Winter 2019 - OZ 19 Coober Pedy: Breakaway and Dog Fence

2019 - OZ  19   Coober Pedy: Breakaway and Dog Fence

Our B&B Has Won Many Awards

We had set the alarm, because there is no way to wake up without sunlight, we were deep in a cave. Our B&B came with breakfast and since there was a regular kitchen, we sat at the kitchen table and ate. It was a bit of a strange feeling; one cannot look out the window to see what the weather is like. 

The proprietor was happy to let us stay another night. In fact he made sure that the new people who were to come in that day, used a different section of this cave system, so we had the whole place to ourselves. GREAT!

We asked him what we MUST see in the area and he was chatty and gave us a list of things we should do, places we should eat in, etc. 

A Welcoming Emu at the Entrance

So here goes what he told us and we did for the day:

Outback Bar and Grill: was the place to eat, all the locals go there. It is a combo of store, gas station, and restaurant. The food was not posh but adequate. We were glad to have had that place to eat in. We ate only in this place; we disregarded ‘others’ because our landlord told us this is really the ONLY place to eat.

A Warning

Kanku Breakaway: This was the must see section and we made sure we drove to it in the AM because the midday heat would be almost unbearable. About 30 km north of Coober Pedy was the park’s starting point. There was a sign for the park but you have to look for it, the entrance is small and you could buzz past it if you don’t pay attention. 

Desert Colours (That Is Desert in the Background - Not Water)

Salt and Pepper Mesas - To the Aborigines They Are the 2 Dogs

And This is the Aborigine Who Owns the 2 Dogs

A Lonely Tree Clinging to the Hillside

Once off the main road, the Stuart Highway, you are now on a dirt trail. Well maintained but never the less, you are quickly driving through nothing. It felt like driving on the moon. The ‘road’ winds itself around hills and each hill is different from the next one. Each hill contains different minerals that color it in earth tones from almost white to dark grey, from bright red to rusty orange, from tan to brown. The written reports said Salt and Pepper hills. 

Here and there is a lonely ‘tree’ or bush hanging on for dear life? This park was a main ‘living’ area for the Antakirinja people  who are still in charge of it today. To them it is ‘holy’ land, revered for some reason or other but it is hard for me to see what they see in it. 

Emus Sauntering By

There is wild life here. We saw 3 Emu wander past us and later saw another, single Emu walk by. It was so strange to see this large bird in its natural habitat, a land so dry, so empty that my mind conceives it as ‘useless’. But far from it, I am told, there are many ores, minerals and raw materials in these hills. And, there is even water… but I could not see that at all. To me it was a visit to the moon. 

More Desert Colours

A Cave?

We drove slowly, looking around, stopping often, and taking lots of pictures. We even tried to step out of the car here and there, but the flies were waiting for us and had a feast as soon as we opened the car doors. So we hopped back into the A/C’d car rather quickly. The total drive, a large loop took about 20 minutes. 

So Vast

The Stony Gibber Desert (Desert Floor Is Comprised of Closely Packed Stones)

At the end of the half way mark of this loop however, we had the choice to drive along the Dog Fence or return to the main Highway. We chose to drive along the dog fence, even though this would now be a 90 minute drive.

 

The Dog Fence

Dog Fence:  The whole fence is 5600 km long, as you can see in the article if you click on the above link. It was erected to keep the Dingoes out of the sheep country. So Australia decided that south of this fence is Sheep County and north of the fence is Cattle Country. The Dingo’s live in Cattle Country. Cattle are less likely to be attacked by Dingoes. 

Sheep are much more docile and are easy prey for a dog like the Dingo. 

The Longest Fence In the World - 5600 Km

By the way, I read on the way in to Coober Pedy that it takes 1 square mile of ‘grass’ to support 1 or 2 sheep in this part of Australia. There just is not enough grass to grow here, but still people have sheep.

 

And when you have sheep you need this fence.

And do the math: Glendambo said they had 22500 sheep so they need at least 15,000 Square miles of land to feed them… That is a huge, huge area; roughly as big as Connecticut.

It Seems to Go On Forever

The wire fence is about 2 meters high and is a secure barrier even below ground. There is no digging under the fence. Dingoes are smart, resourceful and would find a way south, but this fence really works. Yet it must be maintained and a ‘service’ path runs along the entire length of it. We drove along this service ‘road’ for about 60 km before we could get back to Coober Pedy. We were the only people around. There was nothing here, just rocks and sand and even a bush was very, very rare. Looking north truly looked like the pictures we see from the moon. Mad Max films were shot on those areas around here. It is the most forlorn feeling you can imagine. I cannot fathom how any creature can survive in this land. It is simply awesome to have seen it.

Again and again we stopped, got out of the car, stood like aliens on the south side of this fence and I felt vulnerable, fragile and even spoiled. 

Are we, the people in the 21^st Century, the Internet People, really understanding nature any longer?  A huge culling would occur if we had to live off the land especially in regions such as this. Wow, there is NOTHING here but dirt and rocks.

Driving Beside the Dog Fence

We kept on driving; arriving after some time at a ‘bridge’ or break in the fence and that was our clue to make a right, drive along that path until we came to a tarred road that led back into Coober Pedy. 

This outing, this visit to the dog fence, will stick in my mind forever.