Broad horizons

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This was published 13 years ago

Broad horizons

Roads to somewhere ... afternoon drinks.

Roads to somewhere ... afternoon drinks.

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It may be hard to define, but the rich history and stunning landscape of the outback provides an ideal backdrop for journeys of discovery, writes Max Anderson.

No line is painted on the road to indicate you are entering outback South Australia (please drive carefully). However, you know the outback when you see it.

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Open spaces under giant skies, ancient ranges that undo your sense of ''now'', wide horizons riven by empty roads that lead to nowhere - until, that is, they arrive (rather surprisingly) at somewhere. What outback communities lack in population they make up for in colour, eccentricity and resourcefulness. They're also rich in story, the very fabric of place: when the camera has taken its fill of ranges, waterholes and landforms, it's the local people who add some of the landscape's most meaningful layers.

There is no line to indicate you are leaving outback South Australia (please come again). But once returned to your office, home or school, there'll be no question where it was or what it was. You'll be able to point to a map and say, ''There - I found it there.''

A drive on the wild side

A 300-kilometre, two-day tour of the unsealed Oodnadatta Track is safe and surprising, with weirdness and wilderness aplenty. Start with Mutonia Sculpture Park near Marree (home of Plane Henge and Spinning Car - mildly deranged but compelling) then head into the yawning gibber plains. You'll follow the remains of the first Ghan railway, where ruins of sidings and repeater stations for the overland telegraph line are dotted along a ''string of springs''. Camp at Coward Springs, a delicious respite to wash off the dust in the hot mineral waters and barbecue under gums cackling with cockatoos. Stop to allow Lake Eyre South to boggle your eye and be sure to detour to the Mound Springs - these blisters in the plains are leaky ecosystems the size of houses that have evolved their own species of shrimp. Similarly unique species are at William Creek, especially at the famous pub; air tours over Lake Eyre are available with Wrightsair. Finish in Coober Pedy.

See www.cowardsprings.com.au; www.williamcreekhotel.net.au; www.wrightsair.com.au.

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Outback pubs

To fully appreciate outback pubs, you need to spend a night in a front bar. It's when they're at their most character-filled and, indeed, most filled with characters. Forget finding a quiet corner; these are places where whole towns come together (yes, all six residents) and the modus operandi is for everyone to know everyone - visitors included. Outpost hostelries in pinprick towns such as William Creek, Blinman, Parachilna and further-flung Mungerannie ensure there's always a lively vibe and often a little homespun music.

Opals in the dust

The milky opalescent stuff lying in shards in the dirt around Coober Pedy is ''potch'' - the matrix for opal and raison d'etre for this strange town. Yes, there are tourists here but the mining madness is authentic and palpable, ably assisted by Heath Robinson-esque opal-digging contraptions, hippie-trippy outlets, bizarre props from science-fiction movies left lying in the sun and the famous underground hotels and hostels (even rooms in the 4½-star Desert Cave are distinctly other-worldly). Just when you think it's really weird, go out to the opal fields (preferably on a tour), the Moon Plains and the paint-box Breakaways to see truly bizarre landscapes. The smaller town of Andamooka is where opals are strip-mined; it's more gritty, more intense and just as interesting. The great-great-grandson of composer Mendelssohn is a resident artist. No, really, it's true.

See www.cooberpedy.sa.gov.au

Arkaroola Ridgetop Tour

This is an iconic tour of iconic country, where you cling to an open-topped four-wheel-drive while it scales the red-rock battlements of the northern Flinders Ranges. The tour operates out of private Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, a seventh heaven for wildlife lovers (trails lead through chasms to waterholes and yellow-footed rock wallabies), stargazers (the observatory and star chair are open for business under clarion skies) and eco-warriors. The resort is comfortable and caters to all budgets. Debates about whether uranium miners should extract local resources occasionally stir the restaurant-bar at night.

See www.arkaroola.com.au

Traditional perspectives

Some of the secrets of this old, old country still reside with Aboriginal people of the region. Tour guide Haydyn Bromley is a Kaurna man leading 4WD adventures out of Adelaide into the outback, where he invites local elders to share their knowledge, their company and (quite often) their quiet humour. Bromley connects guests with the different levels of outback - the natural, the European/pastoral and the Aboriginal - and few stones are left unturned. Reg Dodd is an Arabunna elder who was born at the southern end of Lake Eyre; he's been running tours of the region since 1996. You see sand, salt and stones? Now see what he sees.

See www.bookabee.com.au; www.arabunnatours.com

Pop Quorn

The township of Quorn makes for a top long-weekend escape. It's a charming old-world railway town that offers great heritage, dry-country upland scenery and real outback flavour. The Austral pub is a hub; so, too, the Quandong Cafe. The owner of Quornucopia Gallery keeps his own hours; don't be surprised to see him open when you leave the pub. Bushwalking is particularly good, with walking trails to Warren Gorge and scenic drives to Devil's Peak, Mount Brown Conservation Park and Pichi Richi Pass. The bushwalk up to Devil's Peak is steep but reveals native vegetation, wildflowers, birds and fantastic panoramic views from the 670-metre summit.

