It was only a trip of about 40km from our view of Lake Eyre to our next destination of Coward Springs an oasis in the desert although with all the green around the place didn’t stand out quite as much as it usually does but nevertheless we could spot the taller trees and established growth from a fair way out before we got there.
The abundance of water came about when the pipes for a bore driven into the Great Artesian Basin corroded and collapsed and the result was a constant spring which has created a wetland area which has attracted birds and plenty of wildlife. Originally there was a pub here but that was shipped away to a place in the Northern Territory and instead it has been turned into a caravan park.
The trees and bushes around the park offered us some great protection from the wind and we were pretty lucky to get a spot as many of the sites had been reserved and a stream of travellers were coming through the gates. It was certainly a popular place.
The quirky attraction of the place was a natural hot spring but unfortunately it wasn’t very hot and was actually fairly small and full of people so we decided to give it a miss but certainly enjoyed the showers and using the water so we could keep our water in our camper for our onward journey and any potential problems with weather.
The first night we were there it started raining…just enough to get everyone a little frightened. If it rained too much then it would render the dirt roads undriveable and everyone would have to stay put and wait for the roads to dry out. Thankfully though it was only a small shower and the next day just about everyone packed up and headed off. We decided to stay a second night to have a little look around the area.
A short drive away were a couple of mound springs which were natural hills about 20m high where water from the Great Artesian Basin had, under pressure, forced its way to the surface resulting in a bubbling spring. Once upon a time the bubbles used to spurt over a meter above the surface but due to the number of times the basin has been tapped the pressure over time has dropped and now it’s reduced to a gentle slow bubbling. It was really impressive to see this when surrounded by such a dry and desolate desert. It must have been more impressive back in the day when explorers and travellers were crossing the inhospitable surrounds and they came across such an amount of water.
We also managed to enjoy a short walk out into the desert in search of an old cemetery but couldn’t find it but still were able to enjoy looking at the incredible colours of the red dirt and the plants which were a vivid green. It’s really lucky to be out in the desert after so much rain and able to see how surprisingly vibrant the countryside can actually be. T
