BORDER TRACK

Twigiee I've borrowed this from another site, it's recent, about two weeks old. If the track isn't up to much grab a copy of "Mallee Tracks" and try some of the other drives in there, there are plenty to choose from.

rom 4WD out of Adelaide forum

I know - you are already correcting me - "it's the border track".
However, after spending the weekend there I can report that it is not
the same old track it was last time I passed through less than a year
ago.

Remember all those fun clay pans on the way to red bluff? They are no
more. All gone! The areas have been posted, and signs saying "Re-
vegetation area - do not enter" placed strategically in your path.
And they have graded a nice new flat track, which you could drive a
ford laser over, and used road fill to fill in other clay pans. (No
joke - real road fill) So yes - there are now small sections of the
track, that have become unsealed roads
:-(

I found this all very disappointing, as it gets less challenging each
year. Also, a few of the old sand dunes were also bypassed, again to
my disappointment. However all is not completely lost, and there are
still a few dunes on the way to the bluff that have some relatively
challenging tracks over them, and a couple of the heavier cars in our
pack was unable to get over some of the tracks. So the weekend was
not a complete loss from the driving perspective. I have a wrangler,
and went easily over all of them in high 1st – and didn't find the
need to use low range – which I have in previous years.

The place is still a magnificent arid desert land, and probably does
need conserving, or it is in danger of getting shut off to the public
forever. On the wildlife side, we stumbled across a number of Roos, a
3ft goanna (which I have never seen there before), heaps of varying
lizards, and some strange mammals that look like 2 inch high
kangaroos – some kind of mouse – they scamper off like the wind! (any
one able to identify these small mouse like creatures – I would be
interested in knowing).

Scorpion springs was dry for the first time since I have been there.
A hole that the boys and I dug the entire length of my arm still only
produced damp sand – whereas it would usually fill up with murky
water. I think it would have produced if we got our spade and dug –
but for me – this misses the point. However – this is still a
fascinating pursuit, thinking that aboriginals would rely on this
stuff to live. (When you see the water it produces, you will know
what I mean!)

If you haven't been there before, it is still worth a visit, but if
you haven't been for several years (or even a year and a half) you
will find the place to have changed significantly, and it is much
less challenging for the four wheel driver. Of course – many people
may appreciate this – and want to visit mainly for the beauty of the
area, and experience the arid dessert conditions – if so then you
will certainly not be disappointed!

Always check this site out for Treknotes. Go to Trip Planning at the top of the page and then Treknotes. Look for Border Track. There are recent updates.

I did the track solo earlier in the year from Murray River through to Little Desert NP in Vic. A good run. The last few big dunes to the south in the Ngarkat CP were troublesome and one gave me a hassle even with 18psi in the tyres...but the sand was soft and it was in the middle of the day. It is a good run and quite enjoyable and there will be enough 4wd-ing for you.

Keep going further than the conservation park toward Bordertown, and you will find plenty of challenging stuff. The conservation park road has been repaired (i presume to avoid litigation) but the crown land along the border fence once the park ends is worth the trip. If there has been some rain, should be some really good bog holes. Don't do it alone though, quite challenging. And watch your clutch and alternator with the water/sand combination.

From Pinaroo we did about 90kms along the fence, with a short unsealed /sealed drive back to bordertown Did it a few weeks back

D-JAck

one of our club members rolled his Breadbox there on the weekend... Cars fubar occupants ok.

Last weekend the sand was very soft & challenging but following a bit of rain I'd suggest it will be pretty easy now. The Murrayville / Nhill rd & tracks through the Wirrengren Plain & Lake Albacutya will be very slippery when wet. Much bulldozer work in the area has turned over many sticks & Mallee roots resulting in 4 flat tyres in our group. Take care & have fun.
Cheers Craig..........

Guess what. It's been raining all day. Wonderful rain, right through nth west Victoria. I believe the further west, the more rain. We've had close to an inch, which means the clay areas will be impassable for a couple of days. Suggest you check with National Parks before travelling, as they may have closed the track.
Ferris

Thanks everyone for the info.

Twigiee

hi twigiee

just to let ya know more on the border track. As i done the trip last weekend 30-31 oct. We started at pinaroo and worked our way down.The best map i used is RAA map for the area.The track was easy going until the sand hills.Drop tyre pressures to 16psi and i had no problem getting up.Stayed at Red bluff camp sites.Only thing we didnt do is keeping going all the way down.We headed back towords Pinaroo which the track was very easy,so keep going straight down for more action stuff.
happy camping.......cheers.

Hi All,

Was going to give a trip report - but we postponed to next weekend - assuming the weather gets better...until then

Twigiee