THE Oodnadatta Track isn’t merely a playground for dust-covered 4x4s or a pilgrimage route for adventurers — it’s a heritage-listed travel artery, pulsing with the history of Australia’s past. Covering 614km from Marree to Marla in South Australia, this well-worn path has layers of history that date back thousands of years. Ancient aboriginal inhabitants used the natural springs as a connect-the-dots route through the red centre, Mother Nature’s rustic hydration stations that make a desolate world far more forgiving. Following this exact route helped John McDouall Stuart become the first European to cross Australia’s interior from south to north in 1859.
The late-1800s was an era marked by the clang of hammers and unique silhouettes of Afghan cameleers and their camels stretching along the Central Australian sands. The Ghan Railway, a moniker in tribute to the Afghans, followed much of what we now call the Oodnadatta Track. More than a set of carriages rattling along the outback, it was an engineering marvel connecting people and places. Stopping at vital springs for water, the train became a lifeline for much of Central Australia.
While the Ghan Railway was putting down its tracks, another game-changing venture was unspooling alongside it –
