Stranded in Old Andado

by Lisa
(Finland)

Another story about Central Australia in 1986...

We left Alice Springs for Oodnadatta without a worry. After a fairly long drive our bus got stuck in a dry river bed. That meant a fly filled hot stop while the crew tried to call for help.

Finally, it became obvious that rain was to be expected and there was no help coming any time soon. So everybody went and pushed, and yes, the bus got loose. Happily we continued our drive.

When darkness fell, we also found ourselves in the middle of lightning. There was lightning everywhere - but no rain yet. We were hurrying to get to Old Andado Station before the rain. We made it to the station - and it started to pour.

It rained and rained, and then the desert was totally wet and there was no way a bus could get anywhere on the tracks. So we stayed at the station - where our only link to the outside world was the old radio transmitter.

Some people were desolate and couldn't quite handle being stranded, others were happy and made the most of it.

Personally, I thought it was great. After the rain it smelled so good. The flies came back, but took their time. The nights were so clear and beautiful, and it was wonderful to see all the stars shining above the darkness.

We waited for the track to dry for some days (three or four?) and then we took off. At each bigger puddle everybody got out of the bus and the driver drove through as fast as he could. At the end we all had red shoes and legs, but that was a great souvenir :-).