27th August, 2021: Between new tyres, a lock-down, sudden necessary repairs to the van and Covid tests after sharing Woolworths with an infected traveller, it’s been 15 unplanned, 35/36 degree days in Katherine – a town we’d never intended to visit – when we are finally on the road again. The Savannah Way will remain a dream, as it’s getting too late in the season, too hot to go north now (for us softies). Why not visit Birdsville instead? Neither of us have been there for over 30 years, so it’s time!
We are lured to Mataranka Springs on the way, enjoy a couple of glorious days of morning dips in the clear, moving water, straight from the depths of the earth.
Rainbow Spring is where Mataranka’s Spring water emanates from the ground – look closely at the photo and you’ll see the swelling of the water from below.
29th August, 2021 and it’s time to sample Bitter Springs – we’re getting to be aficionados!
Then it’s on to Daly Waters, where an inseparable goat and dog sleep across the entrance, and which is our pick of the zaniest, quirkiest, consciously crazy place we have visited. The food is even excellent!
This horse trough is there by the law of the land when the hotel was built
This guy comes past daily, often trailed by the horse – or sometimes the horse dawdles by, trailed by his friend
To pay for fuel, one must take a photo of the bowser after you’ve filled your car and present it at the hotel bar -now that’s trust!
30th August, 2021: Now we’re headed east towards the Queensland Border, making one-night-stand stopovers at roadhouses along the way, first Heartbreak Hotel.
Again along the way we find vast tracts of Buffel grass, that killer of native plants and bush tucker, but in some parts, where there has been no cattle industry, the native plants are still king. We also meet a few of the locals along the way
Almost the only herd we saw
Hello!
Mostly vast aridly buffel grassed plains
31st August, 2021: I love these remote roadhouses – each with a story, rich with history, populated by truckies, road workers and grey nomads (us) and staffed by itinerant backpackers (even now) from every corner of the world. Barkly Homestead is no exception
1st September, 2021: The tension rises on the first day of Spring as we upload our online entry permits to Queensland, wondering whether our stop in locked-down Katherine will cause an issue, even though the written material says not. In the event, we don’t even need the pass – no guard on the border at all in our direction, but the Northern Territory officials are stopping all cars entering their territory.
Hooray, we’re on a roll! We stop for fuel in Camooweal, but hey there’s a few hours left in the day – let’s push on to Mount Isa!
Blackwattle Roaming 
How interesting this all is! I can just imagine how hot it is getting, and thus how wonderful the cooling springs must be. Enjoy . . . I am having fun tagging along with you.
Elaine
On Fri, Sep 3, 2021 at 4:08 AM Blackwattle Roaming wrote:
> Blackwattle Roaming posted: ” 27th August, 2021: Between new tyres, a > lock-down, sudden necessary repairs to the van and Covid tests after > sharing Woolworths with an infected traveller, it’s been 15 unplanned, > 35/36 degree days in Katherine – a town we’d never intended to visit – wh” >
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