Jaunted

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Oz Government Closes Desert The Size Of Iowa Because It Can

The South Australian government has stepped in to save dumb tourists from themselves by simply closing a whole desert. The 56,000 square miles of the Simpson Desert will be "closed" from December 1 to March 15 next year because the heat makes it just too dangerous.

With summer temps heading over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit and often up to 120, it's risky for anyone to head out into the wilderness, but unprepared tourists who need expensive (and dangerous) rescue missions are all too common. So for the first time, they've simply shut up shop on the desert with a A$1,000 ($650) fine for those caught there.

As far as deserts go, Australia has four of the top twenty largest ones, so they probably know what they're talking about. Dying of thirst in a desert is not high on our list of ways we'd like to go, so we won't be going desert-bashing this Aussie summer.

Related Stories:
· Too Risky: Simpson Desert Closed for Summer [SMH]
· Won't Get Fooled Again? [Jaunted]
· Australia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: jwbenwell]