A report of many colours

We had decided to take a flight from William Creek to see the vastness of the desert, the painted hills and Lake Eyre. So this morning we reported to the airfield to meet our pilot- a 22 year old young lady who had been flying from here for the past four months. Our plane, a 30 year old four seater Piper, was waiting for us ready warmed up, and we took off to the north towards the painted hills.






Very soon we passed over Anna Creek Station, from the air it looked well ordered and immaculate, an oasis in the desert.

There are about 30 paddocks on Anna Creek station, and in one we passed over a large number of cattle had been mustered probably for grading and branding, and we could see clearly the men at work.
Anna Creek, the largest station in the southern hemisphere, has around 17,000 cattle running, and each of them has to be mustered twice a year for this process.

Very soon we were over the Painted hills, still on Anna Creek land. Covering an area around 360 sq, kms, we saw sandstone hills of vividly coloured ochre yellow oxide, red and deep brown, with contrasting whites and jet blacks.

The station does not allow access to this area by land, and in any case it would be impossible to see it properly from the ground, so flying is the only way to see this amazing sight.

All too soon we turned south east again towards Lake Eyre. Although I am sure that when the lake is full it will be an amazing sight, with the myriad of birds, in particular the pelicans, I was a little disappointed. Basically all it is is a very large salt bed, covering almost 9700 sq kms, and contains 400 million tons of salt. It is Australia's largest inland lake. I understand  that when it is full fish hatch from eggs laid when last full, and the desert around fills with flowers after a good rainfall. But none of this was evident to us.

This was where Donald Campbell set a world speed record of 649kmh (401mph) in 1964.

On our return to William Creek we drove on north towards our next destination, Oodnadata.
These roads are quite often closed, sometimes for days at a time, and as we had heard thunder the previous night we were a little apprehensive that our route could be closed by rain. Sand or clay roads very quickly become bogged, as do the vehicles passing over them, so the authorities take no chances.

As yesterday, we travelled alongside the Old Ghan railway track, and soon came to the Algebuckina bridge. Costing £60,000 in 1892, it spans the Neales river and is over 600 mtrs long, the largest in South Australia. Built in Glasgow and transported here in small pieces, at one point there were 350 men employed on site. Here we can see both gauges as they cross the bridge, the original rails appear to be 30 inches apart, and the outer the standard Australian gauge, 3' 6".

We can vouch for the latter- I don't know about the Tranny as we were making for the Pink Roadhouse which we had heard so much about since we had first arrived in Oz. It was Bl**** hot, and the flies are just as bad here as they were in WC.

Everything is pink, a great publicity gimmick, even their Volvo car, the garage, their camp ground, (well most of it) and a lot of the furniture inside.
The family have been there for many years, and have brought up their family there.
We learned that the owner, Adam Plate, was killed last year at 62 years old when competing in a motor rally, so the business is for sale. We wish his widow Lynnie, and her family, all the best for their future.