Oodnadatta Track Highlights | Marree to William Creek | Gekko Safari

The Oodnadatta Track runs for roughly 620 kilometres of mostly unsealed road, and a big chunk of our Lake Eyre travel follows it. What surprises first-timers is that it’s not empty. It tracks the route of the old Ghan railway, and the leftovers are everywhere: collapsed stone sidings, rusting bridges, fettlers’ camps.

The stretch between Marree and William Creek has the stops I’d actually recommend. You pass the mound springs, where water from the Great Artesian Basin pushes up in the middle of a dry plain. You cross the gibber, those endless fields of polished stones, and you get a real sense of why early travellers dreaded this country.

Stops that earn the time

• Old Ghan railway ruins and sidings along the way
• The mound springs, a green surprise in a brown landscape
• Lookouts over the Lake Eyre South edge, depending on the route
• William Creek at the end of the day for a cold drink and a bed

Conditions change fast out here. After rain the track can close, and in summer it’s brutally hot, so check road reports before you leave. That’s one of the quiet advantages of going with a guide: someone else is watching the conditions.