Ouyen to Alice Springs

Alice Springs

It's taken us a week on the road to make it back to Alice Springs.

We had our first night out at Ouyen and then moved on to Berri in South Australia. Each is only going to be an overnight stop as we have been to many of the places on our last trip in 2012 (seems so long ago!) and our aim is to head for the Kimberleys (and somewhere much warmer than home).

We bought a Tiddy Oggie (Cornish Pastie) in Burra. It was a most unusual one - 2/3 meat and vegetables and 1/3 apple! Arrived with a pot of sauce and a pot of cream. Sounds strange, but it was very tasty - of course we did cut it in two before starting.

Arrived in Port Augusta mid afternoon and rugged up for the usual walk around the caravan park checking out everyone's rigs. You never know what ideas you can pick up from what other people have done to their vans. We've often picked up ideas from others and I know we've passed on some ideas. Also, talking to others, whether by the van, in the laundry or brushing your teeth in the restrooms brings a wealth of information on where to go and what to see/do.

Our departure from Port Augusta was delayed as we spent ages trying to find the caravan repair yard so that we could replace an outside light fitting that appears to have fallen off somewhere along the track - we were also supplied with a bit of silicon sealant and tape to make sure it stays in place! We had to drive into a very strong, cold headwind and so decided to stop earlier than planned and so pulled in to Pimba (about 7km from Woomera). It was at a roadhouse (Spud's Roadhouse) with a large area that had about 20 campers (caravans, motorhomes, bus, cars and a couple of tents) for the night. The wind howled around the yard all night and so we parked beside the fence to give us some protection and didn't put up the top of the van. The diesel heater has really done very well - keeping us nice and toasty. Sonja came a cropper when she went out to brush her teeth in the dark and tripped over the solar panels I had put out to top up the second battery (used for keeping the Engel freezer on the go) - I had set them up to face a gap in the fence where the sun would at sunrise. A couple of bandaids and a few bruises, but Sonja seems okay.

Before setting off for Coober Pedy, we did a short trip to the township of Woomera. Not a lot of people living there now, but still a lot of housing around from when it was the base firstly for the British and then the US/Australian aeronautics.

Again, we had very strong headwinds all the way into Coober Pedy - doing marvels for the fuel consumption! After setting ourselves up we did a short drive around the area and a bit of shopping before settling in for the night. The temperature was much better and we were able to wander around in shirt sleeves for the first time.

We left Coober Pedy IN FOG! However there was no wind today, so that was a bonus. We passed many tailing heaps from the many opal mines that can be seen from the road. We reached the South Australian/Northern Territory border around 2pm and decided to stop for the night (same place we stopped last trip). It didn't take long for the parking spaces to fill and many had tea on the go by 5! Finally relented and had an early tea (our diesel heater doing a great job again) and then our earliest bed for a long time (light out by 9pm!!!!)

Made it into Alice Springs by lunchtime - some rain on the way - and set up before having a drive around the town. We had to replace the kettle we use on the gas/open fire and so went off searching. This was most annoying. The kettle we were using was Mum and Dad's that we had used to replace our old one. They just don't make them to last much longer than 40 years, do they? We had some rain off and on and it is a lot cooler during the day than last time we were here. Still, it is much warmer than staying back in Victoria!!!

Tomorrow we are planning to stop about half-way to Tennant Creek and look forward to much warmer weather. Stayed at this spot last time and it's quite good, but need to get in early to make sure you can get a decent spot.

Not sure when the next lot of internet will be available, possibly Katherine where we'll spend a couple of days and do the washing.