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Simpson Desert adventure: Hay River Track
Words Robert Crack Pics Matt Williams
Traversing the Simpson Desert from south to north.
‘Spinifex, sand and patches of grass.’
‘Sand and low red sand ridges covered with spinifex and low mallee.’
‘Claypans and hard flats covered with ironstone pebbles and fragments of slate ...’
‘High red sand ridges with spinifex, cane grass and a few low wattle bushes and sandy valleys covered with spinifex, low wattle bushes and belts of gidea.’
‘No water.’
These are just a handful of the notes on the map in front of me. To my mind, those last two words are the most telling.
But the map in front of me is not a Hema map.
The title of the map I’m viewing online is PLAN SHEWING EXPLORATIONS BY MR. WINNECKE COPIED FROM HIS ORIGINAL PLANS IN THE OFFICE OF THE SURVEYOR GENERAL 1884. *
Mr Charles George Alexander Winnecke, FRGS
Despite almost dying of thirst in this inhospitable country in 1881 and having to walk around 500km without boots (yes, without boots! But with rheumatic fever and scurvy) in order to survive, trigonometrical surveyor, explorer, bushman and botanist Charles Winnecke returned to this unforgiving country in 1883.
We know from MR. WINNECKE’S EXPLORATIONS DURING 1883: DIARY of NORTHERN EXPLORATION PARTY under the LEADERSHIP OF MR. CHAS. WINNECKE. ^ that Winnecke’s expedition party departed Farina on 30 July 1883 and made its way towards present-day Birdsville, camping at various waterholes at Mundowdna Station, Clayton Station, (what would later become) Dulkaninna Station, Etadunna Station, Kopperamanna Station, Apatoonganie Waterhole, Mungerannie Waterhole and Cowarie Station, the latter at which the expedition officially commenced.
The first (unofficial) Birdsville Races (‘Lower Diamantina Race Meeting’) had been held in the newly formed township of Birdsville fewer than 12 months before, in September 1882.
But Winnecke’s party wasn’t headed to Birdsville for the races (in any case, the 1883 races had just been held), nor were they headed to the Birdsville Hotel (which would not be built until the following year).
They were headed for Poeppel Corner, and to the largely unexplored Simpson Desert (not named thus until 1929) to assess the prospects of opening up the country to pastoral pursuits.
Our readers who have driven the Birdsville Track (or are planning to do so!) would doubtless recognise several of Winnecke’s camping locale names, most notably Clayton Station (Clayton Wetlands Campground) and Mungerannie, where today a waterhole (or should that read perhaps, ‘watering hole’?) of a very different kind can also be visited: the Mungerannie Hotel. There were certainly no icy cold beers for Winnecke’s party at Mungerannie in 1883, however thanks to the Mungerannie Hotel there are indeed icy cold frothies for today’s desert travellers.
After making their way from Adelaide via Beltana and Farina, the party took almost two weeks to reach Cowarie Station, where they stayed for five nights. During the days, the men were busy preparing for the ensuing trek, including making waterbags and salting and spicing a bullock they’d slaughtered.
On 16 August 1883 they set off across the floodplain of the Warburton River. As they progressed northwards over the next few days, Winnecke wrote, “With the exception of a few white salt lakes, which are visible from west round by north to southeast, and only a few miles distant, nothing but dreary-looking cane grass sand ridges, devoid of timber or even the lowest bushes, are to be seen as far as the eye can reach in every direction.”
Salt pans on the Hay River Track
They made Poeppel Corner on 24 August, which Winnecke described as, “… almost in the middle of a long narrow salt lake. The line has been well surveyed; the corner is represented by a substantial gum post …” that was “… well marked with ‘Queensland’ towards the N.E., ‘Northern Territory’ on the N.W. side, and ‘South Australia’, long. 138° lat. 26° var. 3 - 32 E. on the south side.”
