Birdsville Track - Clayton Station Wetlands

 5 – 7 September 2023

We drove north from Merna Mora and stopped at Leigh Creek for some last minute supplies, and then drove on to the park in Copley to check a few things online while we still had service. We had pies for lunch from the bakery which is also part of the caravan park. From there we continued north and refuelled in Lyndhurst before continuing on to Marree.

Marree is the starting point for both the Oodnadatta and Birdsville Tracks so we had a quick look around – there’s not much more than a pub and servo – before making our way to the start of the Birdsville Track. We had a couple of possible places to camp so were able to keep our options open.

We decided to make Clayton Station Wetlands our first camp on the track. This is a station stay with toilets, showers and a bore pool. Payment is via an honesty box as the campground is a long way from the station homestead. There were quite a few people already there when we arrived, and very little shade. We really wanted to be close to the wetland but the ground was very uneven and not suitable for our set-up, so we chose a spot that would give easy access to both the wetland and amenities.

We went for walk and Mick found the birding to be quite promising with the only downside being the huge number of flies – far more than we had been used to for quite some time, if ever. During the night the wind picked up and we had to make a decision about whether to spend another night and hope it would ease the next day. We chose to stay and it was a great spot once everyone else had left.

Mick spent a fair bit of time walking around taking photos of birds, while I escaped the flies by reading inside the tent. Dinner had to be cooked and eaten after dark, and we worked out a way to have a fly-free lunch inside too. Fortunately breakfast wasn’t a problem as long as we were up early.

The second night was as windy as the first so we made the decision to move on – it was just too unpleasant to stay, so after Mick had been out birding, we set off again.