Hidden Riches of the Australian Outback: From Cattle Stations to Opal Mines
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- Опубликовано: 28 мар 2025
- The Australian Outback desert houses massive reserves of cobalt, manganese and gold - and is home to thousands of temporary workers in makeshift towns.
Deserts are the most haunting of all the Earth’s landscapes. Sometimes we think of them as vast empty spaces that dwarf and test our human spirit. But that view is wrong in so many ways.
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From "Deserts And Life"
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I was not going to sit here for 52 minutes and watch this , but I could not turn it off . Truly enjoyed this & do hope there are more like it . I could really feel Philips pain when he was trying to explain his injury , the emotional trauma just under the surface .. This was & is a bloody well put together insight to Australia .. many thanks . from Quilpie ..
I and a mate Stewart made a trip up the Oodnadatta track with a Morris Mini Moke back in 1969 to the Alice. It took us a fortnight from Melbourne but what a trip. I lost all the pickies we took but the memories are still there and this video has reunited them with me. It was a ripper of a trip and I will take it to the grave. Thanks for this memory.
Coober Pedy, my home town.
There’s something so special about the South Australian outback.
Boy that little Desert pilot girl sure did the right thing! What a lovely career!
The opal miner is tough as you can get. What a legion!
Beautiful desert landscapes and beautiful hardworking people
I love watching this Deserts series! I hope there are more episodes lined up.
l
I text it many time this week last week n month ago lava volcano earthquake in advance gudday pray always jesus meh with u all!07 humans farming more cities worldwide concrete jungles is the wrong way to go think 07
Pause at 13:23 ... that's a happy cow right there.
Thank you again for such a wonderful video. I have seen places and people that i will never be able to visit in my entire life ! Trinidad & Tobago.
Thanks.. I'm from Sri Lanka and watch 'Tracks' documentaries which provide us with knowledge about the world we live in.. I'm expecting more like this from the 'Tracks'.
Preteen Mohan over your way, has some amazing footage of ur country too..
No thanks I'll just watch television Australia bush scary. Because there are wild aborigines wild ranchers wild property owners and wild animals every where thanks but no thanks
One of the most festinating Documentary. Totally loved it
I used to live in Coober Pedy , wild west of Australia , and unforgettable place.
Been there , my flip flops were melting … we visited the under ground mines which served as habitat as well and the little church carved out of rock … lovely !
My late brother-in-law Paul Tanzer and sister Gabi Mordan used to live there before moving to Andamooka mining opal
Polish immigrant living in Sydney. Visited Coober Pedy in 2024. Moonlike landscape. Unforgettable memories.
Fantastic documentary!!! Thank you !
The beauty has no boundaries in this video.
Perfect shots without any doubt!!!!
Pause at 13:23 ... that's a happy cow right there.
Thank you! This was a great program about a special place that's become very important to me because of what I learned about somewhere different.
Beautiful documentary.
I've spent atleast 2 months in every state of aus. It's incredible
great video thankyou
Learned so much ,very well produced documentary.
As a South Australian, thank you for highlighting our lovely landscape. I guess we are considered the backwater to the rest of Australia and sometimes looked down upon. It was refreshing to see some complimentary footage. 😊
Have the aboriginals been wiped out yet to make room for cattle ranches or are their some native populations remaining, I didnt see a single black man cross the camera path
@@Kenia-sn1cg we have lots of land reserved as Aboriginal land. I live in Kaurna land but up in the north of South Australia are the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara people or as we say, the APY lands. Whilst there are cattle stations around, the APYlands are areas which cannot be bought by private citizens. Permission is needed to enter these lands.
@@HL-xz8zf I thank you for that, I saw that the Australian Govt. set aside a sizable land for the natives, compared to the usa where 98% of the original native landrights have not been respected or returned
@@Kenia-sn1cg one of my students is from a massive Indigenous community not far from William Creek where this was filmed. Their families are very tight knit and are very proud of their indigenous community. Sorry that you didn't get to see them in this video as they are our true custodians of this land.
I would rather watch you, than most of the snouts who think there above everyone else,, I really enjoyed this video,, ty
These ppl make desert living looks easy
Great doc. In fact all desert docs by Tracks are amazing :)
Excellent presentation.
