Big Desert Wilderness Park
The Big Desert Wilderness Park is a very isolated area with no tracks into the park and provides the opportunity to walk through a true wilderness area.
Birdwatching and nature study are rewarding in this area which is home to a great variety of birds, reptiles and small mammals. It provides a challenge for the experienced hiker, offering a rare opportunity to experience a landscape largely unaffected by human activity. The region is considered to be the best single area in Victoria for reptiles with over fifty species of lizards and snakes recorded.
There are some campsites nearby at Big Billy Bore, the Springs, Moonlight Tank and Broken Bucket Reserve along the Nhill-Murrayville Road. Bore water is available at Big Billy Bore and Broken Bucket Reserve and there are toilets at Broken Bucket. Supplies may be obtained in Nhill, Yanac or Murrayville.
Native vegetation is mainly heath, mallee heath and scrub mallee growing in infertile sands. The heath and mallee heath contain a wide variety of shrubs such as desert banksia, scrub cypress pine, grass tree, she-oak, tea-trees and heaths. The more prominent shrubs in the scrub mallee are scrub cypress pine, broom heath-myrtle, broombrush and tea-trees.
How to get there
There are no tracks into the park. Some old fire trails are being revegetated and are not suitable for vehicles. The best approach is by walking from the Nhill-Murrayville Road, which is separated from the park by a 5km strip of public land. The Nhill-Murrayville Road is a dry weather road only and may be rough in places.
Note: Photo from Wimmera Mallee Tourism
Location
Nhill-Murrayville Road, Big Desert 3490 Map
Web Links
→ Birds of the Mallee Parks (PDF)
→ Mallee 4WD Adventures (PDF)
