Jeremy: adding up the distances...oh yeah, and we ran out of fuel.

Yep, it's a long way to go still, and I think we are tired today because we're sitting here looking for ways to make it all a bit shorter. Alice springs is first on the cut list, and we're still in discussion. I reckon uluru and kings canyon may just about do us, we've still got 17 or 18 days to go to see it all and get home, 20 with alice springs added. Camping has made it a little more difficult to stick it, just because as the campsites have got a littke more rough, so have the nights sleep. In glendambo last night we had a very picturesque camp spot but the ground where we pitched the tent was really hot from the sun all day so even though the night air got quite cold the heat from the ground radiated up through the ground sheet and the tent was boiling all night, and the ground was really, really hard. Needless to say, i've had better nights sleep. It was a beautiful spot though, and the pub was a nice place to relax in, so it was quite good really, I'm just whinging. I'm also tired.
The landscape has been breathtaking for most of the way, and we've only had to dodge the one little emu today. Clearly got a bit frazzled by the bike and didn't know which way to go, and chose too late and poorly. Lucky for him/her we were going about 20kph by the time we reached him, so no harm done, maybe scorched the tail feathers a little on the exhaust. I still haven't seen a live roo, plenty of dead ones (and cows) though.
So, we ran dry on fuel today too. A little embarrassing, but I always knew it was going to be close. I didn't factor in just how much drag the two of us and all our gear apparently make at 110kmh. 250.9kms is our range at that speed, and I won't be forgetting it. We'll have to get a wee fuel bottle for the way back, just a small top up and we'll be fine. The bike coughed and spluttered a whole lot to get going again too, (after the rac man came and topped it up) a very clear message from norman that "this behavior is not to be repeated, or my battery might not be so ready to run the starter motor for a whole minute and a half while the fuel slowly trickles back in to get you going again". Anyway, you live and you learn the hard way.
We had a look around an opal mine today which was interesting, although I think my highlight was a cool old film set of a crashed space ship out the front of one of the museums. Apparently lots of movies are filmed in the desert around here. The motel where we are staying is lovely, it's just called the "underground motel", and I can't wait for a night in a bed!