Oodnadatta Track

Oodnadatta Track South Australia
Lake Eyre South from Oodnadatta Track
Length	620 km (385 mi)
Direction	Northwest-Southeast
From	Stuart Highway, Marla (27°18′S 133°37′E)
To	Birdsville Track, Marree (29°38′S 138°03′E)
Region	Lake Eyre National Park
Fuel supply	Marla, Oodnadatta, William Creek, Marree
Facilities	airstrips, charters at all towns, UHF Radio repeaters with 100 km range on various channels provide emergency contact with locals. Swimming pools and police stations at Oodnadatta and Marla
Coordinates	28°54′S 136°21′E

The Oodnadatta Track, Australia is an unsealed 620 kilometre track between Marree and Marla via Oodnadatta in South Australia. It passes the southern lake of the Lake Eyre National Park.

Mound Springs on the Oodnadatta Track.

Railway Cottage at Coward Springs-Oodnadatta Track.

The Track follows a traditional aboriginal trading route, and provides travellers with some stunning semi-desert scenery. Along the Track are numerous springs feeding water from the Great Artesian Basin, the most accessible examples being the mound springs found in Wabma Kadarbu Mound Springs Conservation Park near Coward Springs. Later, because of the availability of water, the route was chosen for the steam-train powered Central Australian Railway, the original route of The Ghan, also the route taken by the explorer John McDouall Stuart on his third expedition in 1859. Remnants of the many railway sidings and Overland Telegraph repeater stations are still along the track - some of the best preserved are the Coward Springs Campground - complete with natural artesian spa and Curdimurka. Today, the Oodnadatta Track roughly follows the former railway line as far north as Oodnadatta, and then turns to the west, meeting the sealed Stuart Highway at Marla. In dry weather, it is passable to most vehicles and caravans, but a 4-wheel-drive is preferable. The Track was named by Adam Plate of the Oodnadatta Progress Association Inc. in about 1980 to form a trilogy of unsealed tourist routes with the Birdsville and Strzelecki Tracks nearby.

See also

• Highways in Australia
• List of highways in South Australia

External links

• "Tracking History to Oodnadatta" by Roderick Eime