Day 1 - Adelaide to Leigh Creek via Port Augusta
We picked up the first lot at the Caltex Bolivar where we met Perry & Deb and Sarah & Andrew. When Perry & Deb arrived, they said that their back brake had locked up on the way from home to the meeting place, smell and smoke everywhere. The ABS reset itself and had no further problems. We then met Kym & John at Two Wells.
After an uneventful trip with a lunch stop at Port Augusta, we arrived at the Leigh Creek caravan park just in time for happy hour. Looking around at 7 pm we were all a bit bedraggled, a sign of how much packing and preparation we had all done. Some relaxed on the lovely couch and read, while Graeme taught Andrew the rudiments of Euchre until 9 pm when it was too much for all of us and we retired for the night.
Day 2 - Leigh Creek to Mungarannie
Lovely slow morning, making the most for breakfast in the camp kitchen. We headed off to Copley for morning tea where we were entertained by Andrew and his theory of "whether the eldest twin was really the oldest"!! Heading on we stopped at Marree for postcards and top up of fuel, which went south as Graeme pinched all their diesel (all $10 of it).
A quick stop for a picture under the Birdsville Track sign to prove we were there, and onward, and upward we went. We stopped at the date farm, along with MV Tom Brennan. The Clayton Bore was a nice spot for lunch, real toilets and a laugh when Andrew decided to show Deb how warm the water was in the bath!!! The Birdsville Track was reasonable condition with some rough sections, but mostly cruising around 90 k/hr.Travelling on to Mungarannie for the night, John heard a familiar sound coming from the back of the vehicle. Fortunately it was just a shock absorber rubber which was easily fixed. You would not believe there is another Delica in South Australia. Yes we came all the way to Mungarannie to see one and after exchanging stories, we then settled in for the night with brave little wanderers checking out the hot pool.
Day 3 - Mungarannie to Birdsville
After hearing Birdsville was filling up fast we decided to leave earlier after filling up with diesel at $1.75/litre, hearing that Diesel was $2.00/litre from a fellow traveller. Perry was finding the flow of petrol a little slow when the owner came out & advised him that he should use the other pump as that one was a bit slow in the mornings, only in the bush!!! Perry thought that he had also drained the tank at Mungarannie. Of course we had to stop at the Queensland border for a photo. We arrived at Birdsville at the caravan park, which was very well organised & filling up fast.
Day 4 - BirdsvilleHad a very easy morning. We had the "how to stay married" morning, Andrew said "I'm in charge aren't you Sarah", John said "I wear the pants in my house when ever she says I can", Graeme said "I know I'm wrong all the time, don't I Sharon" and Deb said "Perry's never wrong, cause I never let him speak!"
The boys went about being busy putting the generator on to charge the batteries, fixing Perry's plug, and John fixed his sunroof. John went looking for a screw from Perry, and Perry said you couldn’t get a better screw if you tried.
We went to the post office and ended up checking up the bash cars when they came into town. Three hours later after going for a drive around and checking out the race track, we arrived back at camp for happy hour.Day 5 - Birdsville
We did the shops ("Westfield") - WE CONQUERED BIG RED!!!
Day 6 - Birdsville
Race Day ... Had a lazy morning, trying to get all our showers out of the way early, so that we could be ready to be picked up by the bus out the front of the caravan park. We went out to the race track by bus which cost us $2 each person, but we did not mind as it was a donation to the RFDS. Kym, Andrew & Graeme had a dagwood dog (Andrew got to try one of our Adelaide Show traditions.)
We all lost our money on the races but had a great day deciding what horse to put our money on. Andrew shouted us all an ice cream. We went up to the hall to check out the band, and then ended up at the pub after watching the boxing line-up. We had a couple of dirty stop outs with Sarah and Andrew staying out until 1 am, after dancing up the dust.Day 7 - Birdsville
We had another easy morning. We got ourselves ready and went up to meet the bus.
We left Perry behind, but after a short trip around Birdsville the same bus came back and picked Deb & Perry up. We arrived at the races and put ourselves into the shady spot ready for the race day ahead. It was a pleasant day, lovely costumes, hats and suits. We all put a bet on and we all got some winnings back. We then went back up to the main street and called into the Birdsville Hotel again. Once again, great music and great atmosphere.Day 8 - Birdsville
The next day was an early morning as some of the campers decided to leave as early as 3am. We went out and checked out the local cemetery, showed Sarah & Andrew the hot bore & then back to camp for lunch. After lunch we went to the Birdsville Working Museum.
