August 2^nd

Rain is in the air with dark clouds about. We did use the wind screen wipers for awhile but there was little water falling to help the stressed land.

The best thing about today was the fact that our tyres remained ‘round’ instead of flat. It was a slow trip on a narrow track with corrugations, over grown mulga trees and rough rocky sections. However we have a lovely campsite again with about 70km  to travel until we come to Voke’s Corner.

We have been in contact with John A (our son) who is organising a couple of new tyres for us to have fitted when we reach Ceduna which is some considerable distance away. We have changed our route plan a little so now we will not travel the remote track we had planned to use on our return to Ceduna.

We are now in ‘Maralinga’ owned country. It is the only area  which we have to pay for a permit to enter. Soon after we left we came to a sign saying  NO CAMPING  in the next 50 kilometres because it is a Culturally Significant area. I would like to understand more about this and the culture that is important within this area. The country is ‘wild and free’ so to speak. Maybe there are special stories that relate to points of significance. Whatever it is the trip through has been most enjoyable. The eucalypts which are in bloom are beautiful and include Eucalyptus kingsmillii, a couple of other eucalypts, wattles and the lovely grass leaved red Hakea. The scenery has been beautiful  with the red, red sand as the background to everything, quite ‘stunning’ really..no wonder I love the colour of red/orange!

Suddenly a wild dog appeared. He was interested in our vehicles and calmly walked around us. His colour was really quite dark without signs of the yellow dingo of the desert.

An inquisitive wild dog 

We met 2 cars which is always a point of interest way out here where vehicles are rare. The total of 7 vehicles and 1 grader since we left Laverton on July 24^th is quite remarkable.

This evening I had the pleasure (and success) of cooking a pot roast for the four of us. It was a delicious meal enjoyed in front of another hot campfire which was burning mallee or mulga roots. The sky is clear, stars are out, including our distinctive Southern Cross, the blue Moon is rising, the rain has gone and it is sure to be cold in the morning. To give extra atmosphere to this evening the call of an owl is a constant background noise, easily heard in the silence of the night. MoPoke….MoPoke….MoPoke…MoPoke. Two owls were calling to each other.