Farina, Marree, William Creek then Coober Pedy


The Farina Underground Bake House
 Farina, Marree, the Oodnadatta Track and William Creek

Next morning with the cable repaired we drove back into Copley where we had this professionally replaced. However, they were suitably impressed with my repair work which gave us all lights and power to the van. After Copley we drove to Leigh Creek for more supplies and then on to Farina.
Farina is the old Leigh Creek where the original Gahn train passed through on its way from Darwin to Adelaide. In fact the Gahn stopped there in the initial stages. There is a very enthusiastic group of volunteers gradually restoring this old town. To learn more of this great project go to the Farina web site. The same group has also established an Anzac Memorial at the camp site commemorating this small SA towns commitment to WW I and II, there is an Anzac service there every second year. If you are ever passing through it is worth a stop over for the camp site and their famous underground bakery as well as admiring the great work being undertaken in the building restoration.

From Farina we pressed on to Marree and then on to William Creek. After being on the Oodnadatta track some 4 years earlier it is very disappointing that the track is really being trashed currently. Much of the 204 kms from Marree to William Creek is now very deep corrugations to the point it gets to a slow 15km per hour to negotiate sections of it. There is a strong need for speed limits to be placed on the road as high speed and wild 4WD activity is causing its rapid deterioration. 

When we arrived at William Creek we had some repairs to make including the lack of electricity. Turned out that the corrugations had loosened the 3 pin plug to the van transformer, blowing one fuse and taking some time to track down. William Creek Pub dinner at the pub was as good as we have experienced before and worthy of a strong recommendation.

We have curtailed our plans to press on to Oodnadatta and Marla via the track to take the shorter trip out via Coober Pedy.



Sunset at the Farina Camp

Our Farina camp fire

Lamb chops and sausages for dinner



Some of the old machinery around the Farina site

Sign post to Farina Camp

The campsite

The new Farina War Memorial

The new Farina War Memorial
One of the old buildings being restored

The Farina team are building a period style new bake house  outlet
to replace their tent which has served well for the 4 years we have known it.


A road train entering William Creek
Cattle droving modern day style, on the William Creek road
Our van on the William Creek road to Coober Pedy.

A view in the bar at William Creek, courtesy of their website.












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bairnsdale, Paynesville and Lakes Entrance.

Image
Koalas at play on Raymond Island Paynesville Bairnsdale, Paynesville and Lakes Entrance. Now having arrived at Bairnsdale late in the day and although it would not have been our first choice we decided to remain in Bairnsdale for the Gippsland Lakes part of our journey as it is central to the lakes area. First day out we decided to drive to Paynesville and take a look around. It is only a short trip and once we had a quick look around we decided to catch the ferry, as walking passengers, to Raymond Island. This was a very pleasant journey and the walk around was well rewarded with the viewing of the local Koala Bears. Once back to the other side we decided to do lunch at the Paynesville Motor Cruiser Club. The meal was very nice, Dallas had Asian Vegetables with Rice and I had Fish and Chips, the rooms were lovely and warm with great views so it was a very pleasant way after the big rush of the day before. The lakes are just beautiful and the councils and port author...
Read more

Devils Marbles and Tennant Creek. Then New Castle Waters and on to Katherine.

Image
Barrow Creek Telegraph Station What a "Furphy" Devils Marbles and Tennant Creek. Then New Castle Waters and on to Katherine. Soon after visiting the Beanie Festival we headed off for the Devils Marbles. Just north of Barrow Creek and Wycliffe Well .   We arrived at approximately 4.00pm and were lucky enough to get the 2 nd to last site in the Camping area. At $3.30 per head for the night who could want more. Well done NT Parks and Wild Life (including Conservation Parks). The light was fantastic for photos and it was a very pleasant evening. In the morning we set off for Tennant Creek and to catch up with Ros and Dale Lindsay, of Relbia in the Launceston region. We arrived at Tennant Creek at approximately 11.0am and did some shopping at the local butcher and then rang Dale to ensure they would be at the Warego Mines. Could only leave a message but next thing they arrived next to our van as we had morning tea. After a great chat and listening to where th...
Read more

Tathra and Eden, sadly the last of NSW

Image
A view from Tathra beach to the burnt hills toward River View Estate Tathra and Eden, sadly the last of NSW Having left Jindy we headed out to Cooma where after dealing with Dump Point and re-fueling we set off down the Cooma to Bega road. This is a spectacular drive through highland plains and then down the escarpment through the Wadbillinga National Park via the Snowy Mountains Highway passing the Fred Piper Memorial Lookout to Bemboka. It is also very steep and in places and a little scary when you have a van in tow particularly as you can see where there has been black ice on the road earlier in the day. Anyhow we made it safely to the famed Bemboka Bakery for a well deserved bakery lunch including tea and coffee. The Fred Piper Memorial Lookout with bushfire smoke in the background Following this we proceeded on to Bega where we visited the Bega Heritage Cheese Museum. What a gem of a museum, well done Bega. This Australian Icon is doing us proud, buying up Auss...
Read more