At Kulgera we were back on the Stuart Highway and we followed it down to Cadney Homestead where we then followed a minor road across to Oodnadatta. The Oodnadatta Track comes out at Marla, another small settlement with a rail stop, police station, petrol station and accommodation for the travellers. However while both roads are unsealed, the road from Cadney, while it is not used much, it goes through a scenic area called the Painted Desert and the Arckaringa Hills which are an area of spectacularly coloured hills. It is an outstanding example of the "breakaway" or "bad-lands" topography featuring mesas, buttes, tent hills and cliffs caused by the erosion of an ancient land surface. The colours come from the pyretic sediments deposited in the soil millions of years ago. Coal, opal and jasper are to be found in this area. An area of 300 square kilometres has now been listed on the National Estate Register due to it being an outstanding geological, botanical and scenic interest. Several rare plant species are also found in this area.
The countryside here is very flat until it reaches the Copper Hills where a few dry creek beds were crossed then it was again across the flat and rather desolate landscape until the Arckaringa Hills were reached. A detour was made into the parking area and lone walking trail there was followed. Due to this area being made from very soft and easily eroded material, there is limited access into this area. The ground is covered in eroded rock and while it looks bare, some interesting wild flowers were found struggling to grow in such a harsh environment. One was a vivid pink, buttercup type of flower and another was a miniature shrub about 4 cms high with bright blue flowers.
View from a parking area of the Cliffs.
The trail brings one to a point where you can overlook a cliff with its many colours which unfortunately did not show up as good in the photograph. This area is also home to the Perentie, Australia's largest lizard which grows to an average length of 2.1 metres and with a body girth of .5 metre. It is the second largest lizard in the world but it is not dangerous.
Another view of the cliffs in the Painted Desert.
From here we soon joined up with the back road from Coober Pedy to Oodnadatta and we arrived there just before dusk.
Christine wrote. The Painted Desert was spectacular and I went for a walk around a part of it with Daddy and we could look out over the different coloured cliffs. That night we camped behind the Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta in a camp ground which even the cockroaches had abandoned as it was so run down, the ground was so hard. During the night one poor and desperate dog stole one of my Mum's pink thongs which in my opinion suited the place as there were pink and run down like the place.
Day 7 Oodnadatta to Lake Eyre 273.3 kms.
Oodnadatta : remains of railway shed.
“Oodnadatta” is an adaptation of an Aboriginal word meaning "blossom of the mulga". John McDouall Stuart exploring near what was to be the township of Oodnadatta named many of the features during his first attempt to cross Australia in 1859. During the construction of the Overland Telegraph line construction camps used the waterholes near the future site of Oodnadatta. The township was surveyed in 1890 in preparation as a railhead when the Central Australia Railway was extended from Warrina. Good artesian water was found for the railway and town and it soon became the inland's most northerly service centre. It was common to see up to 400 camels northwest of the town in the area known as Afghan Town.
The repeater station for the Overland Telegraph line was eventually moved from Peake to Oodnadatta and the telegraph line gradually relocated beside the railway track. Some health, welfare and spiritual needs of the community were aided by the opening of an Australian Inland Mission hostel in 1911 by the Rev. John Flynn, later to become famous for the establishment of the Flying Doctor Service. Oodnadatta's importance lessened when the railway was opened to Alice Springs in 1928 but the need for an airport, a meteorological station, railway and telegraph repair crews, guaranteed its survival. The closing of The Ghan railway in 1980 appeared to sound the death knell for the town but the Aboriginal Community has shown an interest in the town's survival and there has been a steady growth in tourism. The owners of the roadhouse (painted a shocking shade of pink) have established road signs and places of interest throughout the region as a help to travellers.
We had a look around the town at the remains of the railway yards and buildings. A small museum has been established in the old railway station. The main hotel here is the Transcontinental; a reminder of its more glorious days, now there is only it and two stores to cater for the people. We left at 9.30 for William Creek driving down the Oodnadatta track, which eventually finishes, at Marree.
