After a cup of coffee and a Sad Brecky, I packed the car and was on my way. It was a late start, as this was only a short hop of 307 km to Barkly Homestead. I would have driven longer, but Eve, my ex-truckie fried from the September trip, kept mentioning it like it was a “must-do”, so I booked the smallest cabin they had.

My little friends the termite mounds were back along the sides of the road.

There was also ample evidence of the bushfires they had up here. Sometimes it was only on one side of the highway, but other times it was clear it had jumped it. Not that jumping it would be a huge feat – this major highway right up the middle of Australia only has one lane each way.

It was mid-morning. I looked at the heat gauge on my dash and it was already 37C.

Every now and then I’d see a dressed-up termite mound.

Here’s the view. No wonder people get the urge to put Grandpa’s old shirt to good use on a termite mound! There’s nothing much to see for miles.

I had to stop the car and show you these colours. No filters, no fakery. This is the Outback.

As I was taking that last photo, I looked up and sure enough, there was a hawk floating lazily in the sky. I grew to look for them and I’d lean forward when the car was passing underneath them, so that I could see the patches of white underneath their wings.

The hawks (and sometimes eagles) have learned that if they hang around the highway, a car or truck will hit an animal and they’ll have an easy feed. As we learned in the Bird Show at Healesville Sanctuary, these birds can spot a mouse moving from 2 km away. A dead kangaroo in the middle of the road ?

Too easy.

There have been MANY dead kangaroos by the side of the roads, all in various states of decomposition. In a little car such as my trusty Golf, I’m making sure that I leave a town well after sunrise and I’m safely ensconced in my room when the sun goes down. Twilight, dawn and night are when the wild animals roam. The massive road trains that are here have no cares – they’re big enough to mow anything down and keep right on truckin’.

Made it! This is the last town before I turn right and start edging my way across Queensland for a while.

I tell you what – it’s bloody hot. I’m so glad the aircon in the car broke before I went so I could get it fixed in time. The trip would be absolutely brutal if I didn’t have the respite from the heat.

I had so much time to kill that I decided to find a café and grab a coffee and something to eat while I read my book for a while. I passed by one café but it looked a bit dodgy, so I kept on going. The second one looked like a busy, bustling place.

How could I pass up a slice of purple yam cake? It was delicious.

The main drag of Tennant Creek on a Friday morning. No one was out unless they absolutely had to be. The heat was not mucking around.

I got in the car and kept driving, then a few minutes out of town I saw a sign to Mary Ann Dam. It was less than 2 km and the road was sealed, so you know the rule.

I swung the wheel.

What a fabulous spot. The wind was blowing over the water towards me so there was a cool breeze. There were cockies and other birds squawking and singing in the trees.

I decided that I’d spend an hour here and read my book and just chill.

About 20 minutes before I left, a car load of young guys arrived and they went further down the dam. After a little while, I heard their music start up.

I now have Shaggy and Rayvon’s ‘Angel’ on Mum’s Boppin’ Bangers. It sounded so good as I was reading there.

After a while, I packed up and hit the highway again. And here it is – Threeways.

So called because it’s a T intersection with only 3 ways to go.

I swung a right and then I was heading across Australia towards the border between the Northern Territory and Queensland.

The heat haze of the road was constantly there.

I still had a couple of hundred kilometres to go. A mixture of murders on ‘Casefile’ and belting out bangers from Rumours got me through.

It’s a bit hard to miss Barkly Homestead with these two out the front!

Barkly Homestead was a strange mix of good and bad. When I arrived there was an hour before check-in, so I wandered around the gift shop.

This was a fantastic place! It was full of high quality stuff – not like the normal junk you see at the greasy roadhouses. I bought up big here. I needed a new “going out” bag that could fit my new phone, I bought Christmas presents for the girls, I bought presents for Liga2’s sons and …

I bought Scout a VERY expensive toy that she’ll probably destroy in 5 minutes. But I couldn’t resist the squeaker. I know she’ll be the same.

So yes. If you’re going past, definitely drop in and have a look at the gift shop.

I was finally able to do my laundry! It’s the little things that make all the difference.

I was down to my last outfit, so I was very glad to change a fiver for some coins and get this job done. I sat in the shade and read my book, listening to all of the birdsong around me.

Barkly Station waters its grass, so the birds are drawn here.

It wasn’t just the white and the pink and grey cockies that loved this place. So did the Guinea Fowl. I couldn’t get over the noises they were making.

So what was bad?

  1. The food. I ordered a steak sandwich and I had to leave half of it.

2. NO WIFI. This was the second day that I had no internet. I don’t like being cut off from the hive.

3. Green poo. Apparently drinking the bore water does inexpressible things to your bowels. It’s fluorescent, too. Quite a thing to start your day with!

4. The bugs in the room.

When I checked into the room, I saw that there was a can of Mortein provided. I should have paid more attention.

As soon as night fell, I was invaded by these black flying bugs. They were coming in from the ensuite window, which some idiot had helpfully left open, disregarding all the holes in the flyscreen.

Once I’d balanced on the shower base to shut the window as far as I could, I blasted the room with Mortein and left them to it.

In the morning as I was enthroned on the loo, I counted the bodies. Nearly 70 bugs lay there.

Yuck.

Still no internet. Hopefully things get better in Mt Isa!

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