Silverton to Marla

 Silverton to Marla via the Oodnadatta Track

For those with limited reading time:

Highlights	Less of a highlight
Travelling a road we've talked about for years - both	Dust in the van at the end of the trip -both
Travelling 605kms on heavily corrugated roads with no breakages - both
Achieving a difficult drive without any issues - Bill
Seeing outback sunrises and sunsets – Kath

 

 

We headed off from Silverton with a farewell from another local! We’ve seen more wildlife this trip than any other I think, especially between Hawker and Marree. It had rained that morning so maybe it was the rain on the road, but we’ve never ever dodged so many kangaroos. Our granddaughters love playing Spotto – I decided we could play that game based on the next animal we would see – horse, cow, emu, kangaroo – they were all in the running!

In my first blog I said we weren’t planning on going anywhere new, but I guess I jumped the gun, because we’ve already been to lots of new places. As we left Silverton Bill said, “Have we really decided Oodnadatta Track is off the table?” To which I replied, “I guess if it’s open it’s an option.” So, after a bit more of a conversation we decided we’d decide when we got to Peterborough as that was where we would turn North East for Maree, the beginning of the Oodnadatta Track or North West for Port Augusta, the beginning of the Stuart Highway.

 

After lunch at a burger café in the old movie theatre we headed for some expert advice from the tourist information centre. With a bit of an explanation that the rain we were experiencing wouldn’t be as high as the Oodnadatta track and as we were both already tired of being cold, we decided to head straight to the warmth and turned towards Marree.

After a night at Carrieton, we headed to Marree but not before we enjoyed a lunch stop at Farina – a town now famous for the rebuilding work volunteers are doing. We loved the pies but don’t think it is a place we would enjoy staying at- it really is very isolated.

I had hoped to go to the Flinders Rangers but had convinced myself the weather would still be too cold – by the look of the mist or clouds over the rangers I was right!!

Marree was a campground best experienced once. The town was interesting when we went for a brief walk in the afternoon with lots of nods of appreciation to the cameleers who had such an influence in that area.

Wednesday morning arrived and the road was open, so after enjoying the sunrise and letting Bill have a sleep in, we hit the road. The first 170km were delightful – cruising along between 60 -70km an hour and then as Bill said, ‘The honeymoon is over’. We were down to between 10 – 40 km an hour for a 50km stretch. We slinked into William Creek, arriving about 2pm. While Bill still felt fresh, we did the sums – with Oodnadatta 200km away it was time to park up and not risk travelling what could be a very long stretch. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A stop for a quick cuppa on the edge of Lake Eyre

 

Sunrise at William Creek – population 17 people, 7 planes and 7 blown tyres from people travelling too quickly between there and Marree!

 

Thankfully today went very smoothly. having realised how long a 200km stretch could take we were up and going by 8.07am. We arrived at Oodnadatta just after midday having had a quick stop to pour a cup of tea. We were near a lovely dry creek bed but as we still had so much further to go, we simply refilled our cups and kept on going. I enjoyed looking at the Old Ghan railway as we drove slowly by but didn’t feel any great desire to explore up closer which worked for the driver.

After a quick bite at the iconic Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta we hit the road again. At the time we thought it was a blessing – the road was much smoother so we could travel more quickly but it also created a lot more dust. It also shook the air vent open on the roof so by the time we pulled up at 3.30pm the van was full of dust. We had considered free camping but I was so glad we hadn’t because I was in a slightly filthy mood when I saw how much cleaning needed (and still needs) to be done but after a warm shower I felt a lot better! We popped into the roadhouse for dinner and have bunkered down quietly for the night – me with my blogging and Bill with his book. By this time tomorrow we should be in Alice Springs hanging out with friends. Fingers Crossed!!!