Trip Report – The Madigan Line Part 5
Monday July 3 – Thursday July 27, 2023
Rob & Alec Drummond – Nissan Patrol
Phillip Favaloro – Nissan Patrol
Continued…
We woke to a double sunrise. The sun was below the horizon and lit up the earth-side of the clouds, then again lit the sky when the sun tipped over the horizon; brilliant!
Our first stop for the day was just down the road to Curdimurka Railway Siding (yes, another!) which we could see from our camp.
Curdimurka, like most of the other sidings on the Old Ghan Railway, ceased to operate in the mid-1970’s with the realignment of the railway to the west. The buildings remain largely intact but it’s a pity that the furniture and other fittings have been removed thereby robbing the traveller of a glimpse into lives led in recent history.
After poking around for a while, we moved onto Lake Eyre South Lookout, just down the road. Lake Eyre was full, or very close to it, but still a fair distance from the
Lookout. “Well, we’ve come this far, let’s not waste the opportunity”, so a walk down to the lake shore was in order. It took about 15 minutes to get close to the water line, but the closer we got, the further away it looked. The shore was sludge and the light reflecting from it, made it look like the surface of
Lake Eyre. As the sludge was becoming deeper and less stable, Rob gave up and decided to retreat and forego dabbing a toe into the salty lake.
We returned to the cars, had our ‘Elevenses’ then
drove about half an hour until we came across a rail bridge covered in corellas. Rob and Alec quickly donned the long lenses and set about capturing the birds on film.
The outback does throw up some oddities from time to time, and the artistic (?) offerings at Alberrie Creek are testament to some people’s belief in their own skills. The entrance to this park is alongside the
Oodnadatta Track, and comes with its very own warning:
Having spent more than an hour being culturally educated, we headed south towards Marree.
Marree is at the junction of the Birdsville and Oodnadatta Tracks and was once a thriving community serving much of the outback, perhaps most famously through its postal service driven by Tom Cruise whose mail truck stands on blocks near the railway station.
Around town there are examples from the Commonwealth Railway days and tributes to the many Afghans who played such an important part opening the outback, bringing their camels and handling skills to aide the settlers and explorers.
The day was getting on a bit, so we enjoyed a leisurely 63km drive down the Track to Farina where we stayed the night at the campground. Farina is on private property which is open to the public. The town is undergoing preservation and restoration of the many buildings, and each year, for eight weeks only, the town is buzzing with many volunteers working on pointing the stonework and other tasks in order to keep the buildings standing. Perhaps the most famous building in Farina is the underground bakery which was fired up in 2010 after 80years of neglect. We eagerly sampled a few of the products on offer.
Apart from appreciating the town’s buildings, it’s often fascinating going for a stroll through a cemetery, particularly one that is so well maintained. Farina’s dates back to the 1870’s and hosts 244 registered names from various backgrounds.
Moving on, we filled up at Lyndhurst for the drive across to Arkaroola via Copley. There’s no service station or store here as fuel comes from a bowser where you have to type in how much you are going to take, and hand over your credit card details. We finally worked out how to use it and were soon on our way. We stopped in Leigh Creek along Gammon Ranges Road; literally the creek, not the town, for our lunch.
The drive eastwards from here becomes more spectacular the further you go, and is only bettered by turning north up Umbertana Road. This ‘road’ eventually enters Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges National Park where having too much overhang on your 4WD, either front or rear would not be wise.
The track winds its way, up hill and down dale across undulating countryside that was once grazing land. We visited the ruins of Illinawortina Well and Homestead and were amazed at the methods of construction used. Some buildings had no evidence of mortar, apart from some mud, and appeared to have used a dry wall construction, while some door lintels appeared to be nothing more than tree trunks, rather than finished timbers.
Just a few km’s from Arkaroola we noticed a road sign visible from the opposite direction and thought it might be useful to have similar at the other end of the track; I wouldn’t like to tow anything more than a box trailer along that route.
We reached the Old Bolla Bollana Smelter ruins which are part of the rich mining history of the Arkaroola area.
We reached the campsite at Arkaroola just after sunset after a fascinating day’s travel, set up camp, then sat down to dinner in the restaurant at the Arkaroola Resort; the kangaroo was superb!
(to be continued)
Rob Drummond