Tanami Crossing

Tanami

Next day off again to tackle the Tanami, fuel up in Halls Creek and try to make it to the next designated camp spot - didn't make it and ended up camping in front of the stations cattle yards.  Only to be woken in the morning by the cattle truck pulling up - we were very lucky it wasn't a road train cattle truck !  

The corrugations are rather large ! The noise from the vibrations is rather loud in the bus -  we have decided it is not industrial deafness we will have to label it Tanami Holiday Deafness

What I do need to share with you is ........  our darling bus - LEAKS..... dust !  Most of the time we have not had to put the air con on - now we do, to help pressurise it !  the side door has been taped up - this does help but not fix the problem.

We head off and 1/2 hr down the road we off load the car and go visit Wolf Creek.  Jurg has seen the movie - I REFUSE to ! 

There were a few cars - more than I thought there would be, traveling on the Tanami !

We are now accustomed to the smell of dust and the swirls are really quiet pretty in the light ! Now when I blow my nose it is a shade of red - not blood but dusty red ! You really wanted me to share didn't you !

Nice camping out here - there is no one here.  It is getting a little cold at night though.  A couple of nights ago we were giving the children wet washers to cool them down to sleep - now we make sure they have enough layers on !

As we are driving along, Dad is in front, he comes across a 'fresh' accident.  The car slid around in the dirt and corrugations and came to a stop, abruptly on our side of the road and then the car rolled onto its side and stopped !  Dad was able to snatch him over, after we all checked the car over and taped up a side window and tow started him - he gave us some meat in appreciation of helping him out (brother was a butcher - esky full) he headed off.

There are a couple of patches of bitumen one we stopped to check the trailer (we had been checking regularly and were concerned about a couple of things)  This check, we think, saved us from disaster !  A couple of important bolts were not functioning as they should do and did not look anymore as they were supposed to either !

 So out comes the barefoot mechanic !   It is repaired but Jurg is not happy enough to put the car on the trailer whilst we are on the dirt - the corrugations are huge.  

Now the car shouldn't be on the trailer - So I get to drive the Tanami and have a bonus of Sanity time all by myself ! 

Last camp on the Tanami

The children get to do their well practiced Bush Bash on the trailer with car lights - not bad ! They sung Waltzing Matilda, Summer In The Sun and Dump Ways to Die.

There are section of termite hills that are standing like solders saluting the sun. (see that's what happens when I spend time by myself ! and no camera to take a photo !)  I drove till we were on the bitumen end of the Tanami then back in the bus - nearly to Alice Springs.