From Farina to William Creek.

The fifth day of our trip and we left Farina in good time. And it was the right time to see a family of emus cross the road in front of us.
All along the road to Marree and on most of the Oodnadatta Track, you are driving through cattle stations. Alot of these properties are unfenced near the road so you have to look out for cattle as well as the native wildlife.

 Arriving at Marree, we stopped for petrol and gas and did a quick walk and drive through the town. Marree  was once a major railway stop for the stations shipping their cattle to the larger towns for sale.

The Central Australia Railway reached the town in 1883 and the first train ran in January 1884. The town became a major railhead for the cattle industry. In the 1920s the railway was extended north from the town to Alice Springs. After opening in 1929 it became the route of the passenger train which became known as The Ghan. In 1957, the line south from Marree was rebuilt as standard gauge on a flatter alignment to facilitate the movement of coal from Leigh Creek to Port Augusta. That made Marree a break-of-gauge on the Ghan service because the remainder of the line was still narrow gauge. In 1980 the narrow gauge line from Marree to Alice Springs closed when theAdelaide to Alice Springs line was rebuilt much further west. In 1986 the standard gauge line from Leigh Creek coalfields to Marree was closed and the town lost its railway connection completely.^[5]

Marree was also the home of Tom Kruse, one of the men who drove the mail trucks from Marree to Birdsville in Queensland, a distance of some 700 kilometres. This route crosses some of the most challenging sandy and stony desert country in Australia, and it was a remarkable feat for fully loaded trucks to make the run at all. A collection of hundreds of photographs, documents and memorabilia from Kruse's Birdsville mail run are on display at the Marree Hotel.( Wikipedia.)

 On the left is one of many station houses left in ruins after the trains stopped running.

 Just one of the many wrecked and rusty cars we were to see on this trip.

 And then we were ready to travel the Oodnadatta track. There are so many railway sidings to stop at that it was hard to limit ourselves.
First was the water tower at the Callanna siding.

And then was the Wangianna Siding were a young kestrel kept a close eye on us.

 Planehenge at Alberrie Creek hits you in the eye with it's unexpected appearance on the horizon.

Well worth a look with a small donation towards its upkeep.

 There were finches and galahs everywhere taking advantage of the nesting sites that were inadvertently   provided for them.

A bearded dragon was sunning itself near the entrance to Planehenge

 Back on the track we passed the "Ghan Hover-Bus" and this odd "car in a wheel." Don't get bogged if you drive up to the hover-bus as the sand very soft.

 There were plenty of tracks to be found on the sand dunes as well as plenty of flowers.
Lunch was at the Lake Eyre South lookout. Here is a great view of this enormous dry salt lake and there seemed to be islands hovering above it in the distance.

 Next stop was to explore the Curdimurka Siding.Every two years a ball is held here to help raise funds to restore the Ghan sidings along the Oodnadatta track. It attracts people from all over the world. The buildings were once used by fettlers who maintained the railway tracks.

 Near the siding is a cairn erected in memory of the explorer John Stuart and his companions who passed                                                               this way in the 1800's.
We were heading to William Creek for the night with thre more stops to make. First on the  list was the artesian springs, the Bubbler and Blanche Cup located in theWabma Kadarbu Mound Springs National Park.The Bubbler is fascinating to watch as water erupts from the underground artesian basin into the spring.

the Blanche Cup

overflow from the Bubbler.

the Bubbler.

Frankenia

 As you can hear on the video, it was very windy.

  A quick stop to look at Beresford Siding and the dam next to it. The dam is an oasis for bird life and refreshing to see after the dryness of the desert

Strangways Springs Overland Telegraph Station was built at the site of the Strangways spring ,one of the many mound springs in the area. It is worth a look around.

At last our final destination for the night...the camp ground at William's Creek.
We walked over to have a look at the pub which has lots of stuff to look at on the ceiling and walls. However be prepared to pay a premium for your stubby.

Someone had been clever with the railway with the railway spikes.



Noisy miners kept us entertained with their quest for food at the camp  and that night we were treated to a beautiful sunset.