For the Northern Exploring Expedition to hit on Poeppel Corner (the original line surveyed by Augustus Poeppel and subsequently resurveyed by Larry Wells in 1884) after such a trek from Farina (much of the terrain being without landmarks) is a true credit to Charles Winnecke and his method of taking stellar observations for latitude and longitude. It should hardly come as a surprise that Winnecke was to be later appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Of the next day he wrote, “Our camels are completely done up. I am not at all surprised; no other living animal could travel over such a stretch of barren sand ridges as we have come over during the last week or two.” In the ensuing days he wrote, “This country is a perfect desert, and I am afraid will never be of much use to the squatter”, and “The weather is now very hot; the flies during the day and the mosquitos at night are a great nuisance …”
On 6 September, the party arrived at Sandringham Station near the junction of Sylvester Creek and the Mulligan River and spent several days arranging food rations, water and equipment before heading west then northwest. On 12 September Winnecke wrote, “A fearful hurricane, driving clouds of dust and sand into our faces has been blowing from the west for the last forty-eight hours, rendering travelling across these sand ridges anything but pleasant.” After camping at Walcataman Waterhole, he wrote, “Scrubby ranges of some elevation are visible in all directions; those towards the west appear to be the highest. I have called these ranges the ‘Adam Ranges’, after Mr Adam Hay of Queensland.”
Over the next few days of travel, he named Mount Tietkens (after the explorer and naturalist Mr WH Tietkens, FRGS), Mount Smith and — you guessed it! — the Hay River of the eponymous Hay River Track. Winnecke named the Hay River after the same Adam Hay, of Palparara Station, and described the country near where his party crossed the Hay River as “… nothing but a hideous desert”.
These days, this outback travel journey too traverses the fair dinkum desert and is suitable only for very experienced four-wheel drivers with fair dinkum, well set-up and reliable 4WD vehicles. You should not tackle the Hay River Track alone, nor only in one solo vehicle. 100 per cent self-sufficiency is a prerequisite. This means communications equipment (UHF or HF radio and satellite communications), personal locator beacon (PLB) and spare parts for your low range, high clearance 4WD. The best time of year to travel is May to October. The desert is closed from 1 December to 15 March every year due to the extreme heat.
Winnecke saw the Tarlton Range (of his previous exploration in 1881) and Goyders Pillar (so named “Goyder’s Pillars” by Winnecke after George Woodroffe Goyder, Surveyor-General of South Australia). The party dug for water in a native well from which “the camels drank about forty gallons each”. The men travelled around Goyders Pillar and backtracked along the Hay River, past where they had approached it from the east, and named a hill to the eastern side of the creekline Mount Winnecke, “after a relation”.
As four-wheel drivers undertaking the Hay River Track are walking around their campsite of any afternoon or morning they should, perhaps, imagine doing so without footwear. Part of Winnecke’s diary entry for 26 September 1883 states, “This morning I found that the wild dogs, of which there are a large number here, have carried off one of my boots; this is a most unfortunate occurrence as I have no substitute with me. We spent several hours searching around the camp to no purpose. I suppose I shall have to be content with one boot until I return to Sandringham Station. This could not have happened in a worse country.”
The party continued following the Hay River to the southeast to Yarracurracoo (a native well where a good supply of water was obtained) and explored the country to the southeast for a few days. Of this time Winnecke wrote, “Our camels appear very distressed and won’t stand much more of this kind of work.” Another diary entry from a couple of days later included the following about Camp No. 30: “… camped sometime after sundown amongst high dense spinifex and red sand ridges, a most discouraging country to travel over, and for which a man obtains little or no credit; and yet it is necessary to traverse and examine this country in detail, for one can never tell where and when an oasis may be found.”
A couple of days later he wrote, “It is very monotonous and dreary work to travel across this kind of desert country day after day.” The following day he sighted a large claypan which he named Lake Caroline, and returned to Yarracurracoo Well to camp, for water resupply and to make preparations to depart from the Hay River, which he wrote “has been of great service to us”.
