Alice to Lake Eyre

Alice to Lake Eyre

After getting bogged we made for Stuart’s Well. Camping was free and we were able to get a meal at the pub/roadhouse. As we ventured into the pub we could see a person holding court with all the patrons intently listening. We were not sure if this was a local meeting by invitation only so we asked the kitchen staff. It turned out that Jim Cottrill was giving a talk and Dinky was going to play the piano and sing a little later on and we were most welcome to join. This sounded great! A talk by a true bushy and then some local bush piano playing and singing by Dinky.

Sitting down we quickly caught on that Dinky was a singing Dingo and Jim was his owner. Jim’s story was fairly mundane but the legend of Dinky was amazing. It seems that Dinky is known world-wide for his singing and piano playing. We duly heard Dinky perform. It was interesting and engaging rather than musical. All in all we had a great night and wondered at the serendipity of being at the pub at the right time. If the car had not got bogged we would have missed Dinky!

As we departed the next morning Tia noticed that there was a camel farm next door to the roadhouse offering camel rides. We had to do it! So for the modest sum of $25 each we went on a 30min ride through the local hills around the farm. Tia was stoked and I was mildly amused. I have to say however that a camel is a much more comfortable ride than a horse and the camel is much more obliging for mounting and dismounting.

They also had a dingo pup in the yard and Tia was able to make close contact with it. At one point I wasn’t sure how close the contact was going to be as the dingo seemed to take an un-natural liking to her. Fortunately it all ended well with Tia totally rapt by the camels and dingo.

The turnoff to the Oodnadatta Track is at Marla and the road condition signs indicated that the road was indeed open. The trip to Oodnatatta was uneventful and after the crowded Kimberley was pleasingly isolated. I think we only saw two or three cars all day. Oodnadatta is like stepping back in time. It seems to have been frozen in the 1960’s and gives you the feeling of a true wild frontier.

There has been a raging debate while we have been on this trip concerning tyre pressure. Certain tyre experts and 4WD enthusiasts will tell you to keep your tyres pumped up to an almost over-inflated level. This I am told will help to protect the side walls and keep the tyre in place if you hit something hard. Others, including the raconteur owner of the Oodnadatta roadhouse, Adam insist that this is bollicks and you should let your tyres down to around 24psi on gravel roads. This gives a better ride in the car and allows the tyre to conform to rocks etc hence preventing punctures. I have been on the side of the hard tyre people for most of this trip but after a lengthy discussion with Adam decided to give it a go. And I would have to say that I am now a convert to the soft tyre school. The difference it makes is amazing. Either way however, soft tyres or hard tyres aren’t going to do you much good when you are up to your axles in mud! Yes, it happened again but this time it was not my fault.

We decided to take a side trip to the Painted Desert. The road out there was challenging but okay. Lots of rain had created large mud holes. The Painted Desert was excellent and most unusual. The planned route would then take us past Arkaringa Station where we could camp for the night and then back to the Oodnadatta Track to William Creek where we intended to have a look at Lake Eyre. We were about 300mtrs from the Station when we encountered a large muddy section of the road. The part we could see was about 50mtrs long. We had heard that others had got through this so despite our trepidation off we went. Things got progressively worse and when we attemted to reach dryer ground on the side of the track the car and trailer sank into very soft and sticky mud. We were stuck well and truly. A group of three 4WD’s were at the other end of the bog assessing the best path to take. After some discussion one of them came through and provided a tow for us to get out. As it turned out we only needed to be pulled 2 – 3 mtrs before the Jeep found its traction and was able to drive the rest of the way. The second part of this bog was about 100mtrs and we followed a Landcruiser through. This was a significantly more difficult bog but sticking to the middle of the track proved to be the saviour. We made it through!

The downside to all of this is that we seem tyo have done damage to our 4WD drive-train. The car makes a sickly clunking noise in 4WD now and I fear we have done some serious and possibly expensive damage. We will be able to get back to Sydney in 2WD however the net result is that our 4WD track days are over for this trip. We were obliged to take the safer route out of Arkaringa via Mt Barry to Coober Pedy and then back to William Creek, a 320km diversion. Whilst the road was in similar condition to the previously disastrous track, someone had cut by-passes around the worst bits. The drive from Arkaringa to Bt Barry was stressful as we were not sure that an impassable bog would not be waiting around the corner. It seems that we are fated to take diversions on this trip. As has happened in the past diversions however, we were fortunate to be able to drive through other unique landscapes that we had not planned to do. In this case it was the Moon Desert which is a desert totally devoid of any life and is littered with mica that shines in the sunlight like glass. The other positive outcome of getting bogged was the splendid evening we spent with our rescuers around the campfire.

When we arrived in Coober Pedy I was losing interest in driving the 320km return trip to William Creek despite desperately wanting to see Lake Eyre in flood. We tried to get a flight out of Coober Pedy but the planes were fully booked for 4 days. My enthusiasm for the whole Lake Eyre thing was waning but Tia was insistent that we do it and I am thankful that she was. We therefore set out late in the day and drove to William Creek. Arriving late we decided to have dinner in the pub. This again was one of those unique experiences that only outback Australia can provide. We befriended a lady who was travelling by herself and shared the evening with her. She was a retired airline pilot flying short-haul routes around Europe for KLM. She had houses in Geneva and London and had had a fascinating life.

Our flight over the lake was for 7.00am the next morning and we both felt that this put a finishing touch to our three month adventure. The flight was fantastic and the views over the lake spectacular. In the hour and a half flight we saw the sun rise over this massive lake that at times covered the horizon in all directions.

We are now wandering home and haven’t yet decided what route we will take. Possibly some wine tasting in the Clare Valley or perhaps a stopover at Cowra. We will let you know in the next blog which will most likely be our last.

Love to all

Alan and Tia