Border Track - above Renmark to sea

Hmmmmm...Have driven the Track from the Murray to Little Desert in two stages at different times. I got a tad lost just before Bordertown when I drove into a farmers field and lost the track. Deviated through a property to the west and then crossed the Dukes on to Wolseley and down to Little Desert. Even near the Desert it becomes vague in places and had to scout around to find the right track. Would be interested as well to see who has done the bit south of Frances


Cheers

From Frances south you will have to shadow the border. You'll always be within 2 or 3 km of it.

About 50km due south of Frances you'll hit the Penola-Langkoop road, where you will be able to return to the border.
It is for a stretch a sand track through scrub, then becomes gravel and at times bitumen.

At the Penola-Casterton road, you will again have to take a small detour around private property, but only for a few km.

From there south my knowledge is limited to what I see on the map, but it should be a pretty clear run through to the coast. That country is mostly pines, so I would be quite confident of sticking to the border if I was doing it.

Hope that's of some help. Sing out if you want more detail.

Cheers,
JR

I did the Little Desert part over easter, from North to South. It is a bit tricky finding the northern end coming down from serviceton, because if you follow the border road south, you come to a deadend with a far gate on the western side of the road.

I doubled back and found the road into the little desert park (Via Cooks road I think). I then worked my way over to the border track, then headed north to try and find the beginning of it.

When I got to the northern end of the track in little desert, according to my GPS I was only about 500 meters or so from where I stopped and Turned back on the road. Also, there was a gate to the west and a track heading north through the paddock that looks like it joins up with the gate at the end of the road south from serviceton. All this gate had on it was a "Please shut the gate" sign, so I assume it would be Ok to connect up. This map and border photoshows the area I am talking about

Does anyone know if you can get through ?

Trev,
You can't actually start from the river and proceed south.
We did a club trip a couple of years ago and someone knew the owner who took us via tracks to the actual border marker on the rivers edge. Cliffs stop you from following the border and you then need to take the Lindsay Point road to the border. You could travel north for a short distance but you are on Private Property.
From the Lindsay Point Road it is an easy run down to the Sturt Highway. There is a couple of interesting things to see on the way down. There is a stone cairn right on the edge of the road that has something to do with the original survey and a bit further down, the boundary has a dog leg in it where it is possible to stand in SA and look westwards into Victoria. Another surveying area.
There is also a book co written by John Deckert of Westprint maps called the disputed border which makes interesting reading.
The track should be open all the way if not this weekend, then definitely the next weekend.
I think the SA4WDA are having a working bee on the track over the Anzac weekend in the area south of Pinnaroo.
Have a good trip
Des

Thanks for your help all.

I have been into the Little Desert part before and know what you mean about the way in being hard to find ...... and we did it in the dark!

Cheers
Trev

Hi Trev,
There is a book called Mallee Tracks by Jill Nickolls and Ann Angel. You should be able to grab a copy from the ranges office in Pinnaroo or Lameroo. This will help you through the parks but once you get down to Frances I am told there is a border lane about 100mtrs wide with a track in it. I have not been along it but have crossed it in many places south of Frances. You many encounter gates along it as the local farmers graze the lane. Sorry I could not be more help.

Cheers Matt