We Finally Hit The Red Center© Kath Hobson
Aug 3, 1999
G'day All,
Okay after last month's stop at Coober Pedy we will continue on the remaining 410 mile trip into the heart of
Australia and our final destination (for this tour) of Alice Springs, know to all as the Alice! We can
expect to have to dodge Road Trains during this trip. For the uninitiated a road train is a sight to
behold and not something you want to tangle with. A road train is an articulated lorry consisting of a
prime mover hooked up to at least 2 sometimes 3 or more large trailers. They are a uniquely
Australian invention and a response to a need to move goods and livestock over the vast stretches of
inland Australia. They are an awesome sight thundering along the road at top speed and the dust
clouds they produce can be seen for miles following along in their wake. You do not want to get
stuck behind one and nor do you want to be behind one who manages to get jack-knifed along the
road. Jack-knifing is the term referred to when the driver manages to turn the prime mover at too
sharp an angle and the trailers are not able to follow. This usually results in the prime mover ending
up at right angles to the trailers and the whole lot being unable to go either forward or back. I once
got stuck for 24 hours in a bus in the middle of nowhere waiting for the truckie to try and extricate
himself from this sort of a mess. Not I experience that I wish to repeat!!! Before roads existed and
the road trains, camels were used both for exploration of the inland and to ferry supplies. Their
descendants now roam wild throughout the outback. On leaving Coober Pedy we will take a slight detour along the Oodnadatta Track to the tiny outback
town of Oodnadatta. The Oodnadatta Track is part of the famous stock routes that were opened up
from 1870 onwards so that cattle farmers and their drovers could move their herds. These stock
routes covered vast distances of inland Australia. Oodnadatta is one of the few outback towns that
remains unaffected by progress. It has a population of only 230. From 1891 to 1929 it was an
important rail head when the track to Alice Springs was opened up. The Oodnadatta track crosses
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