Diamantina

Despite the tiny but very clean and neat room, it was a good nights rest at Lodge #5 Birdsville Caravan/Camping. Nice and warm indoors but a hint of a chill in the air for the first time this trip. However, both of us are excited that our desert camp night draws near.

After packing the truck, we were off to check out the township. Took a look inside the bakery. The cakes and pie/sausage roll selection looked great, but neither of us was looking for that kind of breakfast. Next stop Info Centre. A beautiful modern building with a great display of the history of the Diamantina District, very helpful staff.

To the RH (road house) for some supplies before heading to the local coffee shop, the Karrawa Wirrinya, for our breakfast. We were just going to have a cuppa, but the scent of the Swag Bag convinced Brett to order one, a bacon, egg, and hash brown wrap smothered in extra smoke BBQ sauce. Jen had a ham, cheese, and tomato toastie. Thumbs up from us for both food and service.

So, we left Birdsville, checked out the Burke & Will's Dig Tree, this is where his expedition really fell apart - more on that later. Then on to the Diamantina River crossing, then the Birdsville Racetrack before getting to the start line of the Birdsville Track.

A few photos, including a selfie, Jen volunteering to take the first shift at the wheel, with Brett navigating. We took the outside track, which took us through Pandi Pandi in the Sturt Stony Desert, down to Clifton Hills, passing the turnoff to Walkers Crossing track that takes you to Innaminka. The track is very user-friendly. A 2wd would get through, but we wouldn't even try that in the Mazda. We came upon the Stony Desert to the west, Jen taking is through the middle of some mud patches so that we could look like all the other 4wd enthusiasts we came across, until we came to our target for the day, the Mungeranie RH. This RH is right on the intersection of 3 deserts, the Sturt Stony Desert, the Strzelecki Desert, and the Tirari Desert.

The RH and the staff were classic outback examples of both. On display are a large number of well-worn akubras, including light shades made from well-worn akubras. The wall behind the bar was covered with $5 notes with messages written upon them. The staff were up for a chat before we got into the door. Fuelled up the truck here at $2.95/litre and then sourced our camp-site right next to the large wetland area.

Took us an hour, but we finally got the camp-site sorted, had a snappy drink, then back to the RH for that super hospitality. By then, there were a bunch of Victorians and Tasmanians and fellow New South Welshmen in there, and it made for a great social event before making our way back to the camp-site before it got too dark. Jen was in charge of the fire, Brett in charge of dinner, snags in blankets - typical camp tucker.

We sat around the fire til bed time. I think we really enjoyed the experience, but just like clockwork, Brett jumped out of bed midway through the night to water the plants a good distance from the camp-site of course, and stood in something squishy. A quick check using the trusty navigation device (torch)...yuck, dog poo, the only sign of unnatural habitation signs in our campsite, and Brett found it under some random Mulga tree. Should buy a lottery ticket.Read more