Had just settled in for a good nights sleep last night- at our usual embarrassingly early hour (we are such party animals) when gale force winds rolled in. I woke to the sound of our chairs, bucket, washing and ready-lad-out breakfast things heading west (note to self – never leave anything unsecured even if weather is perfect). After waking sleeping beauty and retrieving all of the above we unzipped all our windows to reduce wind resistance and hunkered down under the doona with wind whistling over us, canvas flapping and tent poles clinking. Dora stood up to it well and in the morning fitted nicely back into her box (thank goodness). We woke up a little sleep deprived with hairstyles straight out of the 1980s but otherwise fine. We now see the wisdom on dug out living in these parts.

After pack up we did a quick tour of some of the key sights including visiting one of the four incredible underground churches and the inevitable opal shop before hitting the road.

As we head down the Sturt Highway we are starting to feel the ‘real world’ creep back in. Landscapes are still barren but getting greener and the days of getting excited to see another car are well and truly over.

Tonight we are stealth camped in a treed clearing about 100km north of Port Augusta. We are about 100m from the road but the steady flow of road trains is a stark reminder of how much we rely on these monsters to get food on our plates. Have dusted off the woolly hats, puffa jackets and earplugs for our re-entry to the ‘south’