Oodnadatta Track, The Outback Options

[Arnfinn]

The Oodnadatta Track is a South Australian gravel road that runs from Marree in the South East, via William Creek and Oodnadatta to Marla in the North West; a distance 625 km. The road closely follows the old Ghan railway line that ran between Adelaide and Alice Springs. If you venture onto the track you’ll cross one river and ford sixteen creeks (usually dry), the area is dotted with mound springs and artesian bores and is the tribal land of the Diyari, this part of Australia figures significantly in Aboriginal history and mythology. The journey along the Oodnadatta Track takes about three days.
Oodnadatta or ‘Utnadata’ is an Aboriginal name for (blossom of the Mulga)



Revision

Oodnadatta Track




Sunrise gold: splashed yellow epidermis
along the ‘V’ through the screen—
hot tongues; earth sucked dry heat-waves,
soil compacted by rubber rasps.
The ancestral land of Diyari,
each breath of wind— exposed.
Fluttered vagabond spirits, dance in heat—
depart as corkscrewed outpourings behind
treads.




Sunrise gold: splashed yellow epidermis
along the ‘V’ through the screen—
hot tongues; earth sucked dry heat-waves,
soil compacted by rubber rasps.
The ancestral land of Diyari,
each breath of wind— exposed. Fluttered
vagabond spirits, dance in the heat—depart as
corkscrewed outpourings behind treads.



Arnfinn

John Macleod © July 28, 2006

[JLY]

John,
First all of, thank you for providing a mini-travelogue glimpse of a part of your country I am not familiar with......I don't know what I enjoyed more...your narrative introduction or the actual poem.....

I really can't find any thing to crit; it's enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed this image:

corkscrewed outpourings

I only ask, that you follow-up with some more scenic renderings of your homeland.

JLY

[Guest_Cathy_*]

Hi John,

Beautiful imagery! (Thanks for the explanation at the top BTW)

Sunrise gold: splashed yellow epidermis
along the ‘V’ through the screen—
hot tongues; earth suck[s]{ed} dry heat-waves,
soil compacted by rubber rasps. What are 'rubber rasps'?
The ancestral land of Diyari,
each breath of wind— exposed. Fluttered
vagabond spirits, dance in the heat—depart as
corkscrewed outpourings behind treads.

I especially like the imagery in the last two lines. I can easily imagine ghostly figures dancing on the equally ghostly heat-waves. Thanks for the peek into Australia!

Cathy

[Arnfinn]

John,
First all of, thank you for providing a mini-travelogue glimpse of a part of your country I am not familiar with......I don't know what I enjoyed more...your narrative introduction or the actual poem.....

I really can't find any thing to crit; it's enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed this image:

corkscrewed outpourings

I only ask, that you follow-up with some more scenic renderings of your homeland.

JLY

G'day John,


Thanks for the kind words mate. I'll see what I can do.


John

[Arnfinn]

Hi John,

Beautiful imagery! (Thanks for the explanation at the top BTW)

Sunrise gold: splashed yellow epidermis
along the ‘V’ through the screen—
hot tongues; earth suck[s]{ed} dry heat-waves,
soil compacted by rubber rasps. What are 'rubber rasps'?
The ancestral land of Diyari,
each breath of wind— exposed. Fluttered
vagabond spirits, dance in the heat—depart as
corkscrewed outpourings behind treads.

I especially like the imagery in the last two lines. I can easily imagine ghostly figures dancing on the equally ghostly heat-waves. Thanks for the peek into Australia!

Cathy

Hi Cathy,

Rubber rasps- 'tyre treads'. 4 wheel drives running over the road have dust outpourings behind each tread, the treads on the tyres work like rasps digging, compacting and dislodging material between the treads.

Got me tense mixed up again ed,s, I'll have to amend.

Thank you for your nice comments.

John

[JustDaniel]

G'day, John...

and I second North Jersey neighbor John's request... and thank you for explaining rubber rasps. Now it makes sense.

