An Aussie traveller is reminding tourists to the Outback to heed road closure warnings, with photos serving as a visual reminder of the potential dangers.
Alex Johnson and his wife Sue, a retired couple from Sydney, are currently camped out in regional South Australia, where they’ve been for several days.
The only road in and out of the isolated region is closed.
The legendary Oodnadatta Track is a 614km unsealed outback road connecting Marree in the southeast to Marla in the northwest.
It’s not uncommon for it to be unusable during heavy rains.
“When you get rain up there, you can’t travel on the dirt roads. It’s too dangerous,” Marree-based pilot Phil van Wegen told Yahoo News this week.
Alex and Sue Johnson pictured with South Lake Eyre/Kati Thanda behind them before the rain came.
(Alex Johnson)
He said the roads get “really soft and slippery, and they get carved up”. Often, inexperienced travellers get “stuck out here for days“.
Alex, a retired teacher, has shown firsthand what can happen to the roads if closure warnings are ignored.
Camped about 35 km northwest of William Creek, about halfway along the Oodnadatta Track, the 63-year-old wanted to see what it’s “really like” when it’s wet.
He said, “even walking on it was slippery and difficult”, implying driving would be more dangerous.
Photos show a trail of footprints carved into the red mud from where he stepped.
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Even walking on the mud is slippery, Alex said.
(Alex Johnson)
“You see how much I sank in,” he noted.
“Even in an emergency, I really wouldn’t attempt to put my vehicle on it,” he continued.
“If ever you need visual reasons to stay off the wet roads for us city people, this is it”.
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Alex said travellers often end up on roads they shouldn’t, for various reasons.
“You can often see road damage after rain that the poor old local council then has to deal with,” he said.
“There are a lot of inexperienced drivers out there too, but we all start that way. So good education and expectation setting can help a lot.”
This video from 2024 shows the condition of the Oodnadatta Track after heavy rain and how difficult it is to drive on.
Travellers must be prepared when visiting remote regions
The Sydney couple travelled to the area ahead of the recent rain when the road was still open, but were fully prepared to stay for as long as required.
“We have fresh supplies for over a week, lots of water, power and wine. And a StarLink to stay connected,” he confirmed.
Alex and Sue are travelling in a Ford Ranger 6-wheeler with a fully self-contained Ozcape slide-on camper.
“We’re waiting for the road to dry out, while we sit in the green desert watching at least eight species of birds fly around being noisy,” Alex said, noting the unexpected lush growth in the area.
Months of consistent rain has turned much of the region green, with pilot Phil capturing the incredible transformation from the air this week.
In just a few months, the Aussie outback has gone from dry and dusty to a lush, green oasis. (Pictured: Marree, South Australia)
(Arid Air)
Alex and Sue, who are three weeks into their eight-week trip, heading north to Darwin, say they prefer to take the back dirt roads as much as they can.
Their Ford Ranger 6-wheeler is capable of managing the tougher conditions. But “even the best preparation can go awry”, he warned.
“When travelling the outback and to places like Cape York, you need to be aware of conditions and what’s coming your way,” he said.
“Local councils often have road status online that is up to date, and combining that with weather forecasts allows you to make much wiser decisions.”
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