THE CORNER COUNTRY
The trip from Tibooburra westward to what is known as "the corner', can take as little as two hours and up to several days.
We spent a day covering the 150km between the two spots, yet it can be done in a few hours if you're seriously in a hurry to be somewhere else.
Currently the roads are in pretty good nick where our speed in the cruiser was around the 60-80km mark. A few months ago there was a huge deluge of rain in the area and its looking pretty good, to the point where the Waka Claypan had a diversion road in place.
In other low laying areas it was good to see large areas covered in water giving life into the area. One of my favourite spots is Fort Grey. Amazing camping in the area, but also the the lakes just over the crest. Named Lake Pinaroo these lakes hold a huge amount of water when full and are part of the Ramsay wetlands which are of international importance.
When full they take 6 years to dry, and for the past 10 years they have been dry. I've been lucky enough to of trekked across the lakes with some great mates, when they have dry and seen the tree that explorer Sturt carved his name in on his failed trip looking for there inland sea. Other artefacts that can be found when the lakes are dry is a walking beam water well, boilers and building foundations.
When we called in on this trip the lakes are chock-a-block full with an abundance of birdlife. Continuing on towards CC, NPWS have put in giant wire sculptures highlighting different species with great info boards.
It's a pretty good feeling when you arrive at the dog fence ( or to me its always the dingo fence ) because its like opening a door to another state or two.
Tradition is always to have a beer & burger at the Cameron Corner store as your now in QLD, walk to the new tri-state corner and take the obligatory photo.
When leaving the store you'll enter SA and as you head westward its a never ending line of sand dunes that you'll encounter. in fact this is true jump up country.
I lost count after 99 but trust me there are dozens more, from small sharp dunes to large heart in the mouth ones.
While the track isn't hard - the local cops say accidents occur when overseas tourists drift to the wrong side of the road. From the air the road wanders over the dunes like a huge lost snake creating a never ending path to the horizon.
Our camp for the night was under the last dune in this section of the Strzlecki desert region, on the Merty Merty station, only a few kilometres from the infamous Strzlecki track.
The colours from the late afternoon sun hits the red dunes for a stunning show in that 'golden hour' that photographers wait for.
Tiny footprints scatter across the dunes darting between the foliage with the occasional dingo trail along the Ridgeline. This is a stunning area anytime of the year, but you just need to get prepared and hit the trails letting your adventure take over.
