Monday, 13 August 2012

Day 15 riding

We got a bit of a late start this morning – too much chatting with our friendly neighbors.)  Ian filled the 10 liter fuel container and brought a breakfast sandwich back for me while I finished packing the scooter.

Even with the kind of late start, we still took time to document exiting Queensland and entering Northern Territory.

The first leg today is the first long stretch where fuel was going to be tight.  Actually, I think we would have made it.  But Ian was right to err on the side of caution.  We put in the spare fuel at a rest stop in at a rest stop in Wonara Borr.  I like that everyone / everything is friendly here, even the road signs.

I’ve been seeing these mounds all over.  I thought they some kind of rock showing wind or rain erosion.  Most of them remind me of the “mittens” in Monument Valley.  Turns out they’re termite mounds.  And they get pretty big.  I still like to see them as mittens.  This one looks more like bunny though.

We refueled in Barkly Homestead and again at Three Ways.  We decided not to press on to Renner Springs (which was probably a saving grace).  We set up camp in the caravan park behind the roadhouse at Three Ways then rode south to Tennant Creek.  Ian got a SIM card for his phone from another service provider with better coverage in these outlaying areas.  While he did that, I took photos of the trash receptacles.  They were decorated with aboriginal art and some were quite striking.

Next stop was the market.  We bought laundry soap and some “road food”: trail mix, apple, juice.  Nothing here for dinner, as the camp site didn’t have a public kitchen.  We got a referral to Woks Up!  Their clever sign caught my eye on the way in.  I thought it would be so-so Chinese take-out.  Boy, was I wrong!  The restaurant and staff was charming!  The owner gave us a tour while our food was being prepared.  She’d worked hard on the décor and had just opened recently.  Good job!