Leaving William Creek
Lake Eyre
Ghan Railway
Scotsman Stuart
Tom Cruz & Bluebird
Beltanan Station
Petting farm and Camels
Pool, dinner, and Red Dog
Distance: 351km
Total Distance:
An optional extra for this morning was to fly over Lake Eyre. We were getting it at a much cheaper rate than the general public and so 9/12 of the group went. I didn't however as I'm a boring sod when it comes to things like that. Flying over it and seeing pictures of it are about equal to me. I'd much rather be standing on it. Even if I only see a small fraction it makes me see and feel more to have these wonders under my feet or on the same eye level as me. Hence I just saw the pictures and waited until later.
We left William Creek and followed what was once the Ghan Railway south. This railway was supposed to connect the southern coast through the desert to the north. It took them 50 years to get half way. So it didn't really work out and it wasn't until a more modern line was completed just over 10 years ago that the first trains went through Australia. Now these are nearly all tourist trains. The old, narrow, disused railway still sits in the desert, collecting dust, as a dirt roadway passed alongside it.
We were heading first to the southern shores of Lake Eyre. At 15metres below sea level this is the last remnant of the inland sea. Much of the time it is a giant match. Of mud topped with salt. This is what we found where we parked up. I hoped out with the Germans to take a walk in the blistering heat. I've heard and read about these sorts of place many times. This lake was planned to be used by a British team trying to beat the world land speed record attempt using a car called "Bluebird". It's odd to stand on it. The salt crust stretches out beyond the horizon. Foot prints can remain for years, until there's enough rain to fill it again. So I wrote my name in it!
We passed a few more old monuments. An old station on the railway used as accommodation for those who looked after the line. A stone man for Scottish explorer John McDouall Stuart, first man to make it over the Australian deserts. His exploration enabled a telegraph line to run from Adelaide to Darwin meaning messages to the UK took 12 hours instead of 3-4 months. There was an outdoor art gallery made of bits of scrap welded together. And at Maree the pub was host to the Tom Cruz museum- a man who was the local postman for the outback, keeping folks in touch even through appalling conditions. Sounds like he was one hell of a mechanic and survivor. They still have his old truck on a plinth in the town square.
Finally we made it to the Beltanan Station, another immense farm of cattle, sheep, and...Camels! There was a wee petting zoo which I left the rest to look over. I hate to be the one in a group not entirely enthused about calves and lambs. I've seen several thousand of each, at least. But I haven't seen many camels. Hence I headed straight for them. Had a good chat to the couple who look after them. Good camel chat. They're phenomenal animals in every way-husbandry, socially, anatomically, physiologically. They got big carrots as a treat, using their three lips to grasp them before chewing.
The next morning, at sunrise, 5 of us would get to ride the camels around part of the station. They're very different to horse to ride, swaying side ways as both feet on one side at a time are moved.
That evening we ate a mix of chicken, lamb, and goat with various salads. Afterwards we sat in the pool and watched the Australian film "Red Dog" projected against the shed wall. The film's wonderful, about a dog found in the red desert who comes to live in an isolated mining community, eventually being loved and owned by everyone. It based on a true story from the 1970s- the dog is an Australian hero of the time, keeping the miners sane and travelling far. It's worth watching, especially if you want to know about life out in these lonely places amidst the desert.
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