Coober Pedy, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Airing Date: Oct 18th, 2004
Twice a week, Peter Rowe does his 600 kilometre South Australian outback mail run from Coober Pedy to Oodnadatta, to William Creek and back to Coober Pedy. Guests can now travel with Peter on the route and take in a whole lot of diverse country, including gibber plains, red sand hills, and the 120 million year old ancient inland seabed. Peter has many fantastic stories and yarns about the local history and characters along the route.
One stop is the Dingo Fence, reputed to be the longest man-made structure in the world. Designed to protect the sheep industry by keeping dingos out of the sheep grazing lands, the fence runs for over five thousand kilometres from the Great Australian Bight to Queensland between Longreach and Surfers Paradise.
The historic outback town of Oodnadatta is another stop. Oodnadatta became a thriving railway town when the transcontinental railway reached there in 1891. It is famous for its teams of Afghan Cameleers who loaded mail, freight and travellers for transportation further north to places like Alice Springs.
These days, the town has a population of 180 people. One thing you can't miss on your stop is the Pink Roadhouse. For twenty years it's been one of the biggest landmarks on the Oodnadatta Track and a great place to grab an Oodna Burger.
You can stop to view the old Ghan Railway Line as you travel up the famous Oodnadatta track. This track follows the old Aboriginal trade route and the footsteps of explorers like John McDouall Stuart, as well as the historic Overland Telegraph Line.
Along the way, learn about Lake Eyre and the Great Artesian Basin, the arid land pastoral industry, the famous Afghan Camel Drivers, outback fauna and flora, Aboriginal heritage and early pioneers of the area.
It's cattle country out beyond the Dingo Fence, and many of Peter's deliveries are to cattle stations such as Anna Creek. At 5.5 million acres, Anna Creek is the largest cattle station in the world, five times larger than the biggest cattle property in the United States. Fifteen people live on the station and they run seventeen thousand cattle.
At William Creek you can have a drink at the unique outback bush pub with its memorabilia and old photos of the area. This once important railway town is known for having Australia's first solar powered telephone. The town's population is smaller than the neighbouring cattle station, Anna Creek!
The facts
The Coober Pedy Mail Run Tour costs from $125 a person. It's a 12 hour trip and runs Monday and Thursday.
Desert Diversity Tours
Tel: 1800 069 911
Suggested reading material: Lonely Planet
Prices correct at 18/10/04
