Lake Arthur can only be accessed on the
Mulgaria 4x4 track, a private station track that was closed to the public in late 2014 due to some bad behaviour by 4x4ers..
From
Andamooka, the road north is very slow going. The sand dunes eventually gave way to elevated rocky ground around the western shore of
Lake Torrens. The track splits at the northern end of the
lake with one branch continuing straight on to the White Hills and the old opal mining area. The right hand branch is a Private Station Track belonging to
Mulgaria Station and heads east through some amazing country.
The diversity of country was simply amazing. I don’t know why I hadn’t explored this track earlier given the varied landscapes. We got some amazing
views of
Lake Torrens from various high bluffs along the
lake shore. The track winds in through rocky hills, the make up I though was ancient Devonian coral like reefs similar to those of the
Kimberley. Reaching a the shore of
Lake Arthur a small
salt lake, a faded
sign indicates a track leading off to a geological and paleontological site of significant value. This track led south into a range of steep sided and rugged hills to a small turnaround area. We explored the area climbing the ridge above and securing good
views out across the
lake. We had no luck locating any fossils though.
Re-joining the main track, we eventually met the remains of the old
dog fence which we followed for a good distance. We passed through some fantastic looking creek areas and the odd
bore and trough before having a break for lunch on a high ridge by the
dog fence (Cairn Nearby). Our journey of the afternoon took us down into the cattle country of the plains, across a few salt lakes with bores and troughs becoming more frequent. We had to negotiate our way around a large
dam.