Hello from Vietnam and thank you for a good doc. :))))))
Had read about these outback in so many mills n boon ...used to love reading cowboy 🤠 novels ...fascinated to see the real cowboys n outback...mustering n all ...oh n that cowboy music 🎶 oh my my ...mesmerizing...gotta find me a cowboy
Just so sorry for Philip relieving the post trauma of loosing his legs. May God be with you Philip
Such an awesome documentary.
Thank You 🙏
Living in Australia for over 50 years, I have never had the opportunity to visit the great Aussie outback desert. It’s on my Aussie travel bucket list that’s for sure👍
As for Phillip, he had me tear up with his story about losing his leg in that horrible accident. Glad he is ok and still enjoying his passion for Opal mining. Also that beautiful young lady who flys the plane, she’s an absolute flying legend. From surf to baron desert is a definite sea change to say the least.
And to the Aboriginal people, the real custodians of this vast spectacular country,, much respect ✊ to you and to the Aboriginal Elders past & present.
May God Bless you always.
🖤🌕♥️
Dont bother visiting the outback unless you like millions of bush flies, heat,bulldust, and drunkenness from local; indigenous population.
hi go go go, i went in the seventies in an EH holden wagon took me 3 years, never went to the rock but yes the devils marbles , a few weeks after tracy i was in darwin, library gone just the footings left, a big old round heavy fridge embeded in a concrete water tower. locusts plagues , cyclones extreme heat , floods , read my other comment here , best advice be prepared and seek local knowledge , rangers are a good source so are locals and natives , just dont be shy, they will know you are green! enjoy, the country we live in is so so big and diverse. here is a snippet of you maybe did not know, central australia a massive underground oil well, water wells too. have you ever found and tried cutting an opal? no? me both i built my son, who is a gem cutter , landscaper, stone mason an opal cutting machine from scratch. i cut a 9 carat opal that looked the milky way , apparently very rare and turned into a .9 carat of worthless, i have not went near my creative opal cutter since. one of my son and i friends has two opal mines at the ridge we can go anytime, but the pandemic yikes no rest for the unvaccinated , no kmart , no pub or club , seems pointless as here in nsw , all bets are off jan 15 , open slather
must watch,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,where who how the greatest blue diamond in the world came to be
so much more to tell u the failed ord river scheme, the failed cotton crops , swimming with crocs in katherine gorge
@@SamSam-du3le Bit of a sweeping comment,its a big bloody place, been through it a few times myself and really enjoyed the scenery, beats this god afull winter weather here in the UK
I was lucky enough to spend a few hours at the Anna Creek Pub. Everyone leaves something personal behind there, be it a driver's license or bra pinned to the ceiling lol. It's the only time in your life where you buy a ticket for a plane ride and you're treated to free lunch and air-conditioning. Lovely people and a memorable part of our holiday touring the outback of Australia.
Excellent doco I have been Out to that country many times absolutely love it out there
Goanna is a fast food. That was epic😂👍. Loved this documentary. More please✌️
I really enjoyed the local stuff as well
hey if go tastes like snake i ll pass
hey there i was at the rock, uluru or ayres rock ,,,,, watched a native with a rolex watch , nike everything catch and kill a goanna with an aluminium baseball bat , lunch is served
try to find bush mechanics . ive been there done that what these guys do .....in the 60's and 70's australia was unforgiving no towns no spare parts ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,one could say u were in the lap of the gods,,but the truth be prepared for anything expect the worst well its 2021 i did my trip in 1974 not a car or a person in 3 days
For me Australia is beautiful.
I was stationed with the Aussies in Vietnam for a while. I told them I was going on R&R to Sydney and had intentions to go out into the Outback just to see an experience it. To a man the Aussies strongly said do no go. They were dead serious. Well, I went to Sydney and never left the whole time. Had a great time and meet some great girls, but I have always thought that I missed something.
You probably were talking to some city slickers then, city knobs think giant concrete towers are beautiful, they’ve never seen true beauty in their life, the bush and the outback are truly beautiful places
@@dantemadden1533 Well, the Aussies were actually concerned for my safety. Kind of ironic, we were in the jungle in Vietnam, could the outback be worse than that? They said a lot of travelers went out into the outback and never were seen again. Although, there is some truth about what you say. Most of my Aussie associates were what they called "coasties", people who came from areas along the coasts. Irregardless, I appreciated their concern. It wasn't their concerns that kept me in Sydney, mostly beer and ladies. No regrets.
you did not miss something you missed everything
@@stephenhoward4191 Regrettably I have to agree. But everything in life is a lesson and the one I learned from that was don't let others do your thinking for you. I am too old now to make the trek now but who ever reads this, TAKE the damn trek. And if you think about it, that applies to all areas of your life. Don't be afraid to take a chance to get what you want. It is ok to take counsel from more experienced people, but in the end it is your decision. What is the worst thing that can happen? You could find what you you are looking for. Chose well, Live well.
