Outback Mechanicals and Rotten Wreckers

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We resumed our journey to Tennant Creek today and everything seems to be working OK. We are retracing our steps along the Stuart Highway so we don’t need to spend much time at the various places as we saw them on the way up to Darwin.

As we passed through Dunmarra, I looked for the buffalo that was grazing outside the roadhouse last time but it was nowhere to be seen. We’re back in cattle country and there are signs at regular intervals warning about unfenced roads and animals wandering in front of you as well as other signs saying this is a Cattle Tick free area and warning of harsh penalties if the appropriate cleaning of the cattle has not taken place. We did see several dead cows alongside the road which were probably hit by the enormous road trains that roar to and from Darwin along the highway. They are commonly quad trailers up here and it is very difficult to keep it on the road if they have to swerve, so they don’t. These vehicles lock up their brakes often enough as it is – we keep seeing huge black skid marks with lots of rubber laid on the road.

We stopped for a snack break at Elliott and Barry checked the suspension. He thought a couple of the bolts were working loose and wanted them checked. We saw a sign for “Elliott Mechanical” just around the corner so we got him to check it. The workshop was on the same block of land as a bottle and aluminium can collection depot and had a corrugated tin shed as the garage, with every inch of the walls covered in old number plates. The mechanic checked underneath and said they were fine – nothing to worry about there! (That’s a relief!!)

We moved on to Renner Springs, where we filled up with diesel at $2 per litre – very costly! We also had a pie each for a quick lunch and I popped into the loos. I was very sad to see that, since we were there a month ago, some rotten woman or girl had put graffiti on the lovely mural that was a feature. It had looked so nice before. Why do some people feel the need to destroy something others have made? It’s senseless!

We continued straight to Tennant Creek and arrived at 4.30pm. We set up in the site next to our last used one and went to pay at the office. When we were here a month ago, the proprietor had on display her lovely collection of lizards, many porcelain and of various sizes and colours. It was nowhere to be seen today. I asked what had happened to it and was told that she had had to pack it away. Someone miserable thief had stolen one of them and another had been broken. There were signs all over the wall saying not to touch and that they were not for sale so there was no reason for anyone to pick them up. Again, how cruel and thoughtless some people can be with others’ property.

We arrived back at the van to get the ute and go shopping for food. There was the peacock and peahen parading around our site. The peacock decided our bonnet was a good place to perch and jumped up onto it. It was a bit slippery, though, so he hopped back down and walked to the back, where he jumped up onto the tray cover – much easier to stand on, cheeky thing. He soon moved when we got into the ute.



We did the shopping and I finally did the ironing of the clothes, using my new iron for the first time. Then we had dinner and a glass of wine, which knocked me out almost straight after the meal. I’m hopeless with even a small amount of alcohol. I’ll have to catch up on the blog tomorrow.

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Photos

Perched Peacock
This is the peacock I saw at the pool last time we stayed in Tennant Creek. This time he decided the ute was a good place to perch, first on the bonnet, then he jumped down and hopped up onto the soft cover over the tray. He got a surprise as he landed!

Elliott Mechanical
That is the name of the car mechanic business in Elliott. The mechanic's yard was full of old number plates.

A Rocky Cap
A lot of the mesas have this rocky layer on top of them. This one has eroded from below and is now just a little cap which will continue to collapse as the hill is worn away.