Day 113 : Just Another Manic Monday

Laverton to Warberton

High point: Driving through the stunning outback at sunset

Low point: An introduction to one of Australia’s larger eight legged friends in the camping block

Mo point: Steve looks like he should be in a Will Ferrell movie, Barham would be at home commanding an army of soldiers on the battlefield and Fuad resembles a Mexican sombrero seller.  Lou and I are still working on our tashes

Pee point: Lou and Amy are now Shewee professionals, boys go one side of the road, girls go the other, job done

Roo count: A disappointing one roo spotted

Dish of the day: Beef Bourginon with tinned potatoes and baked beans, mmmm

Pink thought of the day: The girls are trying to introduce a tiered ‘no swear Friday’ scoring system after Lou was unfairly crowned princess potty mouth.  Boys are much worse than girls, everyone knows thatToday was a biggie, with over 600km of outback to cover.  We left Laverton campsite, notified the police we’d be heading out into the bush (giving them our sat phone number for emergencies) and hit the road.  Only 30 vehicles a day drive the Great Central Road, which runs from Laverton to Uluru, for a good reason.  As we pulled onto the GCR I thought we’d taken a wrong turn ‘this can’t be it’, ‘what really?’.  The road is unsealed which means its surface is made up of red sand and gravel.  It was going to be a long, bumpy, dry, hot, sticky and dusty ride through this vast wilderness, but we were ready for it.

Once on the road we only came across 9 other vehicles.  At one point a truck stopped to warn us of a cattle grid and traffic ahead.  There were two cars.  We did however see 88 broken down or burnt out cars abandoned in the bush.  The more remote we got the more wrecks we saw.  We soon realised the outback is where cars come to die.  This didn’t bode well but we headed further into the red centre, in the name of Follow That Fire Engine, slightly concerned we might never be seen again.

10 hours later, tired and covered in red dust, we arrived at Warburton Road House, having stopped only for driver changes and to quickly enjoy the packed lunch Lou and I had prepared the night before (cheese, ham and salami sandwiches, crisps, a cereal bar, a banana/apple and a diet coke).  I find I’m not very good if I’m hungry, I can’t concentrate, I get moody and I’m generally not very nice to be around until I’ve eaten.  Back home I would read the crew’s blogs with horror as they talked about eating one meal a day and lunch being a luxury.  Joining the crew in Australia I thought I’d be in trouble.  However since Lou and I joined the trip the boys have been complaining of the opposite.  Being natural born athletes their bodies are temples and they don’t appreciate the ‘recreational’ eating we have introduced.  Surely three meals a day plus elevenses and afternoonses isn’t extravagant?  We are explorers, we need to keep our strength up (I might not be saying that after a few months on the road when I’m carrying my own spare tyre).

As it got dark we really got a feel for exactly how remote we were.  If we were ambushed by a gang of hungry kangeroos who would know?  Would Martha end up in the wilderness graveyard?  Who would look after fireman Sam?

We were lucky to bump into a local teacher as we arrived in Warburton.  He invited us to his school the next day which is an absolute honour as people aren’t usually invited into aboriginal communities.  We’re looking forward to meeting the kids tomorrow but will have to hit the sack now, it is a school night after all.

Amy

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