Day 17 – September 17 2012

An easy start from Oodnadatta heading towards Coober Pedy & the desert became even more sparse of vegetation with red gibber stones stretching endlessly across the desert plains.  After around 50km we turned off & headed towards the Painted Desert & Mt Arckaringa.  We were hoping for some nice scenery but were totally unprepared for what we saw, as the hills of the Painted Desert came into view they revealed the most spectacular colours, all the colours of the rainbow in various hues etched down the faces of the hills.  As we drove further in & the hills closed around us the sight was very spectacular, I have not seen anything like it anywhere else in Australia.  The shapes of the hills & surrounding slopes etched with the most amazing colours.  We stopped at the lookout to view & take photos & all of us were amazed at the sheer beauty surrounding us, it really has to be seen to be appreciated, even the ground looks special. We then drove the short distance to the carpark for the walk to the top of Mt Arkaringa, this short half hour walk was very special, with every way you turned or looked presenting another amazing view.

By now it was lunch time so we continued on to Arkaringa Station for our camping spot for the night, this is another huge cattle station, 274,500 hectares. At the station we met the owner, friend & his cattle dog.  They were so friendly & they gave us some quandong (native peach – you have to have a bit of an imagination to relate the taste to our peach, but not too bad) also to taste the jam they were just making – very nice.  This place is a proper working cattle station.  They have made a lovely area for camping, hot showers, flushing toilets & a lovely sitting area – where we had our lunch.  Helen & John are staying right here too in a very nice cabin, everything is so clean.  Once again we struck it lucky with a nice camping site. We had our camp set up in no time then a long leisurely lunch with lots of talking.  We had a game of Klops (Danish – something similar to skittles, but totally different) in the afternoon & thoroughly enjoyed it before settling in for cheese, nibblies & a red. Another couple came in to camp & soon we were all chatting together.  A delicious dinner, sitting around the campfire chatting under the clear starry sky with our fellow travellers, then bed.   Only 97km today.