(Bij gebrek aan foto's vandaag een paar plaatjes van Google Earth - de foto van Rolleston moet ik nog opzoeken)
English version
We had a nice quiet night and slept fitfully. The rain had cooled down the atmosphere considerably so we kept under the blankets again. After our usual early morning chores and topping up of the pantry we left. The plan was to head for Theodore, but before we hit Springsure we changed our mind and wanted to go to Carnarvon Gorge. We didn’t know then that we would never made it to the Gorge… We had a cuppa just before Springsure at the Virgin Rock Rest Area (nr. 424, S24 05 38, E148 05 49) and took the turn off towards Rolleston to make for the Carnarvon Developmental Road leading to Carnarvon National Park. Already at Emerald we had noticed a warning sign that there would be water over the road near Rolleston. That wasn’t really unexpected after the rain we’d had the last days. Not long, but plenty. And to our surprise we discovered it was at the exact spot where we’d hit the same problem some 10 years ago. This time I haven’t been able to take pictures, because I was driving, but I should still have the pictures from back then. We happened to be going in the opposite direction then, the water level was higher, the stretch of water longer and it was very fast flowing. Back then the crossing was a lot riskier in our little Daewoo, so now we weren’t as nervous in our more powerful bus and we had no problem crossing safely at all. However, we started to wonder of the idea of going to Carnarvon Gorge was such a good one, because for a large part it’s a dirt road and before you enter the Gorge you have to pass a dip which almost always has water in it safe for the driest periods. Although, in the end we didn’t need to worry about it, because at roughly 40km before the turn off, when we had lunch along the highway, we realised that we had forgotten to check the fuel level in Springsure or Rolleston and with what was left we would be lucky to even get to Injune, let alone making the extra 100km roundtrip to the Gorge. Anyway, while I am typing this we are on the last 40km to Injune and Frank is worried that we’re not going to make it. By the time we search on the GPS for the nearest petrol station is still 27.9km away. We double-check again and then it’s 12.9km to go. We’re counting down… 7.5km… 3.5km… 2… within walking distance… and… yes, we make it! When we arrive at the pump there is just 3L of diesel in the tank. How did we do it??? And, what a relief!!! Well, we’ve learned our lesson. From now on we both keep a regular check on the petrol gauge. After filling up we have a quiet cuppa and then drive on to our next stop for the night. We’re too late now for the one we had in mind as an alternative to Carnarvon Gorge, so we keep going towards Roma and head for Mitchell in westerly direction. At Muckadilla Creek (nr 649, S26 35 06, E148 23 07) we find a stop for the night at the hotel. We go for a walk along the highway to stretch our legs and prepare dinner when we return. The sun has been out all day and it is quite pleasant again, albeit a lot cooler too. We spend the evening as usual and don’t worry about tomorrow…
(For lack of photographs today just a few pictures from Google Earth - the picture from Rolleston will follow later
ieks, wat spannend met die brandstof!!!! Gelukkig hadden jullie net genoeg :-)
ReplyDeleteLeuk om jullie reis te kunnen volgen, ik geniet er echt van!
Dank je, Margriet, voor je comments. Leuk om te zien dat er mensen zijn die ons blog volgen. Dan doe je het tenminste niet voor niets! Trouwens, onze kinderen kijken ook, vandaar dat ik het ook nog eens allemaal tweetalig doe. :-) Tot 'ziens'
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