Simpson Desert National Park

Simpson National Park
Coordinates: 25 ° 8 ′ 33 ″  S , 138 ° 14 ′ 25 ″  E
Location:	Queensland , Australia
Specialty:	desert
Next city:	Birdsville
Surface:	10,120 km²
Founding:	1967

The Simpson Desert National Park (now Munga Thirri National Park) is the largest national park in Queensland in Australia with 10,120 square kilometers . The park is 1495 kilometers west of Brisbane and 79 kilometers from Birdsville .

location

The park can be reached via Birdsville on the Old Birdsville Track , which begins one kilometer west of the Birdsville police station. After 35 kilometers the big “Big Red” sand dune is reached, and after another 130 kilometers this track is only accessible with all-wheel drive vehicles. In order to continue to the South Australian part of the park, the purchase of the Desert Parks Pass is necessary. In the rainy season the entire track is not passable.

National nature

The wind has been moving the park's sand dunes in a northwesterly direction since the Pleistocene 80,000 years ago. They are up to 200 kilometers long. After rains, large waterholes and floodplains emerge, which after drying out form kilometers of flower fields. This country is called the Channel Country . The national park has an arid climate . Most of the desert is scrubland with small trees and shrubs, and it is dominated by Mitchell grass and Spinifex grass. Mammals, reptiles and over 180 species of birds live in the national park. The most famous reptiles in the national park are the hermit monitor (Varanus eremius) , the Gould's monitor (Varanus gouldii) and the gecko species Heteronotia binoei .

Facilities and access

A camping permit must be obtained before entering the park. There are no supply stations in the park. Outback experience is required to drive in this national park . It is recommended that you bring a radio and satellite phone with you. The temperatures in the national park can rise to 50 ° C in summer.

Web links

• Official site of the park (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Australian Government - CAPAD 2010 ( MS Excel ; 170 kB), DSEWPaC , accessed on January 7, 2013 (English)
2. ↑ Australian Government - CAPAD 1997 ( MS Excel ; 93 kB), DSEWPaC , accessed on January 7, 2013 (English)
3. ↑ New designation notice from the Queensland Government
4. ↑ South Australian National Parks and Reserves ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ Reptile species of the Simpson Desert National Park on arod.com.au