The trip to Abminga got off to a chaotic start. The 4WD had to have some major surgery which was a week overdue. So instead of an orderly progression through the tasks, it was more like herding cats.
The purpose of this trip was to help an historian friend visit Bloods Creek as part of research into a book on Ted Colson who was the first white man to cross the Simpson Desert, in 1936. He left from Andado Station with five camels, an aboriginal friend named Peter Eringa, and of course his dog which strangely is not mentioned in official histories. Two weeks later he arrived at the Birdsville pub, and three days later he left to go home, nailing a tin plaque to the Poeppel Corner post on the way, and arrived home after a thirty day journey. Quite a remarkable feat when one considers that explorers like Sturt had tried the same trip and failed. But I digress.
Red dust. Green verge. It’s amazing what a bit of rain does to the outback.
The route in 2016 (Plan A) was to head up the black top to Leigh Creek then the Oodnadatta Track (part 1, 2, 3) to Oodnadatta. From there we would drive to Abminga, which is 70km south by east of Finke as the crow flies. From Abminga we would visit Bloods Creek, 50 km to the east, and return to our camp at Abminga. A quick two day visit to friends at Erldunda, then back to Oodnadatta and Maree, with a detour to the Painted Desert. From Maree we would go to Montecollina Bore on the Strzelecki Track, then south to Yunta via Chambers Gorge, then home to Adelaide. Two 4WD vehicles, two sat phones and UHF radios, well-supplied with fuel, water, and food. We thought the trip would take us 15 days and cover about 3,500km.
Abminga Station is on the southern side of the SA/NT border from Charlotte Waters, on the Old Ghan Railway.
Monday 29th of August – Adelaide to Burra Gorge
Got away on time, midday. Only forgot the thermos and bacon. Fine weather heading north but overcast and starting to rain by the time we reached Burra Gorge – World’s End Biodiversity Reserve as it is now called. Where do they get these names?
Coffee in Kapunda on the way to Burra, then lunch on the banks of an overgrown creek. A useful tip for those who forget something: the general store in Robertstown is one of those old country stores that have everything, somewhere, just find it.
The fierce Aussie outback showing a bit of colour.
The countryside is green and domesticated and prosperous looking at this time of year. Very relaxing and good for sightseeing. This slowed the driving but made the journey safer. Must remember that.
It felt good to stop early and select our campsite at leisure, even if rain was threatening. Inevitably, it started to drizzle then rain as soon as we started to set up the tent on our camper trailer. A good night’s sleep then cereal for breakfast, as we’d forgotten the bacon.
Tuesday 30th August – Burra Gorge to Leigh Creek
Rain stopped overnight but the tent was still damp when we packed up, but we were running late to meet our friend at 9:30 so we had to rush into Burra. At the usual place I had a tiddy oggy, which was brilliant. A real Cornish pasty from the mining days. Then onto Peterborough, Hawker, Orroroo, and Leigh Creek.
We went through several small country towns which seemed to be dying, if not almost dead. One that caught our imagination was Terowie. The bypass road to Peterborough from the Barrier Highway has really isolated the town and few people bother to stop. Despite that setback, the people in Terowie have tried to make something of their town. It is clean, and despite an obvious lack of money, it is well kept. We saw some features that are worth preserving such as the old blacksmith shop, with a classic curved top wooden door; a centenary/pioneer park, a feature park for children; and a quite imaginative metal sculpture park. Terowie is worth stopping at for a coffee, and a look around.
Metal sculptures in Terowie. A typical country town in decline that shows great human spirit. A must-visit if you’re passing nearby.
It makes you wonder about the government’s policies on the country towns. They are obviously dying, and there is little work or financial incentive to live in the country.
The old shop fronts on the main drag in Terowie. Long gone but well preserved.
We camped in Leigh Creek Caravan Park that night with our friend, by tradition, taking a room at the pub. Leigh Creek is also a town worth a visit. The government has obviously slated this town to die but the people are fighting back. They are cheerful and optimistic but don’t know what the future will hold. All the facilities are there to make this town work – supermarket, pub, shops, school, swimming pool, caravan park, post office, police station, hospital and medical centre, petrol station and workshop, public works department, pipelines, sewerage system, good domestic roads and, most importantly, people already there who are eager to make a go of anything. It seems a waste to desert it all. But silence from the government. Remember the pride of this amazing town when it was shifted, holus-bolus, in 1982 when they wanted to expand the coal mine?
Wednesday 31st August – Leigh Creek to Erldunda
We now had to make a major revision of our plans. Overnight all the dirt roads in the outback were closed because of rain. We had heard the forecast on ABC Country radio, so the closures were not a surprise but were a disappointment. Our priority at this time was to find out if there was any more rain forecasted and when the roads might be open again. The police in Leigh Creek are very helpful. They thought the roads could possibly be open again early the following week. Out with the maps and onto Plan B. We judged that there would be no significant rain in the area in the next few days, so we hit the black top and backtracked to Pt Augusta, then north to Erldunda. We anticipated the roads being opened by the time we left Erldunda. This would just reverse our order of march to return to Maree. It did have the advantage of giving us the chance of a good look at the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens just north of Port Augusta. It’s a fascinating place that shows what can be done with little or no water. And there’s a good café for lunch.
2016 has proven to be a bumper year for desert wild flowers like Sturt’s Desert Pea.
We weren’t looking forward to the long drive north but the recent rain added more floral interest. Everything from Sturt’s Desert Pea, native daisies, Green Pussytail, native bush tomatoes, Blue Pincushions, and many others. Sometimes carpets of flowers, sometimes just individuals, but it shows how rain transforms the inland. The east coast country has its greens and mountains, but the flat inland produces shy surprises like these.
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Stay tuned for Part 2 of Michael’s outback expedition up to Abminga which’ll be published next week. Hopefully there isn’t a Plan C, right?
Have you visited Abminga Station?
HI – I worked at the Abminga siding as a fettler in the mid 70’s. I scored a job in Alice Springs whilst hitch hiking around Australia. Spent about 4 months out there in a small crew maintaining the line. Gary Mitchell
Hi Michael
Yes, I have been to Abminga siding many times, we used to truck cattle from there on the old Ghan line for the market in Adelaide.
We had one ‘interesting’ stay at Abminga for about four/five days after we got rained in after loading the train. We loaded the train in Alice Springs and the balance was loaded at Abminga for the trip south. However the old line was washed out north of Oodnadatta so they bought the train back to Abminga and all the cattle were boxed and let out on the ‘flat’
After a few days the line was all clear again so we flew to Abminga from Alice to reload the train. It was decided we would need refreshments from Finke so the pilot flew back to Finke, but on the return to Abminga blew a tyre on the plane. That night the rain set in and rained all night as it can in that country. After about 5 days we finally managed to get the cattle back, in the yards, drafted and back on the train. After a day trip sitting on the back of a Landcruiser we arrived back in Alice Springs. That was the highlight of many trips to Abminga.
Great story, Don. It wouldn’t be the Aussie outback without a few changes to the plans, would it? Cheers, Paul
Hi Don, thanks for the comment. The country does keep you on your toes, especially in the wet. I envy you the use of a plane in that situation. Can you say when the cattle yards were last used? I can’t imagine they were used long after the Ghan stopped running particularly as there are now new yards closer to the Charlotte Waters junction.