Oodnadatta Track, South Australia

April 4 to 6, 2015

Oodnadatta Track (red) - 620 kilometres of Australian Desert

When taking on the Long Ride of 2014 part of the route home was to do one of Australia’s iconic desert tracks, the Oodnadatta.  Stacking the BMW F800GS just shy of Charleville in central Queensland on day 3 of a 3 week ride put pay to that and the ride was off, so a rerun had to take place in April of 2015.

The Oodnadatta track was just one 620km leg of what was in total an almost 10,000km ride, in many ways it was the best part of the ride.

After spending the night of April 4 at the Marla Roadhouse, at the northern end of the Oodnadatta track, we set off in the roughly easterly direction for our planned first night on the track, the town for which it is named, Oodnadatta.

This section of the track was maintained quite well, although we soon discovered that we were more or less following the grader and in some ways this can pose enough of its own problems. 

Coming off the tail end of the hot season the lack of heat in the middle of a desert was a great surprise, it perhaps had something to do with the howling wind that was blowing up from the south, in essence a cross wind for the next 210km.

The plan was to stop as often as we pleased or at least every 50km.  Despite the track being in good condition it was still much easier to ride a fully loaded bike in the standing position and by god this gets tiring after a while, especially on your feet.

Many people would assume that the desert is just that, a desert, void of anything worth seeing.  We soon discovered that was so far from the truth.  The landscape was changing almost constantly between low laying hills and numerous creek crossings, all dry of course. 

Our first stop was a clear indication that life at one stage was abundant out here, at least in a passing way.  We stopped at 50km for a drink and a break, I went off across a small hill to pee, yes, I would still get stage fright on the edge of the track, deserted as it was you never know who might see you relieving yourself.

Reaching the top of the hill I noticed a strange gully cut into the other side.  On closer inspection I realised it was the old rail line for the Ghan.  It was littered with old sleepers and parts of track, plus the occasional rail spike, there was even some parts of the old telegraph line.  We’d been told that there was nothing left of the old Ghan, rubbish, here was tonnes of it, some I even brought home.

We continued on and the progression for the remainder of the day was more or less the same, ride for 50km stop for 30 minutes, repeat.  At the halfway point the track turned more south-easterly, now the wind was coming at us more diagonally although, with the road being as good as it was it wasn’t too much of a problem in fact in some places we were able to cruise along at 90kph.

Reaching Oodnadatta mid-afternoon, I was pleased to see how much it had been cleaned up since I was last here 30 years ago.  While it still had its uniqueness it now had a great community feel, we were told that the local community has embraced what they have and has done some great things with it.

A quick bite to eat at the famous Pink Roadhouse and we checked into the only real accommodation in Oodnadatta, the caravan park belonging to the roadhouse.  It’s very basic but has a great feel to it.  There’s basic toilet and shower blocks, not great but reasonably clean and a handful of dongas if you don’t like pitching a tent.

Once setup we explored the town.  The museum, located in the old railway station is definitely worth a look, as is the Transcontinental Hotel, currently undergoing a transformation to cater for the many soft roaders that now take to the Oodnadatta

The old Oodnadatta Railway Station, an indication to what the
corrugations were to be like.

track.

Waking the next morning the wind had dropped a little, maybe this meant we would have a little more heat.  Refuelling at the roadhouse was nowhere near as bad as what we’d read on various forums and blogs, the price was $0.20 / litre cheaper than Marla ($1.73).  It was 95 octane too so you can’t complain too much.

The road out of Oodnadatta gave some indication as to what was to come, it was corrugated with sand patches in places but at this point at least no bulldust.

The 200 or so kilometres to William Creek in roughly a southerly direction were the most remote, in some ways the most challenging, yet the most interesting.

Algebuckina Rail Bridge, an impressive monument to
conquering the outback.

Tying in with our 50km then stop rule we came across the Algebuckina rail bridge.  The impressive structure built for the old Ghan is over half a kilometre long to span the Neales River when it floods.  Here we found signs of life, a number of animal tracks; mostly cows and dingoes.  This was because the Neales still had water in it, quite strange in one of the driest parts of Australia, what was even more strange was the sound of frogs.

Here we met a couple of older Irish tourists here, they were telling us how rough the road was further on, mind you, they were in a Toyota Corolla, rental of course.

The road did get rough from here on but mostly due to corrugations and the occasional rocky patch.  It wasn’t anything the GS couldn’t handle.  As we continued south the road became much

The old Peake Telegraph station.

better, we’d obviously caught the grader again as we approached the old Peake Telegraph station and homestead.  The ruins here were also the site of the base for the explorer Ernest Giles.  What remains of the station gives a clear indication as to how tough life was out here back in the 1800’s.  The whole complex, including a small copper mining community closed down in the early 1900’s.

It was a great place to stop and have something to eat and drink, but by now it was certainly starting to get hot, well into the 30’s.

We continued on past a number of more ruins, Edward Creek and Warrina being the two standouts.  Both were former railway sidings and were usually located quite close to natural bores from the Artesian Basin.  The land around here was also quite different and became quite wooded in places as the trees hung on to life around the numerous creeks that occasionally flow from the Davenport Range.

As we got closer to William Creek we did catch up to the grader, or at least where it had last been working.  This was Easter Monday after all, so there was no way we’d see workers out here.

The track was undergoing some major works and was down to one very narrow lane on the side of a

steep hill, no problem for a bike but wouldn’t be the best if towing a caravan.  Beyond this area the track had been well groomed and was almost like the Autobahn in a number of places – sit down and cruise at 100kph was quite enjoyable until we hit the areas where the track still had moister on it.  Suddenly the bikes were sliding all over the place, it was like riding on ice.  The worst thing was you didn’t know it was coming so we just had to slow down and hope for the best.

