Marree

Monday 2/6/02

Farina is an abandoned township on the old Ghan railway line 32km north of Lyndhurst. The camp site is located in the creek line on the edge of the old town. There are lots of trees for shade and the station owners have put in toilets and showers which were well presented. There are also picnic tables made from old railway sleepers and fire places. There is an honesty box at the entrance and a charge of $3.50 per person. This is a pleasant place to stay.

The old township ruins made a stunning sight in the afternoon light. A good billboard showed the layout of the original town and we were quite impressed at the size of the township. Farina means "flour" in Latin.  The old settlers must have been very pessimistic to have expected crops in such an arid region.

We collected some firewood and had a nice fire to sit around and we enjoyed a few coldies. The scenery along the way consisted of flat open saltbush plains with scattered bushes, spear grass and silver grass with ranges in the distance.  The ranges on the right hand side of the road between Hawker and Lyndhurst are quite spectacular. We had a fairly early night as we were just running off battery for lights, etc.