See www.flindersranges.com

Do it differently

Two- or four-day Pichi Richi camel safaris will have you looping out of Quorn through gorge country, encountering waterholes, wildlife and views with campfires, bush cooking and cold beers along the way. The Pichi Richi steam trains take you puffing through deep cuttings in the southern Flinders Ranges from Port Augusta to Quorn. Goldrush Ballooning offers a leisurely way to get aloft over Wilpena, with dawn views from the basket showing the land in a whole new light. The Outback Mail Run will have you playing postie for outlying cattle stations around William Creek. Contrast the desert with the rich waters of the Spencer Gulf on a cruise out of Port Augusta; dolphin encounters are pretty certain.

See www.pichirichicameltours.com; www.prr.org.au; www.goldrushballooning.com.au; www.mailruntour .com; www.flindersoutbackdaytours.com.au.

Food

Outback kitchens are far-flung but surprisingly dependable, especially at resorts and pubs. The Prairie's Feral Platter is famous not just for its coat of arms and pest species ingredients but because the treatment with native bush tucker is very fine (exhibit A, the camel sirloin with sweet potato wedges and native thyme and garlic chive butter); the Rawnsley Park Woolshed Restaurant does food as satisfying as the views from the deck; cafes in Blinman, Quorn and Hawker are also surprisingly good. However, the best outback plates are probably enamelled, infused with wood smoke and sprinkled with starlight. If you're no dab hand with the coals and the camp oven, trust in the likes of Jingo March (About the Bush by Jingo) and Paul Keen (Wallaby Tracks), who keep travellers fed like jolly swagmen.

See www.prairiehotel.com.au; www.rawnsleypark.com.au; www.byjingo.com.au; www.wallabytracks.com.

The wow and how of Wilpena Pound

''Wow'' is the easy bit: Wilpena Pound is a 17-kilometre-wide, saucer-shaped piece of planet looming out of the red desert. The rim of the saucer is ragged, bulging and provocative, a thing you can circle and climb; from vantages such as St Mary's Peak (a daunting 1170 metres up), you can see into the smooth depression (strangely calm by contrast) and out to the magnificent ranges all around. Wilpena Pound Resort and Rawnsley Park are perfectly placed to help you properly explore the compelling landform; their guides also have the time and patience to explain the ''how'' in terms of its formation.

See www.wilpenapound.com.au; www.rawnsleypark.com.au.

On the way

The three-hour drive from Adelaide to Port Augusta along the freeway is pretty dull, so go north via the Barossa (shiraz and scenery) and Clare Valley (riesling and scenery) and one of the unsung regional heroes, gorgeous pastoral Melrose, replete with imposing Mount Remarkable plus river, pubs and cafes, all of which bubble along nicely.

The cradle of life

Fossils from the Ediacaran period found near Nilpena station in the 1990s proved primitive life forms were evolving much earlier than thought and the clocks of science had to be reset by hundreds of million of years. Four-wheel-drive tours out of the Prairie Hotel, the sign-posted self-drive tour through Brachina Gorge and the good folk at Arkaroola go a long way to explaining the complexities of this geological treasure house. To extract some not-unrelated insights, take the fascinating BHP surface tour at Olympic Dam, the world's biggest uranium and copper mine.

See www.prairiehotel.com.au; www.arkaroola.com.au.

FAST FACTS

Getting there

Qantas flights to Adelaide cost $106 for the 80-minute journey from Melbourne and $141 for the two-hour journey from Sydney. Virgin charges $59 from Melbourne and $94 from Sydney. If you adhere to the view that Port Augusta is the gateway, the outback starts after three hours' freeway driving north from Adelaide. Don't, however, underestimate the size of this region: there's another 4½-hour drive from Port Augusta to Coober Pedy, two hours to Parachilna or three hours to Arkaroola. The further you go the more notice you need to take of servo stops and road conditions.

Rental cars are available from the usual outlets at Adelaide airport, as well as Coober Pedy and Port Augusta.

Sharp Airlines flies daily from Adelaide to Port Augusta ($109 for a 50-minute flight); charter companies such as Ross Air can hop you around the outback, while Big Blue Air Touring can build - and host - your entire outback itinerary. Flying isn't cheap but the larger your party, the more cost-effective it becomes.

Staying there

From a swag to a suite, farm stay to resort stay, there is no shortage of accommodation in the region. During holiday season, if you're heading to the more popular resorts (which host all types of travellers, including backpackers with swags, caravanners and $500-a-night guests wanting private retreats), it pays to book ahead. See www.flindersoutback.com.au for links.

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