The pre dawn sky over Roxy B was alit with just a hint of colour as we retraced our steps towards the Stuart Highway. We were told emus were plentiful on the nearby plains and we weren’t disappointed. We saw several flocks of them grazing near the road. On occasion they would set off on a run, appearing to glide across the landscape. We passed the familiar sites of Pimba & Glendambo before heading once again into unchartered territory.
With the exception of the odd roadhouse & rest area, there was little of interest on the remainder of the journey to Coober Pedy. The appearance of a series of anthill-like dirt mounds signifys the approach into town. If someone had told you of the existence of a mystical race of giant ants, you could almost be forgiven for taking them at their word. The main street has a frontier feel to it - ramshackle buildings, wild looking characters & an opal store on every corner. We turned off the road opposite the drive-in (yep... they still exist) into the Oasis Tourist Park. It's close to town but secure, the large fenced gate locked nightly from 10pm. The town has issues with the indiginous population & alcohol fueled violence in the main street & the first night I heard quite a fracas coming from that direction. To counter the problem, liquor purchases are heavily restricted. Tomoko was asked to show her drivers licence when purchasing a bottle of wine. It's been a few years since it last happened & she was quietly chuffed until she realised "everyone" is required to produce ID. It's then promptly scanned, the details I assume entered into a database. She actually attempted to purchase two bottles & when told there is a limit of just 1 bottle per person I was recruited to make 'up the numbers' so to speak.
Coober Pedy is the worlds largest opal mining centre & produces about 70% of the worlds opals. I was approached in the street by a bloke who showed me some. His English wasn't too flash but I kept hearing the amount of '$50'. Thinking he had just purchased them & was showing them off, I congratulated him on finding such a bargain. He wandered off muttering something or other & I got the feeling he may actually have been trying to sell them to me.
We did some sightseeing in the town, visiting the Umoona Opal Mine - a retail outlet & underground museum on opals & fossils. Many of the residents live underground in 'dugouts' where the temperature is a comfortable all year round & we got a feel for what it was like. We checked out the 'Big Winch' but the highlight for us was more gastronomical in nature. Recommnedations on Trip Advisor meant John's Pizza Restaurant was on our list of 'must do's'. We ordered a large ('massive' would be more apt) & a medium. Despite being quite famished we barely put a dent in them, leaving plenty left over for the next day's brekkie & probably lunch as well.
As the weekend approached we prepared to tackle the Oodnadatta Track to Lake Eyre. The plan was to leave the van at the caravan park, pack the essentials (food, water, fuel & swag) into the ute & take off for a few days. With 4WD engaged & the tyres down to 20psi we left early. The track follows a traditional aboriginal trading route but we needed to travel 160km along the William Creek Road to even reach it. During this leg I spotted a dingo on the side of the road. It was the first one we had encountered on our travels & an exciting moment. However Tomoko failed to see it as we passed at speed. She was unimpressed, insisting it was not a dingo but wild labrador. Spotting wildlife is not one of her strong points. It's has been a source of frustration for her ever since the Cradle Mountain shuttle bus ride when I continuosly spotted wombats where there was apparentlly none.
There was some traffic on the road, the approaching vehicles easily spotted by a plume of dust in the distance. After two hours or so of driving we passed Anna Creek Station, the world's largest cattle farm before reaching the track & soon after arrived at the town of William Creek. Although, that's using the term 'town' loosely, William Creek having a population of just 6. We stopped at the legendary hotel, one of Australia's most remotest pubs. Diesel was $2 a litre so we didn't fill the diesel tank completely. The roof & walls of the pub are plastered with all sorts of memorabillia but with still plenty of kms to travel & things to see we didn't hang around too long.
The distance from William Creek to the lookout at Eyre Creek South is about 60km & there's plenty to see along the way. The track hugs the path of the now defunct Central Australian Railway, the original route of the Ghan. Back in the day, steam trains were the popular mode of transport but they required large amounts of water. This railway line follows the path originally taken by John McDouall Stuart in 1862 when he founded the route from Adelaide to Darwin, the only one with sufficient water. Hence, the main attractions are ruins associated with the old railway - sidings, bridges & buildings.
