bdehning

Need help in figuring time and distance to go from Adelaide to Marla which I sort of have.

Then taking Oodnadatta Track from Marla through William Creek and then cutting back through Woomera to get back to Adelaide.

DownUnder

Research this trip and plan very carefully as you are heading into the serious Outback. i.e. 4 wheel drive,plenty of water & fuel. The time of the year is also crucial as it gets extremely hot or alternatively it can pour with rain and you end up with a bogged vehicle. It has happened to me in the Flinders Ranges. 300ks a day is a fairly good rule of thumb, but then of course there is not much to see so you will probably want to do 450-500 depending on road surface.

bdehning

Looks like we may cut down on how far we go out. Wanted to "experience" the Outback but will probably now just go to Flinders Ranges and not spend all the time looking at nothing. We will allot 3 days to go out and back to Flinders Ranges.

DownUnder

Yes I think that is a wise approach and it will give you a great "taste" of the Outback. Drive via Pt. Augusta and certainly go as far as Blinman. Blinman Cottage www.blinmancottage.com (no five star but typical of the area) is a possible destination, with an overnight on the way. Parachilna Gorge is of course a highlight.

bdehning

Since that is decided what about vehicle needs. Do we need 4wd to make this journey better or is standard vehicle Ok and what do you recommend?

johhj_au

In contrast to the flinders ranges...

-the road to Broken Hill is paved
-you can check out an iconic outback mining town
-check silverton ghost town where they have shot many movies
-go out to mutawintji national park and get a feel for the aboriginal dreaming
-stay underground at the opal town of white cliffs.

DownUnder

You don't need a 4WD for the Flinders or Broken Hill for that matter. With the price of petrol in Australia $A1.40 per litre in the cities and probably a lot more in the country a good air conditioned 4 cylinder would be affordable and would do the job. A 6 cylinder would be more comfortable, but of course more expensive. www.raa.net is the website for maps etc. in that area.

DownUnder

For what it is worth. Some friends of mine have just returned from the Oodnadatta Track and they said the surface is extremely rough and a 4WD would be essential. They are experienced Outback tourists and 4WD specialists and spent two weeks touring that area. They also mentioned that the Prairie hotel at Parachilna(near Blinman) has been "done up" and is now good enough for the likes of Cate Blanchett etc. if that means anything. LOL
www.prairiehotel.com

bdehning

I was reasching the Prairie Hotel last night just by chance and was thinking about trying to stay there but had nothing to go on really.

You make it sound more like a possibility. Anyone else stay ay Prairie Hotel

Sounds like 4wd might be better if we go to Blinman and around there to Parachilna.

Everyone agree?

Windy04

We stayed at the Prairie hotel last October. The food is quite good and the bar is fun. They have a lot of "feral" food -- kangaroo, camel, emu -- which is neat to try. There are sealed roads the whole way there. I really liked the remoteness of Parachilna and felt it really gave us a flavor for being in the outback.

My only complaint is we felt we couldn't explore the gorges properly on our own without a 4X4 since the rental car place made us sign a blood oath that we would not take the car off the sealed roads.

If I could do it again, I would stay one night at Prairie hotel to get a taste of the outback (both literally and figuratively) and then a night at Wilpena Pound to do some hiking.

And then stop in the Barossa on the way back...