Parachilna

Not a bad night's sleep on air mattresses. Arise to a camp cooked bacon and eggs by Brett, whilst Jen attended to the toast and cuppas. We then set about striking camp and packing the truck before our showers and farewells to fellow travellers/drinking buddies. It was now 11 am.

Bretts turn to drive the track. It was noticeably rougher than yesterday, but it was still good. We went through Mulka, the driest area in Australia, at an average of 18mm rainfall per year, through to Etadunna where we spotted a feral Ostrich...yes, an Ostrich. Then, on to Dulkaninna, Cooper Creek a few times, Clayton and on to Marree, the end of the Birdsville Track. Here, Jen did a Google search (reception), because we couldn't totally accept it was an Ostrich, but lo and behold, they used to farm Ostriches out here and there were some escapees recorded and believed to be in the wild in the outback here. There you go. So, officially, it was the only land-based wild creature seen during our entire trip down the track.

Took a quick look around Marree, home to at nice looking outback Hotel, a train station and the Lake Eyre Yacht Club (no rowing club), and not much else. We headed south along The Outback Way and stopped in at a little place called Farina. It is a derelict, decaying village that had an underground baking oven and a number of fallen down sandstone buildings. Now, with the assistance of funding and donations and a plethora of volunteers, the oven is operational, there is a visitor/souvenir/coffee shop-bakery centre that operates for just 8 weeks per year whilst these volunteers stabilise the old derelict buildings for preservation and tourism purposes. After a delicious pie and walnut cake with cream and jam, we then moved on through Lyndhurst, Copley, and Leigh Creek, which are just west of the North Flinders-Gammon Ranges on to Parachilna, where we decided to 'glamp' it at the very nice Prairie Hotel and it's micro Brewery, the Prairie Hotel Brewery. Beers were great, lodgings super-luxurious. We're just near the Flinders Ranges NP, and that's where we're heading to tomorrow, aiming for Adelaide and catching up with our good mate Darryl.Read more