Great photos Serge.

I'm looking forward to the report on Oodnadatta.

Day 6:

We emerged from the donger around 8:30 and were met by damp ground and puddles of water.  We got fuel and rode to the edge of town, looking at the famous Oodnadatta Track stretching out under leaden skies.

The obligatory sign photo.

And we were off!

Now, one might picture "The Track" as being just that, but in fact it is quite wide (as you can see) as it is the main trucking route to all places north.  The 'challenge' in the track is the ever-changing road conditions and surfaces.  The track constantly swaps between sand, dirt, gravel, dust and rock.  It looked wet this morning, and within one kilometer of starting, Onion and I were slipping sideways on a greasy clay section.  We looked at each other and I thought, "you can jam 500ks of this where the sun don't shine!".  We persevered and 300 meters later, we were back on dry and dusty surface and that's how it stayed for the rest of the trip.

We stopped at various ruins along the way.

Including Margart Siding.

And a bizarre 'artist's park', where monuments to 'life' were displayed.

We rode on past Lake Eyre and Coward Springs, to a weird 'canyon' spot, reminiscent to a scene from Thelma and Louise.  Pictures don't do it justice, but it was big and deep.

By this time, the weather had fined up a treat and the riding was superb!

Somewhere around here, my bike clocked up 9000ks.  Given that it had ticked over 7000ks when we left Melbourne, I knew that we had done around 2000ks thus far on this trip.

We continued on and into William Creek for our over-night stay.  We booked into another donger at the Oasis Caravan Park and then went for a walk around town.  Lots of rockets from the Woomera Range had fallen in this part of the outback and the locals had made a bit of a display of some of the wreckage.

Before long, beer was calling so we headed to the pub.  We had dinner and a bottle of wine and turned to leave, only to find Robin Box (Safari Tanks/Touratech) standing behind me!  He was there with riding buddy Mick, doing an 'across Australia' endurance test ride (for Adventure Bike Magazine) on some newly released Kawasaki 300cc Adventure bikes.  we sat down with them while they ate, had another bottle of wine and made plans to ride together on the morrow.  So, after a good feed and natter, some beer and a couple of bottles of red, I was ready to crash!

As just mentioned, here was a possibility that some beer and wine was consumed.

Total distance for Day 6: 220ks.

More to follow!

I was up in that area in 1983
It looks like it hasnt changed a bit
Would love to get back there but just a bit far for an af ternoon social ride
Could you get there & back in a week Serge?
Geoff

Day 7:

A bit overcast we we woke this morning, but that wasn't unusual.  It was also cool, but typically it warmed up throughout the day, so 'layering' the riding gear was always a good plan.

We met Robin and Mick at the fuel pumps.  They were looking resplendent in their matching Touratech riding suits, almost as 'Daylesford' as Onion and me with our his and hers matching bikes!  the Kawasakis were good looking jiggers too.  They had been slightly modified with a few Touratech bits, screen adjustments and seat RAISERS, but largely stock.  Robin was keen to not have them 'pigeon-holed' as toy bikes and wanted to prove that they were serious 'Adventure' contenders for the newer riders and those who might be 'vertically challenged'.   Given that they had ridden from Byron Bay en-route to Steep Point (WA) without any hassles, they were proving to be serious contenders.  
Check them out:    Kawasaki 300 

Gotta love fuel at $2.00 a litre!

We headed off and Robin and Mick set a crackin' pace.  The riding was much the same as it had been the previous day, with clearing skies, little wind and bugger all traffic.  Robin wanted to stop (and take photos) at Algebuckina Bridge, so we did so.

Then we pushed on, this time I rode with Robin, while Onion and Mick paired up a little behind out of the dust.  It wasn't long before we'd covers the 200k distance to Oodnadatta and pulled into the iconic Pink Roadhouse.

We had the mandatory Oodnadatta Burger, looked around the Roadhouse and resisted the temptation to buy any souvenirs.  Robin and Mick were riding straight on to Dalhousie Springs and Mount Dare, while Onion and I planned to Go to Coober Pedy for the night. We said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways.  As has been mentioned before, there's not much to do in Oodnadatta, so having reached the 'destination', it's time to move on.

Once again, the trip to Coober Pedy was much of a muchness.   same terrain, same road surface, same scenery.  

And in another 200ks we arrived in Coober Pedy.  It also seemed mandatory to spend the night 'underground',  so we booked into a motel/backpackers hostel which used to be a mine and was all built in the side of a hill.  Given that the rooms were all cut into stone, their appearance made the room look a bit like a crime scene!

