Dalhousie Springs

The Land Rover rattled and shook as we made our way over the rocky road, leaving a trail of dust engulfing our little Off Road caravan as it followed behind. Looking out across the Gibber Plains you wonder how on earth did the early pastoralists make a living out here. Sparse clumps of desert grass poke out of the ground from the stony surface, with a few low scrubby trees occasionally marking the edge of a dry creek bed.

We had just finished walking the Larapinta Trail at Alice Springs and were heading home. Turning off at Kulgera Roadhouse we followed the dirt road towards the Aboriginal community of Finke, then went towards Mt Dare.

The road started OK but deteriorated as we went along, slowing our progress and causing a mud flap to fly off the Land Rover and hit the front of the van taking out a light and leaving a nasty crease in the front panel

Located 887klms north West of Port Augusta, in the Witjira National Park, Dalhousie was a pastoral lease that was first taken up in 1873 and covered 77769 square kilometres. However, after a century of agriculture the springs were becoming degraded and in 1985 it was purchased by the federal Government and declared as the Witjira National park. The ruins of the original Homestead are the only reminder of a what was once there.

A natural artesian spring empties into a pool that is about twice the size of an Olympic swimming pool. With temperatures between 38 to 40 degrees Celsius depending which part of the pool you are in, it makes an ideal hot bath to soak away any aches and pains.

We stayed two nights there just relaxing and having an occasional dip in the warm water, while the little 2cm Dalhousie Goby will swim up to you and gently nibble away any dead skin you may have. The camp ground has composting toilets and cold showers. Which don’t get used much when there is a huge hot tub just a stone’s throw away. Camp fires are only allowed using solid fuel, in portable fire dishes or similar, wood fires are banned. Booking online is essential before you get there. There are no phone services.

Rain water is available there are a few taps in the campground, but it is bore water and while you can drink it, it is not very nice. There are many other springs in the area and walking trails allow you to explore these, but you can only swim at the main spring. There is plenty of space to camp but it is on the edge of the Simpson desert so the terrain reflects that. While getting to Dalhousie Springs may be a challenge to some, to us it is one of our favorite places.

Watching the steam rising in the morning light with birds flying from tree to tree are some of the magic moments you would experience at Dalhousie Springs.

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