Coober Pedy

Mon 23 Mar…….Left the Gendambo Outback Resort, the site was a shale carpark, to continue our journey north. First stop at a rest area on the Stuart Highway where we got chatting to a few other people. A young Italian couple going south, a single bloke and his dog in a converted Ford transit van, from Perth who has been on the road for a year, mainly free camping and the only thing he really misses is a shower, and was offering $5 to use ours! We don’t think so! Also there was a road train driver who reckons to drive between 1000 to 1200Ks a day. Also there was a single lady, whose van we have seen in several places, but never been in conversation with. We still haven’t found out her name, though she’s an intrepid traveller in her mid 60s and she has virtually travelled the same route as us. On the back of her van is the logo Thelma and Colleen, which intrigues us, not your usual Wayne and Tracy or Bruce and Shiela. We actually stood around nattering for about an hour, flapping our arms like demented windmills at the flies!
At Coober Pedy The Opal Capital of the World we are once again on a shale site behind a Motel but this one has a Happy Hour so we will be going for a beer and to book a trip at reception. We already enquired about a trip to Lake Eyre but they are only doing flights as the Queensland flood water has only just arrived at the top of the lake. It is only moving at a speed of 30K a day and we were told the best time to see it will be in about a month. The cost was a bit prohibitive also at $800 for a 1 hour trip. We have booked on the Dessert Cave Tour instead.