Thursday- Day 2

Note to self: when bringing old phone with you and leaving it in the car switched on- remember to turn off all old alarms! Hence the early start! My normal 5am alarm went off in the car and woke us both up! Had to exit swag and switch it off. We then got out about 7. Packed up what was left of camp. Then took a quick trip into Arroona dam itself to have a look! It was a massive expanse of water and caught us by surprise when we got to the lookout at the top and realised the gorge feeding the dam was backed up for miles!
Got a couple of quick happy snaps then headed for Leigh Creek.
Quick stop off here not much to see. Grabbed a bit of info and map from the information centre/ liz's open cut cafe.Thought about getting fuel but decided to push on to Marree. Left Leigh Creek and hit the dirt of the Oodnadatta track.

Stopped off and got a photo with the John Mcdouell Stuart statue. He cut the first track from north to south which was then followed by the telegraph line and also the old Ghan railway line.
We stopped for fuel in Marree, $1.90/ltr wow wee that wasn't budgeted for!
Caught up with some travellers coming back down from up north that had been to the cape. They looked relaxed but decidedly leathery - note to self #2: apply sunscreen REGULARLY!

Passed a sculpture garden at Alberrie creek where sculptures were made out of old rubbish, an amazing sight in the harsh landscape of the Oodnadatta track.

We went to the Lake Eyre South lookout - crazy to think that this looks out over the smallest section of Lake Eyre. We saw many ruins over the course of the day, most of which were Fettlers cottages. What a life it must have been for those railway men. Paused for photos at Margaret's siding ruins.

Stopped off and had a look at the Mound Springs - the Bubbler and the Blanche cup, they are created from water deep within the Great Artesian Basin which filters to the surface forming mounds and bubbling ponds. The cool, clear water looked very inviting but we pushed on, headed for William Creek.

We stopped at the Algebuckina railway bridge and water holes and got some photos - staggering achievement for the railway builders, Jed thinks their OHS&W probably wasn't up to scratch!

Then hit the Pink Roadhouse at Oodnadatta for a few small supplies before sneaking up to the pub for a cold one, but ran into strife after the first one as we had no more cash and the pub's eftpos machine went down about 20mins before we got there. CMC was playing on the TV and Jed was devastated that we had to pull up stumps and hit the road again. Milly... less so