@@dbeaus: very well said, sir. Thank you for your wise reminder !!!
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view!"
Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam."
Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!"
Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..."
Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!"
Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky."
Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction."
Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment?"
Hahahahahha
I love these series. Please upload more, a lot more✌️✨
I text it many time this week last week n month ago lava volcano earthquake in advance gudday pray always jesus meh with u all!07 humans farming more cities worldwide concrete jungles is the wrong way to go think 07
You Aussies are so rough and rugged,tough,hardworking,God fearing people how did you all vote for this gay rights,marriage stuff,never thought y'all go that way,same as us American didn't get out and vote.
Pause at 13:23 ... that's a happy cow right there.
the most beautiful place on earth especially after the rain i want to go there and experience north south road ride
Thank you, excellent documentary.
As a desert lover it is my dream to tour Australia on my Yamaha XT Tenere motorcycle.
Wish it was possible.
Desert greetings from South Africa
It is possible. Just need some backup.
EXCELLANT I HAVE BEEN TO AUSTRALIA FEW TIMES VISITED ALICE SPRING FACINTING COUNTRY AND MANY OTHER PLACES MY ADORABLE PLACE IS CANBERA THANK YOU
Canberra is dump.
Guest you saw uluru and the great canyon
welcome to my back yard the south australian outback, ive travelled most of the places in this episode
Well aren’t you a big boy good for you
do you want a badge for it?
G'day mate. Good day mate. Good day to you sir. I wish you a very good day kind Sir. Evolution.
maybe you can guide me to Lassiters Lost Reef , i found the one in alice, i have an inkling where it maybe , you have to remember he was kind of loco from heat and lack of food and water . the yanks did a serious survey and never found it . its there but where ? you have to think like lassiter in his state. yes? paul?
AMAZING HISTORY....
loved the outback of Australia
I am speakless......😶👀
but indeed a great Docu. with lots of fascinating Beauty of this Continent......Thank you!🙏
Shutup then
@@PhillipMikeHunt is there a problem ?
@@PhillipMikeHunt SHUT UP WHY?
@@fluffyclouds2729 they are speakless.
Yet they speak.
I have travelled around this area quite a few times and it never fails to fascinate me. Had many a meal at the William Creek pub as well. Interested to know what the girls were doing with the drumming on their legs etc. They were certainly having a good time.
Very dry, very vast, and full of beauty, and good to see the aboriginal wāhine still eating from the land.
Worth seeing
Don’t miss it sir
As a biologist I like Nature documentaries
That's a huge ranch as it's larger then both R.I. and Delaware combined and 1/2 the size of Connecticut...
they say texas is big. Western Australia, the state where i live is 2.6 million square kilometres vs texas at 695,000 haha
What scares me must is Australia, is full of Australians!!.
Anything Australian - I watch 😆✌🏻
aussies eat flies in the outback
Andy, try ‘the weedy gardener’ episode 1.. sooo good
@@ralsharp6013 legit hooked! thanks mate!
@@andychester His photography incorporation is amazing as well as His newly found gardening skills. I was immediately hooked as well and couldn’t wait for part two and three To be uploaded.
And then I was so lucky to win his beautiful book. At any given moment. Full of wonderful photography and childhood stories leading into adult hood.
He grew up in Australia and married somebody from Denmark. Spent quite a few years raising a couple of children before coming home to New South Wales. An interesting character and very humble. So very glad you enjoyed his stuff
@@MrBlurpBlurp-hg3dj and you knobs breathe smog 24/7
Love the "Mad-Max" cowboys🤣🤣..I'd have sooooo much fun!!
watch bush mechanics , its old , but awesome
Arg, rocket range and missiles in the desert. Hard to imagine radio activity In Australia, the size of India… The aboriginals in Australia have been so oppressed by British Government. Had no idea they bombed the land.. really love your filming on the Bush Tucker. Excellent thank you
You have no idea about anything fella. A city slicker running off at the mouth about thing's you know SFA about.
@@SamSam-du3le are you talking to 'The Invisible Man'?
