Broken Bucket Borehole, Big Desert to Phenys Track, Murray-Sunset National Park - 44 degrees in the shade!

TUESDAY 13 JANUARY 2009

Kangaroos visited our campsite in the morning. It was the hottest day of the year so far. The forecast was 39 degrees but our thermometer was registering 44 in the shade! We drove through the Big Desert and stopped at Murrayville, and found out that there is a total fire ban today and tomorrow because of the heat. This means we can’t use our gas stove at all. 

We drove over easy 4WD tracks to the Pink Lakes, which are dried up salt lakes at this time of year and then through the Murray-Sunset National Park. Two emus ran in front of us along the track and we stopped to look at a Shingleback Lizard lazing in the sun.

We got to our campsite about 2.30 and once again we were the only people there. The campsites in the bush are very basic - the most luxurious have benches, BBQ area and pit toilets. Others just have cleared ground. This one had a pit toilet, but was covered in cobwebs, so it was not advisable to visit in the dark as Australia has some very nasty spiders. I checked each time that the spiders were in their webs. 

We sat in the shade but it was still very hot and the flies would not leave us alone. They got in our eyes, up our noses and other orifices! I'm in the middle of reading 'The Thorn Birds' and I didn't have to imagine the heat, dust and flies that are talked about. About mid afternoon there was a loud rumbling noise and a willy willy (a small whirlwind) came hurtling through our campsite. At dusk birds of prey swooped down to investigate us and then we were buzzed by the bats - at which time we retreated to the baking campervan.

WILDLIFE: Grey Kangaroos, Emus, Rabbits, Goats, Shingleback Lizards

The Pink Lakes