2018 Gibb River Road Adventure

On the road by 9.00 and heading 35kms north of Port Augusta for our camp tonight. Stopped for a look around Morgan on the Murray River before heading up to Burra for morning tea and then across to the highway.  On the way we stopped for a shop at Port Pirie and a very refreshing $5 shower at the BP Roadhouse at Port Augusta. Beautiful sunny day.  Found our free camp at North Tent Hill and arrived just in time to see police on the side of the road  and helicopters circling above the camp.  Found out from fellow travellers that there was an 8 year old boy missing from a homestead nearby who was riding a dirt bike and apparently got lost.  Watched the police and helicopters for a while with sirens going and finally everyone left quite hurriedly so am hopeful that he was found and in good health. While sitting around the fire a lone fox wandered through the camp, probably looking for scraps which there were none. Early to bed and even managed 2 episodes of Bold and ...

Bid a fond farewell to Margaret and Colin this morning as they are heading to Burra for a couple of days. Has been really fabulous catching up with the pair of them for a few days. So now we are by ourselves until Rick and Libby meet up with us later today.  Barry and I went and got a lovely load of wood for the fire after Barry dropped  a nice size dead redgum.  Love collecting wood and really enjoy our effort by being able to have a nice fire of an evening to sit around.  Rick and Libby have arrived at last with their camper all fixed and the stress starting to subside. First night using the camp oven and boy o boy what an absolutely delicious dinner, Portugese Peri Peri Chicken with potatoes carrots broccoli and Cauliflower so delicious.

Another very comfortable night in our camper after steak and vegies on the open fire.   Drizzly rain today but nowhere near what Adelaide is supposedly getting.   Off to get some wood with Colins wonderful battery operated  chainsaw, did a wonderful job and we now have lots of wood for tonight.  Rick and Libby will have their camper fixed today and will be doing a big day traveling tomorrow to catch up with us here at Overland Corner.  Drizzly rain for most of the day so off to bed early and tucked up nice and cosy in the camper reading.

Lovely night at Sea Lake Caravan Park last night with our first fire for the trip.  Not very cold and another 7 campers in for the night. Showers were sensational, hot and lots of pressure.  Good news for yesterday was that my washing machine invention works a treat. Large bucket sitting in the dirty bag on the back of the trailer, put the clothes in, top up with water and detergent, close the lid securely and let the road vibrations do the job.  Worked really well on Barrys dirty shorts.  Late start today 10.00 am before we left, slowing up to let Rick and Libby catch up. Hopefully tonight but not certain at this stage. Glorious day today at Sea Lake 27 degrees and getting warmer as we head north.  Pulled into Overland Corner where we have met up with Margaret and Colin who are traveling for 5 months up to Kununurra and beyond. Terrific evening catching up and sitting around their fire, unfortunately a little too much to drink though.  Looks like we maybe ...

Leaving for our Gibb River Rd adventure with Rick and Libby today. On the road at 8.30 and it is a glorious day for traveling, sunny no wind and feeling excited about our adventure. First night where we plan to meet up with Rick  and Libby is Sea Lake Caravan Park.  Very happy with how comfortable and easy the camper is, 2 cool nights at Rochelle and Daniels and we were toasty.  Only takes 20 minutes to completely pack up so all good. Rest stop at Charlton and unfortunately a phone call from Libby to let us know that they are on the side of the road after losing a wheel from their camper trailer just before Castlemaine turnoff. Starting to sound a bit like “the trip from hell” for the pair of them. Have heard that Rick and Libby are staying at Marong while they wait for their wheel to be repaired. Hopefully they will catch up with us tomorrow then we can continue onto Overland Corner where we are planning on a catch up with Margaret and Colin. Sea Lake caravan park is...

Today Barry spent most of the day re-engineering a 4WD step to be a toilet seat for me.  This is going to come in handy when the urge arises so that I don't need to wander into the bush and "squat" somewhere.  Saw this on the internet and Barry was able to make one with a few modifications to the step and a nice padded seat from Bunnings.  Time will tell if it is as good as it appears.   Thanks Barry xx