Just a few kilometres before it was the Wamba Kadarbu Conservation Park, where we stopped to see two other mound springs: The Bubbler and Blanche Cup.  The sun was about to set, so we sat down to watch it.  A woman was playing a clarinet in the parking lot, her music stand set up with a score sheet on it.  Perhaps it had always been her dream, in any case, it added to the dusk-mood.  The sunset was just amazing, with a canopy of billowing clouds that turned to flame when the sun dropped toward the horizon.  There are no other sunsets like the sunsets in the outback of South Australia.  This one was a masterpiece, stretching out to the great beyond. 

We arrived at Coward Spring just as it was getting dark.  This spring is on a station, but the owners have turned it into a little campground, and it is a popular stopping place for those doing the Oodnadatta Track.  No wonder; here, in the middle of a dehydrated desert, you can sit in a natural spa and soak away all that red dust.  We sat in the 29-degree water, looking up at the Southern Cross.  It was magical.

Morning at Coward Springs revealed we had indeed camped at a terrific little spot.  It was known as a gathering place for birds when water was scarce .There was a colony of fire finches living in the trees around us, and they were a delight to watch.  The finches had even built several nests in the rafters above the shower.  It was fun to observe them as they brought food to their chicks.  What a pleasant stop Coward Springs is on the Oodnadatta Track.

Copyright Linda Lee Rathbun