Part of the Australian Outback is to be closed for the first time this summer to prevent the deaths of tourists who get stranded in the desert.

The Simpson Desert, which covers more than 3.6 million hectares (8.9 million acres) of the middle of Australia, will be closed from December 1 until March 15 - when temperatures in the region reach up to 50 degrees Celsius.

The South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage proposed the closure of the Simpson Desert Conservation Park to safeguard against the high safety risk of people trying to cross the vast sand dunes during the hottest months of the year.

Trevor Naismith, director of regional operations for the department, said the closure will occur annually because the government has a “duty of care” towards tourists unfamiliar with the harsh realities of the Outback.

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“Closing the desert is really a common sense thing to prevent deaths of unsuspecting visitors,” Mr Naismith told Times Online.

“We’re very keen to encourage safe and responsible use of the desert; however we do have a duty of care.

“It’s just such a vast and inhospitable place during summer, there are no trees and there is no shade and it’s so hot, it really is one of the most inhospitable places in Australia if not in the world.”

The Simpson is the largest parallel dunal desert in the world. It covers parts of South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland, and comprises 2.3% of Australia’s total landmass.

There are no roads through the desert, just 4WD tracks which criss-cross the unspoilt wilderness areas and sand dunes, some of which are up to 30m high.

While several thousand tourists travel through the area each year, only about 35 vehicles traverse the desert in the summer months, so the closure is not expected to have a significant impact on the local businesses.

The majority of people who travel through the desert in summer are European tourists wanting an escape from their bleak winter who are enticed by the thought of blue skies and the desert experience, Mr Naismith said.

“But they don’t understand the tyranny of distance, the extreme remoteness and the rugged terrain,” he said. “Most just come out here, jump in a 4wd and start driving.”

“At a time when there are very few vehicles in the desert to provide assistance in a timely manner, this is potentially a fatal situation, especially for the inexperienced, ill-prepared visitor. This high risk also extends to emergency personnel who are called out to help stranded visitors during this period.”

The most common problem park staff face is when inexperienced 4WD drivers get bogged in the thick sand dunes.

Two years ago a European man was found “extremely distressed and dehydrated” after his 4WD became bogged when he was driving through the popular tourist attraction of Lake Eyre, just south of the desert. He was found by workers from a local cattle station.

Mr Naismith said while there are regular incidences of people getting stranded in the desert, there have been relatively few deaths in the region. The most famous was at Christmas in 1963 when a British family of five died when their car ran out of petrol on the Birdsville track near Maree, south of Lake Eyre in South Australia. They were buried in a makeshift grave which remains at the site.

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