Outback South Australia

Outback South Australia is a hostile unforgiving place. The remoteness can make or break you. It can also inspire you.

More or less in the middle of the Oodnadatta Track is the William Creek Hotel. Not much at the Hotel apart from the Hotel, a restaurant, some rooms and dongas a campground and most importantly plenty of drinks to cool you down after a long hot day in the outback. The only people who live there are the people who work there. You wouldn't think it was a place worth visiting but it is. The pub attracts people from all over the world and a great atmosphere and time is had by all. I worked at the Hotel for a very short time. If the showers are still painted brown that is my handy work. Also if the "William Creek Hotel" sign still has the initials "P.S." on the bottom left corner my only foray into signwriting still exists.
One of the things you quickly learn about outback SA is that it is very flat and very dry. This shot was taken as I and my mate Tony were driving down the Strezlecki Track on our way to Lyndhurst after having visited Innamincka. Innamincka is located by the Cooper Creek which is an oasis in the middle of the desert. The fishing is great. The only thing of note on the Strezlecki is the Moomba gas fields which supply gas to Adelaide and Sydney. The road itself is a good quality dirt road. The gas company makes sure it is well maintained.
South Australia is the driest state in Australia. Which says alot considering Australia is the driest continent on Earth. With outback SA being so flat any rain that falls tends not to have nowhere to go. Flooding when it rains is common and being stranded is an every present danger. On one trip while driving out of the town of Oodnadatta we got caught out just as the rain can tumbling down. We were too far out to turn back so just had to carry on. The road had become a mud bath. As I turned a corner to my horror the road had become a creek. As a result of the road being graded and lower than the surrounding landscape the water had run into it and followed its path. So oddly enough out in the driest part of the driest state on the driest continent on earth I had to spend a few hours driving in a creek that was once a dirt road.
West of Oodnadatta is the Painted Desert. It is a place that is seldom visited as it is out of the way and somewhat isolated. You do need a good solid vehicle to get to it and plenty of supplies in case of emergency. Note the rain bearing clouds in the photo. We only just managed to get through and if we hadn't would have been stranded for days. Which was quite ironic as the place hadnt seen barely a drop of rain for a year. The various layers that make up the eroded hills bring out the beautiful colours embedded in the rocks. Even on a dull dreary day the colours manage to come through.
When travelling through the desert you need to have a properly maintained vehicle that will cope with the rigours of outback travel. A double decker bus isn't one of those vehicles. Just inside the South Australian border near Cameron's Corner- where Queensland, NSW and SA meet- is the wreck of this bus. I have no idea how it got there but it sure does makes for something different to see. As it is parked near a cattle watering trough I would imagine the cattle find it a pleasant distraction from the somewhat desolate landscape.
Even out in the harsh dry outback of South Australia you can find places with water. This creek is located at the northern edge of the Flinders Ranges. The valley the creek was in was really beautiful. It had plenty of huge trees and greenery that was in sharp contrast to the parched landscape that lay outside of the valley. It was a welcome surprise when we drove into the valley and came across the creek and trees. Sure enough though when we drove out we were greeted by an even drier and harsher landscape. It really made us appreciate the valley.