On the Oodnadatta Track

Monday 3July

John split his head open on the top of Q's doorway this morning and left "matter" behind. After putting heart back into chest and stomach back into place, Lorraine donned the blue latex gloves, and with Catriona's help, cleaned, disinfected and steri-stripped the gaping gash. No walks or going to sleep for John for the rest of the day. 

Dalhousie Springs was where we spent a good part of the afternoon - and how beautiful it was. Expecting something better than Coward Springs, we were all thrilled by the sight of the huge 'lake' that awaited. Heated to a bath-like temperature of 36C we floated in the natural spring water, easing any aches and pains we thought we may have had! The Springs are home to unique species of fish such as the Dalhousie hardy head and other rare aquatic life. 

 
Shovelling mud off the stone stomper - Oodnadatta Track

Coward Springs thermal spring
(Pics are out of whack - it's so difficult to blog when the internet is so intermittent!)

"Witjira National Park, established in 1985 on land comprising the former Mount Dare pastoral lease, covers 7,688 square kilometres of gibber, sand dunes, stony tablelands and floodplain country on the western edge of the Simpson Desert in the far north of Sth Australia. 

Dalhousie Springs are part of a chain of mound Springs extending along the Great Artesian Basin and comprises the greatest concentration of mound Springs in Australia. 

Being the driest region of Australia it is amazing to see countless springs surrounded by lush greenery.  It truly is an oasis in the desert. And that it can provide a thriving habitat amidst endless sand dunes and gibber plains is astonishing. 

Tuesday 4 July

"Happy Fourth of July, John".  Our drive to Erldunda, our campsite for tonight took us through Mt Dare where Keith was welcomed with the station manager screaming at him for reversing up the levy. The car park was packed to the gills and nobody was there to help out with parking. The joy continued. inside the Roadhouse with coffee charged at $7.00 a cup and $7.00 for a soggy-bummed microwaved beef pie.  Some "arty-farty" has de died the place looks decorated with stub holders pegged to lines that criss-cross the ceiling. 


Pic Mt Dare stubby holder roof

On to Finke (not pronounced, Finkey, but Fink) where we waited for the indigenous shop keepers to return from their lunch break and reopen at 2 pm.  The former town hall had a second life as a pub and now serves as an Arts Centre. After asking for it to be opened, a few purchases were made, but with prices of $2,000 - $6,000 we decided to wait until later in our trip to make a purchase - a wise decision, as the next town had the same works at cheaper prices. With cars full of diesel and tummies full of Allen's snakes, we arrived in the dark at our stinky campsite for the night. We figured that without any dump points for black water waste, people were illegally dumping at the back of the camp ground - near the unpowered sites.  

Dinner at the tavern gave us mixed results. Lorraine's pizza was great, John's steak beautiful but Cameron's potatoes needed to be carbon-dated!


Comments

  1. Unknown13 July 2017 at 22:03

    Oh my gosh, poor John, hope he is on the mend.....

    ReplyDelete

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