16/6/14 – We were thankful for the heater again last night with it being the coldest night so far.
We were on the road by 9am. The road for the next hundred Kms or so was more rutted and boggy. There were areas were the landscape was flat with no trees, others area were quite treey.
We came across a Wedge-tailed Eagle and it’s nest. But by the time we stopped to take photos it had flown off.
It’s a beautiful sunny day but the wind feels like it’s coming off Antarctica, brrr.
Reality hits how big Qld is when you have been traveling for over 3 days to finally hit the state border. As soon as we crossed the border into NT onto the Plenty Hwy the road changed to single lane and corrugated.
The road does get wider and is rough and churned up in places due to the wet. It’s is corrugated, some areas worst than others. There are patches of bull dust and some decent size holes. It is pretty rough in places.
We have camped for the night at Arthur Creek, 159km W of the Qld/NT border. Camping is along the banks of the river on either side. The river is dry and sandy. The area is very dusty, lots of trees. If it wasn’t for the hoards of flies and the chilly wind it would be a pleasant spot.
It doesn’t matter how well something is tucked up under a vehicle or trailer a well placed rock can still hit its mark. The main pump on the camper is well protected or so we thought, up high and behind the spare wheel. A rock has hit the pump and cracked the pump housing causing it to suck in air, so the pump isn’t working. Chris is very surprised it got hit where it is. Goes to show a rock can hit anywhere. He has never been happy with it outside the trailer, after this trip I think he will move it or protect it better. There are 2 pumps on the trailer, one for the shower to pump water from an external water source. We also have one of the ute for the water tank there. We have deliberately kept all the pumps the same so they can be swapped around if necessary. Not a quick or simple task though. Chris is using some silicone sealant to try and fix the crack first before going to the extra hassle and work of changing over pumps. Fingers crossed.