The track itself was a challenge. It's pretty much a dirt road & quite stony in places. It's wide but in some places where the road has been torn up by vehicles in wet conditions, just a single lane is drivable. At times we could travel at up to 100km/h while corrugations forced our speed down to as low as 20km/h. One casualty of the corrugations was our UHF antenna which became misshaped & eventually snapped. We would pass other vehicles on occasion so didn't feel too isolated out here & the loss of our UHF capabilities not seen as important.
The afternoon was getting well & truly on when we reached our campground for the evening at Coward Springs. However, with just 20km between us and our target destination of Lake Eyre, decided to press on. Lake Eyre is home to the lowest natural point in Australia at 15m below sea level. It is the largest lake in Australia & the 18th largest in the world. It is often dry though but on this occasion we were lucky to see it partially filled. We could only see it from a distance from the lookout though & it was a bit of an anticlimax to be honest. Still...we ticked it off the list of things to see & tired & dusty, returned post haste to our campground.
The campground at Coward Springs is a former railway station, settlement & man made oasis. A bore was sunk into the Great Artesian Basin in 1886 but the salty water soon corroded the bore head & casing, releasing uncontrolled waters into the landscape. This created a wetland complete with date palms (what oasis could be complete without them). The campsites were well designed with trees strategicaaly placed for privacy & complete with fire pits. We set up the new swag (in a surprisingly short time) & took a dip in the natural spa. It was slightly warm but refreshing to bathe in the artesian waters after a long day. The swag is a king single & despite a bit of a squeeze, all three of us managed to fit in ok & get a decent nights sleep.
The next morning was the 28th June & a day of some importance, my 44th birthday. Tomoko cooked up a b'day brekkie of baked beans, avocado & egg at my request. Baked beans never tasted so good (except maybe as a grommet in winter when we would have a fire at the beach, the beans eaten straight out of the can). In our haste to see Lake Eyre the previuos day our first point of call before heading back to Coober Pedy was to see the nearby natural springs. In the words of Tomoko 'Struth...it's as dry as a dead dingo's donger out here' (shes picked up a bit of aussie outback slang) & the mound springs are a welcome anomoly. We visited the two most notable ones 'The Bubbler' & 'Blanche Cup'. The Bubbler piqued my interest & to me looked like a stingray disturbing the sand in search of yabbies.
Soon after leaving the springs, Tomoko had a moment of triumph when she was first to spot a dingo cross the track. It didn't share her excitement though & hurried off into the distance. Later after rising a crest we saw something else we didn't expect to. In front of us was an overturned 4WD with two figures standing dazingly beside it. Just moments earlier the young French couple rolled their Holden Jackaroo & on first inspection they seemed physically fine, albiet emotionally distressed. It was new territory for Tomoko & myself & as the couple seemed ok I thought it wise to try & contact someone for assistance. The broken antenna for the UHF radio rendered it almost useless so I tried to get a wifi signal and call the police using skype. I had brought along our recently purchased wifi antenna in order to give it a decent test run & having got 1 bar at Coward Springs, hoped I could achieve a similar result out here. Those hopes were dashed but in the meantime more help had arrived. The more experienced arrivals realised the risk of fire and set about disabling the battery while Tomoko & I helped to cart the unlucky duo's possesions to the safety of the other side of the road. The stricken car was uprighted with a snatch strap & the battery disconnected. A convoy of Landcruisers arrived on the scene, each equipped with every available 4WD accessory. They had a sat phone on board & contacted the authorities. With the occupants safe & police on the way we bid our goodbyes & wished them a safe journey. Our travel schedule delayed somewhat I treated myself to a William Creek Hotel burger for lunch. At $20 it wasn't the cheapest but was certainly up there with the tastiest.
The next day was to be our last in Coober Pedy. I planned to do some 'noodling' for opals but busy with preparations for our departure & one of my killer migraines looming, opted to give it a miss. Instead I settled for a sunset visit to the breakaways. On the way we hoped to see part of the 5614km dog fence, built in the 1880's to keep dingoes from entering more fertile pastural areas. Unfortunately we couldn't find the road to lead us there & settled for the Breakaway's lookout as our Coober Pedy finale. Tomorrow we head into the NT. Until then...adios amigos.
