Holiday Cycling Adventures
2007 - Irrapatana Sand Dunes
Visited on 15 July 2007. | © 2008 |
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We cycled accross the complete Oodnadatta Track, 617 kilometers from Marree to Marla via Oodnadatta crossing the Tirari Desert in South Australia. the track passes the southern lake of the Lake Eyre National Park and it also passes the very nice Irrapatana red sand dunes. We took three days to cycle from one town to then next (Marree - William Creek, William Creek -> Oodnadatta and Oodnadatta -> Marla). These towns are the only places where you can get drinking water, so took on our ExtraWheel trailers enough drinking water with us for at least three days.
The Oodnadatta track is a traditional aboriginal trading route. Along the route are a series of springs feeding water from the Great Artesian Basin - the best remaining example is the mound springs found near Coward Springs. Later, because of the availability of water, the route was chosen for the Central Australian Railway, the original route of The Ghan. Remnants of the many railway sidings and telegraph repeater stations are still along the track - one of the best preserved is the Coward Springs Campground - complete with natural artesian spa.
Last updated 01-02-2009 by Jan Dirk van 't Wout (jan.dirk.van.het.wout@ict.nl). |