Oodnadatta Bore

Oodnadatta - the name conjures up thoughts of outback legends. It is aboriginal meaning “Blossom of the Mulga”. As a kid Peter played a leading role in a school musical play called Oodnadatta which was an Australianised version of the Rogers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma.
The town of Oodnadatta became famous and wealthy as a stopping point for the Old Ghan railway and as a booster station for the Overland Telegraph line that ran between Darwin and Adelaide in 1872.
Today Oodnadatta is better known as a stopping point on the Oodnadatta Track running between Marla and Maree, and it was this track that we started driving on today.
Tyre pressures let down, fuel and water tanks full, we headed off from Marla. The track was gravel all the way for the 209kms to Oodnadatta. Yes some parts of the road were corrugated, but most of the road was relatively smooth except for the numerous floodway dips that we crossed. There was no water, but these floodways can still be quite rough and needed reduced speed. For most of the way we averaged 60kph. The outback countryside was relatively monotonous with vast gibber plains separated by areas quite heavily vegetated and lots of trees. The Oodnadatta track is 617km long and today would be the longest single day for us on the track, each of the remaining days will be shorter.
To Carolina’s delight the buildings of the small town of Oodnadatta finally came into view. Before we entered the town we passed a long stick-like monument protected by a surrounding low fence. This an original wooden telegraph pole from the Overland Telegraph line.
As we entered Oodnadatta it looked like a sleepy town from a western movie. Not many people around except for the usual gatherings of grey nomads and caravans. Pride of place is the famous Oodnadatta Pink Roadhouse, and yes, everything in it is PINK! This roadhouse was featured in one of the ABC Back Roads episodes.
We checked-in at the Pink Roadhouse Caravan Park, got ourselves set up, and then went for a walk to see the sights in this unique outback town.
To be honest there is not much in this town. The Pink Roadhouse is the centre of the action. The Old Ghan railway station, once the centre of a bustling town, is now a railway museum. Opposite is a building that has the esteemed title of The Trans-Continental Hotel, but which looks more like a run down outback pub. There is a supermarket that was closed in the middle of the afternoon.
The town somehow seems to be suspended in time, but to bring it back to real time are the constant numbers of caravans and 4x4 cars that come into town as they traverse the famous Oodnadatta Track.Read more