10th September 2008

I made an earlier start this morning from Daly Waters Pub after yet again another cool early morning. It seems the mornings are becoming cooler as I travel further south.
After packing the Karavan up, David and Jenny were around to say goodbye. My departure time was around 0740 which was quite good. During this time I had a phone call from Andrew who is wonderful at keeping track of where I am and what I am up to. Then as I left the Daly Waters Pub, I called Prue who informed me all is going well at Sale and that she had fed Isaac.
Soon after that call, I rejoined the Stuart Highway and travelled south. My first stop was at Elliot which is a small village on the highway. I stopped for a break and had a little walk around before moving on. Just a few kilometres out there was the scene of what looked like a nasty accident. The people had been removed from the site and only the badly damaged van and its contents remained. The Police were there taking photos so I expect it may have been a fatal accident especially noting the damage to the van.
My next rest stop was at Renner Springs the home of the so called Desert Pub. There is a bit of copying of the Daly Waters Pub with the inclusion of some knickers and bras as decorations. A reasonable place to stop for a break.
My final stop for the day was at Banka Banka Station Caravan Park. The grounds are absolutely green and quite fresh. The staff tries to encourage one to wash vehicles to help keep it green. I did not get around to that as I seemed to make a whole heap of new friends who are travelling in all directions.
An interesting lot of travellers including a retiree from the Attorney Generals Department in Canberra, a retired farmer from near Swan Hill, an electrician from Stratford near Sale in Victoria, an engineer from Adelaide and numerous others. Trying to remember names is a worry.
That lot were at happy hour which has been the best so far. I think the atmosphere encouraged the great mix of people. To top it off, we had a goat that seemed to be a party animal that wanted to not only check the caravans out, including ours, but also wanted to pinch the biscuits arranged on the tables for happy hour. It eventually was tied up to a tree to keep it out of mischief. The manageress came looking for it and was not impressed at finding it tied up.
Anyway, a great early evening was had by all and we all adjourned to cook our respective meals. Mine was steak and vegetables. Quick and easy was the order of the evening.
One thing that was obvious is the variety of forms of caravan or motor home, from a motor home probably worth about $750000 to a Toyota Coaster of about $7000. Everyone is doing a similar trip and shares their experience at the happy hour.
Another thought I have had is that even though I am returning on a lot of the same roads, I am doing it in reverse direction and it mostly looks different. Thank goodness for that or it may be quite boring as the distance are quite long.