We are headed towards the Gawler Ranges National Park.

And wonder if we'll be lucky enough to see a train.

But then flat plain through Marla (and the turn off to Oodnadatta Track).

A few bends to give a bit of variety to the road.

We stop to camp about 100 km north of Coober Pedy. Too many days driving. About 325 km today. A couple of hundred meters from the road. Between road and rail line.

We see a goods train about a half hour after stopping. Mostly hidden behind low acacia bush. We'll explore later.

Too windy to have the cab tilted for heater hose fixing. Clouds to the south. I don't have enough experience of desert weather to know if its raining somewhere near, or headed our way. I think generally further south is subject to a series of fronts moving west to east but rarely reaching this far north.

Driving south we have very quickly moved from the monsoonal north of Australia with its wet and dry seasons to talk of Spring.

Nearby is a large old scrape, to explain the numerous short tracks.

We heard it about a minute before we saw it. Any desire to camp closer to the rail line evaporated.

An hour or so later a train headed north. Carrying containers. No more trains after that.

That's about 105 lb in old money. Lighter than the Pilbara rail lines. A bit of deformation on the edges of the rail head.

Welded, with concrete sleepers.

Very different to the original Ghan track, Edward Creek siding is about 160 km east.

Finding our way back to a single point is a bit harder.

But we managed ....

And, just in case, if we missed we would meet the road.

The clouds are receding a bit. Gibber plain, rain, and truck don't mix well.

We use the sat phone to ask Adelaide friends to look at weather forecast. Probably rain south of Coober Pedy. Radio weather forecast overnight tells same story. We'll have to check outback road conditions before we leave the sealed road near Kingoonya.

They look a bit different to us in the early morning sun.

But there's a large signpost to Kingoonya and an automated roads open/closed sign that says all open. Consistent with the two day old web page.

We assume we don't need a permit.

7.5mm last night at the Kingoonya Hotel. There's still a little bit spasmodically on the roadside.

Stopped for the night. There's a mobile phone tower at Kingoonya. 3G. And a pub with meals.

I expected it to stop in the passing bay. But no, it just kept going.

According to the timetable the west bound Indian Pacific is due at 08:13.