The first stop was at Algebuckina where there is a large but now disused, railway bridge over the Neales River. It was built in 1889 as part of the Central Australia Railway and it clears the riverbed by about 12 metres at its deepest point. At 578 metres it is the longest bridge in South Australia and it seems out of place in such a deserted area. Nearby are the remains of some stone fettlers cottages. Though a town had been surveyed in the early 1880s when gold was found, it was short lived. Behind the bridge is the Algebuckina Waterhole, a popular camping spot with explorers, construction workers, stockmen and travellers over the years. When the river closed the road, as it was only a causeway crossing the river, cars would cross by using the rail bridge and hope that nothing was coming the other way!
Railway bridge at Algebuckina.
Soon we were crossing Anna Station which is now the world's largest cattle station and it is part of the Kidman holdings. It covers 30,114 sq. kilometres which is about 25% of the Kidman lands which comprise an area about the size of England. However the carrying capacity of many of these cattle stations is low, often several acres for each cow. The Victoria River Downs and its outstations was the largest cattle station for many years but it has downsized over the years selling of large portions to other interests and also to form the Gregory National Park.
Ruined Fettlers cottges at Warrina.
William Creek is the only settlement between Oodnadatta and Marree. It was named in 1859 Stuart during his exploration of this area and a repeater station was established here. The township has always been small with only a few houses and a hotel-store. Since the closure of the Ghan the settlement has survived on the passing tourist trade. Now with the Lake in flood it was a popular stop for those wishing to visit the Lake or to take an flight over it. There was a steady line up of people wishing to go on a joy ride. However, we decided to take the track in to the Lake that fortunately has been recently graded so it provided a good run in on what was until recently a rough 4WD track. For most of the way the road skirted the sand dunes and ran across the flat gibber plains until it got near the Lake and the landscape became more barren and lunar looking. The surface is quite different near the lake's edge and it appears to be that of an ancient lake bed. The lake is believed to be quite ancient and some 20 50,000 years ago it was permanently filled and much larger. Then the climate was much wetter and it may have drained into the Southern Ocean. About 15,000 years ago the weather changed and the lake dried up. Sand from the lakebed gradually drifted out to form the sand ridges of the Simpson, Tirari and Strzelecki deserts. During the last 10,000 years the climate has become wetter allowing the area to stabilize.
Lake Eyre North was the site on the attempt on the world land speed record by Donald Campbell in 1963 and a successful attempt in 1964 of 403.1 miles per hour. The lake surface is very treacherous near the edges but in the centre the salt is up to 5 metres thick and could easily carry the heavy machinery needed to construct a causeway and prepare the surface for Donald Campbell. We arrived at the end of the track where it runs parallel to the lake along what was the old beach, which was mainly solid gypsum, and large pieces could be found. A walk soon brought you to the waters edge and there were hundreds of sea gulls even though the ocean is nearly a 1,000 kms away. On dusk several flocks of ducks flew overhead though the main bird population and the pelicans are found out on the islands or in the more remoter areas. The water level has already dropped a few inches and the remains of thousand of tiny fish that had been stranded here marked the high water level.
Lake Eyre at sunset, very shallow here
Lake Eyre and driving across the dry lake bed.
As there are no lights around the stars are much larger and brighter here with many more able to be seen than in the cities. Against the pitch black sky, the stars were so bright that they nearly hurt one's eyes. It was also when there was a full eclipse of the moon that started at 9.30pm and lasted for a few hours.
