The time came to leave the Red Centre behind. I pointed the RedSands rig east along the Lasseter Highway until I hit the Stuart Highway, swinging south for the long run toward the border. About an hour later, I officially crossed from the Northern Territory into South Australia, pushing through the desert until I reached the tiny outpost of Marla.
In Marla, I left the bitumen behind and turned onto the legendary Oodnadatta Track. This isn’t just a shortcut; it’s a traditional Aboriginal trade route that was later chosen for the Overland Telegraph Line and the original “Old Ghan” railway line because of its vital access to water. Even today, the landscape is littered with the haunting remains of old railway tracks and abandoned telegraph stations—it feels like driving through an open-air museum.
My first port of call was the iconic Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta. This town sits on the land of the Arrernte utmadata people and has a fascinating history as a major hub for camel trains heading to Alice Springs. Back then, it was actually known as “Angle Pole.” The name came from a literal sharp bend in the caravan route where the camels had to make a nearly right-angled turn to the north, marked by a simple pole.
When the railway finally arrived in 1890, the town took its current name, and for decades, it was the end of the line for the “Old Ghan” narrow-gauge railway before it was extended to Alice in 1929. The tracks were eventually pulled up in 1981, but the station still stands. Back in the day, it was affectionately known as “Goat Halt” because of the local goat populations that used to roam the platforms!
Next stop: Continuing down the track to see what other desert secrets are hiding in the dust.
