We washed up in the bathroom sink again and dried up with a towel because there were no unused face washers. I drove first. I went out and along the road and out of town then did a u turn and went back to get petrol. Got petrol, them went back out of town and further. We were traveling through emu and goat country, by the end of the day we had counted 43 emus and 1000 goats; I’m serious there was really that many!

The goats were quite interesting, there were so many different colours, sizes, shapes and horns. We sang silly songs like; “the Bear” and “Found a Peanut.” Then Daddy drove and we listened to an audio book of “Pilgrims Progress.” We crossed the time zone and played I spy. We saw lots of things that started with SH, had four legs, is white, woolly, lives in paddocks (at least they are meant to, we saw quite a few that weren’t), goes mmmmmaaaah, has cute babies and is very Stupid!

We had lunch on a cold windy hill. Then I drove past more goats and a few very strange trees, the first was dead but covered in shoe flowers. The second was full of bottles; the third was covered in hats.  The last had about five camp chairs hanging upside down in it............. really strange. Daddy typed stuff up on the laptop while I drove so he wouldn’t fall asleep this time and he didn’t.  After two hours we swapped drivers, I wasn’t tired but I was very stiff. I haven’t slept in the car for years, but my fingers, hands, ankles, elbows, shoulders, legs and neck all start getting sore and stiff after a while.

The dirt is red and the road is straight. We saw a sign saying ‘watch out for kangaroos for the next 172 km. We never saw a single live one, only emus and GOATS. I did once think there were some kangaroos but they were only three grey, dead bushes, standing next to the road.  They need signs saying look out for goats, not kangaroos. Maybe they don’t though; goats seem a lot smarter than kangaroos or sheep. Kangaroos and sheep run out in front of cars or right along next to them, whereas goats normally run directly away or just ignore you like the emus do.

We stopped at a park and looked at and climbed on some rusty old mining machinery. We also saw a fenced off and filled in gold miming shaft and a not quite so old digger that the boys had heaps of fun playing on.  We got to where we were staying that night at 6:30.

Later on, we went out to the car to read more of “The Return of the King,” because this place only had a bathroom and one other room. We also took our box of yummy things.  So we ate chips and caramel chocolates and found comfortable spots to sit. 

Warning SPOILER

SPOILER Warning

We read the part of “The Return of the King,” where Aragorn heals Faramir Eowyn and Merry.

When the black breath blows

And deaths shadow grows

And all lights pass,

Come athelas! Come athelas!

Life to the dying

In the kings hands lying

And everyone realizes that Strider, Aragorn, heir of Isildur, Elessar, was the King. The hands of the king are the hands of a healer.

I drove first again, the road was fairly straight. After driving (straight ahead) for over an hour we realized that we had left the two pillows that we had brought with us behind. We decided they weren’t worth going back to get. We stopped at a park and played tips on the equipment, and then I filled up the car with petrol, Daddy drove. I sat next to my brothers and we looked at a book of road maps of Australia. I got asked; where are we? Where is our place? Where is that? Where are we going next? How far away it that? And especially, where is this? I tried to answer but it got rather annoying. Luckily they got sick of it just about one question before it nearly killed me.

I have found that since I have been driving, I find it annoying not to be able to see what is going on behind us (when I’m not driving). It never bothered me before but now it really does, I noticed it today and a few days ago too.

It was 4:30 when we arrived back home. Yay tis sooooo good to be home.