For those of us travelling around Australia,
roadhouses provide a number of services for
which we are all grateful. Of course, there is
fuel, something we can’t do without, but
often there is also a hotel/pub/restaurant, a
phone, camping on offer, and more.
In showcasing our favourites, we have
restricted ourselves to outback roadhouses
that ‘stand alone’, with nothing else there.
The Oodnadatta Track.
CADNEY PARK ROADHOUSE
As soon as you leave Port Augusta, heading
north on the Stuart, you are in the outback.
Cadney Park Roadhouse is 153km north of
Cooper Pedy and is a convenient spot for a
few nights of camping so that you can take a
daytrip 92km east to see the astonishing
Painted Desert.
The 92km track is sandy and a bit rutted, but
you probably won’t need to engage 4WD. You
can also travel with an offroad van and spend
a night at Arkaringa Station to catch a sunrise
or sunset over a region that looks like a
landscape painting dropped into the middle of
an arid desert.
Back at Cadney Park, you can enjoy a hearty
meal at the roadhouse after a day of exploring.
A lifeline to local residents and travellers
arriving from Coober Pedy.
MARLA TRAVELLER’S REST
The Marla Traveller’s Rest Roadhouse is
81km up the road and is the north-west
end of the Oodnadatta Track. If you have
just finished the track, you will be ready to
kiss the bitumen, stock up on basic supplies
at the small grocery store and book in for a
night or two to relax and have a swim.
Speaking of Oodnadatta, The Pink
Roadhouse (208km from Marla) is an icon
of the central desert tracks. It is funky, pink,
and the epicentre of a small community of
about 204 residents.
The Pink Roadhouse is a lifeline to residents
and to travellers arriving from Coober Pedy,
Mount Dare and Witjira, as well as the
track to and from Marree.
Painted Desert.