Innamincka to Birdsville 26-8-12

On the Sunday morning we packed up camp and went up the the hotel for breakfast 7:30EST. The doors were open, but no lights on so we walked in. A few minutes later someone told us they didn’t open until 7:30. I looked at my watch and said ‘it is 7:30. He looked back at me and said ‘that’s Queensland time’. Hmm we were in South Australia and hadn’t given a thought to time differences. Still they were nice and let us sit in the warm. They did lock the doors though so that others couldn’t come in. Breakfast was fantastic. The workmen came in at 7:30 and boy did they eat (it was buffet) apparently they are staying there as well and the company picks up the tab. We saw them collect lunch as well, they are really looked after. Michael spoke to one who said that today they were doing a ‘snake handlers’ course.

We went to Burkes grave approx. 30 km from Innamincka and then drove a further 50 km to  the ‘Dig Tree site” and walked through some very interesting country to get to it. There was a very lovely perfume in the air from one of the wildflowers. Wills must have been an incredible navigator to get them back to the one tree [17 weeks later] where they had left part of the expedition who were waiting for their return.  Probably using only the stars.

On the road to Birdsville the Prado had a nasty blowout and the tyre was shredded.  When Tony tried to get the spare tyre off the back, the  nut [under the security cover] twisted and split leaving only 2-3mm of nut for the wheel nut remover to go over.  This left us with a big problem – how to get the spare tyre off the car rear.  Tony hammered a groove into the remaining part of the nut, put a chisel in the groove and he and Michael use a spanner to turn the chisel.  Whew it came off.  Still pretty disgusting that a nut breaks under human pressure.  We have to  try to buy a new tyre now.

Arrived in Birdsville to  find the caravan park pretty full [Variety Bash in town for the night] and not so nice so drove back out a couple of kms and bush camped.  Our camp site had a couple of camels some +/-200metres away, but we could clearly hear the old bull during the night.

This had been a very big day some 575km, nearly all on dirt but good roads.