It is a bit warmer since we left Arkaroola, but can still be a bit crisp in the morning. Continental breakfast is included in our package here, so we head off to the breakfast room to have our cereal and toast before hitting the road again, this time to William Creek.
The road turns to dirt as soon as we leave Marree and we have 202 km of the Oodnadatta track to endure before we arrive in Wiilliam Creek.
Just out of town we see a mob of emus on the roadside.
Our first surprise is how wide the Oodnadatta track is, it could carry 4 lanes. Next surprise is how corrugated it is. There were some very good patches but when we hit the corrugations they were rough.
Livestock roam freely here as most of the properties are unfenced along the roadside.
We had a temporary standoff with this bull until the he decided to move on
Further down the road one of many salt pans started to appear.
Remnants of the old Ghan railway remain, as occasional rail bridges appear in view. It seems the track follows the old rail line, or vice versa.
Part of the old Ghan rail line
Another item on the tourist list is the sculpture park. Our curiosity caused us to stop and have a look, but we did not stay long. Probably we should have kept going.
Entrance to the sculpture park
We are beginning to get glimpses of Lake Eyre South on the northern side of the track, and soon we see a turn off to a lookout.
An information board at the lookout showing detail of the Lake and surrounding area
View of Lake Eyre South from the lookout.
There was a couple towing a van also pulled up at the lookout who we had a chat to. They were from Port Macquarie and had pulled into the lookout to reattach the Anderson plug from their van to the 4wd as it has fallen out due to all of the corrugations and their van batteries weren’t charging.
A very welcome sign is the turn off to Coward Springs, which is a caravan park and natural spring that seems to attract a lot of passers by, that stay a day or 2 and try out the hot springs. As we do not have a van, the stop over is out of the question, but a good cup of coffee is a great reason to pull in.
They have a cafe/ shop/office and public toilets, everything a traveller needs
Not only did they have proper coffee, but also home made date scones using dates grown on site
Whilst we are enjoying our scones and coffee and stream of caravans begin arriving, including our new found friends from Port Macquarie, who book in for a few nights.
It is only around 75 kms to William Creek from here, so we head back out for the last leg of this trip today. The track looks in better condition after Coward Springs, but it is a lot narrower and the edges very soft. Apparently the grader has been through here in recent times. We make slightly better speed, but the closer we get to William Creek the worse the corrugations get. Overall though, the road was a lot better than those we have been travelling on so it was relatively comfortable.
At around 12.30 pm, we were at the William Creek Hotel checking in. Our cabin is ready and we are in Pelican 5.
Cabin Pelican 5, a similar setup to Marree and comfortable enough
Once we have unpacked the car, we head back across the road to the hotel to get some lunch, along the way, the flies are trying to us for lunch. Finally we now realise why we bought head nets to cover your face.
William Creek Hotel
Inside, this hotel has real character and no doubt, characters. The bar is packed with paraphernalia from all around Australia.
We had a very tasty chicken BLT wrap for lunch, had as chat with a few fellow travellers and then went back to our room to prepare ourselves from our flight over Lake Eyre.
The airstrip is across the road and is used by The Royal Flying Doctor Service and Wrightsair, the aviation company we are flying with today.
Our pilot, Matt, is waiting for us and steers us in the direction of a Cessna 172, that we will be flying in this afternoon.
Matt explaining the seating arrangements
After a very professional safety briefing, we are in the air.
The scenery changes as we get closer to the lake and red dust covered landscape takes on a darker hue of exposed iron rich rock that is heavily oxidised.
Shores of Lake Eyre
Halligan Bay Campground, Lake Eyre
Here are some scenes from our flight
Coming in to land
Proof of Survival, for a 20 yr old, Matt was an exceptional pilot
Walking across the road to dinner you couldn't miss the sunset.
We had dinner at the Hotel (alternatives were limited), met a few fellow travellers over a beer, including a couple from Castle Hill in Sydney. A notice in the bar caught our interest, as tucked away on one wall was a notice of the cost to get rescued by the staff at William Creek should you get into trouble on the track.
The hospitality staff here and everywhere else we have been in the outback are all backpackers. Todays time at the William Creek Hotel we have been served by Danes, French, English but no Australians.
Decor in the dining room was more subdued than the bar, but still had lots of character.
The dinner menu was pretty limited to schnitzels of many varieties, burgers , steak and Goat Curry. This time we did manage to score a goat curry and it was not bad.
Ambiance in the dining room
Perhaps a good omen for tomorrows drive as we look down the road to Cobber Pedy and see a full moon illuminating the way.
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