Boggy Hole, Central Australia
The Finke River in Flood 1991 Boggy Hole, in spite of its unromantic name, is one place where the destination is as good as the journey to it. After rain this permanent waterhole on the Finke River can be up to 2 km long. The best way to reach Boggy Hole is from the Ernest Giles Highway. The winding track either follows or forms part of the Finke River bed. Allow about 8 hours for the journey as it is slow going and there are so many beautiful places to stop and explore or photograph. One thing to watch for in the Finke River bed is wet sand. Don’t ever drive on deep wet sand here. It is like quicksand and is usually only wet because water is flowing unseen through it. Perhaps this is the reason for the waterhole's name. The waterhole is set against a beautiful red rock wall which lights up spectacularly at sunset. There is plenty of room to camp on the western side between the big river red gums (but not under them) on the clean white sand or fresh green grass if you are lucky. On the other side of the waterhole are the remains of a police camp. This was once home to the infamous aboriginal slayer, Mounted Constable W H Willshire. It was from here that he launched a “punitive attack” on an innocent aboriginal group after one of his Aboriginal “native constables” was speared in a tribal payback for murders committed by him. The attack led to a campaign by Justice of the Peace, Gillen, to have Willshire brought to justice. He was however acquitted in a court in Pt Augusta with the support of like minded pastoralists from Central Australia. (Willshire has his name carved into the sandstone of Chambers Pillar, so he got around a bit.) We camped on the waterhole once, after driving past a sign which warned the track was “Closed at Boggy Hole”. We assumed that was to keep novices from getting into trouble. We turned out to be the novices. When we left our camp for the short run to Hermannsburg the next day we were confronted with a deep, wide and rock filled waterhole where the track had been 18 months before. We went back to our camp, had a couple of stubbies and planned our attack. It was either turn back and face a 15 to 16 hour drive to Alice or try to cross the waterhole. The Alice Springs 4WD club were camped on the other bank so we thought they would either have a big laugh at our expense or help us out if we got into trouble. We decided to give it a try. We walked across the waterhole with water well over our waists and marked our track and the hidden rocks with long sticks. My mate, Brent, reckoned I should go first as my Hilux had only cost $4000 while his Landcruiser had cost ten times that. In spite of being completely breathless and shaking uncontrollably I made it across. I jumped out of the Hilux, gave a big cheer and turned around to see my ute slowly disappearing into the sand it was parked on. I jumped in and managed to save it, but parked it well out of the river to watch Brent make his way gingerly across the waterhole. The 4WD club held a series of working bees some months later to open a crossing where we had crossed. This area is steeped in history and beauty. It is a place to keep coming back to. Try to find a copy of Strehlow’s Journey to Horseshoe Bend for more on the Finke River’s environment and its history.
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