Adel Aide & South AuStr Ali AOUTBACKAdel Aide & South AuStr Ali AINFORMATIONAdel Aide & South AuStr Ali AOODNADATTATRACKBreakaways, the Dog ̈Fence (built to keep
dingos out of southeastern Australia) and
the table-like Moon ̈ Plain on the Coober
Pedy–Oodnadatta Rd. If it’s been raining,
you’ll need a 4WD.
If you’re heading for Oodnadatta, turning
off the Stuart Hwy at Cadney Homestead
(151km north of Coober Pedy) gives you a
shorter run on dirt roads than the routes
via Marla or Coober Pedy. En route you pass
through the aptly named Painted ̈Desert ̈
(bring your camera).
Cadney ̈Homestead (%08-86707994;cad
ney@bigpond�com; Stuart Hwy; unpowered/pow-
ered sites $15/25,dcabin/motel$60/115;ais)
itself has caravan and tent sites, serviceable
motel rooms and basic cabins (no linen,
shared facilities), plus petrol, puncture re-
pairs, takeaways, cold beer, ATM, swimming
pool...
In mulga scrub about 82km from Cad-
ney Homestead, Marla (population 245)
replaced Oodnadatta as the official region-
al centre when the Ghan railway line was
rerouted in 1980. Marla ̈ Travellers ̈ Rest
(%08-86707001; www �marla�com �au; StuartHwy;
unpowered/powered sites/cabins $15/25/40, d
$100-120;ais) has fuel, motel rooms,
camp sites, pool, a cafe and a supermarket.
Frontier-style Mintabie (population 250)
is an opal field settlement on Aboriginal land
35km west of Marla − there’s a general store,
restaurant and basic caravan park here.
From Marla the NT border is another
180km, with a fuel stop 20km beyond that
in Kulgera.
Oodnadatta Track
The legendary, lonesome Oodnadatta Track
is an unsealed, 615km road between Marla
on the Stuart Hwy and Marree in the north-
ern Flinders Ranges. The track traces the
route of the old Overland Telegraph Line
and the defunct Great Northern Railway.
Lake ̈ Eyre (the world’s sixth-largest lake
and usually dry) is just off the road. The
landscape here is amazingly diverse: flood-
plains south of Marla, saltbush flats around
William Creek, dunes and red gibber plains
near Coward Springs. Bring a 4WD – the
track is often passable in a regular car, but
it gets bumpy, muddy, dusty and potholed.
88 Information
BeforeyouhittheOodnadatta−arough,rocky
andsandytrackthat’ssubjecttoclosureafter
rains−checktrackconditionswiththeCoober
Pedyvisitorinformationcentre,theRoyalAu-
tomobileAssociationinAdelaide,oronlineat
www �dpti �sa �gov �au/OutbackRoads�
Ifyou’refindingthedustanddirtheavygoing,
thereareescaperoutestoCooberPedyonthe
StuartHwyfromWilliamCreekandOodnadatta�
Fuel,accommodationandmealsareavailableat
Marla,Oodnadatta,WilliamCreekandMarree�
SeetheOodnadatta Track − String of Springs
bookletfromtheSouthAustralianTourismCom-
mission,andtheTravel the Oodnadatta Track
brochureproducedbythePinkRoadhousefor
detailedtrackinfo�Oodnadatta to
William Creek
Around 209km from Marla, Oodnadatta
(population 280) is where the main road
and the old railway line diverged. Here
you’ll find the Pink ̈Roadhouse (%08-8670
7822,1800 802 074; www �pinkroadhouse�com �au;
h8am-5�30pm), a good source of track info
and meals (try the impressive ‘Oodnaburg-
er’). The roadhouse also has an attached
caravan ̈park (unpowered/poweredsites from
$22/30,budgetcabinsd/f from $65/125,self-con-
tainedcabinsdfrom $110; ais), which has
basic camping through to self-contained
cabins. Note that one of the roadhouse
managers passed away in 2012 – at the time
of writing the future of the business was
uncertain.
In another 70km you’ll hit William Creek
(population six), best enjoyed in the weather-
beaten William ̈ Creek ̈ Hotel (%08-8670
7880;www �williamcreekhotel�net �au; WilliamCreek;
unpowered/powered sites $25/35, cabins s/d
$35/70,hotel $110/140;a), an iconic 1887 pub
festooned with photos, business cards, old li-
cence plates and money stapled to the walls.
There’s also a dusty campground and mod-
est cabins and motel rooms. Also on offer are
fuel, cold beer, basic provisions, all-day meals
(mains $16 to $32) and spare tyres.
William Creek is also a base for Wrights- ̈
air (%08-86707962;www �wrightsair�com� au;
WilliamCreek), which runs scenic flights over
Lake Eyre (per adult/child $260/234).Coward Springs to Marree
Some 130km shy of Marree, Coward ̈
Springs ̈ Campground (%08-8675 8336;
www �cowardsprings�com �au; unpoweredsites adult/
child $10/5) is the first stop at the old Coward