of the deep seaweed that covers the shore; in
four trips along this coast I've never been able
to burst through this southern section of beach -
even though we've given it a good go!
Instead, we followed the old OTL Track
that parallels the beach, occasionally ducking
between samphire covered flats and across
dry shallow, billiard-table flat lake beds, before
winding our way onto the beach for the run
north.
The history of the OTL is often obvious when
you drive this route across the Great Australian
Bight. In fact, in places the lone wire that once
carried the telegraphic signals of a nation across
it lies along the track, acting something like a
breadcrumb trail in your GPS and letting you
know you are on the correct route, east or west.
At other times solitary poles from those bygone
days (this OTL line closed in 1926 to be rerouted
along what is now the Trans Australian Railway
line further inland) can be seen, as well as the
ruins of old telegraph stations.
"We folowed the
old track that
paralels the
beach, occasionaly
ducking between
samphire covered
flats and acro
dry shalow,
biliard-table flat
lake beds, before
winding our way
onto the beach for
the run north".
Climbing the escarpment east of Eucla