We crossed the border into NT yesterday. Woohoo! Amazing, given we have been on the road now just short of four months! So, here we are at Kulgera for a few days, killing time really, as we have bookings at Curtin Springs, Yulara and Kings Canyon, and there’s not a lot in between! This is a great little roadhouse stop, with a fab bar, and staff to suit! I’m catching up on some work, while the weather decides what it’s doing and before I get distracted by the attractions to come. The rain followed us across the border, unfortunately, and temperatures are dropping faster than we’d like. Lows of up to (or down to) -6°C are expected in the Canyon once we’re there. OMG! Roll on summer, roll on us! It’s been incredible seeing the ‘centre’ so green, after all the earlier rain, quite different from my last trip 15 or so years ago. We have been lucky that the rains we’ve experienced have been light, and not disrupted our travel plans, given many roads are still being closed behind us! We are both ready for a bit of heat though, so like I said, roll on us!

Cheers
Ali

What an adventure the inaugural Mundi Mundi Bash at Broken Hill was! There had been plenty of rain in the region in the week leading up to the Bash. Consequently, on the morning the gates were supposed to open for the early entry passes (which we had), the Silverton Creek was flooding. The gates eventually opened eight hours later! When we joined the queue it was 7 km long! There was a great vibe in the line of caravans and we won a trophy for ‘most beautiful caravan’ (see pic above). We had a number of creek crossings before arriving at the camping spot at Belmont Station. The festival was an awesome event over three days, with some fabulous acts. My favourites were Ian Moss (Choir Girl sent chills down my spine) and Steve Balbo. The weather was fabulous until a heavy rain shower on the final night, just before Paul Kelly performed. This was a well-organised and an awesome experience. If you ever get the chance to go to one, do it! Next one is organised for August, and they are trying to arrange dates for 2023.

Cheers
Jay

We travelled from Yunta to Cockburn yesterday (see our photo galleries), the longest drive of our trip so far! Approx. 150km. This was to be our final stop with power (we thought) before crossing the border and heading off-grid for the Mundi Mundi Bash, outside Broken Hill. On arrival, the only living soul was sat outside a darkened pub. Very welcoming, but soon informed us there was NO power to be had, in all of the town – basically the pub! A pub with no (cold) beer! So whilst there are crude facilities (showers and toilets), there is no pump for the water, and no power for the lights. Of course, we’ll survive, but we’ll certainly be ready for a shower by the time we come out the other side! This really is the middle of nowhere, the no man’s land between our states. The town (read pub) is completely community run, with no council services, and currently, no power. Lol. The power supply comes from New South Wales, but is managed and charged by South Australia – complex in itself. And trying to get anything done anywhere over the Easter weekend is challenging, so I don’t think we’ll enjoy that final shower we were after!

So if you are nearby, be warned!

Cheers
​Ali

Well, here we are, a full week into our BIG trip. Woohoo! Thought it was about time we penned something for you all, so bear with me. As you will have seen from our photo galleries, our six-week practice trip on Yorkes was an amazing adventure, discovering places we’d never been before, so close to home. Some days we travelled less than 10km between camps – there was just so much to see. Amazing beaches, historic towns and country retreats. All with a new amazing vista, when working at my desk (example above, here in Hallett). We did a lot of beach/bush camping, and in doing so, began to realise we had house battery issues. Battery was charging during the day, but fully discharging overnight. However, on returning to the ‘smoke’, this was the only fix Shebus needed, and Bruce at Manta Automotive Services conveniently fit her in! We were ready to hit the road again within 24 hours of arriving. It was surreal to be spending time in a house, with doors and large open spaces. Our time in Adelaide was pretty full on, with theatre commitments, the launch of a community cookbook, catching up with friends and family, our town and country farewell gatherings, and my dad’s 89th birthday to celebrate. It was great to have the opportunity to see people we hadn’t seen in a while, but we were VERY ready to get back on the road. Now on our BIG trip north, we are taking our time detouring to Broken Hill for the Mundi Mundi Bash – a three-day music festival. We’ve skimmed the Barossa Valley, travelled up through the Clare Valley and are now out the other side, very close to crossing Goyder’s line, in the barren but beautiful mid north! (Check out our photo galleries.) We’ve a few stops to go (and the longest drive of our travels so far) before we reach Broken Hill, and there starts another adventure!

Until soon…
​Ali

PS: And yes, Jay and me are still talking!!!