Little Desert @ ExplorOz

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Description

The Little Desert National Park is situated in North Western Victoria below the larger Wyperfeld National Park. Unlike its larger neighbour, the Little Desert is a flatter landscape and tends to be less travelled. It still does however provide the traveller with a challenging amount of sand driving and is particularly good for first time 4WDers. The park can be easily crossed in one day, but to truly appreciate the area we recommend spending at least 2 days. These trek notes plot a route from Kaniva and travel from West to East. There are two main roads bisecting the park which enables easy entry and exit from the park for overnight stops back in civilisation of Nhill or Dimboola. Alternatively there are some nice camping spots within the park.

This is a lovely area, which is much more remote in the West. Expect some soft sand and bumpy sections but a fairly level terrain. Your biggest problem may be that you will find some of the tracks have become overgrown and many are no longer open to 4WD. The camping sites are well positioned and most are very nice. Some of the larger sites having pit toilets and fire places. There are many Emu's and a handful of Kangaroos.

Rather than attempt the trip in one day, we suggest it is lovely to have a base in Dimboola and make a weekend of your visit.

Preparation

Follow the Western Highway through to Kaniva. At Kaniva head south to Lillimur Road and off the Bitumen into the Little Desert National Park. Follow Lillimur and Jacobs Track to East West. The going is generally good but expect to encounter quite a lot of deep sand. Cross over Edenhope road into the Central Section. Follow McDonalds Highway into the central section to Broughtons Waterhole. This is a lovely stop and well worth considering as an overnight camp. No facilities though. There is a short diversion to Mt Turner which offers views of the surrounding area. Continuing South along Sambells track. Cross Sister Hills track onto Central track and rejoin McDonalds Highway. Continue East onto the Crater route follow Stans Camp track to Stans Camp (another possible camp site but not as nice). Continue South along a very overgrown Whimpeys track to join the Crater track and visit the Crater (which can be difficult to find). Continue along Crater track to Old Nhill Road, along Phillips Track and out onto the Nhill-Harrow road. This provides a good break for the end of day 1 and easy access to Nhill or Dimboola where you can obtain food, overnight accommodation and basic supplies.

An alternative to following the Western Highway back into the part from Dimboola is to turn off the highway into Cocker Dam road, through to Goroke road and enter the park just South of the Little Desert Lodge. The Northern Fire Break Fire track here is not often used and you may find the sand very soft. Follow this to Two Dams Track and onto Dahlenburgs track. The Mill is nothing much to look at and the Link track shown on the map is no longer open to vehicles. Turn into Salt Lake track travel to the Northern boundary. There is a a good campsite here with pit toilets. Backtrack down Salt Lake Track and turn into Pump Jack Track. Carry on past Albrechts Mill to McCabes Hut Track. McCabes Hut Track is not signposted so a bit difficult to find. The track can be soft and very bumpy until River track which can also be bumpy! Follow River Track to Horeshoe Bend Picnic site and camping area. This area of the park has many tracks and can be a bit confusing. From Horeshoe Bend head back into Dimboola.

Distance from start	Distance between points	Description
Trip Meter (km)
0	0	Kaniva
16.3	16.3	Entry into Little Desert park GPS ref S36°29.185', E141°07.035'
39.6	23.3	Lilimur track to East West Track via Jacobs track GPS ref S36°36.874', E141°09.072'
58.5	18.9	East-West track to McDonalds Highway on Edenhope Road GPS ref S36°33.633', E141°14.468'
67.1	8.6	Edenhope Road to Broughtons Waterhole GPS ref E141°14.468', E141°20.253'
99.8	32.7	Broughtons Waterhole to Stans Camp GPS ref S36°30.644', E141°30.910'
111.8	12	Stans Camp to the Crater via Whimpeys Track GPS ref S36°33.069', E141°34.749'
129.1	9.78	Northern Break Line to Salt Lake Track via Dahlenburg Mill Track GPS ref S36°32.048', E141°48.076'
138.88	9.78	Salt Lake Track to Albrechts Mill GPS ref S36°27.935', E141°48.023'
147.4	8.52	Albrechts Mill to McCabes Hut Track GPS ref S36°28.958', E141°53.174'
172.5	25.1	McCabes Hut Track to Horeshoe Bend via River Track GPS ref S36°29.877', E142°01.123' . This is the end of the track and just ahead lies the township of Dimboola.