Very interesting place. Our trip leader gave all cars a complimentary window wash, is this a new trend? We then packed up as much as possible to move out next morning.Day 9 - Birdsville to Boulia
Leaving Birdsville with about half of the caravan park for company, we made our way towards Boulia for the night. The road was in quite good condition and the heat was finally showing. We bought late lunch at the Min Min Cafe & settled into the caravan park. Here we found out that staying in Birdsville the extra night was definitely the right thing as the previous night the small caravan park had 120 guests.
This night we had a few friendly campers from SA travelling with friends their group was known as the 'Highbury's'.Day 10 - Boulia to Jervois
Today was Deb's birthday, setting the theme for the day. We headed off to Jervois, passing our SA friends early on in the day.
After stopping for Perry, whose car smelled like it was leaking fuel, Sarah noticed that her and Andrew had a flat tyre on the camper. We changed that and ducked for a road-train to pass, before getting back on the road again. Of course we had to stop for a group photo at the NT border, meeting up with the 'Highbury's' who had also stopped for a flat tyre, then into Tobermoray for fuel and lunch.
The road from here to Jervois was quite taxing on all, being a lot of bulldust intermittent with corrugation, especially Sarah and Andrew's camper, which shredded a tyre this time. Fortunately the Delica was carrying a spare that fitted (it had actually been borrowed from them to start with!). Sarah's comment was that they had had a flat in 2 states in 1 day. We were passed by the 'Highbury's' and met up with them again on arriving at Jervois Station for a late Happy Hour, complete with a cake for Deb's birthday.
Day 11 - Jervois to Alice SpringsWe left Jervois and the mozzies and headed towards Alice Springs. A now familiar voice came over the radio, wishing us a good day of travelling, it was the 'Highbury's'. The road had hardly any bulldust now, but a lot of corrugations. When we did find the bitumen the road was only one lane wide, which was interesting when a road-train went past the other way. Locals were just happy that the one lane road took them to Alice Springs when it rained.
Stopped at Gem Tree for a look. It would be nice one day to camp there and fossick for our own gems for the jewellery. We then decided to stop and have lunch before heading in to Alice Springs. We arrived in Alice Springs, very dirty but happy. We were expecting different things from flat and hot and dusty to dirt roads. Shaz & Graeme led us through town to the McDonnell Ranges Holiday Park which was very nice. We all showered and set up camp and some did some long overdue washing. We enjoyed happy hour and then up to Anzac Hill for sunset before a leisurely tea while Shaz & Graeme left the trip by catching up with a local for tea.Day 12 - Alice Springs to Cadney Homestead
Next morning saw Deb & Perry head off to stay in luxurious white sheets by staying underground at Coober Pedy Desert Caves motel.
Sarah and Andrew went off to get a tyre repaired, and Kym and John went off unsuccessfully to try and find a new air filter for the Delica. We travelled to Kulgera and had lunch there. We then stopped at the border again for a photo, then went on as far as Cadney Homestead and camped for the night. They put us out the back and once again we had troubled putting the tent pegs in. We then went in and had tea, Andrew and Graeme decided to have a Cagney Country Mixed Grill, which consisted of a Kangaroo Pattie, an Emu Sausage and a Camel Steak. They said that it was delicious.Day 13 - Cadney Homestead to Spear Creek
We got up early and headed off. Our first stop was Coober Pedy, and low and behold Deb & Perry heard us on the radio. They both decided to wait for us while we investigated the latest in toilets. After all checking it out, we finally ventured on our way. Deb & Perry travelled with us until Pimba where they turned off towards Woomera. Once again, good-byes were said and we then travelled onto Port Augusta where we decided a coffee was in order.Leaving here, we then rocked into Spear Creek and decided that we weren’t going to have tea, only happy hour instead. This was to be our last night together as Graeme & Shaz were going to leave us tomorrow and Kym, John, Sarah & Andrew were venturing onto Carrieton to end our trip together.
Ring Pulls CountDay 4 - 30
Day 5 - 28
Day 6 - 106
Day 7 - 125
Day 8 - 140
Day 9 - 25
Deb, Perry, Sarah, Andrew, Sharon, Graeme, John & Kym
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