Coming over the last hill we caught sight of the metropolis that is William Creek and the strip of bitumen that runs down the middle of it – pure heaven.  William Creek is really nothing more than a pub in the middle of the world’s largest station (farm).  Although it is recognised as a town, albeit with a permanent population of around 4 (along with a few transient workers), it really does sit in the middle of Anna Creek station on the edge of Lake Eyre.

The beer at the William Creek Hotel was oh so, so good.

It goes without saying that no sooner had we stopped that I was in the pub ordering a pint, it was downed in next to no time, it is thirsty work riding in the desert … ok … had to order another one.  A quick chat to the ‘locals’ and then it was time to setup camp across the road in the camping area.  This was surprisingly good, powered or unpowered sites, dongas (cabins) and great toilets and showers.

Yeah, there's parking meeting in William Creek.

Once setup we were back across the ‘main road’ to the pub.  Meals here were great, so much so that the backend of the pub, built mostly out of old Ghan Railway sleepers was quite full.  It was a good night with a few more beers and games of darts and then off to bed.

The next morning, we were woken by the sound of aircraft taking off.  William Creek also has an airport, it’s certainly no Heathrow, but was busy on this morning as a group of friends celebrating a 60^th birthday were off on a sightseeing flight over Lake Eyre and the painted desert.

Refuelling at William Creek was the second most expensive of the entire ride at $2.00 per litre and it was only 91 octane, but hey in the middle of nowhere I guess you can’t complain.  Heading south we came across the only two other bikers on the entire track, heading into William Creek.  They’d obviously camped on the roadside somewhere the previous night.

Strangways Springs

Our first stop on day three (April 8) on the Oodnadatta Track was at the ruins of Strangways, in many ways a welcome stop after traversing the flood plains and dune fields that lay south of William Creek.  The land is really harsh out here and it was no surprise to find what was left of pretty much a small township.

Strangways Springs, as it is really known, is a little off the track itself and was a struggle to get to.  Around 2km of thick bulldust was the only way in, not bad in a four wheeler but a bloody struggle in a bike packed to the hilt.

Once reaching the ruins it was well worth it.  The ruins consist of a large water tank, numerous

The watertank at Strangways, an engineering marvel.

buildings for workers and family, as well as sheep and cattle holding yards.  It was built between 1870-72 and only lasted until 1896 when ironically William Creek, that was built to accommodate the railway, forced it to be abandoned.  Strangways is now considered to be of national significance.

We spent around an hour here before heading off.  It was already getting very hot and from what we had been told by numerous people the last leg was going to be the toughest due to the numerous ‘tourists’ that make the trip from Marree to William Creek.  The road gets the same attention it does on the other legs but sees far greater traffic.  We were told to expect deep corrugations, wheel ruts, bulldust and gravel.

The next stop was Coward Springs, the next stop, around 50km further down the track, was the first sign that we were hitting ‘civilisation’.  There were quite a few families all stopping to have a look at the restored station master’s cottage as well as the natural springs.  They’ve done a great job with this but it’s become a little too civilised.  The springs themselves looked like a small swimming pool, even to the point where I swear there was a pump and a distinct smell of chlorine. 

Coward Springs, an oasis but a little too fake

Leaving Coward Springs was probably the trickiest of the whole Oodnadatta Track.  The road was very wide but now obviously well used.  A number of corners had been covered with a deep layer of stones that looked like railway ballast.  It was damn near impossible to get through cleanly, we resorted to paddling through most of it, as a number of four wheel drives and even a truck showered us with fist sized stones.

It did take us a while to get through this and once on the other side the track was very hit and miss, some places were great and others terrible.

Lake Eyre, you need to check this place

We continued on passing numerous salt pans until we reached Lake Eyre South, giving some indications as to how vast this mostly dry salt lake is – in fact it’s said to be the size of Belgium.  Here we met an old German fellow who was on his third solo trek of the Australian outback.  He’d made his first about 10 years earlier when he had retired and loved it so much he bought an old 70 series Landcruiser which he picks up every time he comes back to Australia.  His stories were very interesting and a great inspiration.

The last stop now would be Marree, the southern end of the Oodnadatta Track.  That is until we came over a hill and saw a giant dingo on the side of the road.  Then in the distance a couple of single engine aircraft sticking out of the ground, as well as a giant robot thing with a huge cock.  It was also carrying a baby, I’m not sure if it was excited by the bikes or was some strange representation of St Christopher.

Apparently this strange collection is Mutonia, a sculpture park created by one man.  It was

certainly interesting and I could’ve spent hours exploring but we had to push on, it was around 40 degrees, getting late and Marree was just down the road … 30km in fact.

Marree, at the southern end of three iconic tracks (Oodnadatta; Birdsville and Strezlecki) is a living monument to what was the original line for the Ghan.  Train memorabilia litter the town that boasts an impressive station and hotel.  Sadly, the town is now in decline and has a population of just 60 people.

There’s some pretty unique things to see in Marree, not least the Yacht Club (no, not a piss take) but that’s all for another time.

The Oodnadatta track is probably no longer the great tough track it used to be, but is certainly still a challenge, especially considering the distances and the isolation.  I wouldn’t believe any of the reports you read or hear about the conditions, it can change day to day, so make up your own mind.  Riding to the conditions and your ability goes a long way.  As for the bikes, while ours are made for these conditions, I’ve heard of people doing it on more or less touring bikes.  Tyres were the biggest concern, we had Pirelli Scorpion Trails on both bikes, and while these are rated at 80-20 (road-dirt), dropping the pressures down to around 25psi they were more than capable in these conditions.

If you want to see a small slice of the real Australia, make sure you take on the Oodnadatta Track …