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SA Deserts

The real outback and 4WD playground. Famous tracks such as the Birdsville Track, Strzelecki Track, Oodnadatta Track and Simpson Desert. Real outback towns and pubs like Birdsville, Mungerannie, William Creek and Australia's biggest inland lake, Lake Eyre.
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 Description  Region Feedback
 Weather & Climate  Related Pages
 Treks  Recommended Reading
 Road Conditions
In this Region

 Description



The great Australian outback - where conditions are harsh, the climate extreme and the distances daunting, has a unique fascination to the more intrepid traveller.

Australia's desert region is extremely dry and only very sparsely populated although not like the true deserts such as the Sahara. In fact, Australia's arid zone contains an amazing amount of flora and fauna. Even the slightest rain can transform the dusty dry desert into a beautiful garden of rare and beautiful flowers such as the Cunningham's Bird Flower, Billy Buttons, Sturts Desert Pea and so on.

Primary production is scattered and limited to low intensity sheep and cattle grazing. The few significant towns are all largely dependent on tourism or mining. Because of their isolation, even the smallest towns generally have an excellent range of facilities and services.

The region has some of the nation's remotest treks, each with their own unique attractions. Major adventures include challenging 4WD tracks such as the French Line across the Simpson Desert and the Anne Beadell Highway where there are no facilities for days.

There are a few desert regions namely Strzelecki Desert, Sturt Stony Desert and Simpson Desert with the more well known tracks being the Strzelecki Track, Birdsville Track, Oodnadatta Track, Rig Road and French Line.

All these tracks and those within nearby regions such as Lake Eyre, Innamincka Regional Reserve, Witjira National Park, Tallaringa CP and the Flinders Ranges all require special access permits. The simplest way to obtain permits is to purchase a Desert Parks Pass. This permit grants you unlimited access to all conservation parks and National Park regions within the desert fringe of SA, NT, Qld for 12 mths from date of purchase. The permit consists of an information pack for outback travelling, brochures detailing desert wildlife, desert trees and plantlife and Westprint maps for each trek. Once you have the pass there are no additional fees unless you stay in private areas.

Purchase your Desert Parks Pass> in the ExplorOz Adventure Shop.


NOTE: The Tanami Desert, Gunbarrel Highway and Canning Stock Route are featured in our Western Deserts> region.

 SA Deserts Weather & Climate

Closest Weather Station

Oodnadatta at 21:30 04 Jul CST
Distance from Oodnadatta 0.98km S
TemperatureFeels LikeRel. HumidityDew PointPressureRainfallWind DirectionWind SpeedGusts
13.6°C 11.1°C 70% 8.2°C 1023.9hPa 0.0mm S 11km/h
6knots		 13km/h
7knots

Closest Climatic Station

Oodnadatta Airport
Distance from Oodnadatta 0.98km S
 JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean Max. °C 37.736.633.728.5 23.219.919.522.0 26.530.233.836.4
Mean Min. °C 22.822.319.214.4 9.86.65.87.4 11.415.018.521.2
Mean Rain mm 24.632.212.311.2 12.812.610.57.8 9.314.111.316.5

