A D VE N T U R E S
P INK R O A D H O U S E , S A
THE
OODNADATTA
TRACK
The Oodnadatta Track is a 600km
South Australian odyssey between
Marree in the south, a railway
outpost where the Birdsville Track
also starts, to Marla in the north,
where the track loops back to meet
the Stuart Highway.
For travellers commuting between
the Flinders Ranges or Adelaide and
Alice Springs, it is by far the more
interesting route when compared
with the blacktop of the Stuart.
And while it traverses some truly
breathtaking and remote outback
country, it’s generally a very
accessible, good quality gravel
track perfect for 4WD beginners
with factory-standard vehicles
and suitable also for those who
are towing offroad rigs. Of course,
track conditions should always be
checked ahead of any journey, and
the Oodnadatta does get closed
during extensive rain.
The track forms a section of the
Old Ghan Heritage Trail, running
alongside disused railway lines,
crumbling old sidings and railway
outpost ghost towns. This makes
for an interesting element, learning
the fascinating history of this major
railway artery linking opposing
ends of our hulking great continent.
Named in honour of the Afghani
cameleers brought to Australia to
help unravel the mystery of her
vast interior, the Ghan track was
rebuilt several hundred kays to the
west where flooding was less of an
issue – a death knell for many of the
little villages that had cropped up to
service the line. Where crumbling
bricks and swallows now reside,
the imagination places publicans,
railway workers, stockmen, deserthardened women and generations of
kids who never saw the ocean.
70
ADVENTURES
When the Ghan was relocated and
the old tracks closed in 1980, it was
thought Oodnadatta – like so many
other towns along the track – would die.
But Adam and Lynnie had explored the
surrounds by motorbike and knew the
town was well-positioned to capitalise
on the growing 4WD trade, located as it
was between the Flinders Ranges and
Alice Springs.
The surrounding country was
magnificently contrasting outback:
the Painted Desert, the Simpson
Desert, hot springs at Dalhousie and
Coward Springs, stark gibber plains
and undulating red sand hills. Adam
and Lynnie poured their efforts into
establishing tourism, and immortalised
the town by naming the 600km road the
Oodnadatta Track.
In 1983, fuel was added to the Plates’
service and the place was renamed the
Oodnadatta Traders. It was Adam’s idea
to paint it pink; as a former art student,
he knew the power of juxtaposition and
that the contrast between the outback's
many hues and a candy pink roadhouse
would be a talking point for travellers.
Shortly after that, it became known as
the Pink Roadhouse and, to this day, is
still a talking point.
Adam and Lynnie’s philosophy was
to make people feel comfortable and
safe in the desert. Adam poured a great
deal of time and effort into the Pink
Roadhouse’s iconic ‘mud maps’ tour;
RIGHT: You
might not find
everything you
want, but you'll
certainly get
everything you
need.
BOTTOM: Neville
will have to raise
the roof if layers
of outback mud
keep getting
dropped on his
forecourt.