Freeling Springs, South Australia
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__NOTOC__ The Oodnadatta Track is an unsealed outback road in the Australian state of
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, connecting
Marla Marla is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's north-west about north-west of the state capital of Adelaide and about south of the town of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. History Marla ...
in the north-west via
Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta ...
to Marree in the south-east. Along the way, the track passes the settlements of Oodnadatta and William Creek, the southern lake of the
Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park KATI (94.3 FM), branded as 94.3 KAT Country, is a radio station which broadcasts country music and St. Louis Cardinals baseball. Licensed to California, Missouri, the station serves the Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, ...
, and mound springs known as Freeling Springs, Strangways Springs, and The Bubbler and Blanche Cup ( Wabma Kadarbu Mound Springs). Some maps show Oodnadatta Track as route D95, which, under the extended Australian alphanumeric road numbering system, belongs to a D road, a category distinct from a C road. However, the D95 is not signposted, as the
Department for Infrastructure and Transport The Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) is a department of the Government of South Australia. It is responsible for maintaining, expanding and operating the statewide road network. In addition to road transport, the department i ...
has a policy of not marking unsealed roads.


History

The track follows a traditional
Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...
trading route. Along the track are numerous springs feeding water from the
Great Artesian Basin The Great Artesian Basin (GAB) of Australia is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, extending over . Measured water temperatures range from . The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much of inland Australia. ...
, the most accessible examples being the mound springs near Coward Springs, now in the Wabma Kadarbu Mound Springs Conservation Park. Later, because of the availability of water, the route was chosen for the steam-train powered
Central Australia Railway The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and dismantled in 1980, was a Narrow-gauge railway, 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta railway station, Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gau ...
, the original route of ''
The Ghan ''The Ghan'' () is an experiential tourism-oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor ...
''. It was also the route taken by the explorer
John McDouall Stuart John McDouall Stuart (7 September 18155 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart", was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers. Stuart led the first successful expedition to tra ...
on his third expedition in 1859. Remnants of the many railway sidings and bridges, the ruins of railway buildings, and
Overland Telegraph Line The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was an electrical telegraph system for sending messages the between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Completed in 1872 (with a li ...
repeater stations are located along the track – some of the best preserved are at the Coward Springs Campground – complete with a natural artesian spa and the abandoned Curdimurka railway siding. Angle Pole () is the point near Oodnadatta where the direction of the telegraph line changed to a more northerly direction. It is near the Peake cattle station, also known as "
The Peake The Peake is an abandoned ruin on the banks of the Neales River in far north South Australia, near the mound springs complex known as Freeling Springs. The Peake was established initially as an Outstation (Australian agriculture), outstation on th ...
", or Freeling Springs. The ruins of Peake telegraph station exist on the station today. Nearby Peake Creek was named after Edward John Peake by
John McDouall Stuart John McDouall Stuart (7 September 18155 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart", was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers. Stuart led the first successful expedition to tra ...
in June 1859, hence Peake Station, which was acquired by Kidman Holdings in 1898. The track was named by Adam Plate of the Oodnadatta Progress Association in about 1980, to form a trilogy of unsealed tourist routes with the
Birdsville Birdsville is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Diamantina, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the Queensland border with both the Northern Territory and South Australia. The town is situated north of the South Australian bord ...
and Strzelecki Tracks nearby. This road has no major intersections.


Route

The Oodnadatta Track heads southeast from Marla to Oodnadatta, and then roughly follows the former
Central Australia Railway The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and dismantled in 1980, was a Narrow-gauge railway, 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta railway station, Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gau ...
further southeast, until meeting the sealed
Outback Highway The Outback Highway or Outback Way is a series of roads and dirt tracks linking Laverton, Western Australia and Winton, Queensland. At , it crosses Central Australia (colloquially known as the Outback), passing through Western Australia, the N ...
at Marree. The road's surface has been well maintained in recent years. In dry weather, the track is passable to most vehicles and caravans. A
four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...
(4x4) vehicle gives a more comfortable journey, and is essential for driving the track during and after rain. Since the track is unsealed, the
Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...
recommends that users check whether it is open before departure.


Major junctions

Oodanadatta Track is entirely contained within the
Outback Communities Authority The Outback Communities Authority (OCA) is a statutory authority in South Australia (SA) created under the ''Outback Communities (Administration and Management) Act 2009''. It has been established to "manage the provision of public services and f ...
local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
.


Gallery

File:Moundspring.jpg, Mound Springs on the Oodnadatta Track File:Lake eyre south.JPG, Lake Eyre South from the Oodnadatta Track File:Oodnadatta-Track-sign.JPG, Road signs at Oodnadatta File:Oodnadatta Track north of Oodnadatta, South Australia (cropped).jpg, The Oodnadatta Track heading north from Oodnadatta File:Oodnadatta-Track.jpg, The Oodnadatta Track from a slight rise in the road File:Central Australia Railway (route of the "old Ghan") -- trackbed near Lake Eyre South, South Australia (cropped).jpg, Trackbed of the former Central Australia Railway – the "old Ghan" line – near Lake Eyre South (left distance)


See also

*
Highways in Australia Highways in Australia are generally high capacity roads managed by states and territories of Australia, state and territory government agencies, though Australia's federal government contributes funding for important links between capital cit ...
*
List of highways in South Australia South Australia is distinctly divided into two main areas; the well watered and populated southeastern corner and the arid outback for the rest of the state. As a result, highways are concentrated mainly in the southeast. The Eyre Highway to ...


References


Further reading

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oodnadatta Track Highways in South Australia Australian outback tracks Far North (South Australia)