A much warmer night last night, not really cold at all.
We get away a little earlier today. We travel the back way into Berri, via the Ferry, such a nice way to start the drive today.
First we top up the water, then over to the supermarket to get a few supplies. Finally, a trip over to Bunnings to get some wood and a few spare parts. As it’s unclear where the next fuel will be, we top up the tanks.
We’re heading north west from here, roads I haven’t been on before. It ends up being a great drive, although the rain, heavy at times, is a little unexpected.
We skirt around the edges of Burra, To this point he country has been pretty barren and not very productive, then we just seem to hit this lush farming land, it kinda makes no sense. We continue on towards Peterborough. The family stopped in Peterborough towards the end of the big tip. At the time Kids enjoyed playing on the train that’s in the main street of town…. So did some others this time around……. Peterborough certainly seems busier than that last time we were here.
Lunch at one of the local café’s and we’re back on the road.
Finally into Hawker, the “gateway to the Flinders”, quite a small place. We fill up with fuel, but at $2.30/l it’s a taste of the fuel bill on this trip.
As we drive into the Flinders, we start to see the iconic ridgelines, they look amazing.
I get a warning on the Dash, something about the Diesel Particulate filter, I can see it hasn’t done a burn off and ones due. …..Shit not again. I did buy a spare DPF Sensor for this trip just in case, but I’m not sure if this is the same problem or if it will fix it. My mind is racing, last time this happened the car needed repairs…is the where my trip ends??? About 10km (a lifetime) later It starts to do a regen, so it seems to be working. What a relief.
We pull over a Rawnsley lookout, I leave the car running just in case. A great view, but with the sun behind, it might be better in the morning.
It’s close to 5 as we pull into Willow Springs Station, the campsite we’re staying for the next 3 nights. We check-in and drive about 1km back to the private campsite and start to setup. Here I see the fridge is off.. Oh… FFS.. Check connections, they all seem fine, out with the multi-meter and the voltage to the battery seems OK, the Battery seems fine, but nothing to the fridge…..Mmmm, Off with the battery cover and a wire has pulled loose, Phew. I think when I grabbed the binoculars back at the lookout, I must have pulled on one of the cables. Anyway, a quick fix and the fridge hasn’t been without power for too long.
A super clear night, and as dusk approaches the Moon rises over the ridge. Hopefully as the moon will rise about an hour later each night, we’ll get a few hours of darkness in the desert before the moonrise.
A great fire again tonight.