We originally intended to do the Simpson Desert, however due to COVID restrictions preventing access to SA, we have had to postpone the trip, and we ran a replacement trip covering the Victorian Mallee region.
Leading up to the trip, it was uncertain whether it would go ahead, as Regional Victoria was still in lockdown. Fortunately it was lifted the week before the trip and outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people were permitted. I contacted everyone, and the decision was unanimous – let’s do it!
We had 5 vehicles on the trip. Tim, Kim, Pip and Libby in a GU Patrol Wagon, Ian and Trish in a GU Patrol Ute, Mike in a GU Patrol Ute, Alex in a GU Patrol Wagon and Greg & Casey in a BT50 (Yes, that’s right, 4 x GU Patrols – when we started this club it was mostly Land Cruisers, times have changed…)
Day 1 – Bendigo to Lake Albacutya
We met up Bendigo in the morning and hit the road, we stopped in Wycheproof where we met up with Alex and grabbed some food from the bakery as well as some last minute supplies. We stopped again in Rainbow for fuel and made it to Western Beach for a late lunch.
We then aired down our tyres and after Tim took a wrong turn (which won’t be the last), we had a nice scenic drive around Lake Albacutya on Purra Track – not challenging but very scenic, arriving at OTIT Campground for the night, which we shared with a Dune Buggy Club.
Day 2 – Lake Albacutya to Snow Drift
Leaving OTIT, we headed north to Wonga Campground where we stopped to check out the hut, and we drove down to Eastern Lookout, where we stopped and walked to the top of the lookout, and then had morning tea.
We then drove along Dattuck Track, North South Track and Eagle Track, stopping at Casuarina Campground for lunch. The driving was easy and scenic, passing through dry lakebeds, flood plains, sand dunes, and Pine-Buloke woodlands. We encountered a soft spot on North South Track where a couple of us had to have a second go, but we got through easily.
We pushed on to Snow Drift Picnic Area, where we set up camp for the night, and the kids had fun playing on the huge sand dune while we got the fire going.
Day 3 – Snow Drift to Mopoke Hut
Leaving Snow Drift, Tim took another wrong turn (#2), but we eventually made it on to Wirrengren Plain, stopping at O’Sullivans Lookout. Another short walk to the top of the lookout, it started raining halfway up, but we pushed on and made it to the top for some nice views over the vast plains.
The rain didn’t last for long, and we jumped back in the vehicles and finished the drive through Wirrengren Plain, and existed the park, where we stopped to put some more air in the tyres and drove into Underbool where we filled up fuel, used the showers in town and had morning tea.
Leaving Underbool, we checked out the Pink Lakes (Lake Crosby and Lake Becking), as well as an outdoor display of old salt mining equipment. It was quite windy so instead of stopping for lunch we pushed on to our camp spot at Mopoke Hut – where there was more wind!.
The hut itself was built in 1962 by Bill Henschke as somewhere to rest while driving cattle on horseback. The hut is maintained by Mildura 4WD Club, and is in excellent condition.
We had a very windy night at this spot, so most of us got off to bed fairly early.
Day 4 – Mopoke Hut to Pheenys Tk Campsite
We were hoping to check out an old Gypsum mine on the East outskirts of Murray Sunset National Park, however we were unable to find it unfortunately (I’ve included a photo from a previous trip), so we turned around and headed north to check out Henschke Track Camping Area (not much to see here), where we stopped for lunch, and then drove back across the park to Rocket Lake. It was still a scenic and interesting drive, with wildflowers lining the track.
Rocket Lake is a nice camping area, beside a dry lake bed and some low sand dunes. We stopped briefly and then headed west along Pheenys Track. We stopped for the night at a great campground on Pheenys track – fortunately the wind behaved itself this time (and for the rest of the trip), and we had a very pleasant night sitting around the fire chatting and playing music.
Day 5 – Pheenys Tk Campsite to Stockmans Camp
We left Pheenys Track campground, and headed north to Shearers Quarters, which has a large hut and accommodation, and a campground. Shearers Quarters was previously a pastoral station, but Parks Victoria now use it as accommodation. We also crossed paths with the Bendigo 4WD Club who were undertaking a similar trip to us, with caravans and campers.
