G'day From Down Under
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G'day From Down Under |
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 A Sand Track © Caroline Gaden |
The water we are lazing in is a comfortable 29°C. It is ‘fossil’ water, the last time it saw daylight was over 2 million years ago. We are at Coward Springs on the Oodnadatta Track in South Australia. Water from the Great Artesian Basin is bubbling to the surface to provide a haven for birds and wildlife including human travellers who have been camping in the bush with no conveniences like showers and toilets. This is a veritable oasis and a very welcome respite from the hot, dry, dusty bush camps where we have seen no other humans. |
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 An overnight Bush Camp © Caroline Gaden |
This trip we are camping in some remote areas of South Australia. We haven’t seen a tar roads in ages, we just come into the small townships when we need to restock food and fuel. We are carrying 80 litres of water and jerry cans of extra fuel. There’s two weeks supply of food in the back of the vehicle and a further weeks supply of emergency rations under the bed in case we breakdown. |
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 Sculpture Park, Oodnadatta Track © Caroline Gaden |
We have a High Frequency radio to keep in contact with civilisation, checking in each evening, atmospheric conditions permitting. We’re carrying an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon [EPIRB] in case we find ourselves in real strife. Out here you try not to take chances…. only last week one man bogged his vehicle in a clay pan on a remote road, ran out of water in 40° heat and died a horrible death. |
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 Sunrise at Algebuckina Bridge, Old Ghan Railway © Caroline Gaden |
Part of the time we have been following the old Ghan Railway line built in the 1880s. It was a lifeline for the outback and encouraged European settlement in more remote areas. Along its track you find numerous stone cottages built for the engine drivers or railway workers …. they are all ruins now. There are the old water tanks along the line, to supply the steam trains but the mineral-rich water from natural springs corroded the engines. The tracks were covered by dust storms, or swept away in floods, and eventually the line was abandoned. |
 Ruin along the railway, water tank in foreground © Caroline Gaden |
 Mound Spring, The Bubbler © Caroline Gaden |
The springs are called Mound Springs, bubbling up from the Great Artesian Basin. The sand and mineral deposits gradually build up a distinctive mound. These hot springs have lush green vegetation and a variety of life, some of the plants and animals are found only in these waters. It was the presence of these natural waterholes that enabled the Aboriginal people to inhabit the arid interior of this huge dry continent. |
 Rock Wallaby © Caroline Gaden |
 Strangways, the sheep yards © Caroline Gaden |
The water supply also allowed the European settlers to establish their cattle and sheep stations. We visited Strangways, a large sheep property developed in the 1860s. There were no local trees so all the buildings and large yards were constructed from stone. There were some very talented dry-stone-wall builders way back then. Strangways has long been deserted, the lush conditions seen by the original settlers were for just a few ‘good’ years, the many subsequent droughts showed the harsh reality of this semi-arid desert region and settlements have long been abandoned. |
 Strangways, the water tank with butressed walls © Caroline Gaden |
 Flinders Ranges © Caroline Gaden |
We went off the gravel roads and onto farm tracks where properties can be well over fifty kilometres wide. One day we drove all day through just three properties. The only people we saw were when we called into the homesteads. The roads were corrugated tracks through the sand-dunes and clay pans, hard on the vehicle but the scenery was magnificent. |
 Colour in the pebbles at the painted desert © Caroline Gaden |
 Painted desert mesa © Caroline Gaden |
On Arckaringa Station we were in awe at vista of the glorious Painted Desert. The erosion and leaching of the rocks has exposed a breathtaking mosaic of pigments and the stones of the towering mesas are a stunning profusion of colour. |
 Painted desert © Caroline Gaden |
 Corella overcrowding © Caroline Gaden |
It may not be the lush green of England, but Australia’s remote inland scenery is awe-inspiring in its vastness, its harshness; in the intense blue of the sky and reds of the soil; in the glorious sunrises and sunsets. It’s a place to visit in the cool of winter, the summer heat is too intense. |
 Part of Lake Eyre © Caroline Gaden |
 Ruin along the railway, water tank in foreground © Caroline Gaden |
So we will be home by the time you read this, preparing for a wedding, a graduation and a wonderful family Christmas. We wish you all a happy and healthy holiday time and a peaceful and prosperous 2009. |
 A flying kangaroo © Caroline Gaden |
Merry Christmas and Cheers from Down Under.
Caroline Gaden.
