The ruins consist of a large stone
water tank, numerous buildings for
workers and family, as well as sheep
and cattle holding yards. It was built
between 1870-72 and only lasted until
1896 when ironically William Creek,
built to accommodate the railway,
forced it to be abandoned. Stran-
gways is now considered to be of na-
tional heritage significance.
We spent around an hour wande-
ring amongst the many buildings
and wall, discovering relics of the
past scattered amongst the dirt, be-
fore heading off. The heat in the
air had already intensified and
from what we had
b e e n
told by numerous people the last leg
was going to be the toughest. The nu-
merous ‘tourists’ that make the trip
from Marree (at the southern end)
to William Creek destroy the track
with heavily laden four wheel drives
driving at speeds that mean they of-
ten see nothing of their surroundin-
gs. The road gets the same attention
it does on the other legs but sees far
greater traffic. We were told to expect
deep corrugations, wheel ruts, bull-
dust and gravel.
Coward Springs, the next stop,
around 50km further down the track,
was the first sign that we were hit-
ting ‘civilisation’. Here were quite a
few families, clamouring from their
TRAVERSE
79
‘trucks’ to have a look at the restored
station master’s cottage as well as
the ‘natural’ springs. They’ve done a
great job restoring the area although
it felt touristy, insincere, a stage set.
The springs themselves looked like
a small swimming pool, even to the
point where I swear there was a pump
and a distinct smell of chlorine.
Leaving Coward Springs became
the most challenging of the whole
Oodnadatta Track. The road very
wide but now obviously well used.
Several corners had been covered
with a deep layer of stones, railway
ballast. It was damn near impossib-
le to get through cleanly, we resorted
to paddling most of the way, as many