Out of Range of Everything

I found Kai sitting at the table with his head in his hands the other day, 'Kai, what's wrong' I asked thinking he must have had a headache or was unwell. His answer: 'Ive only got 20% charge left on my ipod'..... And now we have subjected them to no mobile network or even power for the last week or so, our devices have lost charge and, in the case of the ones that cannot be charged through the USB port in the car, have died - like the computer and our talking books!

We stayed at a beautiful little campsite at Farina. This was once a booming town (100 years ago) but is now, as it seemed to me, the Australian version of Pompeii (!!). Away from the ruins, the campsite was...grassy - what a treat! - and very peaceful. The kids had fun climbing on the old railway line which freaked me out a bit because it was quite high with biggish gaps between the sleepers.

At Marree we joined the Oodnadatta Track, another looong stretch of unsealed road. There were two highlights of this day: our lunch at Williams Creek, when we finally reached it (population of 12) and where I wish I had taken a photo of the size of Kais hamburger which he managed to finish. The pussy willow was just outside the window where we dined, and the boys decidedly took the seats with their back to the tree.

This is as close as Sol would go to it.

The other highlight was the trip out to Lake Eyre. About 65km from Williams Creek, and a beautiful time of day when we went out. But, oh, so windy. We mucked around on the salty surface of the lake for a bit before taking refuge again in the car and driving back into town as the sky was turning pink. In summer there is not a skeric of shade and we passed a monument for a Caroline who perished out there in December some years back.

And now we have finally reached civilisation and a sealed road again. Not to mention internet and phone connection. Tonight will be our second night in Coober Pedy, and it was very noticeable that we have been spoilt in regard to our recent campsites, when, at hefty prices we find our caravan about 2m from our neighbours van (and I could even hear him snoring last night!). That's the city for you. Today was a catch-up, regroup, recovery, maintenance, shopping and washing day. We managed to visit an underground gallery, see some opals and visit a kangaroo orphanage in time for evening feeding.