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Big sky county (Maree)


Marree was once a thriving railway town of about 600 residents. It was a key station on the Great Northern Railway reaching into the remote outback … the sign as the railway station says it was “a story of outback dreams and heartbreak, rail buckling heat and devastating floods in a harsh land.” The last train ran in 1980.

Today at the junction of the Birdsville and Oodnadatta Tracks Marree has around 100 residents and is the service centre of the region with police, hospital, hotel, general store, two caravan Parks and home to the Lake Eyre Yacht Club (quirky given that the lake is usually dry for 9 years out of every 10)At this time of year (winter and especially when Lake Eyre is in flood) there are plenty of travellers passing through.



The end of the rail and the end of an exciting day.

Tomorrow we are on our way back towards the Flinders Ranges and picking up a few places we missed on the way up the road.

Comments

  1. JulieOctober 13, 2010 at 7:50 AM

    Camel Cup ... I like that. People who travel through inland Australian have a commonality to them, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Megan CoyleOctober 13, 2010 at 9:55 AM

    wow, look at that sky! It's just stunning in the first and last photos :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Red Nomad OZOctober 13, 2010 at 7:32 PM

    I've always wanted to visit Marree after it featured in a couple of outback mystery novels I read, and of course the biography of the famous outback mailman! Now your photos REALLY make me want to go!!

    Happy travels!
    Adventures in Australia

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownOctober 13, 2010 at 11:13 PM

    Your commentary on the last photo says it all. Fascinating, because it's so different from what I'm used to!

    ReplyDelete
  5. SusanOctober 14, 2010 at 9:16 AM

    These old outback towns are so precious - lovely how you've recorded them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnnOctober 16, 2010 at 8:32 AM

    Its dry! where's all the water?

    ReplyDelete
  7. diane bDecember 9, 2010 at 8:59 PM

    Just came back to see your views of Maree. Somehow I didn't get to comment but I do remember seeing these photos and am very impressed with your shot of the old train. The one I took never portrayed the emotion that yours does. I didn't even publish it, I love the old tumbled down quirky subjects that you have chosen to snap.

    ReplyDelete

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