Saturday May 25th, 2019

We made a good start this morning, setting off driving at 8.10 a.m. We were rewarded as we drove through the hills with wonderful views of cloud, sunshine and shadow on the rolling hillsides. We couldn’t stop, of course. A bit later we found a rest area and I was able to take a few distant shots, but without the vibrant colours we had seen earlier in the drive.

We made good progress, joining the highway up to Port Augusta, which allowed us to travel a bit faster. We had a couple of stops, one for a break and one for morning tea.

At around 12.00 we turned onto the Ayre Highway, with it’s sign to Perth, Western Australia. Still a long way to go, of course.

We took a break to have lunch after Iron Knob.

We really enjoyed the views of sweeping horizons.

Those clouds in the distance were a sign, we had to drive through rain for about 50 kilometres. Eventually it cleared as we got closer to Kimba. We arrived here at about 3.30 p.m. First we went to refuel for tomorrow, then to the supermarket to stock up for the Nullabour crossing. The last supermarket is at Ceduna, but if we had shopped today it would mean not having to stop there.

However, it is Saturday and both supermarkets closed at 12.00. Although they will open tomorrow morning at 9.00 a.m. we hope to be well on the road by then.

Looking at the distance to Ceduna, it is about 300 kms, and we don’t know if the supermarket will be open by the time we get there. However, we do have food on hand, or can buy some supplies at roadhouses, so all will not be lost. We can manage until the next supermarket in Norseman.

The free camping area was pretty packed. We heard that they had rain the whole way from Ceduna, so people were taking a well earned break in Kimba. We found a level spot and Stephen went to turn the gas on so we could have a cup of tea. No gas. Switched to the other bottle, no gas. What! We distinctly remember filling our spare bottle.

There is a little caravan park here in Kimba attached to a roadhouse. The location is nice, and it is less crowded than the free camping area. What’s more, they run an Indian Restaurant, so we had one meal to share with our salad and a mango lassi each. It is quite comforting to be on normal power and water after our long drive today.

We will have a go at sorting out the gas problem in the morning, perhaps we really do have two empty gas bottles. The plan otherwise is to stay in caravan parks for the rest of the trip, as we did on our first Nullabour crossing with the Starcraft.