Monday 20th July 2015 - Innaminka to Birdsville Track at Koonchera Dune

When we woke we found we were camped among daisies -and there were wattle trees on the dune.  To top it off we had a huge flock of budgerigars fly through - and a flock of corellas fly over.

It's not too often you get this close!

Back on the road.  At the turnoff to Moomba Oil/Gas fields we got phone reception (the first since Tibooburra) - David could text his daughter for her birthday and we could check on Sarah who is expecting number 3 at any time from now.

Were travelling through lots of flood prone areas at the moment (often showing up as lakes on the GPS).  There's lots of water on the track in places but not a problem as there's always a side track.  It's easy to see why the Walkers Crossing track is often closed.

We arrived at Walkers Crossing and made it our lunch spot.  Walkers Crossing was put in by Santos in 1986 as the original crossing of the Cooper was regularly damaged by flooding interrupting the oil and gas exploration taking place in the Simpson and Sturts Stony Deserts.

The crossing (dry at the moment) now has a bridge across it but it's cordoned off at the moment.  Perhaps they only use it when the creek has water in it.

Walker's Crossing

Just north of Walkers Crossing we left the Creek and headed west, initially across dunes and then into Sturts Stoney Desert.  What a variety of landscape - one moment sand and the next gibbers.

What a change in a few kilometres

And what a desolate spot Sturts Stoney Desert is - completely flat and covered with gibbers - really shiny brown/red smooth rocks.

It's pretty obvious why it's called a Stoney Desert

At one stage in this gibber covered, vegetation free landscape the Prado developed a clunk on the rear right.  We stopped a few times trying to locate the source with no avail.  We were starting to get a bit worried when suddenly it disappeared.  Just a pesky gibber in the suspension we guess.

We couldn't believe that at one stage in the Stuart Stony Desert we came across cattle - and they looked in pretty good condition.  Goodness knows what they ate.

Eventually the Walkers Crossing Track reached the Birdsville Track and we turned right and headed towards Birdsville.  We started to look out for a track off yo the left which would take us to Koonchera Dune and Waterhole.  Jennie and Richard had been there many years ago on a trip with Frank fro Opposite Lock Ballina and we thought it would be a good camp spot.

We did find a track but after following it for some kilometres (and noticing a big padlock on one gate we passed through) we decided to abort.  We didn't like the possibility of heading out in the morning to a locked gate.

Despite the "wild goose chase" we found a nice spot between the dunes looking over quite a large 'patch' of water.  Dinner was sausages (cooked the other night on David's barbecue) with fried rice, onion, carrot, mushroom, sweet potato, peas and ginger - couldn't find the garlic!

The sunset was just spectacular.