Oodnadatta Track

June 27,    2002

The Oonadatta Track is a major road heading, for us, north from Marree to William Creek.  It is also a three-lane dirt road and we traveled it on a road coach with a 5-ton trailer.  This was a big milestone and a great photo opportunity for us.  We all bailed out of the coach and posed for the top picture.  Everyone placed their cameras at the ready on Robyn's jacket.  After Robyn took a picture with each camera, Michael would hold onto them to keep them organized and out of the dirt.  When we all got our cameras back, we realized none of the crew was in the photo, so we had all of them stand in front of the sign.  This happened fairly quickly and  Tom, the driver, was very happy. Michael, being a bit more reserved, could only stand next to him.  Robyn, the tour director, was stunned with Tom's display of agility.






Below is the Oonadetta Track.  As you can see it's not a bad road, fairly straight, and decently wide to pass.  Also, please note the complete lack of anything to either side of the roadway.  This is the Outback.








Well, the road wasn't all perfect.  Just as we were pulling in to South Lake Eyre, the trailer had a flat.  I think it was just too much bouncing around.  Colin, our lorry driver from the UK, finally had his moment.  He had the tire iron spinning with a  glow brighter than the Australian sun that day.  Colin and Tom got the wheel changed faster than the rest of the bus could enjoy morning tea.  Several more kilometers down the road we stopped to pick up some firewood.  These are old railroad ties from the Gahn Railroad.  The Aussies call railroad ties sleepers.  This track had no rails and looked as if it had been abandoned for many many years.  That is Tom on top of the trailer, Nic and Mark handing up the sleeper.







This is the Pussy Willow tree.  A bit different than the trees in the states, but this one is a bit special.  These are all the wild feral cats that the local farmers and ranchers have killed.  The feral cats are so abundant in the outback that they are a pest.  They eat all the good food and leave nothing for the livestock so local farmers are free to kill them and this is their trophy case.  Personally, I think this is a good use for cats.







This was our lunch stop in William Creek.  Inside this road house we found a decent pub and the walls and the ceiling and the pillars were covered from, well completely covered with business cards, photos, postcards, money, student ID cards, credit cards, T-shirts, towels, scraps of paper, and just about anything else that could be scribbled on and stapled to the building.  This place overflowed with atmosphere.  I even found a spot to tack up my card.  William Creek also offers a 9 -hole executive course with very reasonable greens fees.  I looked around, but I couldn't find anyone on the course or, for that matter, the course itself but the sign said it was there so I have full confidence it is there.







Another fun thing I found in William Creek was this mile marker sign.  We have been to Adelaide, Flinders Range, and Maree.  Inside the road house there was a special section on the ceiling above the beer cooler for Polaroid photos of people who donate to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.  Spotting another opportunity for a group photo, we piled into the pub and once again posed for 30 snaps of the identical pose plus one from the Polaroid that now hangs on the ceiling of the William Creek Roadhouse.  The Flying Doctors made good money today too.  Below is a flock of gulls that flew up as the coach rolled past.  This happened from time to time as the road is a good flat area to rest in.  We passed 2 other vehicles today on our 375 k trek.  Once again, that's 2 cars in 225 miles.  This is the Outback.









This is the Dog Fence.  Having just experienced the Pussy Willow, we were a bit nervous about what we would find here, but luckily it was a bit different.  This fence runs north and south through the outback for a continuos 9,600 kilometers.  It separates cattle country to the north with dingoes, from sheep country in the south without dingoes.  This is a national project and farmers are required to keep up their part of the fence or pay money to maintain it.  The sign that told me all this helpful information is painted on the hood ("bonnet") of an old truck.



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