What a difference a day makes

Last night we went to sleep with open windows and curtains as the still warm night air had seeped into the van, not to mention the zillion bugs!  No breeze kicked up until around 3am so until then it was just a sheet covering us. 

After leaving Birdsville at 9.00am we pulled up at the service entrance to the Hall of Fame to pop in to farewell everyone.  Will and I commented on how different this year felt, last year we were farewelling the crew from the campfire, this year it was the nine remaining volunteers that hugged us, wished us well and told us how pleased they were to have met us. Different from last year, but just as moving.  

We headed south and all went well.  The wind was against us slightly from time to time but we managed to hitch a ride in the slip stream of a road train just outside Erldunda, after having stopped to chat with Will’s brother in law who’d rung.  He asked how long until we arrived home, Will started the ‘auction’ with 4 days, I said 14, 6 was the next cry, 10 was heard above that.  Our brother-in-law laughed and wished us well with our negotiations.  A little down the track Will said, “I’d like to ring the boss tonight, I think I should start work Monday week.”  So calculations were made and compromises reached –seven more nights on the road should allow for the sight-seeing that has been planned, the catching up with friends and a sense of ‘holidaying’ provided all goes well and no more vehicles are purchased. LOL!

The rest of the trip was uneventful but beautiful.  The landscape was a riot of colours, mainly yellow, pinks and mauves.  But then, every now and then, once we crossed the S.A. border there would be a massive splash of brilliant red and black! Yes, the Sturt Desert Pea was out in all its glory!  Last year I had to work hard to find it, hidden in the back blocks of Oodnadatta or in a council garden in Alice Springs, but this year it was all along the highway in all its glory!  But could I snap a shot of it as we sailed past at 100km an hour, I think not, it was just as elusive as a dolphin was years ago at Rockingham Bay!

Tonight we can hear the road trains, coaches and sounds of the Marla Roadhouse through our closed windows as I snuggle under the doona to keep me warm. The TV at the roadhouse said there is plenty of rain down south and temperatures in the high teens. We looked at each other and checked if we really were heading in the right direction, we decided we were.