Day: 6
Distance Travelled: 279kms
Weather: Another bright, warm, sunny day with a grand total of zero clouds.
Today’s biggest challenges: SAND! SAND IS TERRIFYING! Riding on sand = fishtailing, and fishtailing on a bike has at least a 47.9% chance of ending in an accident (I’m not making up statistics at all, of course, just thought you should know! :P). Anyway, riding on sand made for lots of tension in trying to keep everything under control correctly. Also, corrugations hurt. Sometimes a lot.
What I’ve learned from today: Sand is scary. Scary sand. Just stay away.
Highlights of today: Lots of highlights! We got up to the beautiful sunrise at Coward Springs with a beautiful breeze blowing and probably 18 degrees. I went for a walk to the natural mineral spa just outside the camp site and soaked my feet (yay!). Went off to explore the ancient museum house (where you can find photographs, snake skins and camel skulls) before heading back for brekky before the long ride. We have well and truly got our packing pretty smooth now and I’m quite proud of our system! We can get up and get everything done: dressing, hygiene, brekky, packing, tents down, gear packed, trailer and car loaded and tied down and on bikes ready to leave in a relaxed two hours, so I think we are doing quite well, all things considered.
We left early to give ourselves plenty of time to deal with the road if it became as nasty as it was the day before, so Kristal and I left a bit before the car to get a head start. It didn’t turn out as violent as the day before and we managed quite well. I had a number of times where I nearly lost the front out on the sand (sand is honestly something else - you’ll know what I mean if you have ever hit it - instant loss of control) but otherwise a generally peaceful time. We smashed out a good 70kms before arriving at William Creek to fill up with fuel - now a whole $2 per litre! We met two other bikers there while we were waiting for the others to show up in the car, Will and Joe, who have been travelling around the world on their dirt bikes for the last few years. Had a good yarn about bikes and the places they had been and the places they were going… was good to meet fellow riders on the track! They had just done the Simpson desert and Mt Dare, so we may have to put that on the list for next time! :) 
After a quick stop in at the pub full of stickers, signatures, business cards and cash from all over the world stuck up on the walls, we left for Oodnadatta, the famous township the track was named after. The track was pretty easy going and we could often do 95kmph for the next 80kms or so, so we made quite good time. I had another near miss on the sand again in a dry creek bed so we had a break and Stu gave me a little pep talk… every piece of road is a new piece of road, just keep going. Road became quite ‘Oodnadatta’ again (for meaning, see last blog) with ball-bearing-like stones everywhere so again, we had to take it easy. We eventually arrived at the famous disused rail bridge 70kms south of Oodnadatta. We had lunch in the shade while admiring the old architecture in such a deserted place. Climbed the bridge, took some snaps and had a look at the beautiful field of red-purple succulent flowers before continuing on to our famed destination. The road became smooth again here and we had an uneventful rest of the trip. 
Finally, we arrived at the well-known Pink Roadhouse of Oodnadatta, set up camp at it’s caravan park down the back and decided to go for a rather well-deserved pub dinner. The ‘Oodna burger’ is quite something - perhaps one of the most packed burgers I’ve seen in my life - with everything on it possible. Definitely worth it for a whole $15. Come visit. 
Another interesting thing I’ve noted is the rather large number of foreign people serving in the outback. There are numberless Irish and Canadians on working holidays at the roadhouses, pubs and garages… I think we met more of them than Aussies! Get to know them and their stories if you have a chance…. they are fascinating people!
Well, time for bed. Marla tomorrow and then finally, FINALLY the Rock the next day! Signing off for another night, MMG
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