Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park

This is about the South Australian national park. For the national park across the border in Queensland, see Munga-Thirri National Park

Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park is a South Australian national park in the Outback. It was established in November 2021 with an area of 3,600,000 ha (36,000 km² (14,000 sq mi)), making it Australia's largest national park, even bigger than Kakadu, Denali, Belgium, Wales, or Massachusetts and four times larger than Yellowstone.

The park is closed from December 1 to March 15 every year as part of the yearly park closures in Outback South Australia as temperatures well exceed a good scorching hot fifty degrees.

Whilst Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park borders Munga-Thirri National Park in Queensland, they are not the same national park – see Simpson Desert National Park for an explanation.

Understand

History

The conservation park occupied land within the Simpson Desert in the gazetted locality of the same name and was bounded by the borders of the Northern Territory and Queensland to its north and by the Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert Regional Reserve.

The land within the boundaries of the conservation park first obtained protected area status on 14 December 1967 as a national park proclaimed under the National Parks Act 1966 as the Simpson Desert National Park. On 27 April 1972, the national park was reconstituted as the Simpson Desert Conservation Park upon the proclamation of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. As of 2018, it covered an area of 6,932.68 square kilometres (2,676.72 sq mi). In August 2018, the conservation park's name was altered by the Government of South Australia to Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert Conservation Park.

The conservation park, along with the Simpson Desert Regional Reserve and Witjira National Park, was described as a protected area representing one of the world's best examples of dunal desert. Because of that very reason, in November 2021 the park became Australia's largest national park when Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert Conservation Park with the Regional Reserve nearby.

Landscape

The landscape of the park is mostly with sand dunes, and flat arid land.

Flora and fauna

There is a wide variety of desert flora and fauna are protected in a landscape of varied dune systems, extensive playa lakes, spinifex grasslands and Acacia woodlands.

Climate

The park's hottest months are in January when temperatures go up to fifty degrees, while the coldest month is July, where the temperatures can plummet down to 4 degrees. The temperatures during autumn/fall and spring linger around the high twenties to the low thirties while the rainiest month is February – which gets about 44 millimetres of rain.

Get in

Getting into Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park is hard, so hard, that it requires lots of 4WD driving experience, previous outback experience – and it's not a park you would want to go if you've never been to some of the easier-to-go national parks.

From Oodnadatta, it takes a long time – about 450 kilometres without any good roads. Head north onto Oodnadatta Track up passing Hamilton Station and Dalhousie Springs. Then, pass Spring Creek and then Purni Bore and you're there. From Birdsville in Queensland, head south on Birdsville Track down till Yelpawaralina Track. After that, head east, until you're eventually there at the park.

Fees and permits

Unlike most other national parks, there are no single day fees for this park. But instead, you'll need to purchase a Desert Parks Pass. The Desert Parks Pass covers your entry to this park for up to 21 nights at a time. Up-to-date information can be found at the SA Parks website.

Get around

Getting around should ideally only be done via car. SA Parks advises against all walking to get around the park, and not off marked trails.

See

Two park rangers viewing the Approdinna Attora Knolls

• 1 Approdinna Attora Knolls, Knolls Track, Simpson Desert. A rather rare and unusual set of scientific gypsum outcrops. At one point in time, they were the highest dune crests in that area. Because of this, going off the designated vehicle trails is not permitted unless you would want to cop some hefty fines. (updated Dec 2021)
• 2 Lone Gum, Rig Rd, Simpson Desert. A thriving Coolabah that's in the middle of Rig Road today. These types of trees usually grow near watercourses, but unusually, this one is far from one but rather on top of heavy clay soils. How is it surviving and how did it come there? – no-one knows. (updated Dec 2021)
• 3 Peera Peera Poolanna Lake. An area that is almost completely covered in desert and wilderness with less than 2 people per square kilometre around the lake. It rarely gets rain in the first place, but on the occasion it's full, it's because of flooding from Queensland. (updated Dec 2021)
• 4 Poeppel Corner (Poeppel's Corner), French Line. Where the state of Queensland meets South Australia and the Northern Territory. Rather interestingly, New Year's Eve occurs three times each year at thirty minute intervals in Poeppel Corner, similar to Cameron Corner and Surveyor Generals Corner, since it is at the intersection of three time zones. Unfortunately, this is only for four-wheel-drive tourists as 2WDs won't be able to get through the road. (updated Dec 2021)

Do

Activities in the park are very limited. Bushwalking in the park is strongly discouraged, as there are no bushwalking tracks. If anything, there are 4WD tracks, which is the alternative to bushwalking – which also allows you to explore the parallel red sand ridges in this park.

Buy, eat and drink

There are no facilities in the park – meaning no shops, cafes, coffee shops, restaurants, kiosks, not even toilets. You will need to bring everything with you.

Sleep

There are no officially designated campgrounds, however camping is permitted within 100 metres of the public access tracks but there are no toilets or any facilities, so choose your campsite carefully. However, the SA Parks claims that more campers choose to camp near the salt lakes.

Stay safe

As this park is in the midst of the Outback, take the usual precautions, and this can never be stressed enough. Bring enough bottles of water with you and an esky – enough for survival. As the park is closed during summer, due to the heat, heat shouldn't pose a huge issue as you'd be visiting during autumn or spring.

While it's easy to think that there's snakes, spiders and all these venomous creatures, the chance of you getting attacked by them is very little. They'll only do that if you do the same. On the other hand, if you do get bitten by a snake or spider, put an icepack (if you brought an esky, take some ice from there), and an RFDS plane should come after you give a ring.

There is no mobile coverage anywhere in the park, so you will need a satellite phone.

Go next

• Munga-Thirri National Park is a bordering national park right across the border into Queensland
• Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park to the south is home to one of the largest lakes in Australia and one of the most important reserves of Australasian wildlife