Anne wrote: From William Creek where we stopped over for a stretch and a bit of rest, we proceeded on to Lake Eyre. The road is not the fanciful one but dusty and sandy type. At the back of my head I had this feeling that we were going to be the only campers as there were several vehicles coming towards us but not behind or ahead of us. Good guess though. As soon as we approached the Lake there were already a few campers settling in. The place was breathtaking all right towards evening and sunset. What I was to witness later in the night was spectacular, one I'll never forget for a long, long time, the eclipse of the moon which lasted for almost three hours. After the eclipse, the moon appeared coppery in colour. There were no trees or lights or whatsoever to block the view. This was really the first time in my life I have ever seen so many bright stars twinkling up there. They appeared so close that I felt that I could pick which ones I liked. What an experience!
Christine wrote: Lake Eyre smelt a bit due to the large number of small dead fish. I was walking around looking at the ground for salt rock crystals. Later when talking to Dad I noticed something glittering in the sand so I went over to have a look and I saw lots and lots of small fragments of gypsum. I saw a large scaly object in the sand nearby and thinking that it was cuttle fish I tried to pull it out only to discover that I had found huge bits of gypsum, larger than my hand.
Day 8 Lake Eyre to Marree. 282 kms.
A number of Aboriginal myths relate to Lake Eyre. Many are secret and the Aboriginal people believe that telling them to uninitiated people would result in danger to the country. Part of one myth is as follows.
Lake Eyre and track in, the lower level is pure gypsum.
One day an old Thirrari woman looking for food near Muloorina saw a large kangaroo and gave chase. As she lumbered across the plain to keep up with the kangaroo, a young boy sprang from her body and took up the chase. The boy pursued the kangaroo west across the plains that existed before Lake Eyre was formed. That night he camped near what is now the old Peake Station homestead. The next morning the boy caught up with the kangaroo and killed it. He built a fire and decided to take a nap while the kangaroo was cooking. When he awoke the kangaroo instead of being cooked had leapt from the fire and hopped away. The boy shook his head and took off in pursuit again.
He found the kangaroo near Arckaringa Creek, west of Oodnadatta, running with other kangaroos. By this time he was determined to catch it and managed to cut it out of the mob. The effort made him very tired and soon the kangaroo was well ahead of him. An old man hunting with his dog, spotted the kangaroo and gave chase. By this time the kangaroo was also tired and finally fell. The old man caught it and killed it. By the time the boy had reached the old man he had finished skinning the kangaroo. The boy explained that he had been chasing the kangaroo but the old man was reluctant to share it. Finally after much argument, he gave the boy a small amount of meat and the kangaroo skin. The boy ate the meat and left with the skin and a small stone knife rolled in his bag. For a while he wondered what to do with the skin. Finally he decided to use it to create a lake.
He went off to the east and looked at an area near Goodana Creek but a small wren persuaded him not to make the lake there because people walked there. The boy went to Nilkinnia Creek but once again the wren protested and suggested that he try the country around Anna Creek. The boy rolled up the skin again and travelled to the east of Anna Creek. Looking around and finding no objection from anyone there, he threw the skin on the ground and created Lake Eyre. The boy turned to stone which is now scattered on the shore of the lake.
Little importance was placed on Lake Eyre after its discovery in 1840 until 1920 when some surveys were done of it. Heavy rains during 1949/50 in Queensland brought a massive flood down the Diamantina and Cooper river systems resulted in the first major filling seen by white man. The Lakes' two sections, Lake Eyre North covering 8,030 square kilometres and Lake Eyre South covering 1,300 square kilometres, are connected by the Goyder Channel, about 13 kilometres long. The inland drainage basin is one of the largest in the world and covers about one sixth of the Australian continent (1,300,000 sq. kms.). Much of the area is desert with an annual rainfall of 125 to 250 mm. Lake Eyre is the world's largest salt pan and the biggest salt lake in Australia. Every few years some water flows into the Lake but a major fill in 1974 was estimated to be the largest fill for 500 years. When the lake last filled in 1989, it became a bird life haven, with hundreds of black swans, gulls, pelicans and other water birds. The intense arid heat can evaporate the lake in two to three years and the empty lake bed is 16 metres (52 ft) below sea level. The Lake Eyre National Park also includes most of the Tirari Desert.
