Sunday...1 August

Happy birthday to all the horses. Well we made it to Mataranka but they didnt have any room at their park so travelled an extra forty something kms down the road to a freecamp called Warloch. Was a nice little campsite. The usual mix of assorted people all going somewhere important to them. We had a mini united nations near us last night with a car load of back packers from France, another campervan had a Swedish flag flying proudly, and I have already forgotten where the other two car loads of backpackers came from. I do clearly remember where I wanted one of them to go!!  Hans (grunted gutterually..? German) insisted on making a camp fire and persisted for hours in trying to cut logs into firewood with a tomahawk with a blade of about six inches. AND it was blunt. We were trying to enjoy the serenity of the Australian Bush and there he was bang bang banging away at his lump of wood. I offered to go and put the tomahawk into his forehead!! Someone lent him a hand saw. Too much hard work for Hans, he went back to bang bang banging. By seven oclock he still hasnt got a fire happening to cook his dinner and was still carrying logs and stones to his campsite to make the fire with. Simple maths said he could not burn all the wood he had chopped unless he stayed up all night and maybe the next day. Oh and all this on a day the girls from France said was too hot for a fire. He eventually lit his fire around 8pm. Quite a study in international relations watching him and others around him offering help or advice and his blatant shoulder shrugging and refusal to be told anything. My money was on him speaking perfect English and just ignoring all well meaning help.
Today we came as far as Threeways which is exactly what it says, a roadhouse on an T intersection. From here you go north to Darwin, South to Adelaide or East to Queensland. The wind is blowing a bit and it has tried to rain off and on all day with zero sucess so maybe during the night it will happen. The side of the roadhouse has a NT roadtrain painted along it, all four trailers and then at the front of the truck they have used a real bullbar to finish the picture, most effective.
We have seen several pushbike riders and heaps of motorbikes out on the trek.  There is something so unexpected seeing a motorbike towing a little campertrailer. It is amazing watching them open them out into a tent complete with assorted camping gear.
May or may not move on tomorrow, much will depend on the weather......