Lake Carnegie — Gunbarrel Highway Salt Lake Bush Camping

Lake Carnegie is one of the biggest salt lakes in Western Australia. It sits in the Gunbarrel country between Wiluna and Warburton, close to the old Carnegie Station and Wongawol pastoral country. It’s mostly dry, a flat white crust that fills only after serious rain. There are no facilities, no signage and no marked sites. You pick a spot off the track in the mulga and spinifex, well back from the lake edge. Expect total quiet, wild stars, and no neighbours. Cell signal is nil, so carry sat comms, all your water and plenty of fuel.

The Gunbarrel is a remote desert track. Corrugations, soft sand patches and sharp stones eat tyres, so bring two spares and recovery gear. Stay off the lake surface after rain, because the crust hides bottomless mud. Land tenure along this stretch mixes pastoral lease, Crown land and Aboriginal land. Sort your permits, including Ngaanyatjarra Lands access, and check track conditions before you go, and don’t camp near homesteads or water points. Verify access ahead. Leave no trace.

Have a dirty day.

Salt lake silence on the Gunbarrel.