Day 4 – Oodnadatta to Dalhousie Springs via Mount Dare Station
Oodnadatta reckons it is the hottest, driest town in sud Australia and it might be at the height of summer but it received 2mm of rained overnight and the forecast was for between 1mm and 5mm more today.
Our hosts at The Pink Roadhouse, Lynnie & Annie Plate, told us if we got 1mm we would be fine, however if we got 5mm we would be in deep trouble and even if we did manage to get to Dalhousie Springs we may not get back! This information was dissected by the tribal elders with some members electing to remain at Camp Oodnadatta with the crew who were staying behind to re-build the engine of the bay window kombi.
Of the 15 luft cooled VWs that departed from Adelaide only 7 were setting off for our destination of Dalhousie Springs with the Amarok to follow. There were 3 bay window kombis, 2 beetles, my split window kombi and the square. After filling up with another half litre of oil we got to the starting grid in last place and set off behind the only bay window double cab making the trip.
All went well for about the first hour and then the double cab pulled over. It had hit a rock that had knocked the oil filter off its housing and it was leaking oil profusely. Due to the terrain radio contact was patchy and we couldn’t get in touch with the main convoy so we stayed with the stricken dc for half an hour before setting off solo. They were soon picked up by the Amarok and towed to Hamilton Station where they stayed overnight.
Up until now the roads had been sandy but after Hamilton Station the terrain soon alternated between indistinct rocky trails to long, sticky clay pans. And then the rain came....
After travelling in convoy it was eerie being out in this vast landscape alone and looking at the horizon in all directions only to see dark clouds and rain enveloping the land. As the conditions deteriorated driving over the thick red clay became quite treacherous and it was like driving on ice. It took us about two hours to catch up to the main group and the only reason we did was because a few of them had become bogged! We had to slither and slide about a kilometre past one of the kombis before we could find a suitable spot to stop so we didn’t suffer the same fate! Thankfully it wasn’t far to Mount Dare Station, fuel, lunch and a little respite...
No matter what happens they can't take you out in the street and shoot you....
STRIKE 1
As we had the satellite phone on board we returned to their position and within half an hour all the parts required for a rebuild were being arranged in Adelaide and were put on a Greyhound bus to Coober Pedy that day to be flown into Oodnadatta the next morning.
