Innaminka / Cooper's Creek

If you're a fan of outback South Australia, then you won't find anything more out-back than the Strezlecki Track. This strip of dust and dirt threads through the Strezlecki Desert. The country here is the stuff of legend. it's usually either in droughts or flood and the people who live here are as legendary as where they choose to live. "When you reach to top of the Strezlecki Track, you get to Innaminka. Adelaide is 825kms that way and head up this way and you'll end up at Birdsville. Let me tell you it's no Sunday drive here, it's pretty much four wheel drive country. In fact first time visitors to Innaminka may feel like they've arrived at an outback four wheel drive car yard. "Let me give you a tour of Innaminka. Thats the hotel and I'm told it really rocks with 200 people and a bush BBQ. That's the general store where you can get anything you want and that's it really." The Strezlecki was named after a polish explorer and was originally a cattle run between the northern Flinders Ranges town of Lyndhurst and Innaminka which sits on the edge of the Cooper Creek. "A perfect day for a paddle in the outback...Good luck." My Canoe partner was Matt Rasheed who's family has lived in the region for three generations. The Cooper is an artery that pumps lifesaving water into this harsh environment. Suddenly there are plants, birds and as I discovered with the help of guide Russell Thornton...fish!" "Reckon we've got one, he's a seven pounder, what a beautiful fish you've caught there." The yellowbelly that was on the end of the line would have fitted in nicely with the angling hall of fame onto he walls of the pub back at Innaminka. But Russell runs a camping ground onto he banks of the Cooper and is something of an outback gourmet. There's no slabs of red meat on his barbie. "You can't beat yellow belly, some barramundi has a white flesh in a camp oven." The first European to discover the Cooper Creek was Charles Sturt in 1846 during his search for an inland sea. These days the travelling is a lot easier thanks to Peter Ware and his Cooper Discoverer Cruises. "Ok, the depth of the water is 4 to 5 metres deep at the moment 5 metres of water - deepest 200 metres behind us. Looking at Cooper Creek you wonder why it is a creek. It is fed by three rivers and pours into Lake Eyre - last time that happened was in 1990." The history of the Cooper is laced with tragedy. In 1860 Burke and Wills and their party staggered to a camp here but could go no further. "This is where you will find the grave of Robert Ohara Burke, but its a grave without a body. Burke's body now lies in a cemetery in Melbourne. This is the exact spot Burke too tired and exhausted to go on lay down under this tree and died." One of his party - John King - was found alive. He'd been cared for by Aborigines. European history fades in comparison to the first Australians. Early evidence is at Cullyamurra Waterhole. The Strezlecki isn't an easy place to visit but thousands of people make the trip every year for a real outback experience. It's possible to book Cooper Cruises and accommodation through the Flinders and Outback Tourism. They have information, guide books and permits available if needed and they can be contacted on 1800 633 060. If you would like someone to organise flights, accommodation and tours then try Outback Dreaming Trails on 8211 8599. For more information you can email info@postcards.sa.com.au