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Go Camping Fishing and 4WD Adventures : Go Camping Fishing and 4WD Adventures 106
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Clockwise from far top left: Dalhousie ruins | Cat tle grids and corrugations | The rare desert bloom | A window into the outback | Campfire under the stars | Remains of Ned Bagot’s life | A welcome beer at Mount Dare Hotel stone, which is not surprising when this is all you see for miles around. As the sun is slowly consumed by the horizon we arrive at Pedirka ruins. The ruins consist of a long white cement walled fettler cottage, its roof, windows and doors long removed leaving the carcass to bake in the summer sun. The cottage was home to workers who would return from long days carrying out repairs and removing sand drifts covering the rail track. Likewise we make camp following a long day’s drive on our own dirt track. The next morning we break camp and head for Witjira National Park. Not far inside the park Dalhousie ruins appears on the horizon, an apparent oasis with palms rising out of the flat plains. Dalhousie was a pastoral lease in the 1800s where sheep, goats, camels and cattle eked out a living on the sparse vegetation kept alive by the nearby spring. Like the old Ghan that existed only due to the supply of water, Dalhousie clung to the edge of existence thanks to the natural spring, but eventually it was abandoned in 1929. The sandstone skeleton of the homestead stands as a reminder of the station owner Ned Bagot’s life in this unforgiving landscape. Leaving the ruins we return to the familiar jolting and throbbing of the gibbers. With dust entering every pore of the body this is the last place you would expect to find a 40 degree bath to take a wash. Luckily the national park is famous for its 120 mound springs with Dalhousie Springs the most popular. While a popular campsite, the idea of washing a beer down at the Mount Dare Hotel was more appealing. Mount Dare is the refuelling spot for those wishing to tackle the Simpson Desert crossing to Birdsville. For us however there are 10,456 more corrugations to go as we make our last dash to Finke in search of more relics of the old Ghan. While the track throws up challenges for both driver and vehicle, and prevents many from attempting such a journey, it is the reason why you must experience this remote corner of South Australia. GO CAMPING, FISHING & 4WD ADVENTURES | 51 GO CAMPING, FISHING & 4WD ADVENTURES | 51 48-51 Hamilton Track.indd 51 2/12/16 1:40 pm
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