Back in 2016 we spent four weeks travelling across the red centre of Australia. From traversing the Simpson Desert to visiting the tourist traps like Uluru, we were lucky enough to see all kinds of places.

One of my personal favourites was following the old Ghan Railway beside the Oodnadatta Track. There are plenty of remnants and ruins of the old railroad alignment to explore but few are as complete as Curdumurka near Lake Eyre South.

The remains of the terminal building still stand, as does the rusted water tank. Plenty of track is still in place; in fact it stretches as far as the eye can see to the south. To the north, a large bridge still crosses Chambers Creek. Some of the infrastructure looks like it could almost still accommodate trains. Or at least it did back in 2016.

Camping is permitted at the site but there are no facilities. For the railfan or history buff it would be a great place to pitch a tent for the night. We visited during the afternoon and probably spent about an hour looking around even though there really isn’t that much to see. The walk down to the bridge is flat but it takes a few minutes.

We travelled during July and August and the weather was nice. Dry, but not too hot. Most days it ranged from high 20’s to low 30’s.

The Oodnadatta Track is generally accessible to most vehicle types in dry conditions. A high-clearance 4WD is not necessarily essential but it will make the trip more comfortable, especially if the weather turns bad. The area is quite remote, so it is crucial you bring sufficient fuel, water and supplies. The nearest capital city is Adelaide, 8 hours and 720 kilometres away.

The photos below show various parts of the site back in 2016. I hope not much has changed because I would love to get back out there and take another look around one day.