Innamincka Regional Reserve and Malkumba-Coongie Lakes

Check the current closure first

At the time of writing, National Parks and Wildlife Service SA has a park alert in place. Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park and significant parts of Innamincka Regional Reserve are closed until further notice due to a major flooding event.

Floods in this country can close tracks for long periods. Before you travel:

• check the latest Desert Parks Bulletin
• call the SA Outback Road Report on 1300 361 033, a 24-hour automated service
• check the Department for Infrastructure and Transport's outback road closures page.

A park of contrasts

National Parks SA describes Innamincka Regional Reserve as a park of contrasts. It covers more than 1.3 million hectares, from the wetlands of the Cooper Creek system to the stark arid outback.

Unlike a national park, the reserve also sustains a large commercial beef cattle enterprise and oil and gas fields:

• Cattle. Innamincka Station covers 13,800 square kilometres of the reserve and is still leased by the S Kidman and Co pastoral company. Sidney Kidman bought Coongie Station in 1902 and Innamincka Station in 1908, and the two were merged in 1930.
• Gas and oil. The reserve covers about 30% of the South Australian part of the Cooper Basin, which National Parks SA calls the largest onshore hydrocarbon production region in Australia. Hydrocarbons are processed at Moomba, 90 km south-west of Innamincka.

Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park was proclaimed in 2005 to protect the Ramsar-listed wetlands. Exploration and mining aren't permitted there. Early in 1996, Coongie Lakes and Cullyamurra Waterhole were fenced and cattle excluded.

Traditional Owners

The reserve is the Country of the Yandruwandha and Yawarrawarrka people. They lived in this region for thousands of years, taking advantage of the prolific birdlife and seasonal wildlife, and they retain a strong interest and presence in the area.

National Parks SA says Cooper Creek was a major Aboriginal trade route. The name Innamincka is believed to come from Aboriginal legend: some say it means "dark hole", others "meeting place". The Coongie Lakes and their wetlands are a spiritual site for Aboriginal people, and were crucial to survival, particularly after floods.

In the words of the Yandruwandha Yawarrawarrka Parks Advisory Committee, published by National Parks SA, co-management "has enabled us to have a say over what is happening on our lands". The 2014 management plan for Malkumba-Coongie Lakes sets out heritage, living and camping, and fishing zones so community members can carry out traditional activities.

The park headquarters in Innamincka

Start at the Innamincka National Parks Visitor Centre, in the township's former Australian Inland Mission building. National Parks SA says it's always open.

The building began as the Elizabeth Symon Nursing Home, opened in 1928 as part of John Flynn's network of outback hospitals. It closed in 1951. After major restoration it reopened in July 1994 as the reserve's headquarters, and it's now a heritage site.

The displays cover:

• the area's natural history
• the Yandruwandha and Yawarrawarrka Traditional Owners
• pastoral settlement and outback nursing
• the Burke and Wills expedition.

Pick up maps and check in with rangers here.

Burke and Wills sites

Captain Charles Sturt was the first European to see these wetlands, in 1844–45. Only fifteen years later, Burke and Wills died here. These sites are all inside the reserve:

• Burke's memorial, where rescue party leader Alfred Howitt found Burke's body
• Wills' memorial, a marker near where Wills is believed to have died
• King's Site, where John King, the expedition's sole survivor, was found alive in 1861. Local Aboriginal people had helped keep him alive.

The Dig Tree is outside the reserve, about a 60-minute (68 km) drive across the Queensland border. For the full story, see our Burke and Wills guide.

Cullyamurra Waterhole

National Parks SA calls Cullyamurra Waterhole one of the most magnificent waterholes in central Australia, and Australia's largest billabong. It's formed by Cooper Creek floods that are squeezed through a narrow passage, the Innamincka Choke, and it has never been known to be dry. Old stockyards nearby are relics of early pastoral days.

Camping

All campsites must be booked before arrival, up to 12 months ahead.

Policemans, Ski Beach, Kings Site and Minkie are reached via the Fifteen Mile Track.

The Innamincka Town Common campground is privately run, with a separate fee. The township also has a hotel, cabins, a store, fuel, toilets, showers, a ranger station, and mechanical and tyre repairs.

The rangers' advice: find a camp early, don't camp directly under a river red gum because they drop big limbs, and stay a few days rather than rushing through.

Fishing and boating

• Cooper Creek (regional reserve). Motorboats are allowed, provided the motor is under 10 horsepower and speed stays below 10 knots. Boats must be registered and a licence is required. Only certain nets are allowed, so check the signs at Innamincka.
• Malkumba-Coongie Lakes National Park. No motorboats and no fishing.
• Licences. No fishing licence is needed in South Australia, but bag and size limits apply.

Birds and wildlife

National Parks SA says more than 200 bird species have been recorded in the Innamincka and Coongie Lakes region:

• Huge gatherings. Over 70,000 birds have been seen at one time.
• Rare species. Twenty-four of the region's species are classed as rare, vulnerable or endangered in South Australia.
• What you might see. Wetland birds such as Australian pelicans and red-necked avocets, and desert birds like inland dotterels and gibberbirds.

Along the creek, look for dingoes, red kangaroos, turtles and water-rats.

Snakes are rarely seen, especially from April to September. Still, the area is home to the inland taipan, so leave every snake alone.

When to go and getting there

Best time. National Parks SA says late autumn and early spring are best. March and early April can still be hot, and November to February can be very hot and dry.

Getting there. Innamincka is 1,046 km from Adelaide, via the Strzelecki Track from Leigh Creek.

Before you go:

• Tracks vary in condition, so bring a well-prepared vehicle and a tough trailer.
• Get a Desert Parks Pass and read it before you arrive.
• There's no mobile coverage in most of the reserve. There is reception in and near Innamincka, but it can struggle at peak times.
• Collecting firewood is prohibited.

Contacts:

• Innamincka Regional Reserve office: (08) 8675 9909
• After-hours duty officer: 0408 378 284

Nearby: see our guides to Innamincka, Thargomindah, the Channel Country and birdwatching in the outback.

Related park guide: Malkumba-Coongie Lakes.