Jeremy: uluru, kata tjunta and lots of heat

So, today we finally saw Uluru, and the Olgas. We saw Uluru last night but it was from quite a distance and we were on camels, which was lovely but distracting as we'd just witnessed one of the women riding with us get thrown off her camel. Apparently the ants are mental at the moment because of all the rain, and the camels were all stamping their feat as we rode along to get them off. This is normal behavior but the camel infront of us took it a little too far, and actually jumped and bucked his rider off. Lucky she was ok, because it's a long way down off a camel, but every subsequent stomp of everyone else's camels was met with a tightening of the grip on the saddle. Not as relaxing as it was supposed to be I think.
After waking up a little late, we got some stuff for breakfast and lunch, and promptly decided that we were taking a bus trip to see kata tjunta today, there was no way we were putting all our leathers on and riding there in 35 degrees. So, we got on an air conditioned bus which took us to kata tjunta (the olgas) where we walked up through a gorge and then drove around uluru before watching the sunset there. Very nice and civilised. We've decided to go on to Alice Springs tomorrow, to try and escape the heat for a night or two at a backpackers. I think we're feeling a little too guilty about all the money we've spent on camels and busses to go all out on a hotel, and everything else here is very expensive too so these past 2 days have been quite a drain on the budget. Oh well.
We nearly ran out of fuel again yesterday on the way in. after paying an absolute fortune (photo below) for fuel at ebeneezer roadhouse, I think I must've just neglected to fill the tank properly. Too busy watching the dollars mount up. We set off, and after stopping for lunch at curtin springs, we accidently set off the wrong way. After 9 ks in the wrong direction it was Bridget who pointed it out (don't know what I was doing, looking for camels or something) and we turned round, adding nearly 20kms to the trip. I still figured it would be fine, but with 50 kms to go to yulara, I had to switch to the reserve, which only has 45kms on it at absolute maximum. I was panicking, already making up stories in my head to try and explain to the racv how 2 days after I had to call them to top up the tank after we ran out I needed them to do the same again. Oh, and this time we had an empty jerry can on the bike too, just to make it even worse. Just then, we caught up to a huge coach, and I just tucked in behind it and stared at it's tail lights for the next 52kms. It actually sucked us along the road all the way to yulara where we managed to roll into shell with a shot glass of fuel left. We were so lucky that coach appeared, because the head wind was fierce and there was no way we would have made it.
The jerry can isn't empty anymore.

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!

Jeremy: Pennies make pounds. Apparently.

We seem to be doing very short days at the moment, a product of having numb bottoms and there being so much to see I think. We keep telling each other about how soon we're going to be having to break into the big days, no more of this 150kms business! It seems crazy, but I guess when there's just nowhere to stop and nothing to see it will be much easier, and we won't be feeling like we're passing by things we should be seeing. It's very hard to work out what's worth seeing and what's not worth the time (or money) but you can't do it all I guess! And all your short distances add up to a big trip in the end anyway.
I've been having problems with my damn sleeping bag, it seems to drop more feathers than it holds in! It is a very nice warm bag, but it is quite old now (25 years or so I think) and I think its having trouble keeping it together. Consequently every night in the tent has been an itchy-eyed, runny-nose-sneezy-blocked-face nightmare until I relented and started taking tablets. Last night's sleep was bliss, breathing through one unblocked nostril! Maybe tonight I'll get two? It seems to be starting to irritate my skin now though too, all these little feathers poking me in the night. Beware all of you the curse of the ageing old (sleeping) bag!
We met a nice bloke at the cinema in beachport last night who gave us some tips on distances and places to stop on the way up to alice springs. It seems like the bike's fuel range should be fine for pretty well all the distances between stops except one which should be very close which is glendambo to coober pedy, a distance of 254kms. As I said, this will be close, but we got 247km out of it a few days ago and part of that was up the huge hill from skene's creek to colac so we should be fine. Good old norman! I'm finding it very hard to fault our 1997 honda shadow ace at the moment, it just hauls along wiyh no complaints. I think 2 people and all our gear is pushing it's limits, but's handling the task at the moment beautifully. 110 kph? Bring it on.
Our careful money counting goes on,  and we seem to be doing very well actually! The odd treat here and there, but mostly we've been sensible. Here's quick pictire of btidget and I on the 772 meter long pier at beachport, (the longest in south australia) what a lovely town!

Jeremy: First night, sorted.

All my fears about Norman the Honda Shadow 750 not being able to.take the strain appear to have been unfounded. It's a really torquey bike, and only in 5th gear up a really steep hill at less the 90kph did it struggle, and even then help was only a down-shift away. The suspension seemed to cope fine as well, with us only hitting the bottom twice and only on very bumpy stretches of road. All of that with Bridget riding pillion, me driving, a completely stuffed gear sack and roll bag on the luggage rack and two completely loaded panniers with sleeping bags strapped to them and everything else (hopefully) that we need for camping for at least 3 weeks. I even fit my pocket trumpet in there! Just having a nice cup of tea in the wye river caravan park now. So, geelong to wye river no problem. It's early days yet, and we haven't been that far really, but so far so good anyway!