Kings Creek Station to Kulgera -Day 12

The news this morning was no better than last night, Alice was in lockdown and we didn’t want to risk causing ourselves problems later down the track by having been in a “Hot Spot” so reluctantly we decided to backtrack to Coober Pedy.Luckily there were no battery or alarm issues this morning and we set off towards the Lasseter’s Highway. I must read up about Lasseter again, I know he claimed to have found a gold seam and people died searching for “Lasseter’s Lost Reef” but think he was later proven to be a complete fraud.

Once again flocks of Budgies played chicken with us, they looked gorgeous as the whole flock turned into the sun and presented a shimmering tapestry of green. We decided to drive a little way towards Uluru after I glimpsed Mount Conner which I remembered from years ago.

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On the way we passed by the Mount Ebenezer Roadhouse which obviously thrived at some time but is now completely deserted.

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Very little traffic was going our way but Uluru still seemed a popular destination. Now we’re back at Kulgera and the talk is all about the border closures, police on duty and the passes needed to get through, we haven’t spoken with any South Australians yet. In our row at the park there are seven Victorian registered vehicles, two from SA and one from WA. From what we’ve noticed on the road I’d say that’s a fair representation.

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We’ll make our decision about where we go next after we see what happens at the border.

Kings Creek Station -Day 11

Last night the dingoes set up quite a chorus but there wasn’t a murmur from Fergus so it seems that Elmo, the howling Malamute who lives next door to us in Adelaide, has made him immune. Another vocalist this morning was Bruce, the nasty natured donkey, we’ve had no issue with him but the one-eared camel certainly has!

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My day started with a nice drink of Hot Chocolate in bed, how decadent is that? Things took a bit of a dip after that when the car alarm went off and refused to stop until Alex had managed to disconnect the battery. It seems electronic clickers and keys don’t mean a thing when a Toyota is determined to create a fuss. We also now know that a battery which is too low to start the car can still start up its alarm!

We went for a walk along a station track.

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We’re moving on to Alice Springs tomorrow where we should be able to get a replacement battery. I’m not sure if the Covid lockdowns, border closures etc are making things harder or easier for travellers but I have managed to get us a site at the Heritage Caravan Park for tomorrow night when I tried from Kulgera there was no chance.

UPDATE!!!!

We don’t know where we’ll be tomorrow night but it probably won’t be Alice, the place is in lockdown as of 1pm this afternoon. IF the news changes and the lockdown is lifted then we will go on to Alice though we’ll have to find a place to camp, if that doesn’t happen we can either stay here for another night or go back south. We’ll decide in the morning. The campsite here is much, much quieter tonight, lots of empty spaces.