While seemingly barren and desiccated, the desert supports an abundance of life. A couple of Eastern Gray Kangaroos, referred to as skippies, bounced across the road and into the brush, and Wedge Tailed Eagles flew above our convoy. The terrain was sparsely vegetated rolling hills for most of the five hundred kilometers to Cameron Corner. About 10am, we stopped at the crossroads of Paringa and the Silver City Highway (most outback "highways" are actually graded dirt roads), and experienced a proper British tradition, morning tea and snacks.
Our cookies for our ARB roundup were Michael and Joanne McCulkin, owners of Tri-State Tours
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| Swags, which are relatively unknown in the states, are the standard Aussie issue for a tent. At day's end, as the sun yielded to the southern constellations, rolling out our swags provided our own private observatory. |
With decades of experience in the remote corners of the Outback, they were good all-rounders. Michael is an expert on
Outback flora and fauna, and Joanne's charge was to keep our posse from starving with the help of Vickie and John. On a traditional cattle drive, the cookies would ride ahead and scout out a suitable site for meals and camping. We would suffer through this tradition of tea each morning and afternoon.
Cameron Corner, the Dingo Fence and Birdsville
At the intersection of three states, Southern Australia, NSW and Queensland, lies the Cameron Corner Road House. In a world where distances are measured by the number of extra jerry cans you need to carry, Cameron Corner is a necessary fuel stop and a
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| The track across the Sturt Stony Desert had received buckets of sorely needed rainfall. We slipped and slid for several hundred kilometers. This was an excellent opportunity to put each vehicle's stability control system to the test. Our findings: The most off-road friendly was that of the Discovery LR3. Throwing the Disco into a muddy corner at speed, the system transferred power and braking just enough to compensate for driver error, then granted power to accelerate out of the corner. |
Cutting the continent nearly in half, Australia's 5,600-kilometer Dingo Fence, the longest fence in the world, passes through the Corner.
Built in 1884, the fence was to keep Dingos (wild dogs) from preying on cattle and especially sheep in the southern stations.
Following the 29th parallel along the Dingo Fence, we headed into the Strzelecki Desert and north to Innamincka station.
Innamincka sets on the banks of Cooper Creek, the primary water source for the region and location of the base camp for the ill-fated Burks and Wills expedition to exploration Northern Australia.
As we trekked north, the parched and desolate landscape revealed the secrets of its geology.
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| When traveling in the Outback or any remote area, it is vitally important to carry sufficient gear. We had a chance to use ARB's new recovery straps on several occasions. A few times on our own rigs, and several on folks that were on their Pat. |
Although this is one of the driest regions on the continent, raging waters crafted the waterless creek beds and washes, which defy their names and lay void of water through most years.
Camp this night would be several hundred kilometers to the north on the edge of a dry creek bed near Cordillo Downs Station.
Originally homesteaded in 1875, the 7,500 square kilometer station ran up to 85,000 sheep and produced some of the country's best wool for export.
Threatening clouds loomed on the northern horizon and it appeared that Australia's ten-year drought might be coming to an end.
