Arkaroola and old Ghan tracks

I think I've cracked this blog business, with the help of a new mouse instead of finger dragging! 

Leaving Waukaringa, on up past various sheep stations (south of the dog fence) and into the northern Flinders Ranges and Arkaroola. This is our third visit to this barren, geologically fascinating, beautiful place, still owned and run by the Spriggs family. Apparently it is so dry that every waterhole is empty for the first time, as evidenced by this photo of Barraranna waterhole at the end of the gorge. 

Dry waterhole and dead roo

The euros, kangaroos and yellow-footed rock wallabies are of course suffering, and the vegetation – especially my favourite Eremophilas, rather crisp! The Acacia Ridge walk had some treats though, like Mt Lofty grass trees.

We probably unwisely chose to leave Arkaroola via the back route, possibly the roughest we have tackled: it took 2 hours to travel the 20km to the boundary, past the Wheal Turner mine, another of various deserted copper mines.  Then through enormous sheep stations to the main road, but unfortunately it started raining and we became covered in red mud. Scraping it off in gobbets with sticks is not a favoured activity. After the usual compulsory quandong pie in Copley we fell into the pub at Marree for a bed and dinner, and listened with trepidation to thunder and rain which often shuts the Oodnadatta Track, now very familiar to us.

Warburton Groove, Lake Eyre

However it was fine next morning and we arrived at William Creek to discover all tracks closed. Sigh, booked in to the caravan park and consoled ourselves with a flight with young pilot Laura over Lake Eyre. The enormous lake is filling from the north Channel country - we saw the water where it flows at 4km per hour down Warburton Groove; Madigan’s Bay where Donald Campbell did his speed trials; and Anna Station, the world’s largest cattle station, in Australian hands thankfully. It was bought from Kidmans by the Williams family, who live there; they also own Hamilton station which we passed further up the old Ghan track – huge expanses of desert and gibber with contented looking Hereford cattle scattered sparsely. 

A meal of goat curry and a good red in William Creek pub with our friends from Marree once more saw us set up for the drive next day to Oodnadatta where sadly the Plates no longer welcome travellers at the Pink Roadhouse. Adam was killed near Adelaide in a motor racing accident a few years ago and Linnie, his widow, sold and  moved a couple of years later. The pubs and roadhouses are all run by young backpackers who sometimes stay for months but don’t know the history or have the knowledge to advise often very inexperienced travellers about road and weather conditions, tyre pressures etc. As the track is more accessible now to SUVs and even ordinary cars when dry, many drivers blow ordinary road tyres by insisting on keeping to manufacturer’s recommended pressures. Big mistake. Get Adam Plate’s hand-drawn sheet of advice still available at the Pink Roadhouse. 

Abminga Siding

With our pressures down we set off on the Simpson Desert access track which follows the old Ghan railway and ruined sidings like this one at Abminga, camping overnight at lovely Eringa waterhole. Next night was a detour after coming through the Aboriginal community at Finke/Apatula and driving alongside the Finke race track (still along old Ghan railway) to camp at Chambers Pillar.