@@SamSam-du3le I think it's you that doesn't know anything! Try doing a bit of research to see how absolutely abominably the Aboriginal people were/are treated by Brits...... 🤦🏻♀️
Awsome .
The 4 star opal caravan park is where the first settlement of wallangulla was situated, the school was hessian & bark , it was right where the office is , there was a butcher bakery and tent where the miners could buy a meal at night .
*Marvelous! THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING!!*
IMO, the most interesting part was the end of the documentary, showing representatives of the original population and the lady speaking her native (ancestral) language.
It would be nice if you indicated when your documentaries were released.
Yet another wonderful masterpiece from TRACKS. Great work!
Very nice 👍🙏
Nice.
Been to William Creek, a beautiful old outback outpost
I love desert landscapes, love the look of them -- not sure that I can live in one though, so scary to be faraway from everywhere
Perspective,
or lack thereof ....
try walking barefoot in that part of the land , ouch , ouch , ouch , i have we lost my sis in law , but as it was it turned out good , not for me though very sore footsies for a few days
Pause at 13:23 ... that's a happy cow right there.
I would love to see this place
Yes, I did enjoy watching the beauty of the landscape and learning about the destructive mining operations etc. Yet there is hypocrisy in this as well. You spend 90% of the time highlighting the "hardiness" and gungho attitudes of the people exploiting this land and reserve like 3 minutes mentioning the original inhabitants!
Before there was access to artesian water, there were no permanent inhabitants in most of inland Australia .No tucker and no water unless there was big rain, about one year out of ten. No old fellas to talk to these days :-((
@@rogershapland5042 yes but certain areas had been established as tribal specific territory
dessert golf is new for me! wow! love it
Didn’t know you could eat a game of golf
anyone else get the feeling Nathan had his fingers in something he shouldn't before he lost them... lol
2:35 why did you put a clip of Baker Shot, the Bikini Atol nuclear explosion 1946 here...? 🤔
Pause at 13:23 ... that's a happy cow right there.
That was hard work.
I love Australia it's so fascinating I'm actually a little jealous I wasn't born there 😭😂 but sure do hope I get the opportunity to bring my daughter to visit when she's a bit older 😊
I was fascinated by their cities infrastructure i want to visit it someday.
You are welcome.
It's a glorious country! Shame everything wants you dead though! 🤷🏻♀️😂🇦🇺
The one thing that anoyed me on this was calling Anna Ck, as it is a Cattle Station, the largest "farming" property in the world.
According to Google, a cattle station is a large "farm", used mainly for the raaring of cattle.
"That everything we thought we knew about the world might turn out to be completely wrong." I am so sick and tired of the media telling us that we might be completely wrong about what they have already told us. They really think they've got us. Let's show them that they don't.
Sadly, this (supposed) documentary went right off track near the end and became political.
The Great Artesian Basin even extends under Torres Straight to below Papua New Guinea where it is constantly topped up by rainfall.
What really
Hey.. First comment.. I am an avid fan of your channel.
What is being rich ,when you do not have a leg,...that is sad.
Sudden noisy and disturbing music. All tracks documentaries seem to have deaf producers who have no clue about adding music.
👌👌👌
i cant help but think of wolf creek incident ''very scary'' for unwary tourists
@spacies Wolf Creek was a movie. There have been more scary movies than actual scary things like that happening, starting with the film ''Wake in Fright''. What i would advise any visitor to Central Australia on - and this is important. Carry plenty of drinking water ( 10 gallons or more) in your car, if you are planning to go offroad. Also, in that situation you do need two way radio (mobile phones are unreliable in remote areas, no towers for miles). Lack of water/heat exhaustion from walking too far on a hot day is actually far deadlier than any Wolf Creek boogeyman story.
I would not travel alone out there either.
Australia, a place of so many things.
I'm Thulani Ndlovu from south africa Durban. I love Australia Country
Which is bigger. Sahara desert or outbacks
Anna Creek Station tem uma área de 23.677 km 2 (9.142 sq mi; 5.851.000 acres) [3] que é ligeiramente maior do que Israel . [4] É 8.000 km 2 (2.000.000 acres; 3.100 sq mi) maior do que seu rival mais próximo, Alexandria Station no Território do Norte do país . É mais de sete vezes o tamanho do maior rancho dos Estados Unidos , King Ranch no Texas , que tem 3.340 km 2 (830.000 acres; 1.290 sq mi). [5] A partir de 16 de dezembro de 2016, a estação é de propriedade da Williams Cattle Company, uma empresa familiar que comprou Anna Creek da S. Kidman & Co , dobrando sua área total sob arrendamentos pastorais . O município mais próximo é William Creek (que é cercado pela estação Anna Creek), mas a cidade mais próxima para frete é Coober Pedy .
