Our batteries were in need of charging when we left Ellendale Pool. The place where we spent our second night was good for the view, but not good for solar and the Starlink. They both worked, but not as well as they might have. Anyway, in winter, with low sun, short days and sometimes cloud, solar is not our main charging source. We then depend on the DCDC charger, which works well if you drive far enough.
On our last morning at Ellendale Pool a young couple decided to swim across the pool, climb the cliff and jump off. There are warning signs about the dangers of swimming, but in cold weather, and the water pretty icy, the danger is probably less. Also, there is some flow in the river. Anyway, I thought they were pretty brave. The girl was going to do it on her own, but the boy then decided that he didn’t want her to be alone and followed her. The water is very deep near the cliff fortunately.
We left late in the morning and drove I think about 100kms. The thing that kept me going was the thought of the bakery at Mingenew. We enjoyed pasties and shared a walnut slice with hot drinks. Yumm!
We topped up with water (I had dumped the toilet at Ellendale Pool) and headed for Yandanooka Hall. We parked on blue metal as there was rain forecast.
It was too cloudy for star gazing and we felt really tired for some reason, so we just rested after arriving there.
It rained overnight, not heavily, but enough to wake us up. In the morning the sky cleared and we had a sunny couple of hours. Stephen didn’t realise that we had to keep driving for the batteries, so he was relaxed indeed.
We chose the village of Latham because there is free camping at the community centre, with toilets and showers. They ask for a donation and we were happy to do it was it’s a good facility. We had stopped at Morowa for shopping and I cooked salmon, potatos, tomotos and sugar snap peas in the electric frying pan. I’d charged up the Ecoflow power station whilst we were driving and we’ve had enough power for boiling the kettle a few times and for the half an hour or so of cooking. Mind you, I connected it to the house batteries via an Anderson plug whilst cooking, just to make sure.
Last night and this morning we had very heavy rain and were glad to have chosen to be on blue metal again, rather than seeking a more private spot in the large area near the hall. This morning there are puddles everywhere, but especially on the unpaved area. The rain came with strong winds and it was this that woke us up.
Again, this morning we’ve had some blue sky and sunshine. The right sort of rain really, overnight so it doesn’t inconvenience us.
We’ve decided to arrive home on Saturday, when the weather in Perth should be fine, rather than Monday, which promises to be very wet. We are quite close to home and just staying out a little longer because we don’t want to go home quite yet.
There were trucks here last night, the drivers taking advantage of the shower facilities. I expect they donate to the upkeep as well and it’s very handy for them.