June 4th: 41 Mile Bore to Barkley Road House – 112.9 km
Day 234
Initially we intended to have a short 60km day and camp at Frewena Rest Area, but the tap at the rest area was broken. There was a huge tank, on stilts, probably filled with water, but unless I hop over a barbed wire fence and risk draining the thing by monkeying with the pipes, then we would have to keep moving.
Thorny Dragon
We had enough water for a long day but we hadn’t filled all of the water bottles that we brought. Had we stayed, we would have finished that water we carried before the following day so we decided to keep moving. Once again the wind was picking up and daylight was running short. Our legs were still fresh from the previous 2 days rest and we were able to power into the wind at around 13 kph for the next 3 hours. Just as the sun set we arrived at Barkley Homestead.
We were exhausted and so we decided to treat ourselves to a couple of burgers. They were ok, not as nearly as good at Daly Waters. We also splurged and used the washing machine, it would be at least 2 days until we had a clean cloths. Or plan was to finish the next stretch in 2 90km days. We would pass by some spots to get water, top up, continue on and camp in the bush. With this in mind we filled our 23 liters, and prepared to wake up early.
j
Jun 20, 2014 @ 06:14:57
aka Moloch. Your awesome photo deserves a trip to wikipedia. The thorny dragon also features a spiny “false head” on the back of its neck, and the lizard presents this to potential predators by dipping its real head. The females are larger than the males. The thorny dragon’s body is ridged in structure, and this enables the animal to collect water from any part of its body. That water is then conveyed to its mouth. And he can live 20 years.