After my 'chickening-out' of attempting to cross the dunes at Tea Tree Crossing I really enjoyed 42 mile crossing.
42 Mile Crossing leaves the main highway and skirts the Coorong Lakes/lagoon for 2 km, before following a sandy track for another 2 km to the beach.
While still a 4wdr-only track, the sand sits on top of hard packed surface and is a much easier drive.
The steeper hilly sections of the track were quite rutted, but relatively easy going.
The height of the crests means you would be wise to have a sand flag/dessert flag mounted to your vehicle, as anyone coming up the other side of the one-way tracks will be doing so at speed.
The beach is stunningly beautiful and a climb of the nearby dunes affords a panorama of the landscape.
The Coorong is the common name for Australia’s longest beach, 194 km of continuous sand running from Cape Jaffa to the Murray Mouth, with only three rocks on the entire beach.
The first 20 km are devoid of ocean waves owing to extensive offshore reefs, with seagrass covered shallows lying off the steep narrow beach. Only beyond Kingston SE do ocean wave start to reach the beach. They gradually increase in height for the next 80 km until Tea Tree Crossing, beyond which the northern half of the beach is one of the highest energy in Australia.
From 42 mile I drove the backroads along the lagoon to 'wreck crossing' with occasional sighting of emu of kangaroo along the way.
By now I was beginning to 'tune-in' to this Landy, to best speeds and how it handled over the terrain and really enjoyed the 'wreck' crossing.
Previously my Landy's have had much narrower tyres and I had to the handling capability of this wider all-terrain tyres. I was actually quite impressed with them, they certainly handle the soft sandy tracks well.
I found a wonderful camp spot for the night at the Wreck Camp Site, now my favourite camping spot in the Coorong.
Continuing my adventures I also enjoyed some two-wheeled exploration.
The dry lake bed looked so appealing that I actually set up my tent and slept the night out on it,
3 days in the Coorong, I could easily have spent longer here.
I highly recommend exploring this park.
It doesn't look like much when you 1st drive into it, but if you slow down and stop, you will enjoy some beautiful scenery, meet the local wildlife and if you have a 4wdr, have some fun on the crossings.
If you don't have a 4wdr then be prepared for long walks (2-3kms) to reach the beach.
The camp sites are mostly 'bush camping' so you will need to take a portable toilet, all your water and be prepared to take all your waste with you.
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