In response to Glenn McRae's query on access to Little Desert National Park
in north west Victoria.
I visited the park at the end of October this year and can advise the
following.
Note that access is generally ok but the roads can be sandy or boggy,
particularly after wet weather. Last October our car was sliding a bit on
the main road into the camp area after a few hours of rain.
The park has a number of entry points:
1. Kiata/Western Highway
A signpost at Kiata (north west of Dimboola) on the Western Highway directs
you south down passed the Kiata Lowan Sanctuary (where we observed a
Malleefowl right on the road edge). Just past the Lowan Sanctuary another
signpost directs you easst into the national park and the main camping
area. This is a good spot for various woodland and some mallee birds. We
recorded Diamond Firetail, treecreepers, scrub robin, Boobook and various
micro bats.
2. Dimboola/Western Highway
Probably the 'main' entry for the park is via the main street of Dimboola
where a large sign on the main street (off the Western Highway) directs you
under a big arch into the caravan park and onto the Wimmera River section
of the Little Desert Park. The western side of the park is more remote and
has less accessable tracks.
Further information
1. Parks Victoria
The Parks Victoria web site gives some details of the parks access and
other features and walking track information may be available within the
park, although we found only one copy of track notes at some locations. If
you ring the Parks Victoria call centre and ask for the TRACK NOTES for
this park they should be able to help.
Parks Victoria details are
Web site: http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/
Call centre: 13 1963
Ranger: Mark Mellington 03 5389 1204
Further maps and information can be viewed in the management plan for the
park, which is accessable on-line via the Parks Victoria web site (see the
end of the listing after you get into the park information for this site).
2. Bird Observers Club
The Bird Observers Club of Australia (BOCA) has a Nhill branch. They have
regular outings I understand and would also have detailed local knowledge
of bird spots and access points. They're contact details are linked to the
Parks Victoria web site at:
http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1process_details.cfm?volunteer=65®ion=WEST
Topographic maps
1: 25 000 maps
Victoria is fortunate to have almost all its area covered by 1: 25 000
scale topographic maps. These are available from the Information Victoria
Bookshop in Melbourne or map shops. The relevant ones for the campground
and near Dimboola are: 7225-3-2 Winiam and 7225-2-2 Mount Lyttleton
1: 100 000 maps
7225 Nhill (north part of the park), Natimuk 7224 (south part) and
Warracknabeal 7325 (Dimboola and far eastern edge of the park)
Dimboola information -
http://www.walkabout.com.au/locations/VICDimboola.shtml
Nhill information - http://www.walkabout.com.au/locations/VICNhill.shtml
Books
The following book is well worth getting from a library (it's out of print):
McCann, I.R. (1989) 'The Mallee in flower'. Victorian National Parks
Association, Melbourne. 120 pp.
I would recommend the following spots to visit:
- Kiata Picnic area,
- Stringybark Nature Walk and
- walks starting from the camp ground as worth doing for birds.
We didn't do any of the walks near Dimboola, so I cannot offer any advice
in this regard.
Nhill swamp had a tiny bit of water in it and has been dry for some years I
believe. It has little or no birdlife at the moment. There are some good
stringybark/mallee remnants out towards Lake Hindmarsh (dry) which are
worth visiting. If it's at all warm you would be best to get there in the
morning or late afternoon.
The area is well worth visiting, especially when the flowers are out
(September - October).
Martin O'Brien
Melbourne
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