Sunday 14th July, 2024

After the Tropic of Capricorn Rest Area we stayed at McDowell Stuart Rest Area and are now at Bonney Well Rest Area. Each rest area has it’s pros and cons. Last night was mostly peaceful, with about five of us staying overnight.

By mostly peaceful, as I was bringing the Starlink in for the night a car drove into the rest area and parked near to us. I heard voices, then a woman spoke to me, saying something like ‘excuse me’. Well, you’ve never seen a person scramble into their van that quickly. The Starlink was already inside, but I was bringing in the airer and hi vis jacket we were using to show people where it was on the ground. As protection. The airer usually goes in the front of the car, but it spent the night tucked in the dinette. Even though the people drove away I didn’t feel safe about going outside again in the dark.

Bonney Well Rest Area has lots of bins, all full and overflowing, which detracts a bit from it’s features, a nearby creek with some water in it, a windmill, views all around and the main railway line where we saw the Ghan passing a bit earlier. We have a fairly level spot and good privacy. There are lots of vans here, with some going back away from the paved area towards the railway line, so there is good separation for those who want it.

We’ve seen quirky roadhouses, including one that was abandoned a couple of years ago, camels in a paddock, and stopped to visit the Devil’s Marbels. We camped there in the Winnie and because you now have to pay decided to move on to this free camp.

I’ve booked us into Banka Banka Tourist Park for a couple of nights after passing through Tennant Creek. It had very good reviews when I looked at Wikicamps, then someone posted a critical review a few hours later. But, it seems good value at $25 per night, has all facilities including drinking water, and it will be good to take a pause.

We are only driving about 200kms per day, but it takes us ages. We are now sharing the driving, which is very helpful and reminds me that one of the reasons I like the Sherwood is that the passenger seat is comfortable for me as a short person. Van passenger seats are set too high for me.

Perhaps the journey is not exciting, but we really enjoy it, living in the moment and finding interesting things on the way.