Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, a full five days after arriving in Dalhousie Springs, we got the news from Graham that the roads were open in all directions. Given the time of day, the distance to Oodnadatta and the interesting environmental influences roaming at night, we decided to have one more swim in the warm spring and head off the next morning.
Wednesday blossomed almost cloudless. We wasted little time driving out of paradise into the unknown. We knew the roads would still be a bit wet here and there. We didn’t expect what we encountered. At first the track wound around a landscape of small dunes, significant vegetation and at Dalhousie ruins, massive palm trees.
The ruins were a history lesson. A picture of what life must have been like way back when. We assumed they decided to set up house in a good season, for there was no good reason to exist our here at any other time. We discovered a sign telling us of a ‘deeply spiritual well’ nearby. Dutifully, we examined the well and learned it’s spirituality extended to a rotten hole in the ground covered by a steel grate and overgrown with reeds. Overwhelmed by the magnitude of such deep spirituality, the hair stood up on the back of our necks like ridgebacks at doggy day care!
We ventured on with a late morning tea planned for Oodnadatta. We soon realised that progress was slow with endless bog holes to negotiate. Morning tea would certainly be a latish lunch.
The vastness of the outback plays tricks on everyone after a while. Today was no different. In disbelief, we encountered a lovely new NO ENTRY sign on the right of the track. Beyond the sign was a freshly prepared dirt road leading to a small shelter of some kind. In any other part of the world you’d swear it was a bus stop. Perhaps it was a road crew’s way of having a bit of fun, but in any court, the sign had no place being there.
With Bernie and Annette in front, the big Toyota paused at the sign then elected to do the right thing and not enter past the sign. The alternative track however, had what seemed an innocuous section of mud to negotiate. The Toyota started well but then sank deep with all forward movement stopping instantly. We are sure someone was watching, chuckling, saying “got another one. That NO ENTRY sign is worth its weight in gold”. A quick tug from Puma and the beast was again free to roam the road south to the Pink Roadhouse.
The remainder of the trek to Oodnadatta was uneventful, save a few detours off the main track to self-made ones, avoiding deep mud. At about lunch time and a bit, we arrived at the iconic Pink Roadhouse. We ate good food, drank average tea and coffee and very nearly forgot to get gas refilled. As we left ,the owner approached Peter and G asking who owned Puma. When he learned it was us, he told us in true believer style, that he had never had a Landrover come to his garage for a breakdown yet had had very many Toyotas. Puma smiled a knowing smile and we were on our way.
On the famous Oodnadatta Track our speed picked up. A track it may have been a hundred years ago. Now it was a veritable highway, only undermined by occasional stretches of corrugations. We made good time, not stopping for much as we had been here a few times before. Still, the remnants of the Old Ghan rail line earnt an occasional stop and a more frequent slow down as we made good miles towards William Creek.
There are good businesspeople and there are really good businesspeople. We reckoned the bloke who now owns all of William Creek township is in the second category. In a location about 200 kilometres from the nearest anything, he has turned the pub into a ‘must stop’ location. It provides exceptional service, great food and an extremely welcoming atmosphere. Couple that with a really decent campground and amenities, a cracking air strip and you have a great business. Additionally, he runs flights over Lake Eyre. In the normal non-COVID year he employs 40 people. This year it is only eight.
We had driven hard today. We needed too, as yet again the rain ancestor was chasing us with predicted storms and rain threatening to cut off our progress. We needed to keep moving east.
