Don’t for a moment think that the Oodnadatta Track is long and boring. It’s hundreds of kilometres, packed with stuff to stop and see.
Marree – including the Marree Hotel, an amazing old pub that used to service the visiting Ghan train. Since the train stopped coming, they’ve made tourism their focus. You can take scenic flights over Lake Eyre from here.

The Dog Fence – the world’s longest netting fence built to protect sheep (in the south) from the dingos (in the north).

Here’s a gecko Fergus and Harry found.

We stopped at Curdimurka Siding where some of the Ghan tracks are still in place, and date from 1888.

It’s a long way to anywhere…..

There are numerous mound springs in the region, and two popular ones to visit are “Blanche Cup” and “Bubbler”. The water in Bubbler is warm enough to have a dip. Very invigorating in the cold desert wind!

We all had a dip, and then we saw the sign:

Ooops.

The landscape varies from flat plains with little vegetation, to red hills like this one.

We made it to William Creek – Australia’s town with the smallest population (currently two). We took the obligatory photos of the pub, the multidirectional sign (you know – with how far it is to Tokyo and London), the rocket relics found in the desert and the hand written sign for the attractions along the Track.
But I also took a photo of something to show my grandchildren one day:

Just in case they don’t know what one is.

The Ghan railway line was closed to trains in 1981, when the new line from Adelaide to Alice Springs was completed. The Oodnadatta Track runs alongside the Old Ghan line for many kilometres. We camped right next to the disused rail line, just next to Lake Eyre.
Not another camper in sight.

They say that the old sleepers make great fire wood. Now you’d think after 30 years, that all those railway sleepers would have been salvaged, souvenired, or just burnt for the campfire. But rest assured there are plenty left.

We had our best fire yet. The wind dropped off when the sun went down.
This is one of Harry’s photos at sunset. The tiny spec in the middle is the first star for the night. Later, there were thousands.

The filling of Lake Eyre in recent years has attracted thousands of visitors to witness this rare event. I have been lucky enough to see it from the air on flights to and from Alice Springs. But to see it at ground level (albeit from a distance) was amazing. All this – 12m below sea level.

It’s hard to describe how beautiful it is.


Photo below, we have stopped in the fading light to take some photos. It may look hot, but it was actually freezing, with a biting icy wind howling across the gibber plains.

At first light John sprinted up Mt. Chambers for spectacular views of the area.

Above is our camping spot for the night with the enticing climb behind us.
He summitted in a flash, and was back to get Fergus and Harry for a return trip. Off they went, while my very old knees and I made coffee and toast in peace. Emus dropped by the tent for a very close look. I think they have trailer envy. (Actually, John thinks everyone has trailer envy).
They made it to the top!
Here’s a photo Fergus took from the top of Mt. Chambers. That’s Mt. John (true!) you can see in the distance.

This morning’s task was to climb Mt.Ohlsen-Bagge. It’s only 2.5km to the summit, but it’s pretty much all uphill. Harry and John took the lead, while Fergus kept me company as I trailed behind, wishing John wasn’t the only person with carrying the water.

The view was great! Here’s Ferg with St.Mary’s Peak in the background.

You can see both inside and outside the pound from the top.

We had perfect weather again. The walk down was tough on my knees. I think I got second hand ones when I was born.
On arrival back at camp, we found that we hadn’t quite crow-proofed (or magpie –proofed) our camp. Hence our near full carton of eggs was raided, and remnants strewn all around. They also like butter.

We packed up after lunch and headed north, further into the ranges. It is a beautiful drive through Bunyaroo Valley lookout. The landscape is remarkably non-Australian in sections, where a native fir tree covers the hillsides, without a eucalypt in sight. It had a very “Montana” feel about it.

Then it’s down to the valley floor and along the creek bed. They recently had a huge dump of rain, so it was a rare sight to see so much water around.

We left the National Park and drove on towards the Gammon Ranges NP, but turned off to Chambers Gorge. John camped here once, on a trip with his family back in the 70s.
Another good campfire after a fun day. We toasted marshmallows, and Ferg fell asleep in his camp chair. More fun tomorrow – John wants to climb Mount Chambers. Of course.