The start of the Oodnadatta track begins at Maree and the start of corrugations and lots of Gibber rocks begins .The rocks are everywhere and are all very sharp hence our decision to leave the van at Marree and do the track with the car and stay in accommodation.
There were plenty of stops to see ruins, Ghan railway bridges etc
; in order of sighting
1/ Old ghan rail water station
2/ Salt plain and old Ghan bridge
3/Wangiannna railway sidings and ruins
4/ Old Ghan Bridge, the Ghan railway passed through this way until 1980 now it runs over 50 kms west and is closer to Cooper Pedy now.
5/ Mutonia sculpture park
6/ Old Ghan bridge and creek bed
7/ South Eyre Lake lookout
8/ Blanche cup and the Blubber
These are mound springs which are natural outlets for the waters of the great artisan basin.
The basin underlies 22 percent of Australia and the natural discharge from the basin occurs around its margins where the aquifers (water bearing sediments) meet impervious surrounding rocks.
9/ The pink watertanks
A few stops were missed and will be seen when our loop comes back to William creek and we go back to Marree to collect the Van.( unfortunately weather and closed roads prevented this from occurring.)
We arrived late afternoon into William creek and settled into our very small donga room and went to the Hotel for drinks and dinner.
Day 2 William creek
Breakfast at the hotel was followed by a walk around this tiny place.
Then the best part of the trip, our flight in a small four seater plane over Lake Eyre north which has water over most of it , a one in 10 year event. Lake Eyre is 10,000 Sq kms when full (a one in 50 year advent) , the last time in 1974. The lake is 1000 times bigger than Sydney Harbour.
This was followed by flying over parts of Anna creek station and William creek station.
Anna creek station is as big as the country of Belgium and the biggest station in the world.
Then we flew over the painted desert ,amazing with all its beautiful colours. The white comes from bull dog shale and the colours from the minerals in the soft soil.
The afternoon was spent playing pool at the pub. Debbie winning the game count.!
Day 3 William Creek to Oodnadatta
A early start to the day at Oodnadatta with a great sunrise to start the day.
We stopped along the track to see
1/ an old car by the road which was well rusted out
2/ Another old Ghan bridge and a good place for morning tea all made at the back of the car.
3/ the red sandhills
4/ Warrina ruins
6/ Algebuckina bridge which crosses the Neales river and is 52 kms south of Oodnadatta
We arrived at the pink roadhouse, a icon of the town for a late lunch. Our room was not to bad with a bathroom and small kitchette. The afternoon was spent walking around the towns main street, visiting the museum and chatting with Steve and D from Perth. This was followed by dinner at the pub and a lift home in Oodnadattas uber.
Day 4 Oodnadatta to Marla
Stops were
1/ Water bore number one
2/ Murdarina waterhole and well
The road had been recently graded and we flew along doing 90,kph plus , arriving at Marla early. So we cancelled our accommodation and moved on to Coober Pedy for two nights.
Day 5 /6 Coober Pedy
Activities here included a tour of Old Toms Mine and the afternoon having a drink with Steve and D which we met in Oodnadatta.
The rest of Coober Pedy was a drive around town going to the lookouts of this opal mining town. We stayed in an underground room at the Desert Inn.
Day 7 Cooper Pedy to Port Augusta to Hawker
Its raining today, which is rare in winter and this also means we cant go back via William creek to Maree as any rain closes the roads for days. We had rung William creek and they advised us not to come.
So we start the long detour via Port Augusta and back up to Maree to collect the van, a 900 plus km detour.
Our only stops where Glendambo for morning tea and Lake Hart for a photo.
We stopped in Hawker for the night with a stay in a cabin at the caravan park.
Day8 Hawker to Maree
Hawker to Maree to pick up the van was todays activity. With the van attached we say goodbye to Marree and note how the rain had changed the road conditions. Mud everywhere and trucks waiting for the track to dry up before they began heading up the Oodnadatta track.
A stop at Farina for bakery supplies and lunch was a must as we journey South, then
a overnight stop at Copley where the Pub provided a free camp and dinner was even served to the van.
Day 9/ 10 Hawker
We stayed at Hawker, this time in the caravan park and did 4 loads of washing a little shopping, revisited Jeff Morgans gallery, we had been there in 2019 and admired his panoramic painted scenes of the Flinders. We even bought a small picture.
A drive and walk up Camels hump lookout was another activity , this provided a great views over Hawker and surrounds.
Day 11 12 13 Quorn
These days were spent at Quorn, an old heritage town with many historical buildings which date back to 1878 and was established to service part of the old Ghan railway but is now identified with Pichi Richi Railway, which is an old steam train that runs from Port Augusta to Quorn.
While in Quorn we watched the towns history on the nights silo show, had a great meal at the Pub, walked around the historic buildings and waited for my hair appt which we had made weeks ago.
The next day we visited Warren gorge and Dutchmans stern conversation park doing a small part of the walk at Warren Gorge. We decide to stay here next time in this great campground and do the full 5:2 km walk.
Now moving on to the next part of the trip, it was sad to say goodbye to the stunning Flinders Ranges.
