Last night in camp some dark clouds accumulated and this morning they pretty much covered the sky, and of course we thought rain, possibly. This could be a problem because outback roads are definitely NOT all-weather. With even modest amounts of rain that red sand/dirt turns to mud and the roads either become impassable or get closed by the local police. So we did not want to get caught in that situation. Hence an early start was called for and an extra effort throughout the day to get as close to the end of the dirt as possible.

The only significant stop of the day was at Tjukayirla Road House, which is also an Aboriginal community. Note the heavy security for the fuel pumps. The roadhouse manager told us this was a hang over from the days before Opal unleaded fuel. Twenty years ago, before we left Australia, it was common for Aboriginal communities to sell only diesel fuel as a way of reducing the number of Aboriginal deaths and injuries from sniffing unleaded fuel. Others like, Tjukayirla placed heavy security around the unleaded pumps. Opal fuel has largely resolved that problem.

And what happened to the rain? We got a little but not enough to cause any problems on the road.

Another bush camp, a beautiful sunset and more blazing stars.