Day 19:

Dust and sweat to start the day and now also to end it but in different ways. Cause we had so far to drive today we wanted to leave early as in 8 am. All going really well till we came back from the showers for Wally to notice we had a flat tyre. Now, any of you who have witnessed our packing for a three-month trip no that it is a Tetris nightmare but very organised. Not great when you have to unTetris it to get to the levers and hoist in the boot area under everything. Our tyre sits on the back of the car but is equally difficult to access. Poor Wally had to lay in the red dust to try to find the hoist point which on our car is impossible to get to of course. The tyres are so heavy and huge - so very difficult for one man to do but he managed it all with only one swear word out of his mouth although his head may have been blue with language.

Finally away by 9 am for our 422 km northerly drive to Newman. The land was changing constantly but still unusually flat and uneventful. Stopped for morning tea at the Three River Rest stop and then lunch at Kumrina, quite a nice roadhouse for a change. On we went with sightings of cows for the first time in a week or so but the road trains do not slow for these wandering freely animals. The stench not at all pleasant even with all the windows up. We sighted a pilot vehicle coming towards us at one point with police car behind and we knew it was going to be a big, big truck. We were able to get right off the road thankfully cause it was the biggest truck we have seen and it took up the entire two lane road. Second truck following it was the scoop that went with the truck. Hate to be travelling behind these massive things as you could never pass.

Finally, arrived in Newman, checked in and went straight to a Tyre place and $370 later we have a new one, 'well you really b*****ed that mate' said the guy when he saw the old one. My darling and his dirt roads…grrrr although they are always the best places away from everyone. We need to replace all the tyres on our return to NSW so this was just a gentle ease into the costing for the other four.

Down to Visitor Centre where we booked in for a tour of Iron Ore mine tomorrow and spied a meat truck that travels 3000 kms in 8 days from Perth up to Tom Price in a roundabout trip selling meat. We bought goat (ooohhhh hope it's not roadkill) and some shanks (they could be too). No, this was a very professional set up and giving people of the outback some fresh produce for a change. They do the route once a month and apparently very popular as it pulls into town. Newman is quite large as it is a mining town so we will explore more tomorrow. Not many pics but ones of our humungous truck was all that was interesting.

We have gone into the 30s in temp and it is dusty (red, fine and everywhere) hot and erchhhhhh. About to go and dunk the body under a shower before a wine. Tomorrow we have to wear long pants, closed in shoes and long sleeve tops. Wally only has a jumper thing and I don't want to think what will be cool in my wardrobe. hmmmmm

xxxx