The run out to Coongie was a great experience.....early on into the track, we passed the Innamincka Race Track.....much larger than we ever expected...maybe we'll have to come back for the annual race meeting?? The road was in pretty good shape to start with but then it got rougher as we progressed. Nonetheless, we pressed on and dropped our travel speed accordingly......our car and van tyres are always at 25 psi for this type of outback road so that we don't shake it all to bits. We noticed a HUGE flock of Corellas on the ground in between the dunes....they must have been feeding on seeds produced from previous rain in the "Wet" season.

More evidence of Oil & Gas Exploration and production along this track too. We saw drilling rigs over the dunes and a gas line that was piped into the main manifold. I used to work in the oil field in my younger days and this was a trip down memory lane for me. Walking closer to the "Christmas Tree" which was the assembly of valves and fittings at the well head, you could hear the roar of the gas under pressure surging through the pipeline.

Drilling rig seen from the Coongie Lake Track	Coongie Lake- Middle of the Strzelecki Desert
Lake??? It's like an inland sea....	Kudrimitchie River runs into Coongie Lake

We couldn't help but be amazed at this place....oh sure there was masses of birdlife...more than we'd ever seen at any waterhole before....and a diverse range of species too...I'd never seen a Musk Duck before and I would never have thought I'd have to travel to the middle of the desert to see one. The lake itself is a wonder....like an inland sea....if Sturt had seen this he would have unloaded his boats for sure. The Kudrimitchie river joins the lake and runs back toward Innamincka for about 30 k's. Never have we seen so much water in the desert...... The lake is so wide it gives the impression of a sea, however, it's only about 2 metres deep and because of it's wide expanse being exposed to the sun, it's evaporation rate is 3.5metres per year. Blind Freddie can see that if the water wasn't constantly replenished, then this would all dry up and the birds would be gone. The North of Queensland gets a very high rainfall each wet season and the rivers like the Georgina, Diamantina, Barcoo and Thompson all run into the Cooper Creek which, if there is enough flooding in North Queensland, will eventually run into Lake Eyre. It's this run into the Cooper which keeps Coongie Lake fed with water......let's hope it always does.

Coongie Calm

Desert..what desert????