 SA Deserts Treks

Birdsville Track Birdsville Track
The Birdsville Track runs south from Birdsville to Maree and passes through the Sturt Stony Desert. It is an extremely remote region but is strikingly beautiful in its harshness.
Bore Track Bore Track
The Bore Track is an access road for oil company vehicles and for property owners. This track is a great alternative to the wide gravel road of the Strzelecki Track which is more a highway than a track.
Cordillo Downs Cordillo Downs
This is the main route from Innamincka to Birdsville. The track is about 420km and conditions vary greatly. The countryside is a seemingly endless gibber plain but this is Australia's prime cattle country - the Channel Country.
Dig Tree Circuit Dig Tree Circuit
This loop trek from Innamincka will take you on a historic adventure, heading towards The Burke and Wills "Dig Tree", which is one of Australia's national icons and an enduring reminder of our pioneering spirit.
Innamincka Memorials and Markers Innamincka Memorials and Markers
This trek which lies purely in the Innamincka Regional Reserve follows the memorials, markers and waterholes along Cooper Creek. It is a trek filled with history and culture from the Burke and Wills Expedition to protected Aboriginal sites and artefacts.
Inside Track Inside Track
The Inside Track was gazetted as a public road on 16th January 2002 and provides an alternative route that is also 35km shorter than the main Birdsville Track.
Mt Dare to Oodnadatta via Dalhousie Mt Dare to Oodnadatta via Dalhousie
This trek provides an easy opportunity to access Dalhousie Springs, one of the main icons of the Simpson Desert without a significant detour if touring between South Australia and the Red Centre.
Oodnadatta Track Oodnadatta Track
If you’re a history buff you’re going to go nuts crossing the Oodnadatta Track. The track follows the orignal Ghan line from Marla to Oodnadatta and then on to Marree. There's stacks of ruins, mound springs, excellent conservation park information & railway sidings/rubble.
Painted Desert Painted Desert
The Painted Desert has to be the highlight of the South Australian Desert experience. This trek from Coober Pedy takes as little as one day, but if you are a photographer or painter, you may choose to spend an entire week in the Painted Desert.
Simpson Desert Simpson Desert
The Simpson Desert can be crossed via the French Line, WAA line or Rig Road. This trek provides a route using a combination of all 3 routes.
Simpson Desert French Line Simpson Desert French Line
The French Line is the most direct route across the desert and traverses directly across the tops of over 1200 red sand dunes, with Big Red being the major challenge.
Simpson Desert Rig Road Simpson Desert Rig Road
The Rig Road is the most southern access across the Simpson Desert. It is a longer route because it winds along the edge of dunes and crosses at the lowest points. Old clay-topped track is now eroding, but was once used for moving heavy equipment.
Simpson Desert WAA Line Simpson Desert WAA Line
This track is similar to the French Line and although it has smaller dunes, it is very picturesque especially after rain. While in this area take a look at the Knolls, which is a scenic but fragile part of the Simpson so please stay on the track. [Feature Story]
Strzelecki Track Strzelecki Track
The Stzrelecki Track is strictly the route form Innamincka to Lyndhurst, however our trek note is for travellers starting at Innamincka and travelling down to Arkaroola Village in the heart of the Flinders Ranges.
Walkers Crossing Walkers Crossing
Route for driving between Birdsville and Innamincka through the flood plain country of the nothern overlow of the Cooper Creek before rising onto the Sturt Stony Desert on the Birdsville Track.

 Region Feedback

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What Others have Posted

Member - Phil G (SA) : 21 Feb 08 20:51
From the [url=http://www.parks.sa.gov.au/publish/groups/public/@park...

 Related Pages

SA Deserts Road Conditions SA Deserts Road Conditions
Road conditions information for: Anne Beadell Highway, Birdsville, Innamincka, Lake Eyre Access, Mt Dare, Oodnadatta Track, Simpson Desert Reserves and Witjura National Park, Strzelecki Track [Feature Story]
South Australia South Australia
South Australia is the 5th largest state in Australia with a population of 1.4 million. Covering an area of 983,000 sq km the entire state is located within the temperate zone. The city of Adelaide is a coastal capital on the Gulf of St Vincent and is 9.5 hours ahead of GMT.

 Recommended Reading

Simpson Desert Explorer Card Simpson Desert Explorer Card
This Simpson Desert map has great road and track detail, international symbols showing what facilities are available where, matched with some beautiful images and has all the things to see and watch out for, detailed by one of Australia's leading out back specialists, Ron Moon.
Natmap Digital Maps 2008 Natmap Digital Maps 2008
NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 is the next generation of Geoscience Australia's popular NATMAP Raster 1:250 000 scale topographic digital maps. NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 are exact digital copies of Geoscience Australia's NATMAP topographic maps. They cover the whole of Australia at 1:250 000 scale, and are current to 2006.
SG5315 Oodnadatta SG5315 Oodnadatta
This 1:250K topographic paper map covers an area about 150km from east to west and 110km from north to south (1.5 degrees longitude by 1 degree latitude). The map contains natural and constructed features including road and rail infrastructure, vegetation, hydrography, contours (interval 50m), localities and some administrative boundaries.
$10.00 [Add to Cart]Allow 2 weeks for delivery
Alice Springs - Oodnadatta Alice Springs - Oodnadatta
This map will help you to safely experience the adventure of exploration and the wonder of the outback with both detailed information and GPS readings.
Alice Springs - Oodnadatta - Digital Map Alice Springs - Oodnadatta - Digital Map
This digital map of 'Alice Springs to Oodnadatta' will help you to safely experience the adventure of exploration, and the wonder of the outback with both detailed information and GPS readings.
Simpson Desert Trip Planning Map Simpson Desert Trip Planning Map
This is the revised Simpson Desert Map designed for Trip Planning use. On one side is the map containing GPS points, whilst on the other is information about each point of interest, track information and services available.
Oodnadatta Track Oodnadatta Track
This map covers the Oodnadatta Track from Lyndhurst to Oodnadatta via Marree, Lake Eyre, William Creek and Algebuckina.The Oodnadatta Track closely follows a major Aboriginal trade route, the Overland Telegraph Line and the Old Ghan Line.
Oodnadatta Track - Digital Map Oodnadatta Track - Digital Map
This map covers the Oodnadatta Track from Lyndhurst to Oodnadatta via Marree, Lake Eyre, William Creek and Algebuckina.The Oodnadatta Track closely follows a major Aboriginal trade route, the Overland Telegraph Line and the Old Ghan Line.