‘Oodna’ as the locals call it is a pretty uninhabited place, with it’s population sitting at around 250. There’s not a lot out here and for good reason: most things wouldn’t survive in the surrounds of Oodnadatta even if they wanted to. Yet it’s this hot, dusty, arid and desolate environment that Mazda has pitched it’s new BT-50 into, with CarAdvice at the wheel.
Between Coober Pedy and Oodnadatta, there’s the awe-inspiring Painted Desert and the hard to comprehend Arkaringa station. The former provides some of the most stunning sunrises and sunsets you’ll ever see, while the latter will be our accommodation for our night in the desert.
Carved out of the barren landscape 80 million years ago, the Painted Desert is an ancient inland sea bed, created by the twin powers of rainfall and the resulting erosion. Such is the dryness of the land, it’s hard to fathom rain ever falling out here. But it must have once upon a time, as the coloured shale on the faces of the many slopes around the seabed create the mystifying painted landscape. It’s stunning at any time of the day, but the view is best appreciated in the cool air of sunrise. Sunset is a highlight too, but the stillness of the desert in the early morning is truly amazing.
Everything out here is super-sized. You have to reset your city-tuned radar the minute you head out of town, as Arkaringa Station manager Paul tells me that locals don’t measure properties out here in acres but in square miles. My blank stare must give Paul the hint. “It’s around half a million acres mate, give or take,†he offers with a smile. Half a million acres â€" think about that for a minute. I can’t even get my head around the scope of a property that size.
Comments
Post a Comment