Could you also explain the image of V through the screen; my visual screen is blank on that one.

deLightin' in your travelogue, Daniel

[Arnfinn]

G'day, John...

and I second John's North Jersey neighbor John's request... and thank you for explaining rubber rasps. Now it makes sense.

Could you also explain the image of V through the screen; my visual screen is blank on that one.

deLightin' in your travelogue, Daniel

G'day Daniel,

In a lot of places the 'Track' is dead straight, so when looking through the windscreen of your vehicle the road becomes an inverted '^' with the apex a dot on the horizon.

I've included a web site that tells all about the 'The Track'.

http://www.mynrma.com.au/outback_tracks_ood.asp


You will notice the first picture is a perfect example of looking through the 'v'.


Regards,

John

[JustDaniel]

Aha!!! Windscreen = our windshield. If I had understood THAT, I may have been able to grasp the inverted V. Now it is abundantly clear and indeed apt! Thank you not only for the explanation but for the wonderful travelogue site of the whole Track!

deLighting in this new peek into a part of Australia totally unknown to me, Daniel

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hi John.

I enjoyed my travels with you in the desert outback!

I also very much enjoyed the imagery of 'corkscrewed outpourings' of the path as the wind swoops them up after the tires go on over the dirt.

Sunrise gold: splashed yellow epidermis
along the ‘V’ through the screen— (Excellent visual John!)
hot tongues; earth suckes dry heat-waves, (typo: sucked)
soil compacted by rubber rasps.
The ancestral land of Diyari,
each breath of wind— exposed. (shift fluttered down)
Fluttered vagabond spirits, dance in the heat—
depart as corkscrewed outpourings behind treads.

Well done and welcome back! How are those critters - gone now I trust?

~Cleo

[Arnfinn]

Aha!!! Windscreen = our windshield. If I had understood THAT, I may have been able to grasp the inverted V. Now it is abundantly clear and indeed apt! Thank you not only for the explanation but for the wonderful travelogue site of the whole Track!

deLighting in this new peek into a part of Australia totally unknown to me, Daniel

Hi Daniel,

Funny about the English language and USA. Especially in reference to motor vehicles. E, bonnet A, hood<<< You can see the similarity (both headware). E, boot A, trunk<<< Once again, well not much similarity. E, windscreen A, windshield<<<And again.

Sorry about the confusion.



John

[Arnfinn]

Hi John.

I enjoyed my travels with you in the desert outback!

I also very much enjoyed the imagery of 'corkscrewed outpourings' of the path as the wind swoops them up after the tires go on over the dirt.

Sunrise gold: splashed yellow epidermis
along the ‘V’ through the screen— (Excellent visual John!)
hot tongues; earth suckes dry heat-waves, (typo: sucked)
soil compacted by rubber rasps.
The ancestral land of Diyari,
each breath of wind— exposed. (shift fluttered down)
Fluttered vagabond spirits, dance in the heat—
depart as corkscrewed outpourings behind treads.

Well done and welcome back! How are those critters - gone now I trust?

~Cleo

Hi Lori,

Glad a peep into Central Australia was to your liking.

Yeah, I'll make some changes, I like the idea about fluttered. I originally had sucked; Cathy reminded me that sucked was past tense and advised me to change to sucks, well I got it half right.

Yeah, I'm feeling good, Lori. Last Monday they whipped me Gall bladder out n' fixed me hernia. Went to the hospital taday n' they pulled all me staples out. Me surgeon told me everything is OK. Me other problems going well as can be expected.


John

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hi Lori,

Glad a peep into Central Australia was to your liking.

Yeah, I'll make some changes, I like the idea about fluttered. I originally had sucked; Cathy reminded me that sucked was past tense and advised me to change to sucks, well I got it half right.

Yeah, I'm feeling good, Lori. Last Monday they whipped me Gall bladder out n' fixed me hernia. Went to the hospital taday n' they pulled all me staples out. Me surgeon told me everything is OK. Me other problems going well as can be expected.


John

Hiya John.

I like the subtle changes here - do you remember the date you made the revision?

Glad to hear you are doing well! Scars are ok - the skin will heal and you'll be back with a vengeance!

HUGS
~Cleo