By 9 October Winnecke had completed his work and decided to return to Sandringham Station. The expedition party arrived at their old camp three days later, and spent the next few days repairing camel saddles, plotting plans and preparing for their final departure on 17 October, thereafter spending the ensuing several days travelling, camping by waterholes and resupplying with meat and other rations at several pastoral stations including Cluny Station (near Bedourie), Currawilla Station, Palparara Station, Haddon Downs Outstation, Innamincka Station, Tinga Tingana Station and Carraweena Station.
On 22 November, the party arrived at Montecollina (there was no bore here at this time; it wasn’t sunk until 1903), the next day at Blanchewater Station around 130km northeast of Lyndhurst and 235km southwest of Innamincka, and a week later the men arrived at Government Gums (Farina).
For Sunday 2 December 1883 Winnecke wrote, “I travelled without camping more than two hours at a time for two nights and three days, until I arrived at Beltana; from there I travelled by train to Adelaide.”
Preparation
You must have a high visibility safety flag (‘sand flag’) on the front of each vehicle. This is a mandatory requirement from the Government of South Australia Department of Environment and Water (National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia). The flag must be at least 300mm wide x 290mm high, with the top of it being at least 3.5m from the ground, and must be fluorescent lime-yellow or red-orange. Motorbikes are exempt from the safety flag rule; however, headlights must be used at all times when travelling.
Whilst the sand flag is a legal requirement, a vehicle recovery kit (per vehicle in the convoy), recovery/traction boards, first aid kit and fire extinguisher (per vehicle), air compressor (you’ll want to deflate your tyre pressure to below 20 psi), Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), personal locator beacon (PLB) or GPS messenger device such as the Garmin inReach Mini 2 or ZOLEO Satellite Communicator, strong rubbish bags, fly net, sunscreen, insect repellent, toolkit and shovel should be considered by you to be mandatory too.
And so should these:
Great Desert Tracks Atlas & Guide (6th Edition)
Hema Great Desert Tracks Simpson Desert (9th Edition)
Access and permits
The journey from Poeppel Corner to Goyders Pillar near Batton Hill took Winnecke almost four weeks. Driving the Hay River Track (driveable in either direction), it should take you four days. That said, you should take sufficient food and water (at least eight litres of water per person per day) to last you for double that duration again. As for fuel, plan carefully to carry more than enough because not only isn’t there any fuel between Birdsville and Jervois Station (about 700km), but also because your fuel consumption will be significantly heavier than usual due to soft sand.
If you can’t muster a ready-made convoy, join Hema Tours for the Hay River Track — 8-day 4WD tag-along tour (Simpson Desert) from 16 May to 24 May 2025. Cost is $1949 per driver/vehicle, plus $549 per adult passenger and $199 per child passenger (aged 12 and under). Hema Tours are powered by the Adrenalin Offroad Centre, licensed commercial tour operators. Find out more here.
If you are heading to Birdsville via the Birdsville Track, you will also need a Desert Parks Pass from the South Australia National Parks and Wildlife Service. This will not only permit vehicle and camping access to Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park but will also allow you to drive and camp in Witjira National Park, Innamincka Regional Reserve, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park, Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park and Tallaringa Conservation Park.
To travel the northern section of the Hay River Track you will require an Atnetye Land Trust Entry and Transit Permit, and that means arranging it online, well and truly in advance of embarking on the Hay River Track.
Once you have deposited the fees (at time of writing, $240 per vehicle or $120 per motorbike) into the stipulated bank account, you will need to email a copy of the bank transaction receipt to Batton Hill. The next step is to apply for a Central Land Council permit.
This will not be issued by the CLC until Batton Hill have confirmed receipt of the funds. Budget for $20 (in cash) per adult per night for camping at Batton Hill Camp.
From Birdsville, take the Birdsville Simpson Desert National Park Road to Nappanerica (Big Red) Dune then the QAA Line to the junction with the K1 Line.
