Week 12 · 13th June to 19th June
Oodnadatta track - Flinders Ranges
Day 78 – 13th June
I took the wheel for the fairly smooth journey 150km east of Kulgera to Finke. There we stopped for a while to watch the first few cars of the 2004 Alice to Finke Desert Race come in. Neither Dean or I are much into car racing but nevertheless it was quite impressive watching them speed to the finish line. What was more interesting though was observing the stark black / white segregation of the onlookers on either side of the track. It was uncomfortable to see such inequality.
We headed south from Finke towards Mt Dare but we were stopped 50kms down the track by 3 young Aussie stockmen (cowboys) who were bogged. Their Cruiser was totally stuck and they’d had to camp overnight. Naturally, they were happy to see us coming along!
They hadn’t a snatch strap (and neither had we) so Max’s initial attempt failed because the rope broke. So Deano drove one of the lads, James, back to the nearest homestead where they picked up the lady of the house. Her and her little girl saved the day by bringing snatch straps and (proper) spades. Finally we got back on the road and arrived at Mt Dare for a beer – then chilled out early in their deserted campsite.
Day 79 – 14th June
Monster brekky this morning – ham steaks and eggs in a butty (x2)! – should keep us going for a while. We left Mt Dare for Dalhousie Springs along roads made of ‘Gibber’ – basically golf-ball-sized black stones – totally crap to drive on. Dalhousie was 60kms away and the journey took nearly 2 hours. But what a reward when we got there! I was expecting a spa bath full of warm water with crowds of people – not so! Imagine a small lake surrounded by wind-protecting bushes and filled with clear, fresh 37 degree water!! A perfect answer to four shower-free days! Needless to say, we stayed there for a good while and relaxed in a couple of innertubes kindly left by some forward-thinking person.
OK now to Hamilton HS (where the 3 bogged lads were from) along the Pedirka Desert track – which has to be the single roughest track we’ve driven. Naturally, we had a puncture – which we changed without too many obscenities (being somewhat accustomed to puncture by now.) On reaching Hamilton, we decided not to drop in for lack of time but instead push on towards Oodnadatta. Fortunately, the track improved after Hamilton and we reached the outskirts of Oodnadatta before sundown.
We took advantage of a tip we received a few days earlier and camped by the (wet) river just 6kms from town.
Day 80 – 15th June
Last night was probably the coldest night we’ve had. Woke up early (6am) this morning cos we were in bed for 8pm. Only 10kms to go to Oodnadatta where we can get the tyre fixed. That is, once Max starts – we’ve started to see a recurrance of the starter motor problem now that we’ve hit the cold weather. Eventually he did start after about 15mins (once the sun warmed the place up a bit) but I reckon this problem will stick with us back to Sydney!
Drove to Oodnadatta to the famous Pink Roadhouse and met Adam the owner. Was happy to hear he liked talking about tyres although he had a different opinion to say 70% of other people we have talked to – reduce the pressure he says. Anyway, he fixed the tyre for $25 so I was happy.
On then to William Creek, home of the worlds largest cattle station (5.8M acres – about the size of Wales!) then on to Coward Springs for a warm dip! From Oodnadatta to Maree runs parallel to the old Ghan line – an impressive feat of engineering linking Adelaide with Alice Springs. The wooden sleepers make damn good firewood too!
Day 81 – 16th June
Not much really happened today. We finished the Oodnadatta track earlyish and celebrated with cake and Internet in Maree. Next, we drove (on partially sealed roads) to Leigh Ck then, after a monster feed and a chat with the Tourist Info guy, on to Angrochina in the Flinders Ranges. A warm shower and a big fire are about all I can say about this night. Tomorrow a big walk then move on down the park.
Day 82 – 17th June
Woke up to a frosty morning with ice on the outside of the tent! A big change to even a few days ago! Anyway, after we thawed out, we set off on the Blinman Pools walk – a pleasant 12km walk up a river bed.
Showered, packed up and then headed for the village of Blinman where we were pleasantly surprised to find a gorgeous café serving of all things, Kangeroo and Claret pies with homemade chutney!
Then drove south and into the north of the Flinders Ranges NP where we set up camp at Trezona campground. Campfire etc again tonight and we needed it too. Mountain biking tomorrow!
Day 83 – 18th June
Monster bike ride
Day 84 – 19th June
The biggest thing we got up to today was a very easy 4km walk to the Wilpena pound look out – good but cold and windy! Otherwise, we lazed around, read the papers and had another monster campfire in the evening.
