Day three on the Oodnadatta track sees us safely in William Creek, 204 km from the last settlement of Maree. This tiny settlement boasts a permanent population of about 5, but managed to produce one of the best counter meals I have had for a long time. There is nothing here really except for the Pub, the caravan park and the airstrip that flies tourists out over Lake Eyre. We were going to do the drive out to Halligans Bay which is 60 kms of rough 4 WD track, but after speaking with the Publican at Williams Creek and hearing that the lake was only 15% full, we decided to save the petrol for the drive to Coober Pedy. The first 30 kms out of William Creek was atrocious; corrugations, stones, the most bone shaking road ever. The last 180 km, however, was extraordinary- it had been been graded very recently and it was like driving on a real road!
So we cruised in to Coober Pedy a day ahead of schedule for once and pulled up stumps at the infamous underground caravan park- Ribas.