You are only permitted to camp within 100m either side of the QAA Line once in Munga-Thirri National Park, and since this is a national park, you are required to book and pay for a camping permit before you arrive at any camping area. Camp fees must be arranged in advance and online through the Queensland National Parks Booking Service.
Campfires are permitted in previously used fire sites however QPWS recommend fuel stoves since it is not permissible to collect firewood in national parks. Generators are not permitted.
From the QAA/K1 junction it’s just a hop, skip and a jump down to visit Poeppel Corner near the confluence of the K1 Line and the French Line, for the ‘I’m jumping from Queensland to South Australia to the Northern Territory’ selfies, before you double back and head up the Hay River Track past the abandoned Poeppel Corner Oil Well and Beachcomber No.1 Oil Well, relics of the oil exploration days.
Whilst proclaimed in 1967, South Australia’s Simpson Desert National Park and Queensland’s Simpson Desert National Park have since been renamed to become Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park in SA and Munga-Thirri National Park in Queensland.
The latter was re-gazetted in 2011. The former has been through a number of name and status changes since 1967, with Munga-Thirri-Simpson Desert Conservation Park and Munga-Thirri-Simpson Desert Regional Reserve being joined together in 2021and reclassified as Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park.
This reclassification meant that Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park became Australia’s largest terrestrial national park, jumping into the overtaking lane to put Kakadu National Park in its rearview mirrors.
Munga-Thirri is the traditional Aboriginal name of the area, and it means ‘Big Sandhill Country’. And big red sand dunes are exactly what you’ll find on your Hay River Track odyssey.
Madigan Camp 16
From Beachcomber No.1 Oil Well to the junction with the Madigan Line (Madigan Camp 16) there are around nine campsites. Madigan Camp 15 is around 18km further up the Hay River Track. Another dozen or so campsites line the track from here to the Lake Caroline access track turnoff.
Approximately 25km north of the Lake Caroline access track (the Atnenye Land Trust Traditional Owners request that you do not drive on Lake Caroline) is Dingo Well, not too far short of where the Hay River Track crosses the Tropic of Capricorn. This solar-powered bore has been restored in order to entice dingos to come in for a sip, and hopefully eat a feral cat or two (we know from Winnecke’s diary entry for 9 October that the feral cats here are big: “Shortly before reaching camp we disturbed a wild cat of an extraordinary size; the brute was nearly as large as a leopard.”) Zebra finches love this place too.
Dingo Well
There are a couple more campsites after you cross the Tropic of Capricorn and before you reach Batton Hill Camp where — amongst the ghost gums — are a picnic shelter, a fire pit in an old cattle trough, toilets and both a male and a female shower with hot water from a donkey boiler.
About 3km further up the Plenty Highway towards Boulia from the Batton Hill Camp/Hay River Track turnoff is Jervois Station. This is a working cattle property that has unpowered camping ($20 per night per car, $5 per night per motorbike; there is a sign that reads, ‘Help yourself to a campsite and pay the following morning’, if you arrive outside of opening hours 8.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Saturday), picnic tables, rubbish bins, fire pits, bore water, toilets, hot showers, commercially available fuel and a small kiosk in a shed that sells refreshments.
After completing your hard work taking on the Hay River Track (and the 80km or so of particularly brutal corrugations from Batton Hill to the Plenty Highway near Jervois Station), you deserve a cold soft drink!
Acknowledgment and citations
Quoted diary entries from 1883 and the 1884 map referred to were sourced from Trove, a collaboration of the National Library of Australia and hundreds of partner organisations around Australia.
*South Australia. Surveyor-General’s Office. 1884, Plan shewing explorations by Mr Winnecke Surveyor-General's Office, Adelaide, National Library of Australia. Viewed 23 September 2024 nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231441367
^Winnecke, C. 1884, Mr. Winnecke's explorations during 1883: diary of Northern Exploration Party under the leadership of Mr. Chas. Winnecke Govt. Printer, Adelaide, National Library of Australia. Viewed 23 September 2024 nla.gov.au/nla.obj-52802100
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