No alarms, nowhere to be and nothing to do all added up to equal a very relaxing, if late start to the day this morning. If not for the gusting wind slamming noisily into the flank of the van, we may have even dozed later than the 10:00AM that we did.

It mattered little whether we had slept longer, as even once we did lethargically arise from our ample slumber, it was just to potter around lazily. We have designated today as a day of rest, a day whence we can catch up with a myriad of little jobs that need doing whilst the chance presents itself, a day when relaxation will hopefully reign supreme. For me, that meant sitting down in front of the computer to deftly narrate in rambling discourse the thus far missing chapters of our continuing adventures, even if I will still be unable to post my tales for some time to come. Bec in the mean time managed to feed an almost continuous stream of dirty clothes through our miniature, but hardworking washing machine, making good use of the water supply for which we fought so hard yesterday to secure. There was even a trip over to the outdoor camp laundry to wash my lucky maroon blanket, which is starting to smell more of canine than blanket. With the rugby league state of origin decider to be played this evening, I am stoically hoping that a launder will be of more good for it than bad, and that the luck hasn’t been washed from its nylon fibres. Go Queensland.

As I sat, almost finished with my dissertation of our most recent activities, Bec started on her final assignment, the washing of the dishes. It was not to be too long before we could enter phase two of the day, the long awaited for period of relaxation.

With our chores completed, and Becs finger bandaged after a small accident with a submerged knife that saw me having to complete the dish washing (although I’m still not convinced that she didn’t knick it on purpose to get out of washing the dishes), we dragged our camp chairs out of the shade and into the sun, to enjoy the warmth while we could. In fact, today has marked the first and possibly the last day of this trip, on which I have had to dig down to the deepest, darkest recesses of my closet to drag out one of the many pairs of shorts I brought along with me. While we perched ourselves on our comfortable pews in the sunshine, in a position that allowed us to survey the going ons of the park, watching as todays new arrivals turned up to play the all too familiar game of where shall we park, Alvin and Bethany curled up between us on their mats. While Alvin kept a careful eye on unfolding events, trivial as they were, Bethany was happy enough to fall into a deep sleep that was as close to comatose as could be.

Not A Bad Way To Spend The Day.

Whiling away the bulk of the day, the warm sun shining brightly down, as we contented ourselves, noses poked within our books, a more relaxing day we couldn’t have imagined. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, both of us a little worn out from the constant stream of activities that filled our days in Alice Springs, coupled with an exhausting drive just yesterday, not to mention the realisation that we have reached the half way point of our expedition, both in terms of duration and distance.

It wasn’t to be an entire waste of a day however, although it was 4:30PM by the time we ventured out from the confines of the caravan park, to undertake a second foray to the Devils Marbles. Since we have travelled in excess of 3000KM just to get to this point, we thought it puerile not to make the effort to have another look at them. Not only that, but yesterday we had failed to discover the locale of the most photographed of the orb like balls of rock and I was determined to have my photograph taken whilst standing beneath them.

Leaving the dogs behind today, we made the short jaunt down the track, still marveling at the boulder strewn landscape that surrounded us as we drove towards the main car park. Walking differing routes to those we took yesterday, we strove to unearth aspects and vistas we had not yet witnessed. We were rewarded by a completely new set of scenes upon which to feast our optic organs, accompanied by the ceaseless soundtrack of the camera shutters clicking away. Such was the scenery, I nearly impaled my neck on the sharp broken bough of a tree, while trying to get the perfect picture of Bec, instead of looking at where I was going. While I massaged the growing knot of a bruise, Bec failed to grasp the seriousness of the situation, and instead of rushing to my aid, found herself falling about laughing hysterically at my misfortune.

A Second Look At The Devils Marbles.

As the sun dipped beyond the distant horizon in yet another spectacular outback display of colours, we managed to find the two precariously balanced giant boulders that offer the archetypal image of the Devils Marbles. We can now add our own photographic interpretation to the no doubt millions of photos already floating around of these two most famous rocks.

The sun now only a memory for another day, we started back towards the caravan park, where there would only be a little time to prepare dinner before I sat myself down doggedly to watch the rugby game for which I have eagerly been awaiting. So much so, that it was the first entry added to our planning calendar in ink.

As it turned out, we dined during the early stages of the match, while Queensland happily ran away with the game in what could only be termed a walk over. A bright night it was indeed and I guess it takes a bit more than a tumble in a washing machine to wash any luck out of my blankie. Go Queensland.

Until next time, have fun, stay safe and don’t forget to write.