Just as we started to drive out another vehicle turned up and it was a friend of ours from Victoria who was also touring around Central Australia. He had camped down the road near where the track first meets the lake.
One the way out we passed a stark reminder as to how unforgiving this area could be. It was a cross erected to a tourist who died of thirst here in December 1998. Two tourists from Germany had bogged their vehicle in some soft sand and did not know how to extract it so they tried to walk back to the lake. One decided to return to the car and he was found but his friend did not and soon ran out of water in the heat. If they had walked in the other direction towards the main road there is a large flowing bore only a couple of kilometres down the road.
Southern Lake Eyre where it comes close to the road to Maree.
We stopped for lunch at the site of the Beresford Siding on the railway. Here the fetters cottage was in good condition and the site is dominated by the huge Kennicott water softener. It was used to treat the bore water here so it could be used in the locomotives' boilers. The dam, which supplied the water is now a haven for birds. A nearby track leads to where there had been tracking equipment used in experimental work at the Woomera Rocket Range during the 1950s and 60s.. The buildings have all been removed now, only the concrete foundations remain.
Beresford and the water tank for the railway and the large water softner.
Mound springs are also to be found in this area. They have given sanctuary to Aborigines for centuries and likewise Europeans forging paths into this area where permanent water supplies are of inestimable value. These mounds are formed from an accumulation of dissolved salts that have built up over the centuries. Some ancient mounds are quite high, such as Mt. Howard, the two most easily reached are the Bubbler and the Blanche Cup. Both are about 10 to 15 metres high and to the aborigines the Bubbler represented the writhing of a snake killed by their ancestors. The spring is about 3 metres wide and with the water continually bubbling up through the sandy floor, the ripples created interesting patterns. Every so often a larger bubble pops up and creates a mini eruption. The Blanche Cup is similar except the water oozes through the sand. The water in these springs vary from high quality to mineralized water with high levels of dissolved solids, but drinkable. These springs have created patches of green in the otherwise barren landscape. The largest group are at Dalhousie which is further north and on the edge of the Simpson Desert and they are protected to preserve the unique life that some of the springs support. As permanent water is so important here, the Overland Telegraph line and later the Central Australian Railway follow the line of these springs and their repeater stations were sited near major springs where possible.
The Bubbler mound springs.
Mound spring Blanche's Cup and the surrounding salt pan.
Curdimurka was the next site that we visited. It is an aboriginal word referring to monsters that lived in the Lake Eyre region and fossils of huge animals have been found to the east at Lake Callabonna. While there was a pump house here for the railway it was washed away in floods years ago. The railway bridge over Stuart Creek is the second longest on the line. Here the road runs along the edge of Lake Eyre South for a few kilometres and the area was similar to where we had camped last night with the remains of the ancient beach then an expanse of salt before the water was reached.
Fifty kilometres from Marree we crossed through the Dog Proof Fence. This was built over the years to keep the dingoes out of the more fertile areas where the sheep were kept as a single dog could kill 50 sheep in a night just for the thrill and the sheep farmers were ruined. North of the fence tends to be cattle country and as they are larger than sheep they can live with the dingo without suffering the same losses. By the 1950s the fence stretched from Ceduna in South Australia by the coast through New South Wales to Queensland. One section used to finish near Winton in central Queensland, now it is shorter with an extension finishing about 150 kms from the sea, north of Brisbane. Its length is now about 5,000 kilometres, in its heyday it was nearly 10,000 kms as over the years different fences had been built in an attempt to control where the dingo could roam.
We camped in the caravan park in Marree and instead of cooking, we decided to visit the Great Northern Hotel for a meal. It still shows its former glory when Marree was an important centre as it is a substantial building. So were the meals served there, the average price was $12 to $14 (about four to five £ English pounds) for a plate full of fresh vegetables and salad and on top was a thick slab of meat or whatever was ordered.
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