Overland Australia

 Last night we had to dig out some warmer clothes as it was getting cool again, so far the weather has been very warm and we were starting to think we wouldn't need our warmer clothes as it will only be 3 weeks before we arrive in the Kimberley. We arrived at Oodnadatta just before lunch, filled up the car with diesel (1.63 per litre) and stocked up on some groceries and supplies. We then back tracked a little to travel out to the Painted Desert, our camp for the next couple of nights is located at the Arckaringa Home Stead and we arrived there just before 2.30. It took a little longer than we expected as the road into the homestead was  pretty slow going and rough in places... The corrugations were quite bad and we couldn't get up any speed to get on top of them due to the washouts in the track. Chatting to the owners we learned that they had 120mm of rain in just under a week a few weeks back and as a result everything is green and a beautiful contrast against the multiple

We took our time this morning soaking up the sun after a cool night and morning. After packing up we walked out to the Coward Springs museum that was located in the old engine drivers quarters that the Coward Springs owners had restored to its former glory. They had done a very good job and have also restored the station masters residence that is used as the main house. I love reading about the early history of Australia and following the Old Ghan line has been something I've wanted to do for sometime. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Coward Springs its easily the best place we have stayed so far, the facilities are great and would be the best long drops in the outback. I would recommend a stay here to anyone travelling the Oodnadatta Track. We had originally planned to stay out at Halligan Bay on Lake Eyre tonight but we had heard that the water hadn't reached that far south yet and the track in was pretty rough so we decided to give it a miss Sitting out in the open to loo

 Hindsight is a wonderful thing and we should have paid more attention to all the signs that said don't camp here when we arrived at Mungerannie…. Turns out the Mungerannie Hotel is home to the local miners and party central every night. We had the pleasure of being kept up by a group of miners and the hotel operators until 2am with general drunken behaviour, singing, fights and screaming matches. If you are travelling through these parts and need to camp here I'd suggest camping as far away as possible from the hotel or alternatively travel further south and free camp at the Cooper Creek camping area, you really aren't missing much at Mungerannie. So after our very pleasant night we were up early as the same miners all had to get to the mine site nice and early so we packed up camp and hit the road. We stopped at a few of the ruins along the Birdsville track and the Cooper Creek camp site for morning tea. From here we continued onto Marree for lunch and a look around,

 This morning was our last in Birdsville and I was looking forward to getting back on the road, it was good staying at the Caravan Park as we had access to power and could charge all of our equipment and untimed showers are nice, but I hate being penned in and I dislike living on top of others and much prefer our space and peace and quiet. After packing up it was across the road to the Roadhouse to fill up ($1.60 per litre) and then we had to have the usual shot of the car and camper in front of pub. On our way out of town we stopped in at the race track to show the kids before we  hit the Birdsville track south to Mungerannie. We had an uneventful run until we stopped to pick up some fire wood and I noticed that we had a leak in the camper water tank. One of the hoses had coped a rock or more likely multiple rocks and had a small split in it right next to the tank, thankfully it was a small leak and we were able to continue onto Mungerannie were I repaired it after setting up camp.

Today was very warm with a maximum of just under 40 degree's…. We didn't get a chance to see Pelican Point last time we were in Birdsville and with all the recent rain we thought it would be an ideal time. In true Guthrie Family adventure style we set off on our "stroll" just before 11am, Anna had obtained a mud map from somewhere and she determined that it would take us 10 or 15 mins to get there as it was just down the road.... Luckily we all took water bottles as it turned out to be a bit of a hike and we would soon find out that most sensible people drive out there... Anyway it was a nice walk albeit in very warm conditions and we got to enjoy the Billabong in all its very full glory. After our walk we chilled out in camp trying our best to stay cool, at 4pm we jumped in the car and took the kids out to the Artesian bore head to show them where the drinking water comes from and how they cool it. Then it was out to Big Red via our usual camping spot on the Diama

 Last night was definitely cooler and without the tropical roof we all had a much better sleep even though the wind was still quite strong. Today we were heading to Cameron's Corner to tick another site off the bucket list, only 2 more Australian Corner posts to go... After packing up we headed west along the Middle Rd 4wd track that cuts through the northern part of the Sturt National Park. It was a beautiful drive and I'd recommend it to anyone touring through this part, lots to see and the track was in surprisingly good condition. For lunch we stopped in at Fort Grey unfortunately we didn't do the walk out to the Fort as it was very hot and our favourite friends (the FLIES) were out in force. After lunch it was a few more photos of the Dog Fence and then onto Cameron's Corner. We had planned to stay the night here but we arrived just before 2pm and rather than sit in the sun with the flies we decided to push on to Merty Merty and free camp there. Once on the SA

I can really get used to sleeping in the outback the nights are so quiet and peaceful, we woke up with the birds singing in the trees along the creek. After a quick breakfast we packed up and were on the road towards Birdsville. As soon as we crossed the border back into QLD the road conditions improved dramatically and we were able to travel between 80 and 90 km per hour. I thought to myself that these dirt roads are better than half of the sealed roads on the Sunny Coast. What really surprised us was how green everything in these parts was and the amount of water still sitting in some of the lakes. It didn't take long for us to reach Birdsville and we arrived just before lunch so our first port of call was the bakery for a couple of pies and a beer. Then it was onto the caravan park to grab a site and set up camp. I spent a good part of the afternoon fixing a few small electrical issues on the camper and charging devices and then updating this blog. For dinner we decided to