Cullyburra Waterhole to Arkaroola
We drive and drive and drive, from Innamincka down the Strezlecki Track, then cut south a bit to visit Gammon Ranges National Park in the Flinders Ranges.
And I wonder what it is about car alarms in the Outback. If cappuccino is the official drink of 2002: The Year Of The Outback, then car alarms are certainly the official anthem.
It wasn't a very exciting day. Somewhere around 450 kilometers of driving, all down dirt and gravel roads, from Innamincka almost due south. It was the people the provided the most entertainment.
Late last night, we heard a car alarm go off. You've heard the tune before. It's the one that goes 'doo dee doo dee SQUAWK SQUAWK SQUAWK' etc etc. It's the international car-in-distress call. Fortunately for me, it was far enough away that I didn't feel like, oh, keying their car or deflating their tires. Not that I'd do such a thing, but I'd certainly think it over.
This morning, just five kilometers or so from the campsite, was a car flashing its emergency blinkers, and two women inside. We pulled over, asked if everything was all right. Of course, sorry, they said--they just couldn't figure out how to turn off the alarm. Sigh. Wonder if it was the same one. At least they were silent.
Innamincka was another ten minutes away, and a circus of cars circling the petrol pumps. A good two dozen men women and children were milling about as well, looking like befuddled tourists, while another half dozen mobbed the two pay phones, only one of which has an operable phone card slot (why doesn't Telstra fix that? Every other payphone has problems with its card readers.) We squeezed in between some overloaded Landcruisers and Patrols, filled up, and left. What a zoo!
The road south was nice and fast, though unpaved. Chris maintained a steady 100km/h on it, and it cut through interesting country. First it wound through the stony plains, then through red dune systems, before dropping us into the wide sandy creek bed of Strezlecki Creek. Then after a couple of hours the sand and channels went away, and we were driving through landscapes of low sandy hummocks, not more than a meter high each and a couple across, stretching from horizon to horizon. It was peculiar!
We stopped for lunch at a water bore (water still running), and then went on to Gammon Ranges, arriving just after 3:30. We saw our first cloud in days. That was a big event, and we tried to remember how many days we'd gone without seeing a cloud--we figured about 14 or so. The info office had quite a few leaflets on day hikes, so many we couldn't decide which one to do or where to stay... plus there was an insolent youth who insisted on practicing his whip cracking skills in the small parking lot. We drove into one campsite (it began with a W), thought it looked a little spare, then drove another 30km to the private campground at Arkaroola, which also was, well, spare, but at least it had a shower. We then set up camp and I took a shower.
Such excitement.
Weird Wildlife Sighting
Saw a blooming Swainsonia flower on the side of the road! It was very purple and pretty. I took a picture.