Not surprisingly, the 2.5 hours of 'back pedalling' went
a) a lot quicker then expected and
b) by without really noticing very much that we'd been there, done that along the same road. This would be thanks to the fact that a lot of the terrain out there is generally a replica of the exact same thing you'd been seeing for the last 500kms already travelled.
We pulled in at a highway Rest Area to compete with the flies and prepare a little something for lunch. Not long after our arrival, we were joined by some madman on a bicycle, Andy. While you may think that calling some random on a bike a madman is quite insulting, I get the feeling that he might even agree with me. Andy is from Liverpool, England. He actually began his trip in Stone, UK just 20 miles from Tom's home. He was initially heading through Europe on route to Nepal except once he reached his final destination, he decided to spice things up a little and upgrade his finishing point to be, New Zealand... you know, no biggie. ;)
I couldn't help but overload Andy with all of the cold things we had on hand in the fridge. After bombarding him with cold drinking water, apples and Cadbury chocolate, anyone would have thought I thought he had never eaten before.
We sat chatting with our new friend for about 20 minutes enjoying a rather impromptu chat. We have since agreed to hopefully meet up again for a beer in the UK this Christmas but something tells me it could very easily turn into a few more than just one beer.
You can have a read of Andy's adventures by visiting his blog- http://www.nepalorbust.info/
As the Oodnadatta track had just been reopened within the last few days, we were very conscience of taking all appropriate safety precautions, especially considering there was no mobile reception all 616km to Maree. The track itself starts in Marla (which is just off the Stuart Highway which runs North/South from Coober Pedy to Alice Springs) and travels South-West and finishes in Maree (which is where the Birdsville Track begins).In preparation,we listed some of the "Must Do's & Bring's" when driving a track like this. No doubt the one thing you forget to bring or didn't think you'd need is the thing you'll need in times of despair...
1. Deflate tyres to the appropriate pressure. Carry tyre gauge & pump.
2. Carry adequate fuel, water and food.
3. At least one spare tyre and jack.
4. First Aid Kit
5. UHF - and know the local emergency channel
6. Shovel, Axe & toolkit
7. Spare belts, hoses, radiator watering coolant, oil & spare filters & spare fuses
8. Torch with spare batteries
9. A Map and/or GPS
10. Notify someone of your whereabouts and intentions
No doubt we've left a few things off the necessities list but thankfully for us, we only needed to consult point #2 all of the way to Oodnadatta. Aside from a couple of knee high creek crossings, the 200kms from Marla to Oodnadatta was surprisingly tame. Unless of course, you are a roadtrain and you find yourself stuck in one of the crossings and have to wait for a tractor to come and push you out.
We were glad to finally arrive at the iconic Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta which was to be our camp for the night. The owners had certainly done a great job at putting the word out about this place, I guess having something bright pink in the middle of nowhere would make almost anything stand out. If there's one thing about the Pink Roadhouse it's certainly not boring. To find a place in the town labelled 'Australia's Hottest & Driest' where everything is painted an outstanding pale pink colour certainly gets your attention. Yep, from the wheelie bins to the petrol bowsers all the way to the very (not-so) useful pink canoe available for hire, you instantly know it's going to be an experience like no other.
Walking into the place is like morphing into the 50's with the black and white diamond tiling and the giant glittering juke box, I was expecting to find someone standing behind the counter dressed as Olivia Newton-John. Thankfully however, there were no pink ladies jackets and leather pants. Just a hell of a lot of paraphernalia with the Pink Roadhouse pictured all over it. I couldn't help myself, I gave into pink-temptation and got sucked into to all of the touristy crap. Now, tucked away in a safe and clean hiding place until the end of the trip, I have a full length black apron with a caricature of "The Pink Roadhouse, Oodnadatta" tastelessly stamped across the front. And I love it! I just loved the thought of cooking all of those future meals and donning my 'Oonie' Apron, reminding myself of where we'd been and the journey we went on to get to that incredible place.
No comments:
Post a Comment