VK3CAT

The capital city of VK4 is Brisbane, located in the south east corner of the state on the coast. Due to the year round mild climate, many "southerners" venture to Queensland for the southern winter period.

Major four wheel drive destinations are to Fraser Island and to the tip of Cape York. The Whitsunday Islands are also very popular for international and interstate tourists.

My travels to VK4 have been limited to Brisbane for family visits, Airlie Beach in the Whitsunday's and the south western area bordering on the Simpson and Strzelecki Deserts. When driving up to Airlie Beach in 1982, it took 33 hours of near nonstop driving to get there from Melbourne.

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The "Dig Tree" is located in what is now Nappa Merrie Station on the Cooper Creek. It is the location of the last 1860 "Burke and Wills" expedition depot. From this point Burke, Wills, King and Gray made a dash to the Gulf of Carpenteria and then returned (without Gray), only to find that the base camp had departed for the Menindee Lakes (about 700 Kms to the south) earlier that day. . A food cache was buried near the tree. Burke and Wills died after months of seeking a route out of the region and King survived only with the help of the local Aborigines

The Burke and Wills expedition can be studied in "Coopers's Creek" by Alan Moorehead. Information about this area can also be found on the Westprint series of maps and booklet that accompany the South Australia Desert Parks Pass. The Hema outback series of maps are also of good reference.

This photo is taken on the track between Epsilon and Omnicron Stations in the Strzelecki Desert Region. The area is also a part of the Tickalara and Munro gas and oil fields. The track largely runs in the swale between sand dunes although some easy dune crossings are required. The track is very good but like all outback tracks, should be avoided if it has been subject to rain, due to flooding.

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