Our Trip

Day Five 

Well, day five rolled around and found

us letting the tyres down just that little bit more,

and checking out little loose things underneath

the cruiser and heading south. 

In the first half hour, we met up with our first lot of vehicles heading

north. We found it interesting checking out

other people's vehicles and gear as they went by,

and I'm sure they were left scratching their heads

as to why we would take a 30 year old 60 series

on such a difficult adventure. 

You never know, if you never go! 

I couldn't get enough of the beautiful creamy white 

spinifex, waving in the breeze 

(although squatting on a spinifex is NOT fun!),

definitely better from a distance. 

Once again, the country was ever-changing,

ranging from sand dunes to corrugates to rocky sections,

large open plains, and more sand dunes. 

Once in a while we'd see a little critter

scampering off into the bush,

trying to get away from the crazy lady with the camera. 

We only really came across some 'mountains'

on day five. They were beautiful and majestic

and an amazing burnt orange colour. 

The day started out quite windy and the weather

was getting colder as we ventured further south. 

As I said previously,

most of the 51 wells are in disrepair,

but as I love old and antique things,

I enjoyed exploring it all. 

Generally, as you came up to an old well,

it pretty much looked like these photos. 

You'd have an old 44 gallon drum with the well 

number written or punched out on it,

then maybe a couple of the old water carrying

buckets, and a long tin trough. 

 

Sometimes there would be some plaques nailed to old

parts of the wells dedicated to someone or some group

who had helped with the restoration work,

or sometimes they would tell of some historical fact. 

Then you would have a very small tin sign that

you would try not to miss, telling you which 

fork of the road to take to get to a particular well. 

And here are some more photos of more 

of the route. Sorry to post so many, 

but I just can't get enough of it,

and I'm leaving out so many, believe me!

You get an idea of the isolation of the area

and the amazing feat of carving out a stock route

so many years ago without the machines that we have now.

The actual stock route is 1850km long,

so try doing that on camels! 

Hats off to those early pioneers. 

There were plenty of sand dunes to take on

and by the end of it, Emilee was a pro

(doing almost all of them in 2 wheel drive,

as you'll find out why later)

Along the way, we came across quite

a few vehicles that didn't make it. 

This particular ute had a crack right through

the chassis. It wasn't going anywhere. 

Dave was checking out all the scrap metal,

which I kindly reminded him, he COULDN'T

take home with him to recycle! 

As it got closer to the end of the day, 

we would stop and pick up firewood

to use for that night's campfire. 

Often, that was mine and Dave's job as we 

could easily chuck it on the roof. 

Or, we would stop and pick up the firewood

that had fallen off the back of Emilee's ute. 

So, day five found us making it from well 49

to well 45, where we camped for the night. 

No shower, as this well was not restored.

(we basically showered every 3 days or so

and got used to being pretty grotty in between)

I took out the lensball and played around with it a little. 

Sometimes the girls would let their little friends 

brush their hair, which was a painful experience.

Emilee didn't participate in that, understandably, 

but the little friends liked to use her hair as 

a 'horsey' tail, and brush Emilee's face or boots or whatever

with her long plait. What's a little more sand and dust in the 

already dirty hair? 

I made a lovely damper which we lathered in

butter and dripping golden syrup.

Funny thing is, unintentionally, I had brought

with me the CSR brand. 

Get it? Canning Stock Route? CSR. 

Well, I thought it was funny. 

Well, day five was pretty uneventful

when it came to parts rattling loose etc,

and it was a lovely scenic day. 

Travelling in the vast outback, only reinforces

the fact that we are just a small speck 

in God's magnificent creation, and yet He chooses to 

shower down His mercy and grace upon us,

although undeserved, and He gives us the opportunity

to view a small portion of the beauty around us,

and marvel at His wondrous works. 

"The world is a book,

and those who do not travel,

read only one page"

"I haven't been everywhere,

but it's on my list" 

To be continued...…………..