Seeya later NT - Welcome to the great south!

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21st November - 22nd November 2009

Kulgera Roadhouse and the South Australian border

Stayed my last night in the Northern Territory at the Kulgera Roadhouse campground. It was, if you will believe me, freezing! Driving around with a QLD number plate I usually get the 'your just a soft Queenslander' response when I say how cold it is. I wasn't born in QLD, I grew up near Sydney so if I say it's cold, believe me, it's cold! It wasn't so much the temperature, it was the wind. It was the type of wind that goes right through you to your bones. Spent the night cosy inside my van as there wasn't much going!

Up early the next day I started my journey south towards Coober Pedy. The border crossing from Kulgera is only 22 kms down the road. Another border crossing, another State I can tick off the list, another goal accomplished. I am now in the driest State in Australia, South Australia. Ironically, it was raining and had rained quite abit the day before as there was lots of water on the roadside. The landscape along this drive is without a doubt, the dullest, most repetitive landscape I have yet encountered. I don't know if it was the dull day, grey skies, cold weather, light drizzle, lack of anything even remotely interesting to look at besides the road (which is a good thing I suppose) or the fact that it's just boring, but this drive down to Coober Pedy was a struggle. It was nice to be cosy in the van and not melting with heat. I tell you what, it is one extreme to the next. I was in 43 degree heat in Kings Canyon less than a week ago! I only got out a few times for fuel or a stetch of the legs which resulted in a numb me returning to the van to defrost.

The two main stops as you journey down the Stuart Hwy is at Marla Roadhouse and Cadney Homestead. Both come at good times in the drive, when you feel that if you don't stop you may day dream yourself to death! Marla is the turn off point if you are venturing into the deep SA outback along the Oodnadatta Track. This is a very famous Track but with road conditions pretty poor at the moment I decided to stick to the main highway. It's not just a small detour either, the Oodnadatta Track is something like 200 km to Oodnadatta from Marla and then at least another 200km back to Coober Pedy via another track. So if I wanted to do the 'side' trip out to Oodnadatta (which I really wanted to because there is the famous Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta), I concluded that over 400 kms of dirt, bumpy, god knows what other road conditions, I could live without the Pink Roadhouse! The Oodnadatta Track also takes you to Lake Eyre National Park, via William Creek, which I really wanted to see. I made the right decision as it would turn out, because when I arrived in Coober Pedy they told me at the campground that the Track was closed due to the rain and parts of the Track were impassable. While I was staying at Coober Pedy I heard that a bus load of tourist got bogged somewhere out there and a tow truck had to go out and get them out. Yeah, glad I didn't do it in the end!

Not far out of Coober Pedy I passed through the 'Dog Fence'. This is interesting. It is apparently the longest fence in the world (it's even longer than the Great Wall of China), stretching 5614km from QLD to the Great Australian Bight in far western SA. Its purpose is basic, to separate the rich sheep growing areas in the south from the dingoes of central Australia. The fence is 180cm high and extends 30cm underground. It was built in the 1880's and finished in 1885. I think it is rather remarkable really, similar ofcourse to the famous 'rabbit fence' in Western Australia but no where near as long at only 3253km. The rabbit fence was built after the dog fence, built between 1901-1907. Very interesting stuff!

Early afternoon, after 320km of grey, I arrived in Coober Pedy to sunny skies but unfortunately that icy cold Antarctic wind was still blowing!

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Photos

Dog fence
South Australia