Thursday, 7 October 2010
This morning was so windy that it made packing up very hard. We ate breakfast inside the camper and one of the poles fell down in the wind and hit Elokin in the head. Blowing one of those poles over is no small feat. We were finally ready to get on the road at 9am. Linda and Adam led the way. We had to pay for 2 extra nights as we had only paid for 3 to begin with. The ranger was up all night still trying to find the 15ft crocodile that had been spotted on Sunday. So far he has not had any luck.
We stopped for a splash of fuel at Pardoo Roadhouse, enough to get us through to Port Hedland. On the way into town we passed a heap of termite mounds wearing hard hats. They are working hard! Makes for a good photo.
We got some groceries at Woolworths, water from the information centre, which is where Nathan and I had a funky toilet experience. Nathan went first and I had no intention of going, but he comes back and says, “You have to go in there. Close the door and wait about 20 seconds”. I was a bit sceptical, but went anyway. I can’t remember what the toilet is called, but it was cool. You push a button to open the door and then push one on the inside to close it. It then tells you that you have 10 minutes to do your thing and then the door will open automatically if you haven’t already left. It then starts playing music for you to go to the toilet to. Everything is automatic too, which is great for people like me that don’t like toile germs. It flushes automatically when you put your hands under the sensor for the soap and water. The hand dryer didn’t work but that is okay as it is hot enough outside to dry them. Then you push the button to open the door and you are done. I went back to Nathan and said yes that was worth going in there for. He said he had never had a toilet experience like that before and I have to agree.
We then had lunch in the car on the way to South Hedland to go to Macca’s for a soft serve ice-cream and thickshake. When we got there Linda and Adam were on their way out and said that the machine is broken! Another one. So no ice-cream or thickshakes for us. So we bypassed Macca’s and went straight into Kmart for milo, a fishing lure a new pair of thongs for me and some more square mats for flooring under the awning. We then went to coles for chocolate and I found 2 litre long life milk on sale for $2, so we bought a box. As we headed back out of town we stopped at a service station to get our gas bottle refilled, but at $59.50 a 9kg bottle, we gave it a miss. We left town at 3.30pm.
We stopped at the hardhat wearing termite mounds for photos and a pit stop; I also showed Elokin how to get truckies to blow their horns as they go passed. The road train driver was nice enough to oblige. Once back on the road it wasn’t far to our turn off to Marble Bar. The countryside out here is beautiful. It could just be the late afternoon light, but it is really appealing. The rugged hills and red soil with green and gold vegetation.
We pulled into Doolena Gorge just after dark. From what we can see it looks dry, but we will investigate in the morning. We have found a nice place to set up the camper under some gum trees near a red cliff face.
Expenses to date:
Diesel 2720.45 L $4138.89 14347.6kms
Petrol boat 125.09L $192.53
Gas $140.45
Take Away $249.55
Groceries $1992.33
Ferries & Permits $320.00
Accommodation $569.60
Parts & Repairs $672.90
Until next time…. Happy and Safe Travels.