Oodnadatta to Dalhousie Springs SA

Today’s adventure we drove 50km to Oodnadatta then 187km to Dalhousie Springs.

We began the morning with a walk and then we got the drone out while there was no wind.

We then drove along a relatively good road to Oodnadatta now famous for its Pink Roadhouse. Our granddaughter, Zara, would be in her element here as she loves pink. Historically both the telegraph line and the Ghan railway created a settlement here in the late 1880’s. Although this was preceded by the local aborigines trade route following the springs. It wasn’t until 1983 that the roadhouse became pink and now is the one stop shop for the town and travellers. 

The other pub in town.

So here we decided which direction we would go… painted desert to Coober Pedy or further north to Dalhousie Springs… the later won. So off we set at 10:40 am to drive 187km on a mostly very corrugated track. We drove over Fogartys Claypan that had a sandy section at the end. 

We stopped  at the Pedirka  Siding ruins for lunch. 

After entering the Witjira National Park we had a look around the Dalhousie Homestead ruins. 

Someone was not so lucky

Finally at 3:30pm we made it to the springs and campground $25 (paid later with Starlink). We had a dip in the not very refreshing springs at 38°c and got nibbled at by the tiny fish. 

We then selected a spot for the night.

Took us 5 hours with stops…