Anna Creek Station has an area of 23,677 km 2 (9,142 sq mi; 5,851,000 acres)[3] which is slightly larger than Israel. [4] It is 8,000 km 2 (2,000,000 acres; 3,100 sq mi) larger than its closest rival, Alexandria Station in the country's Northern Territory. It is more than seven times the size of the largest ranch in the United States, King Ranch in Texas, which is 3,340 km 2 (830,000 acres; 1,290 sq mi). [5] As of December 16, 2016, the station is owned by Williams Cattle Company, a family business that purchased Anna Creek from S. Kidman & Co, doubling its total area under pastoral leases. The closest township is William Creek (which is surrounded by Anna Creek station), but the closest town for freight is Coober Pedy.
The guys driving these trucks across the country🤔👊👊
That cow farm is like a horror movie, everything else, beautiful.
I've sworn off beef and dairy, and I love beef and dairy. Watch "Cowspiracy" it's on here. If we could keep Earth's population to 500m or less then being beef-eaters might not be so much of a problem but 8 billion? With that many people, we can't be eating cows.
I text it many time this week last week n month ago lava volcano earthquake in advance gudday pray always jesus meh with u all!07 humans farming more cities worldwide concrete jungles is the wrong way to go think 07
@@alexcarter8807 we cant sustain that many people who want houses electricity cars tv's travel schools hospitals etc etc
Far worse the A bomb tests
@@marleneclough3173 What do you suggest? I'm all for educating women, teaching men to respect them, give them full control of reproduction, and work to improve the living standards of poor people.
I had no idea you could see Orion from the southern hemisphere!
My dad (RAF) was seconded to the RAAF to Maralinga, Woomera, and also Christmas Island for the nuclear weapons testing during the 50s and 60s. All the protection from radiation they got was dark glasses and photo negatives, and told to wash their shorts and singlets after viewing the Christmas Island tests. He said the ELDO rockets mostly fell over at the launch pad. He said the Nullabor was nothing but goannas and spiders. But Adelaide was gorgeous.
Wonder if that serial killer stopped in for a drink ..lol
I was there.... correction, I had the pleaaure of visiting central Aus. The home of Amber' light 🧡
Have been in uluru
@@marcopoulin1897 I went to Uluru, but after that we went to Kings' Canyon. Very atmospheric place.
Why is the music is so loud?
I love Australia and the people!!! I us to have a best friend, but he let me down sad 😢 but I wish I could live there. I still love American 🇺🇸 my last name is Evans are you my family?! LOL
this is actually decent documentary as well
the abuse of animals needs to STOP - the evil never ends !!!
The thing with those ladies eating a lizard and grubs is, they're catching and killing them themselves. And the lizard and grubs had fine lives up to the end. But how many who eat beef are willing to go out and kill a cow themselves?
@@alexcarter8807 And are you prepared to treat and sanitize your own water? Brew your own beer? Grow enough food to feed yourself? Grow up. Humans eat meat. It's a major contributor to our evolution. The system needs to modernize, but meat is a necessity for most cultures around the world. Apart from that, if we stop eating meat, then domesticated animals will go extinct.
Get some pork, on your fork.
I don't think plants are too keen to be pulled out of the ground and eaten too. When will this ''evil'' stop ?
what abuse? we kill and eat unless you want to eat leaves
Surly 4/5 of the mainland. Does anyone EVER edit these videos?
Australia rings of Australian national
The color of the soil on the land and mountains of Australia is very similar to my country Somalia
Greeting from Sweden
Your country is Sweden then. Not Somalia.
Look at those big termite mounds
What is the man wearing at 19:37 on his eyes?
Where do all the people in the William Creek Hotel come from?
the outback, where else?
it is not a farm it is a station.
How much of this aquifer do the Chinese own?....just curious.
What happen to witchetty grubs !!! 😮
Who else noticed the little fella at 29:30?
The snake?..... 🧐
I want to live there!
In Australia or the outback
@@Wispectre Australian outback 😄
She beat that Goana like a redheaded stepchild
23:00 love Tay!
yesss