ON TO OODNADATTA
We were driving at 80km/h when it happened. Black rubber cartwheeled out of the arch, rocks dinged, and the car tilted forward as we rolled to a halt. Outside, we assessed the carnage as beyond the scope of our ARB Speedy Seal tyre repair kit.
The jack fit under and soon we’d fitted our one spare. Ahead lay 120 kilometres to Oodnadatta, the hottest and driest town in Australia. William Creek was 60km behind.
We’d set off from Adelaide six days previously to start on the Oodnadatta Track at Marree. What lies beyond these desert mountains of the Flinders Ranges is even greater outback, defined not by lofty bluffs but by barren, flat landscapes, brought to life by intermittent water sources, and dotted with service towns and ruins, galvanised by railway, the Overland Telegraph Track, and pastoral and mining interests.
The Oodnadatta Track is a 650km unsealed road stretching from
