The Dig Tree

 29 - 30 October 2021

We left Thargomindah after a pleasant morning which included a walk along the path by the Bulloo River. Heading further west we eventually found a rest area at the Innamincka turn-off where we stopped for lunch.

We then continued on towards Innamincka, taking the well-signposted turn-off to the Dig Tree. The road from Thargomindah was sealed all the way to the turn-off. From there it was 14 km of dirt. Because of recent rain, there was some water over the road in parts. We had planned on visiting some time ago on a trip we weren't able to make due to state border restrictions as a result of Covid19. It was good to be finally making our way to this famous spot.

The Dig Tree is the where the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition finally came to an end. The remaining explorers who had tried to reach the Gulf of Carpentaria returned to this camp-site only to find that the party who had waited patiently for more than four months had left only hours before. With little food, and severely weakened, Burke and Wills died. Despite the tragedy this is a beautiful and peaceful spot.

There is an information shelter and toilets at the entrance to the reserve. From there it is a few hundred metres to the creek - Cooper Creek - and the famous tree. The signage tells the story of there actually being two "dig" trees. It is worth spending some time brushing up on this part of Australia's history.

There is ample space for camping so we chose a shady spot near the creek to set up our camp. The weather had significantly improved and we enjoyed the cool breeze through the afternoon. The only down side was the huge numbers of marauding ants! They crawled up our legs and had us seeking solutions to avoid them - with very limited success. Even dark time didn't deter them.

In the morning we decided to move on, with a stop in Innamincka before tackling the Strzelecki Track. We knew there was rain forecast for Tuesday and wanted to allow a couple of days to camp somewhere on the track.