Tuesday, 29 April 2014

Oodnadatta track – South Australia 19-04-2014

The name Oodnadatta is believed to be from the local Aborigine word Utnadata meaning Blossom of the Mulga tree. This gravel road from Marree to Oodnadatta closely follows the old Ghan railway line that ran between Adelaide and Alice Springs.

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Marree Hotel 

Marree  (meaning possum in the local Aborigine language) was once a Camel Train town with a Ghan railway station, but now serves as a stopping off point for people starting on the Birdsville Track or like us the Oodnadatta track.

IMG_0863Zebra Finches at Marree!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lake Eyre (South) with water or a mirage!

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Curdimurka Siding  Station circa 1888 – now almost abandoned despite efforts to restore the buildings.

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Neat system for reducing velocity to enable small fry to swim up stream. However gulls gather along side and pick them up as the small fish struggle against the flow.

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A mound spring gently welling upward.

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‘The Bubbler’ mound spring today

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Our vehicle and mound spring in background.

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Map showing the ‘string’of mound springs along the Oodinatta track. These springs enabled the First Australians to trade and exchange information with one another right across Pedirka Desert and beyond, for thousands of years.

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