We woke to a cold and windy dawn but, on the positive side, the heavy cloud cover had gone and there were clear skies as far as we could see. With little reason to sit around in the cold, we were packed and back on the Oodnadatta Track heading south-east by 8.30am. It seemed as though we were one of the first back out on the track, as we had the track to ourselves for a while. Out here that’s not too hard – you might pass five vehicles in a day on any normal day.
We pulled off the track at Curdimurka to take a look at a former Ghan railway siding building that is still standing (most are in ruins), together with the enormous water tank and water purification facilities that converted the natural spring water into a form that was better suited to the boilers of steam trains. While inspecting the building and facilities we were joined by one of those 20-seat outback tour buses; it pulled up for the first of possibly many drinks stops during the day. It’s a different way of seeing the country, but at least they are out having a look.
We continued south-east through a barren landscape. Knowing that we were approaching Lake Eyre South, we checked the GPS on Chris’s iPad to see what the elevation above sea level was. It came as no surprise that we were zero metres above sea level as the lake came into view. We stopped to go in search of a geocache and to see if what looked like water out on the normally salt-crusted lake was indeed water. With the sun in the north it was difficult to see through the glare, but it did appear as though there was water a kilometre or two out from the shore line. A rare thing indeed!
We pushed on, passing more Grid, Dip, Floodway and Crest signs along the way. These are the only signs you need along the track – speed limit signs are unnecessary, as people will drive as fast or as slow as makes sense for them and there are no sharp bends to really worry about.
At Alberrie Creek two aircraft came into view, both with their tails buried in the ground close enough together for their wings to be touching. It was a sculpture, ‘Plane Henge’ by Robin Cooke, made from two Beechcraft Baron light aircraft. We slowed to check it out and noticed more ‘art’: a robotic-like human form made from discarded car parts, a wind chime that looked as though parts of the Ghan diesel locomotives had been used, a car suspended inside a large circular roller / cage-like structure; on it went. We stopped and went for a wander through the area. At one end of the ‘gallery’ a shanty or two (it was hard to tell where one stopped and the other started) was present, with signs of life around a much-needed camp fire. Signage explained that this was an artists’ colony; the sculptors were protesting about BHP Billiton’s depletion of the water supply in the Great Artesian Basin at Roxby Downs, only a few hundred kilometres away. We popped $5 into the artfully-manufactured donation tin – they caught our attention with their random installations in this hostile country and deserve a little bit of help for it.
Marree, the first town with a population greater than 10, came into sight. We passed over a cattle grid that keeps strays out of town and the gravel track gave way to a section of sealed road to keep the dust down as vehicles pass through. Marree, once called Helgott Springs, was at one stage the end of the Ghan railway – before it eventually pushed on to Oodnadatta and later Alice Springs. As a result it became a centre for the region, with camel trains (and eventually trucks) delivering supplies to the outer cattle and sheep stations. A gentleman named Tom Kruise became a local legend, delivering mail along the Birdsville Track out of Marree many years ago.
Both the Birdsville and Strzelecki Tracks were developed initially as stock routes, to bring cattle from the channel country (in far west Queensland) to market in Adelaide. The tracks served that purpose for a short time before more reliable routes to market were found. These days, the tracks provide access for exploration and mining companies -as well as adventurous travellers looking to visit more remote corners of the country.
We pushed on passed Marree and took a short side track into Farina, a ghost town that was once touted (by the South Australian Government in the late 1800s) as the next big boom town. The Ghan railway once terminated here, with supplies carried on to outlying stations by camel trains. A town plan was drawn up and many buildings constructed – including a hospital, bakery, general store and residences. Two problems had to be faced by the community that lived here:
1) there was no reliable water supply, even after multiple bores were sunk, and
2) the Ghan train line was extended to Marree, meaning Farina was no longer the end of the line.
As a result the town was abandoned and the once-magnificent stone buildings now stand as ruins. There are efforts to preserve what remains; volunteer weekends are regularly scheduled to stop the buildings decaying further. There is a good sheltered campsite that we used to get out of the cold wind while we had lunch.
The Oodnadatta Track from Farina heading southward eventually turned from gravel to bitumen around Lyndhurst and we picked up the pace. Copley was our next stop, where we hoped to get information regarding the condition of the tracks to the east of the Flinders Ranges; we planned to use these to get across to Broken Hill. A conversation with the lady working the cash register in the local service station ensued; while there was some hope that the tracks were OK, it wasn’t conclusive. We checked online and found that the main track into Yunta was closed due to recent rain.
A rethink of our itinerary was required. We decided to head south, turning east to camp in one of the gorges that cuts through the Flinders Ranges. We have previously camped in Parachilna Gorge and driven through Brachina Gorge further to the south. Wendy consulted WikiCamps and we decided to try the camp grounds in Brachina Gorge as they seemed to get the better ratings. We have set up camp in the first camp ground, overlooking the creek that flows through the gorge. Tall river red gums line the creek; red walls of rock rise steeply from the creek to the hill tops above our campsite. We have the entire camp ground to ourselves and only the sound of the birds to break the silence.
