It was refreshing to wake up without a lot of birds singing or screaming to welcome the new day. The vast emptiness of the landscape really spoke to me and I got a deep feeling of relaxation. For some reason I seem to connect with this emptiness.
The plan for today is to drive around 600 km, so we are not very much in a hurry and we can do some sight seeing here and there. This started quickly, already after a few kilometers there was a viewpoint to Lake Hart, another dried up salt lake. We walked there and enjoyed the nature and silence.
About 45 minute later we got to Glendambo. After this is the longest stretch without any service stations (around 250 km) and even though we have a long range tank, I filled up. At the service station we had a cappuccino and a tea and then Mo saw there where showers. We have been wild camping for about a week now and haven’t has a swim for 3 days, so a shower sounded inviting and for $5 it was worth it.
After the shower I updated the blog as we had a decent internet connection here and then we where ready for the next leg to Coober pady. At some point there where signs that a stretch of road was an emergency landing strip for the RFDS, the flying doctors. I guess we have to watch a few episodes once we get home.
This town has grown around the opal mines in the area and most of the village was either opal or hospitality oriented. After getting some extra water, we went to the opal and aboriginal museum and where surprised it was free. Only the guided tour of the old mine was paid, but the last one of the day had already left.
It was small enough you could see everything and since it was made in an old mine temperatures inside where much friendlier then outside where the mercury scratched 40 again.
We bought a book about aboriginal dreams and a nice hanger with opal in resin. It seemed we had taken our time as it was almost 18:00 already. The lady at the mine gave some tips on what to see and we visited the underground church. Not as impressive as the church in the salt mines of Poland, but still worth a visit. It was pretty small and could hold maybe 50 people.
After that we decided we had seen enough of Coober Pady and pointed our navigation to Marla, another 150 km north. Since we left late we would get there around sunset. The free camp site I found on iOverlander was not ideal and since it was getting dak we opted for the travellers rest of Marla.
At first the guy at the reception said they where fully sold out, but when I mentioned we did not need power, there was a spot. We put up the tent next to one of the few trees and cracked open a nice cold beer. The fridge we bought is really good and in combination with the battery pack we can easily keep it running 24 hours a day.
It was still 35 degrees an hour after sunset and when I checked out the toilets I realised why everybody was using power: All caravans and campers where having the AC on.
We made sausages and vegetables and went to sleep, it was pretty windy, so there was enough air flowing through the tent. In combination with the rechargeable ventilator it was pretty comfortable.
During the night the wind got stronger and I had to close one of the flaps. I guess this is the wind that is bringing the cooler air that is predicted for the upcoming days.
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