The Tanami

The Tanami route has always been a right of passage for four wheel drivers. One of the highlights of the trip was to stop over at The Rabbit Flat Roadhouse. It's particular claim to fame was that it was the most remote roadhouse in Australia. The owner was also renown as notoriously grumpy person who only opened on certain random days of the week, usually Tuesday Wednesday and Friday from memory. If you rolled up needing fuel on the wrong day, you just had to wait till he opened up on the next right day. 

And there was no other option for fuel for 300 km in either direction. 

So you had to wait. Sadly he finally closed down about 5 years ago as he was probably sick of those pesky customers. Did I mention that he reputedly had this gorgeous French wife whom no one had ever met. 

I actually spoke to her on the phone once about five years ago when I last went through, and rang ahead to make sure I would be there on an open day. 

He also had the dearest fuel in Australia, but I guess no one could go elsewhere. 

What this now means for me and for that matter all others, is that drivers have to carry abot 150 litres of fuel. Fortunately no worries for me with the new, now working tank.

The road on the South Australian side of the border was not too bad, with signs of recent maintenance, but once over the West Australian border it was just woeful, with giant pot holes, wash aways, crevices big enough to loose a small car etc. and of course endless corrugations. This is what brought me undone on the last trip, but the new suspension seems to coping much better than the old one. I felt it was a good test for the actual CSR 

While driving along, battling with the poor quality of the road, and literally hundreds of kilometers from anywhere, I suddenly saw this apparition in form of a cyclist on a three wheeled tricycle pedalling furiously up the hill. I couldn't believe my eyes. In fact he was the only other person or vehicle I came across during that trip heading my way. 

The only other item to brighten my day was that I suddenly realised I had picked up a hitch hiker. In the corner of my eye I noticed something scurrying across the outside of the drivers window. Back at home it would have been a huntsman spider, but it was on my perifiral vision, and I decided to stop for an inspection. It turned out to be the cutest little lizard who could defy gravity by walking accross a moving car window while the car was shaking and crashing about on the corrugations. I pulled over and attempted to photograph this amazing athlete, but he or she was camera shy and proceeded to play hide and seek around the snorkel. I did get one peek a boo type shot. 

The tricycle and lizard definitely made the journey far more enjoyable and after another  three or four hours the camp ground for the night was in sight. 

I should add that this particular stretch is normally done in two days, but because I was travelling east to west, and crossed a state border,  I gained one and half hours in time difference, which meant I could still arive at a reasonable time.