Day Fourteen- Friday 3rd May- Angorichina to Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary Bouncing on rocky roads……

Today was a big day for dirt roads: about 185 kms in total.

But before we set off for the last 170kms, we arrived at the Miners Crib Café in Blinman for morning tea and to stock up for lunch. Custard tarts, cherry and almond cake, sausage rolls, meat pies, home-made Danishes and vanilla slices were the order of the day. We bought three loaves of their fabulous bread when we realised we could freeze some of it. But the most important purchase was a couple of miners pasties. Cornish pasties with a dollop of sweet apple in one end so the miners had their savoury meal and their dessert all in one pastie! Delicious!

We had been warned that the gravel roads were rough and to make sure we had a decent spare tyre and, judging by the number of dead tyres on the side of the road, lots of people needed them. The tracks were terrible for most of it – lots of sharp rocks and very rough for many kilometres. The guy at Angrochina had advised us to reduce the tyre pressure and we needed the softer suspension! Not a lot of fun at all. About 70 kms from our destination we stopped to see if the others wanted lunch, only to discover that we had a very flat unhappy tyre due to a puncture. We were in the middle of nowhere literally. No civilization at all. Some very kind caravanners stopped to help but we sent them with thanks on their way as we had it under control. Fortunately, we had a full-sized spare tyre and were able to change it with the help of Graeme and Liz. It was quite a performance as many of the required tools were in different toolboxes in the car and van. A bit of re-packing before the next trip is needed! Eventually we headed off, a bit concerned that if we have another puncture we would be totally stuck. But we finally made it to Arkaroola and after much maneuvering managed to get the vans and tent setup for the next four nights. We’re camped just outside theVulkathunha-Gammon National Park, so we’ll be spending some time in the Park no doubt.

Ewan asked about fixing a tyre and they do have a mechanic but whether he is available on a weekend is doubtful! The biggest challenge at Arkaroola is water, so we had filled our tanks and taken lots of casks of drinking water that we’d been given at Wilpena Pound. Given the endless red dust and dirt we need to do some washing, but we’re restricting ourselves to essentials and really smelly items! We were slightly horrified to realise that the only shop here has practically nothing, especially as we are completely out of fresh fruit and vegetables. As Ewan says it’s unlikely we’ll die of scurvy in a few days. Mind you, I’m not sure that Liz will survive without passionfruit for breakfast! Connecting to the internet is possible here but the Carlton-Collingwood match has just started and suddenly it’s running very slowly!! And my phone seems to be having a meltdown just to add some more excitement! Not that I care too much. Happy to sit and do nothing…..or write blogs! Graeme served up a delicious moussaka for dinner that is one of his signature dishes. Then it’s off to bed with visions of Observatory tours, scenic flights, self-drive tours, 4WD tours etc. going around in our brains. They’re all on offer here. Your thankful-we-got-here correspondent, Dianne