Not a flying
start on Monday morning as the Pathfinder has a flat battery. Curses to the
local battery supplier who twice tested it and said it was OK, Jumped started
from second battery and off to an alternate supplier for a new one. That out of
the way, the journey to Mt Dare begins.
It’s cold and
raining and we leave Melbourne behind us, traveling through fog around
Ballarat. A nights stay at Nhill and its back on the road to Port Augusta.
North of Snowtown, the highway runs beside the railway where The Ghan and
Indian Pacific travel. We catch sight of the The Ghan as it waits on a parallel
section of track to allow one of the many freight services to pass by. At Port
Augusta during the night, we can here some of the freight trains rumble by with
up to 1.8km of freight carriages behind.
 | |
| Coober Pedy underground accommodation |
Leaving Port
Augusta we venture on to the Stuart Highway for the first time, stopping at the
Pimba roadhouse for morning coffee. The highway now starts to enter desert-like
country, unfenced as we pass from one grazing station property to the next. One
more stop at Glendambo for lunch, and soon we are in Coober Pedy and our
underground accommodation.
It’s warm inside
and cool outside, the opposite to what I suspect summer is. Our original
intention was to spend a day exploring Coober Pedy, but after a visit to the museum
(free) and a meal at John’s Pizza Bar & Restaurant, the experiences
available seem somewhat limited. Interestingly, a restaurant patron asked if
the fish of the day was fresh. Alcohol restrictions in Coober Pedy limit one
bottle of wine per person per day from takeaway outlets, with no sales of casks.
 |
| Coober Pedy |
This is the last
of the black top as we leave Coober Pedy in the morning and head towards
Oodnadatta. We travel 50 km before encountering another vehicle, the recently
graded road being in good condition, and a two and a half hour drive brings
us to Oodnadatta.
 | |
| Hamilton Station |
The Pink Roadhouse provides an opportunity for a break and
morning coffee, then its off the Oodnadatta Track and onwards to Hamilton
Station, passing through Mt Sarah Station along the way. At Hamilton Station we
stop beside the road for a picnic lunch of the freshly baked rolls that we
purchased just as we were leaving Coober Pedy. The road conditions remain the
same and this is a relatively comfortable ride for an outback road. Three hours
after leaving Coober Pedy we arrive at Mt Dare.
That's it. Time for a bourbon.
