OMG What to do?

---

The previous night we were horrified to find the 12v cable connecting the Engel car fridge to the thumper battery in our car had broken so our fridge which we had set as a freezer and was full of frozen meat …. Including a 3 ½ kg brisket for our son, was no longer working. Thankfully the caravan fridge was working ok, so we transferred all the frozen meat into that fridge. That damned brisket was on the verge of being too big. With the door shelves removed, we managed to just squeeze it in. Phew!



A bucket under the water tank caught most of the precious water trying to escape. What we couldn’t use immediately we fed back into the tanks.



With an unreliable caravan fridge, an Engel car fridge not working, a considerable amount of meat that needed to be kept frozen, the possibility of no cold drinks (beer or wine), and a leak in our water tanks our plans to continue north up the Oodnadatta Track and then across through The Painted Desert were in jeopardy. However, we would push on to William Creek where we would decide whether to take the risk or to shelve our plans and instead head across to Coober Pedy where we might be able to solve some of the problems … or at the very least have access to power, water and make some repairs.



The first sign that we were in for an interesting day was when the guys from the tents were busily trying to charge one of their car batteries which had gone flat over-night. They were planning to make it to Dalhousie Springs before nightfall. We were doubtful when they still hadn’t left at 10.00am. And even more doubtful when we met them after 1pm in William Creek.



The second sign we were in for an interesting day was about 10km from Coward Springs. We saw a caravan pulled off the road with its left wheel lying on the ground next to the van. And would you believe it? It was S and G. We were dismayed. They had been there all night. We stopped to chat with them, to see how we could help. I think they were glad to see a familiar face even though we had only spoken to them twice briefly the day before. We hadn’t even exchanged names. A couple of families had stopped the day before to help them. One had taken S back to Coward Springs to make phone calls arranging pick up the next day to take them and their caravan to Coober Pedy. The other had stayed with G until S returned. They spent a rather traumatic night at the side of the road with a damaged van, no power … remember they had problems with their power system, and practically every passer-by stopping to find out if they were OK.



A tow truck from Coober Pedy was due to arrive midmorning so they just had to wait. We exchanged names and contact details and left with the expectation we might never see each other again.



It was around this time we decided we would abandon our plans to go further north and instead head to Coober Pedy. All the signs pointed that way.



We managed to score fuel in William Creek and some pretty delicious burgers at the Hotel for lunch. It was when we came out that we ran into our tenting friends from earlier and then a flat bed tow truck pulled up out the front of the hotel. We knew where this was heading. Joan asked the driver if he was heading down to pick up the disabled caravan towards Coward Springs. He asked her what state it was in as he had just come back from rescuing a caravan rollover on the Stuart Highway. We knew how long S an G had been waiting and obviously it was going to be a lot longer wait than they were expecting.



We had heard the road across to Coober Pedy was in good condition so that boded well. The countryside everywhere in the outback changes so much in a matter of kilometres. Flat and sandy, hilly and sandy, flat and clay, flat and gibber, vegetated sometimes with low bushes, other times with sparse woodland and sometimes just plain bare. There are hills, mesas and salt lakes. All have a unique beauty; Including the moonscape left by opal mining as one approaches Coober Pedy.



All caravan parks in Coober Pedy do not supply water unless you pay extra, Even the showers in the amenities block cost 20c … and more if you needed enough water to wash your hair. In a largely cashless society, especially since the start of the pandemic, we found it necessary to have a variety of notes and coins in the outback to access water and pay via the honour boxes at unattended camp grounds. It was not as simple as having a few specific notes as each place seemed to have a different requirement., sometimes a $20 note, others a different combination.



It was late afternoon when we received a text from S to say they were in Coober Pedy. We let them know we were there too and arranged to meet for dinner. Suddenly they were more than just a fleeting couple we met on the road. We heard all about their frustrating day trying to sort caravan repairs so they could move on. It would take them several days before they were on their way again. We dined again together the next night and were delighted to hear they would be ready to depart the next day all going well. We too were heading off the next morning so said our farewells and promised to keep in touch.



Next morning as we pulled in to reinflation our caravan tyres who should pull up in front of us, but S and G. Initially we thought the vehicle pulling towards us was being rather aggressive until we saw them getting out of the vehicle with great big grins on their faces. It was great to see them repaired and ready to head off to Darwin as planned. Bidding them farewell yet again, we headed off south on our way to Roxby.

---

Photos

You can get burger and chips anywhere.
Even in William Creek. These were awesome.