After stopping for morning tea we jumped back in the vehicles and picked up the pace to get into Murrayville by lunch time, stopping along the way to check out the rock hole. We had been hoping to stop at the pub for lunch, however they weren’t doing food, so we had lunch in the park.
Heading south into Big Desert State Forest. We grabbed some firewood and headed to Big Billy Bore, however it was full so we drove 35km south to Stockmans Camping Area. Stockmans Camping area is a newly built camping area, with clean toilets, a shelter with gas BBQ’s, tables and fire places – and we had the place to ourselves for 3 nights!
Day 6 – Rest Day
Day 6 was a rest day, everyone amused themselves chatting, playing card games, reading books and going for walks. We got the campfire going early, got some snacks out and prepared some camp ovens and food for a communal meal. We had roast meat, veggies and damper.
Day 7 – Big Desert Tracks
Kim, Trish and Pip stayed back at camp for the day, whilst the others jumped in the vehicles to drive some of the tracks in Big Desert. We took Brushcutters Track, and stopped at Brushcutters Flat for morning tea. We headed onto Campbell Track and Delisio Track where we stopped at Big K Dune.
Another group was at Big K, who were also from Bendigo (it appears all of Bendigo were up here this week), their group all had a few attempts at getting up, including a V8 Land Cruiser who got the furthest but didn’t make it to the top. Then it was our turn, and we all had a couple of goes, with Greg and Casey from our group in the BT50 making it to the top. After seeing red, V8 Land Cruiser guy had another couple of goes and eventually made it up as well as another vehicle from that group. Tim’s Patrol got the award for the most black smoke!
We got back on the track and stopped at another dune at the end of Delisio Tk where we had lunch. All of us got to the top easily this time, and we enjoyed view and checked our phone messages and news of covid cases and lockdowns across Victoria!
Today was also Kim’s birthday, and Greg bought a frozen cheesecake, which was enjoyed by everyone around the fire to celebrate Kim’s birthday.
Day 8 – Stockmans Camp to Little Desert
We packed up and drove into Nhill where we had morning tea and filled up fuel. We said goodbye to Alex and Mick in Nhill, and headed to Little Desert, where we stopped at Horseshoe Bend Camping Area for lunch. This is a great camping spot in a bend on the river (though the toilets are very average).
We then hit the tracks, which were sandier and more challenging than most of the tracks we had covered further north. It is also nice and scenic, with wildflowers in bloom at this time of year. From Horseshoe Bend, we went West on Pomponderoo Track, South on Eagle Swamp Track. Stopping at One Tree Hill and Eagle Swamp. We went South on McCabes Hut Track, West on Mallee Track, Dahlenburgs Mill Track and then North on Salt Lake Track to Kiata Campground, arriving at mid-afternoon.
This is where we ended the trip and went our separate ways back to Bendigo.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it was a fantastic trip, and I hope everyone enjoyed getting away for a full week – I’m pretty sure we all needed it coming straight out of lockdown – we are very fortunate in Regional Victoria to be able to run a trip like this while Melbourne is still in lockdown. We couldn’t have asked for a better group of people on the trip, thank you everyone for making it an enjoyable and memorable trip.
We tried to make it a relaxed trip, and we generally got into camp by 3pm each day, giving us plenty of time to set up, relax and socialise for a bit and get the fire & dinners going. I also thought it was important to include a rest day and a bit of a break from moving camp every day.
The club tends to frequent this part of the state at least once a year and I expect we will keep running regular trips across this interesting and diverse area for many years to come. The facilities – particularly in Big Desert, with the new camp they’ve constructed at Stockman’s Camp, are amazing – FFM Victoria and Parks Victoria are obviously very invested in keeping the facilities clean and maintained for campers, which is great.
Finally, there is still a lot of interest from club members in doing the Simpson Desert, and I hope to run this trip in 2023, so please keep your eye out for this. -Tim K
