Over the Christmas holidays we planned a little getaway to the Outback of South Australia. It was a 12 day road trip that took us all the way from Melbourne to Mildura, to the Flinders Ranges and Lake Eyre, the Oodnadatta track and then finally to Coober Pedy. We then drove all the way back home in a mad rush to get back in time for work. All together we covered some 3400km of all kinds of roads and scenery, dry, dusty, hot and sunny, we made it back in one piece without any major hiccups. I will post more photos from this trip shortly.
For new year's eve, we stopped at the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna, the well preserved remnants of an old town that now has a population in the single digits and consists almost exclusively of the hotel and adjoining restaurant. On the site there is still the remains of what once was, as well as a functioning rail line for the train carrying coal from Leigh Creek to Port Augusta, an abandoned railway station, an airstrip and a few scattered buildings. The place is pretty desolate, but it's one of the only stops with accommodation and food for hundreds of miles around. While there are many areas where you can bush camp, nice accommodations are pretty rare in this neck of the woods. After a few night of rugged camping, we treated ourselves to some well-earned air-conditioned luxury.
It was a very tastefully decorated hotel, the rooms were well appointed and the decor managed to communicate a combination of rustic Outback charm and modern comfort. The hotel also serves as an art gallery presenting a collection of aboriginal art works that are available for purchase. The grounds around the hotel realy typifies the rugged Outback landscape one would imagine, and it's no wonder the location has been used for a number of film productions.
Initially what motivated our decision to stop at the Prairie Hotel for new year's eve was their reputation for serving gourmet Outback dishes and fine South Australian wines. Meals like the 'Feral Feast' including kangaroo, goat, emu and even camel were intriguing to say the least!
Probably the only organised new year's eve event happening in a 500km radius, the hotel hosted a party with food, drinks, and a couple of bands! Looked promising. We felt slightly deceived as we discovered on our arrival that the new year's eve menu consisted of a city-slicker style buffet with nary a feral beast to devour in sight. Regardless, the meal was still quite delicious with an array of gourmet home cooked dishes and various finger foods. The event attracted between 50 and 60 people and consisted mostly of friendly locals, the band members, and some travellers that stayed over for the evening. It was a truly unique new year's experience spent under the bright Outback stars.
Outside of the festivities, the main attraction for Rob and I was to grab our drinks and go hang out on the train tracks in the back to watch the last sunset of the year, take some photos, and even catch the train going past with it's 3 km of cargo! This last point came as a shock since we had been on the tracks shooting photos of the stars when we first noticed the headlights in the distance. For about five minutes before it arrived we were fairly convinced it was just a truck on the highway. Fortunately we got off the tracks in time.
We left the next morning to drive further up north towards the dusty Oodnadatta track.
Happy new years :)
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