Day 8...

Day 8 I expected this day to be relatively uneventful and on the most part it was. We were making our break through to Cairns which meant a lot of driving and not a lot of stopping. Our first stretch, mine, was up to Tennant Creek where we would change drivers and gran fuel, Rob convinced we would make if without needing more. We got about 10km out side of Tennant Creek when the car juddered to indicate we had indeed run out of fuel. Thankfully we had spare and put the 10l tank in to get us the last stretch. We filled up, grabbed some cold drinks and set off again. The next 200 km or so was a blur for me as I drifted in and out if sleep trying to ignore the hot air being blown into the car from the desert around us. I managed to get enough sleep to take over from Rob just beyond Barkly Homestead at a rest stop we had chosen for lunch. The next stretch of driving was on the most part very dull, mostly it was me trying to stay fully alert as we made tracks for the boarder. Along the drive I realised that I've been the one to drive over every boarder so far - I wonder if Rob has a fear of crossing boarders? As we approached the Queensland boarder the sun started to fade behind clouds. The closer we drew to the boarder the darker and further the clouds stretched until we were once again in the middle of a thunderstorm. The lightning was spectacular and Rob did say he could see it striking no more than 20m from the side of the car. the wind picked up strongly and forced me to drive considerably slower so we weren't blown off the road. The further we drove the more we got into the storm. We stopped in Camooweal for fuel and our final driver change of the day. At the time I didn't think much off it but the attendant at the petrol station was talking about bush fires recently and to see what the storm would bring. We set off in the rain, not worrying about much but a few kilometers down the road we rounded on a stretch where there were just bush fires littered all over the place. The stretch of road effected didn't last long but it did show us just how dry this part of the country really is. As evening drew near we arrived at Mt Isa, for the first time our planned evening stop, on time and with enough day light to get sorted. The first caravan park I looked at didn't give a great impression, I arrived as they were evicting someone from the grounds. I had a quick look around and the tent "bays" were covered with woodchip, not the most comfortable, so we moved on. Using a helpful book provided to us by the garage we bought the car from, Travelers AutoBarn, we headed to Sunrise Top Caravan Park. It was cheaper and had a better feel to it, we were set. The camping section only has us on it, no one else it seems is stupid enough to be trying to camp in temperatures in the 30's at night. The other reason of course, could be that the ground feels like laying on an electric blanket that's not been turned off for hours. As soon as the tent was up and Rob had helped try fix the broken corners of my tent we headed straight for the swimming pool. The cold water was so exceptionally refreshing I didn't want to leave. Rob however, who'd got there a lil before me, was ready to go for a shower. This meant I had to leave too, I'd fully locked the car with his keys inside as he'd left them in the ignition when he left for the swimming pool. Once shower I returned to the car to sit and watch the creek and the birds swimming around only to find a few animals flying along and splashing into the surface before flying on. It took a few more of then to turn up before I realised they were bats waking up for a drink. Swarms of them turned up carefully navigating around each other, on the most part, for a drink. They all circled clockwise as if earlier agreed. Just as I mentioned to Rob how amazing it was that so many of them were there that they didn't collide, two did. With a splash they both fell into the river. Both frantically fought to get to the shore before jumping into flight again to go round for another try. On the walk back from cooking food I felt like something was watching me, for some reason I chose to point the torch skyward. I was rather shocked to find an owl perched just above me, next to our tents peering down at me. The owl was kind enough to stay put while I rummaged around looking for my phone to try take a picture. With owls being out I know its time for me to sleep. Hopefully it won't be too windy tonight and I manage to sleep through the frogs very loudly croaking from the creek just next to us.