Part 3 of 8 - My Epic Simpson Desert (Munga Thirri) Crossing - An 80 Million Year Old Painted Desert

Total days – 13

Route – Adelaide | Coober Pedy | Arckaringa | Oodnadatta | Dalhousie | Mt Dare | Simpson Desert | Birdsville | Adelaide.

Total Distance – 3180km (1975mi)

If you missed the first two parts of this eight-part series, please use the links below to read the start of this amazing trip through Outback Australia.
PART 1 - https://steemit.com/travel/@overlandjournals/my-epic-simpson-desert-munga-thirri-crossing-part-1-of-8-an-underground-city-dynamite-from-the-local-supermarket-sifi-movie-sets

PART 2 - https://steemit.com/travel/@overlandjournals/part-2-of-8-my-epic-simpson-desert-munga-thirri-crossing-longest-dog-fence-in-the-world-or-kanku-breakaways-conservation-park

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CADNEY | ARKARINGA | OODNADATTA |DALHOUSIE

Saying goodbye to Coober Pedy, we headed out quite early next day - destination Dalhousie Springs. This was a 500km (310mi) drive, but after a mere 150km (93mi) of bitumen we were going to be in the outback proper. The rest of the route was full of corrugations, slowing us down quite considerably. Average speed was around 30km/h (20m/h).

We stopped at Cadney Homestead caravan park for a quick refresher and then got off the bitumen heading towards Oodnadatta.

One of the things I enjoy during my travels is making it a point to speak to the locals at every stop so that I get to know more about the place. As we did not spend much time at this location it was difficult to have a lengthy conversation with the friendly attendant in the restaurant. She did, however, give me a brief history of the cattle station, pointing me to the many memorabilia displayed.

Reducing our tire pressures for a better ride and handling, we got onto the dirt. It was going to be dirt and sandy roads for the next 2,500 or so kilometres (1550mi).

The drive to Oodnadatta took us through Arkaringa Homestead and The Painted Desert. An ancient 80million-year-old seabed scattered with many hills and rock formations formed due to rain and erosion over the years. Shale on the surfaces of these hills offers different vibrant colours as the Sun changes its position. Particularly shades of orange, red, brown, yellow and white. Spending a day exploring this amazing location is well worth it. Sunrises and Sunsets will no doubt be a delight to all photographers.

What we saw at The Breakaways were similar formations, however, the perspective was from the higher elevations of cliff edges. In The Painted Desert, we actually drove in between the formations. A ground-up perspective you could say. Unfortunately, during our trip planning stage, we did not plan to spend more time, than drive through, this location. One thing for sure, the next time I do this route again (and my advice to those planning this route) is to spend at least a day in The Painted Desert. Arkaringa homestead has camping and basic facilities.

The bone-jarring corrugations slowed us down quite a bit, reaching Oodnadatta around 4 pm, making it quite clear that it would be well into the night by the time we reached our destination Dalhousie springs.

Oodnadatta - a waterhole in the late 1800s, mainly for camel caravans, the town of Oodnadatta came to being as a government supply hub to the cattle stations when the railway lines ran through. With the demise of the rail line in the 1980s, Oodnadatta is now mainly home to Indigenous Australians who live and travel to work in the surrounding cattle stations. The town’s main source of income seems tourism from, those like us, travelling​ the Outback.

An icon putting Oodnadatta on every over-lander’s list of “must visit” places is The Pink Roadhouse. Another unique Outback pub aptly named after its pink exterior and interior. This was a great place to take a break from the driving, freshen up (dusting off all the sand), fill our bellies and fill our fourbies’ (4x4s) tanks. The Oodnaburger came highly recommended, but think we caught the chef at an off time, the burger in itself did not live up to the hype. However, taken in the context of the burger being a small part of a bigger outback vibe presented by this town, it tasted special.

As the Sun started disappearing into the western horizon we left Oodnadatta, heading towards Dalhousie springs.

The 164km (101mi) drive was mostly in the dark, something I would try to avoid in future travels (and not recommend to overlanders) as the darkness prevents the traveller from basking in some unique landscapes.

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SIDE EXCURSIONS
As mentioned at the start, this was quite an epic trip. Whilst the series is more focused on the main route I took, there are also many side excursions that were​ made. Here are a few sights I quite enjoyed:

Underground Church (one of many) - Coober Pedy

On one of the many fossilised salt lakes along the route - Lake Hart (South Australia)

Start of the outback proper - Corrugations, Corrugations and more Corrugations!

Dropping tyre pressures to handle the corrugations.

A meal and a beer on the go. Funny thing about the great outdoors - food and beer always tastes better :)

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Part 4 to be posted soon - Dalhousie Springs | Hot Water On Tap In The Middle Of The Outback!

Follow me on this epic overlanding trip.

Live life to the fullest, it's too short to procrastinate​!
Duncan Udawatta

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