Oodnadatta Track

Yep, my wife and I have a name for those drivers. Cant say it here but ends in holes and starts with arse.

Unfortunately there are clowns that think flat out is the only way to go. We had people passing us on the inside on the Gibb River Road. 10km further up the road the culprit had a shredded tyre .

Depending on the wind direction, overtaking on the left is safer
Eg if the wind I from l to R, the drivers side will be covered in dust and overtaking on that side is dangerous.
Overtaking on the left gives you clear vision
The first time I was directed to overtake a triple roadtrain on the left was an experience

If I see dust plumes behind me i wait till it is closer then pull off the track to let them pass while I am stationary and hope they have the decency to slow down.

I would never attempt to overtake a tripple on a corrugated gravel road, they usually travel faster than me anyway, not because of dust but the shower of gravel from the 20 odd tyres on my side.
Even if the truck is going the opposite way I get off the road and stop, they seem to appriciate it.

Excellent stuff , I think I lot of us did similar .We did the Birdsville track in late 70's then onto Betoota , windora then pig shooting out the back of Tipoburra . XB falson ute and a HZ holden premier wagon .
Young and mad then , still only small hole in the sump of the falcon .Fixed with putty .

Correct.
It is Coward Springs. The building is still there, but around it looks nothing like that any more.
We actually turned west there and drove cross country along the southern side of the Margaret River to Billa Kallina and then on to Kingoonya. Tried to repeat that from the opposite direction exactly 25 years later in a 4WD and failed.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

I was working in the area in the mid 70's and can remember the house / shop was run by an old lady who served cold drinks and confectionary etc from an old kero fridge. It was a shame that when she went south for the summer break the inside of the house was trashed and she never came back. It was not until Greg Emmett bought the place and changed it to what it is today

There was no one there on Easter Friday (or was it Saturday?) in 1970.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

"We actually turned west there and drove cross country along the southern side of the Margaret River to Billa Kallina and then on to Kingoonya. Tried to repeat that from the opposite direction exactly 25 years later in a 4WD and failed."

Peter,

Given the mini got through in 1970, what stopped the 4WD 25 years later?

Cheers

Frank

A combination of water and fences.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

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Well, c'mon Peter, you could float a Mini across water and drive it under fences! lol
They were a most amazing vehicle.

It was dry for the Mini, but we did use a couple of fence posts we found as railway tracks to cross a very soft sandy creek.
We were running dual 12"Hilman Imp wheels on the front (with adjustable height suspension) in the mistaken belief that they would be better in sand. They weren't - they were terrible. But they were like train tracks with the fence posts, just had to lift the Mini back on every meter and a half.
Learned a few lessons. :)

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

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Looks like something out of Mad Max for kiddies. lol
p.s. Great clearance!!!!

Yep- not on the track.In fact 87.7km from Oodnadatta , very doable and if you are going to do the whole track - your time and go there . It's one of the best kept secrets !

When we went along the track it was part of a big road trip from WA. Perth to Kangaroo Island , through the Oodnadatta, Alice Springs, Larapinta Drive (Mac Donnell Ranges) and Palm Valley (Finke Gorge National Park) , Merrinie Drive to Kings Canyon, Yalara and Great Central Road to home.

Manyplaces to see - but many are off shoots from main tracks. So you do your research and see the highlights. But point taken though lol

Cheers Mike

Hi Peter, we were one of the mid year travelers on the track and I can concur that there was no shortage of other travelers. We arrived at William Creek during the dust storm and the amount of professional and keen photographers in town was staggering. I think if you had of sold all their camera gear it would of paid off a small nations debt. What astounded us was that the road conditions were very good with only minor corrugations but the amount of vehicles that were crawling along dragging caravans and CT's was astounding. It suggested many traveling that road knew nothing about tyre pressures or how to ride corrugations. I totally agree that you should drive to the conditions but they were driving like they were shit scared.

Scenery wise fully agree with what others have said it is for ever changing and if you are prepared to leave the road and explore some of the old sidingruins or settlements and if you can afford do a flight over the lake and to the Painted Hills (now that was a well worthwhile excursion), you will not be disappointed.

As an aside i wished I'd photographed the graffiti on the dip signs. EG cheese & dip, dips$$t etc etc. It was the only place we have ever seen such fun (mischief), being displayed.

Last time I was up at Cape York which was back in 2006, there was similar graffiti on the dip signs there...so it’s not the only place to have it and not a new idea either. My guess is travellers have seen it elsewhere and copied the idea to the Oodnadatta Track now.

Here is a sign on the Oodnadatta Track that went missing a long time ago.


Another to go missing on a regular basis in the area was the Lollypop Lane sign near Mount Barry. The station was replacing it several times a year, but have given up now I think.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome