From here we headed to Laverton to fill up on food supplies and fuel. As we started driving along the Great Central Road we noticed that there was numerous, either burnt out or abandoned, cars. So as you do, Al and Housie started counting them. We stayed the night at Giles Breakaway, which had an awesome view over land below.
Day 100: We packed up this morning after seeing kangaroos, and eagles about the camp. Driving along still saw more cars abandoned on the trip. Al was getting pretty good at working out what type of car they were just from the remnants of the shell. We stopped along the way to look at a limestone rock water hole that the aboriginals, early pioneers and animals used. We also stopped to look at Beegull waterholes and caves. The caves looked to have some Aboriginal paintings, but we didn't think they were authentic, more like a local taking the piss. From here it was only a short drive to Tjukayirla Roadhouse, where we would be spending the night. The kids loved the TV and games room they had set up and we all had a go of table tennis and watched Smokey and the Bandit 1 and 2. Great night! From Laverton to Tjukayirla Roadhouse was distance of 311kms, we had counted 82 abandoned cars (they are the ones we could see). Not a bad amount.
Housie checking the depth of the rock waterhole
Art or scribble
Day 101: We left Tjukayirla Roadhouse early with a drive of just over 500kms to get to Warakurna Roadhouse. About 30kms into the trip Al started screaming which freaked Housie and the kids out, Al had seen a camel! It was Al's way of saying, "Housie can you pull the car over safely as I have seen a wild camel". The kids had this on their list of things to see so were happy to see it. We pulled into Warburton Roadhouse for some fuel and snacks, there is nothing out here except an Aboriginal community, and it looked like they had all come to the Roadhouse to stock up. The fuel here was only $2.47ltr, we were expecting it to be a lot more. About 50km from Warakurna the trailer had a flat, not just a puncture but the whole sidewall disintegrated. Housie had a lot of trouble getting a spare off the trailer, he snapped two sockets trying to undo them. We were starting to get a little concerned when Housie popped a tin of spinach and the nuts were able to be loosened (really the WD40 kicked in). As we arrived we realised that it was 3.15pm , the roadhouse shuts at 3pm on the weekend. When we read the sign, they work in Central Standard time so it was actually 4.45pm. Housie was able to get a camp spot after meeting with the manager. They had a camp kitchen with a TV, the kids were happy about this. As we cooked dinner, a storm started brewing and the rain started falling.
Day 102: This morning we drove 500mtrs to the Giles weather station (as it rained all night and was still drizzling on and off), which is the remotest weather station in the world. They had space junk from the Blue Streak Rocket that landed nearby in 1964. Every morning they let a weather balloon off at 830am, so we were there ready. It was a bit overcast, Housie and the kids looked around a small museum while Al went back to the car to check the time (as nobody had a watch or phone on them). Al then suddenly burst through the door of the museum and yelled, the Balloon is going!! Housie and the kids rushed outside to catch a glimpse of it disappearing into the clouds. From here we went back to get more fuel, Housie also bought a wheel brace in case we got another flat. The people in the roadhouse told Housie that with rain like this they would not make it past Docker River and that it takes about 3 days for the water to subside. We went to the police station to find out if the road was opened, no one was around and all doors locked (it was a Sunday). Called the number written on the door, which we got Kalgoorlie police (1500kms away). They told me to call WA roads. WA.roads told me to call, Warakurna local contact. No answer. So we thought we would try our luck. The roads out of Warakurna were boggy and slippery, the kids loved the mud flying up over the windows and encouraged Housie to hit every puddle on the road. We noticed on the map that the Docker river snaked it's way back and forth through this road about three times. Luckily those crossings were about the driest part of the whole trip. By about 10:30am we had reached the WA/NT border. Photo time. The kids got out to look at their bikes and they were covered in red mud. They weren't too happy, hahaha. On the NT side of the border the road was not well looked after, and it was raining so there were a few fun bits driving along. We pulled into see Stockyard Gully cave.
By lunch we had reached the Olgas, the low cloud was touching the top of the rocks. We didn't walk through the gorge due to the rain. The kids said they looked like the rocks out of the movie "The Croods". Then it was off to Uluru or Ayres rock for you racists :-) again there was low cloud touching the top and it was raining. There were signs out warning people that they could not climb the rock due to the weather. It was a lot steeper incline than we imagined. Due to the weather there would be no lovely sunset, so we wouldn't be able to sit there in out Ralph Lauren polo shirts, chinos and sipping champagne, so we headed off to a cattle station, Curtin Springs, in which this family owns 1 million acres. We camped here the night.
Where you walk up Uluru
Day 103: It rained a little overnight so we had to pack the camper up a little wet. We were heading to Marla today which is the start of the Oodnadatta track, we weren't going to do the track from here. As we were at the roadhouse, we were able to get an update on the outback roads of SA. A lot of them were closed off due to the rain that was falling. Instead of staying at Marla for the night, we decided to push on to Coober Pedy which we were going to do, but at a later time. We checked the weather and rain was predicted for the next 3 days. So we booked into an underground Motel. The kids couldn't believe it. As we got closer to Coober Pedy we noticed the landscape change dramatically. It looked like an alien planet with all the non valuable material out of the mines dumped everywhere. We got to the Motel and the lady at reception told us how her father mined the place and when he could find no more opal they had dug it out further just to make it into a motel. By doing this they actually found more opal, which help fund the project. We were all impressed with the place, the room was very quiet, and they supply a fan to put on when you sleep as a lot of people cannot handle the silence. With two kids I don't think we needed to worry about that.
Day 104: We went out for a tour of Tom's Mine, they still mine here but they also run tours through the mine. The guide was very good and tailored it so it would be fun for the kids. They got to try finding where an opal seam in the wall was and the winch that was used to enter the mine. They also shovelled dirt into a strong suction pipe that takes it to the surface. After this we looked at the giant bucket and winch which is on display at a lookout in the middle of town. The afternoon we headed back to the motel due to the rain falling quite heavily.
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