It was all well and good to advertise free WI-FI, but down in these caverns, the signal wouldn't reach!  We walked around town a bit, had a few beers in the bar then went to an Italian restaurant for a feed of pizza and pasta (and wine).  One of the cooks there recognized my accent as I ordered and started having a conversation with me, in ITALIAN.  I had NFI, but he didn't hit me so I mustn't have offended him!

Gettin' the picture?  There was a possibility that some beer and wine was consumed.

Total distance for Day 7: 410ks.
 

Geoff L wrote:
You could, but it would be a bit of a boring fuel-burn.
And if you weren't doing it on an 'adventure' bike, I reckon it would be better to drive (and trailer) a dirt bike.

Day 8:

We emerged from our cave into the sunlight, feeling a bit like bats coming out after Winter!  We headed to a cafe for breakfast,  only to find the Italian guy (from last night) with a group of mates.  We seemed to pick up the conversation from where we left off and i still have NFI, but I think I am now engaged to one of his daughters, so I've got that going for me!

We packed up and pulled out of town, heading for the road back to William Creek.

Once again, clear blue skies abound.  This landscape is vast and baron

The later part of this 'track' changed in surface, to a hard packed sand that was super smooth and had a few twists and turns, which made it a real hoot to ride on.

170ks later, we pulled back into William Creek, re-fueled and headed to the pub for lunch.  the bartender looked at us and said, "Back again?"  We explained that we couldn't keep away.  He thought we were mad!  We looked at the map and plotted our evening stay.  Under Pat's recommendation,  we considered camping at Coward Springs, which was a pretty spot but not far away.  We worked out that we'd be there about 2:30, which meant a lot of sitting around in the middle of nowhere.  Now I like Onion's company, but.......!  So we recalculated and decided on a camp at Farina.

We stopped here briefly on the way up, just to look at one of the old farm buildings, but the 'township' of Farina is a couple of k's off the main road, so we had no real idea of what to expect.  It was starting to get late and high time to be off the road, so we were glad to pull into the camp site and it was grouse!  A 'private' camp area with an honor box for $5.00 a night (per camper) greeted us, with lots of flat sites, trees, fire pits and kettle cookers for us to choose from.  there was even an amenities block, complete with concrete floor, flushing loos and hot showers, fired by wood burners.  We set up camp and settled into dinner and a few Jacks.

The Aldi camp gear all worked a treat.  Mother Nature put on a spectacular sunset show.

This campsite also had an ANZAC memorial to fallen soldiers from Farina.  It was a tasteful display and would be the scene of a very moving service come April 25.  The night got cold very quickly (as it does in the desert) and I went to bed in thermals and socks.  During the night I fumbled into tracky-pants and a jumper as well, making a mental note that I was gettin' too old for this shit!

There was no beer consumed, but we gave the spirits a nudge!

Total distance for Day 8: 450ks.

Day 9:

We had an early breakfast at the Farina camp ground, then loaded up and rode a couple of k's to the Farina cemetery to check out some historic grave sites.  then it was time to hit the tar again, on our way to Arkaroola via lunch at Copley.

After a refuel of bikes and bodies, it was back onto the dirt.

It was around here that my odo hit 10, 000 ks, which meant we were up to 3000 on this trip.

The run into Arkaroola was as spectacular as the trip to Wilpena.  Anywhere in the Flinders Rangers is mind-blowing!

We met a number of feathered fellows along the way, this one chowing down on a fresh skippy, while others watched from a perch or above.

Then before long, we arrived in stunning Arkaroola, hemmed in by rock formations and ranges that simply can't be captured (by me) with a camera!

The sun was setting, the moon was rising and we were hungry (and thirsty).  A charity 4WD group were at the resort, so there were a fair few people around but it didn't spoil the magical place.

We drank in the atmosphere as much as the booze!

Total distance for Day 9: 200ks.

Looks like a great trip Serge, and i reckon we have the winner of the ride report of the year award.

Day 10:

We had decided to spend two nights in Arkaroola and that the second day would be a rest/no-bike day.  So after breakfast, we went for a walk along Acacia Ridge, which was a 4k round trip.  It started off pretty gently, but got steep very quickly.  The walk itself wasn't hard, but the terrain was.  Having reached the top, the views were (once again) breathtaking!

\

We were joined by eagles again.

After our walk, we returned to the resort for lunch, then decided to go for another walk, this time 8ks.  A bit ambitious,  but rewarding none the less.  At the half way point, I wanted to turn around and go back, but Onion convinced me to continue on!

After this walk, we showered and went to the bar for pre-dinners and then for dinner and then hit the sack!

Some drinks were had, but we were too tired.

Total distance for Day 10: 12ks. (walking)