Day 167-168 The Oodnadatta Track

We were leaving the Opal City Coober Pedy with all the strange people, dust and mining sites for Marla up north, where the Oodnadatta Track through the desert starts. Stuart was really happy to see the sign indicating the start of the track - with the Road Status sign given the all good to go, we were ready to hit the (dirt) road. Given the distance to the end of the track in Maree, we decided to drive the dirt road of the track in two days with an overnight stop at the Pink Roadhouse Oodnadatta.

Well, this Pink Roadhouse is something pretty special (it is really pink!) and the description of the drive from Marla zu the Roadhouse was pretty accurate, as the only 'sight' we could identify was an old grave. Stuart really liked the Pink Roadhouse, the decoration and all the information available. We were really happy about the Pizza Night in the Roadhouse that night, so we had a good dinner before trying to sleep in the heat of the night in the rooftop tent. On daytime temperatures were about 37C and at midnight temperatures were still well above 30C.

With little sleep we left the Pink Roadhouse Oodnadatta for the drive to the end of the track in Maree. This part of the track has more sights along the track to stop by, so we were looking forward to this drive. At the start of our drive we were surprised by a cloudy dark sky followed by some rain - we were driving through the desert, so did not expect rain. The rain made the air really humid although everything around was still pretty dry & dusty. Along the way we could see where the old Ghan railway was as the bridges were still there. The biggest and best known bridge is the Algebuckina Bridge, where Stuart was really impressed by how big and high this bridge is and eager to climb it. Given the windy weather we had to be careful with Stuart, otherwise he might have been blown away into the water underneath the bridge.

On the next stop, the William Creek Roadhouse we wanted to stop for breakfast, but were disappointed: there was a sign 'open' but the door locked and nobody around, so no coffee or breakfast for us. This made Stuart worry about us especially as I got very sick developing a fever, so some coffee would have been a nice treat. As the clouds with the rain arrived in the meantime at the roadhouse and we were worried about the track being impassable if there will be stronger rain as the track is only a dirt road, we decided to drive on even without breakfast & coffee.

Our next stop was Beresford Siding, another old Ghan railway stop. At this stop Stuart did not want to leave the car because of the rain and was later really upset as we came back with one person covered in mud & blood (attempted to jump over a puddle of water on a sandbank which was actually knee-deep mud...). So after some cleaning attempts (sneakers and mud does not go well together) and rendering first aid, we were driving on and tried to be more careful on our stops, like the Margaret Siding and the Stuart Creek, where we met two curious Dingos probably looking (as well as we) for some food.

Our next detour took us to the Mound Springs where we stopped at first at The Bubbler and then at the Branche Cup. At both stops there is a short broadwalk to a small water pool, where you can see bubbles coming up, hence the name. Around the water there is lots of green, which makes it a really interesting stop given the surrounding dry desert.

Back on the track we were surprised to see at the Margarete Creek some sea gulls making quite some noise. With Curdimurka we stopped at another old Ghan railway stop before driving on to the Lake Eyre South Lookout.

Our last stop was the Plane Henge, which we saw on the Oodnadatta Track sign when we started the track. Besides the planes there are also some other sculptures like a human and a flower made of metal pieces to see. Just a few kilometres after the Plane Henge we reached the end of the Oodnadatta track with the small town of Maree. In the town you can visit the old Ghan Railway station, where there are still two old trains and some old cars on display free of charge.

Depending on in which direction you looked up, we either saw blue sky & sunshine or many grey to black clouds in a distance. Stuart was still upset about us sleeping in a rooftop tent during a thunderstorm on our Nullarbor trip, so to calm him, we decided to stay overnight at the Maree Hotel. The Hotel had a small bar with some dinner options including a vegetarian Dhal Lentil option. After dinner time the black clouds with the thunderstorm & rain had almost made it to Maree. For me & Stuart it was time to get some rest, so that Stuart would not get sick as well and I would be healthy and able to drive on the other day. We had a good night sleep, but only because all the crawling & jumping insects & cockroaches were almost all night long hunted and killed without waking us up.