood damage
Bore Track South – Closed indefinitely.
Walker Crossing Public Access Route – Closed for Public Safety, by order of the Pastoral Board of South Australia
Witjira National Park — Open to 4WD Only
Witjira National Park – Open to 4WD
Dalhousie Campground – Open to 4WD
Three O’Clock Creek Campground –Open to 4WD
Dalhousie Campground to Purni Bore – Open to 4WD
The Dalhousie airstrip — Closed
Bloods Creek Ruin to Federal Waterhole Track: Closed
Binns Track: Open to 4WD
Pedirka Public Access Route – Open to 4WD
Tracks in the park are graded in May/June every year.
Rubbish tips are located 3 kilometres east and west of the Dalhousie campground or at Birdsville for disposal of rubbish.
Check local conditions before travelling into this area. See the National Parks website at www.parks.sa.gov.aufor more information.
Wood fires are not permitted in Witjira, with the exception that wood fires are still permitted at Mt Dare. Wood can be carried through Witjira to be used in the Munga-Thirri – Simpson Desert National Park.
- Pink Roadhouse (Ph: (61 8) 8670 7822) – Agent for the Desert Parks Pass. Provides diesel and unleaded fuel, accommodation, food and groceries, meals, tyres, travel supplies, and alcohol.
- Mt Dare Hotel (Ph: (61 8) 8670 7835) – Agent for the Desert Parks Pass. Provides diesel and unleaded fuel, accommodation, meals, hot showers, minor repairs, camping, travel supplies, alcohol, and phone cards available for travellers. Satellite phones are available to hire from Mt Dare Hotel for trips across the Munga-Thirri – Simpson Desert.
Munga-Thirri – Simpson Desert National Park — Open to 4WD Only
ALERT — Advice from Queensland Police: The Eyre Creek is now making its way south and will soon impact the QAA line. The river is expected to remain within its banks as it continues to flow south. Changes are being monitored by QPOL and Queensland National Parks. The Northern Eyre Creek Bypass must now be used by persons travelling into the Simpson Desert National Park East/West. The bypass has been checked and markings placed to assist travellers across the river at the top of the bypass by QLD National Parks.
ALERT: Flood water around Adria Downs Station has affected travel on the Madigan Line. Persons travelling on the Madigan Line West-East are requested to travel North or South on the Hay River Track at Camp 16 as travel past this point on the Madigan Line is not possible at this time.
ALERT: It is important that campers and other park visitors are self-sufficient, and carry their own firewood, drinking water cooking, cleaning and personal hygiene products with them.
Extreme caution at ponded water, washouts and corrugations, plus rutted sections.
The tracks within Munga-Thirri – Simpson Desert are un-maintained 4WD tracks and conditions can change unpredictably.
National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia do not recommend the towing of trailers or campers within the desert.
Warburton Crossing Public Access Route – Closed due to track conditions
Colson Track –Open to 4WD
Condition updates
As conditions change a further update bulletin will be issued. For further information on SA Desert Parks and Far Northern South Australian road and track access, please call Desert Parks on (61 8) 8648 5328 or the Department for Infrastructure and Transport Outback Road Warnings website Outback Road Warnings — Department for Infrastructure and Transport — South Australia (dit.sa.gov.au)
Alternatively contact local Police where applicable for condition updates. For travel communications, contact the Australian National 4WD Radio Network Inc on (61 8) 7325 2600.
Public Access Routes
Public Access Routes (PARs) provide public access over pastoral leasehold land, from public roads or tracks to points of public interest, which in some cases include parks and reserves, without the need for travellers to seek permission to travel along these routes. PARs are not part of the formal road network, they are unsealed and unformed dirt tracks intended to provide four wheel drive access in dry conditions only.
The Minister for the Pastoral Act manages14 PARs in the desert parks area:
- Curdimurka
- Strangways Springs
- Lake Cadibarrawirricanna
- Tallaringa
- Lake Eyre/Kati Thanda — Halligan Bay Point
- Lake Eyre/Kati Thanda – Level Post Bay
- Old Peake
- Pedirka
- Arckaringa Hills
- K1 Warburton Crossing Track
- Walkers Crossing
- Algebuckina Bridge
- Beresford Bore
- Mungerannie Bore
Camping on PARs
Camping is permitted (temporarily) on PARs. Camping is not allowed on pastoral leasehold land without the permission of the lessee. If the lessee grants permission to camp on the lease, you must not camp within one kilometre of homesteads or other buildings and not within 500 metres of stock watering points.
Travelling on PARs
PARs are unsealed, unformed, dirt tracks designed for 4WD use in good weather only and should therefore be treated with caution. The following tips will help you to travel safely:
- Use a high clearance 4WD
- Caravans and trailers are not recommended
- Beware of washouts, corrugations and other road hazards
- Beware of wandering stock – these routes are not fenced and are usually part of the network of tracks used by lessees to manage their pastoral properties
- Drive to road conditions
- Leave gates as you find them
- In case of emergency ensure you have adequate food and water, and appropriate communication devices, and in the event of a breakdown stay with your vehicle.
- Tracks may temporarily close as required (i.e. due to rain), so ensure you check prior to leaving at www.dit.sa.gov.au/OutbackRoads.
Please avoid travel during or immediately after rain – this can cause significant damage to the track and put others that follow at risk. It can also cost many thousands of dollars to make basic road/track repairs.
Travelling through pastoral land
In the South Australian outback, most land not in the Department for Environment and Water’s parks and reserve system is pastoral leasehold land. If you wish to travel through pastoral property on tracks that are not PARs or main public roads or tracks, then prior approval from the pastoral lessee of the respective pastoral lease must be obtained.
Fight the Bite – a health warning from SA Health
Mosquitoes can be active around waterbodies in northern South Australia.
Mosquitoes are not only a nuisance but some can spread serious disease such as Ross River virus (RRv) and Barmah Forest virus (BFv) when they bite (symptoms of RRv and BFv can include joint pains, rash, fever, fatigue or muscle pain).
There is NOCURE and NOVACCINE to protect against these mosquito borne diseases. The only known and effective way to reduce risk of mosquito borne disease is to prevent mosquito bites.
If you are a visitor, or if you live in northern South Australia, it is important that you protect yourself, your family and friends against mosquito borne disease by Fighting the Bite. Key strategies include:
- Covering up – wear long, light coloured, loose fitting clothing (mosquitoes can bite through tight clothes like jeans)
- Apply personal insect repellent containing DEET or Picaridin (avoid using on babies and toddlers and ALWAYS read and follow instructions on the label first).
- Ensure insect screens cover openings in holiday houses, boats, caravans or tents.
- Cover sleeping areas or beds with mosquito nets if necessary.
For additional strategies and information about how to Fight the Bite and protect against mosquito borne disease visit SA Health.
Travis Gotch
District Ranger
Outback
DesertParks@sa.gov.au
While every attempt has been made to provide up to date information in this bulletin, all travellers are responsible for ensuring that they obtain accurate and detailed information and are properly equipped and prepared for all emergencies prior to travelling into remote outback areas.
Check the latest Desert Parks Bulletin and road condition report for information about access, closures, campgrounds and roads, before visiting South Australia’s desert parks.
Parks in the Flinders and Outback region:
- Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park
- Innamincka Regional Reserve
- Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park
- Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park
- Lake Torrens National Park
- Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park
- Mount Brown Conservation Park
- Mount Remarkable National Park
- Munga-Thirri – Simpson Desert National Park
- Tallaringa Conservation Park
- Telowie Gorge Conservation Park
- The Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park
- Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park
- Wabma Kadarbu Mound Springs Conservation Park
- Witjira National Park