The mornings rain while welcome, exciting and surprising to all was a little concerning for those of us traveling today. As we drove past the start of the Birdsville Track we noticed the rain had closed the track in that direction. Here’s hoping the Oodnadatta was going to remain open.
All was well, a little muddy but not bad enough to rough up the track too much. Probably mostly because it is so rocky. The Oodnadatta follows the old Ghan railway line to the town of Oodnadatta, we are only traveling the section to William Creek but it will still take us two days to get there.
It’s a fairly long driving day with just a few stops at some old ruins of railway station, bridges and a rather stunning junk sculpture yard. The road was pretty rough, corrugated, dusty and rocky but it doesn’t bother us too much. We pull up at a roadside camp for the night and are treated to one of the most spectacular sunsets of the trip so far.
Our next day on the track start with a bang. Literally we’d just pulled onto the road from our over night stay, travelled about 500 m’s and bang a stone flick up from a pacing car cracks the windscreen. The sound was louder than usual but I couldn’t spot the crack or chip. Then I noticed tiny glass shards on the dashboard. It had hit right low down at the edge and punched a hole right through.
We pulled over and attempted a repair, without any success we continued on hoping we didn’t cop another direct hit. The track has been pretty busy, I think all the excitement over Lake Eyre filling up this year has bought not only the flood water but a flood of tourists wanting a see this rare event.
We make a rest stop at the southern end of Lake Eyre, the lowest place on the Australian mainland at 12 to 15 meter below sea level, (it depends which sign you read). No water has reached here yet but the lake is still filling and they are expecting the water from the second flood event of the wet season to reach here in a few more weeks time. There seems to be much debate about whether or not it will fill completely and we are hearing reports we have arrived a couple of weeks ahead of the masses of bird life that appear as the lake fills.
The rest of the track is pretty similar more rocky, dusty, corrugated road and flat, dry, arid, expansive views. Until we come across a couple of natural springs. We decided to take a look so turned off the track for an adventure. We passed Blanche Cup Mound Spring and carried on to Mound Springs also called ‘The Bubbler’, as the spring just bubbles up from below. It is mesmerizing to watch different size bubbles coming up making patterns in the sandy bottom of the pool. A real oasis in the middle of a dry landscape. No trees but lush grasses and the sound of a babbling brook, totally unexpected and beautiful.
By late afternoon we pull into William Creek and settle in for the night.