Flinders Ranges and Outback Attractions

7800 sq.km

Witjira National Park is famed for its hot artesian springs, which provide a habitat for diverse fauna (particularly amphibians and birds). Of special interest are the Dalhousie Thermal Ponds, 180km north of Oodnadatta.

The arid region with artesian springs extends from the stony plains in the west to the sand dunes of the Simpson Desert. It features prominently in Aboriginal mythology.

The little township of Andamooka (pop. 400) is on the northwestern shore of the salt pan Lake Torres. Opals have been mined here since the 1920s - usually darker in color than the better known opals of Coober Pedy. Because of the extreme climatic conditions many people live in underground houses (dugouts).

Andamooka has retained much of the character of a pioneer settlement.

Crystal Brook (pop. 1300) is a farming center (wheat, sheep, cattle) dominated by huge grain silos. It was given its name by John Eyre on his expedition to the north in 1838. It has an animal park, a National Trust museum and other tourist facilities. It is a good base for trips into the southern Flinders Ranges.

20km northeast of Crystal Brook, in the beautiful valley of the Rocky River, is Gladstone, once an important railroad junction.

The tiny settlement of Innamincka lies on the Strzelecki Track near Coongie Lake and Cooper Creek. There is a monument commemorating the tragic end of Burke and Wills's expedition in 1861. Here in the 1920s John Flynn, founder of the Flying Doctor Service, began to build up a radio communications network.

Leigh Creek (pop. 1400) is the largest settlement north of Port Augusta. The town's economy is based on a large opencast coalfield which eventually swallowed up the original settlement, forcing the inhabitants in 1982 to move to a new site 13km to the north.

Leigh Creek sends 2 million metric tons of coal annually to the large power station in Port Augusta.

The Mintabie opal fields are at Marla.

Marla is a small town on in north-western South Australia that can be accessed by train.

The tiny settlement of Oodnadatta (pop. 230) on the edge of the Simpson Desert is reached on the Oodnadatta Track (all-terrain vehicles only), following the route taken by John McDouall Stuart on his crossing of Australia in 1861-2. Later the same route was followed by the overland telegraph.

The Ghan railroad from Port Augusta to Alice Springs ran by way of Oodnadatta until the line was moved further west to avoid flooding.

The name Oodnadatta comes from an Aboriginal term for the blossom of the mulga, a shrub which grows in these arid conditions.

The mining settlement of Roxby Downs (pop. 2500) is in a desert setting. It was built some years ago to house employees of the Olympic Dam Copper Mine, to the north of the little town. There are also rich deposits of uranium in the area.