10th May - Coober Pedy to Erldunda

Though the motel room was small ... not even a kitten could be swung it was quite comfortable. All the budget rooms seemed to have been booked by Ulyssians as the picture below will attest.

Those are our bikes in front. We had a continental breakfast at the motel and then hit the road about 9am. It was cool but clear and sunny. On the way out of Coober Pedy you pass miles of mullock heaps from the opal mining. It looks like a moonscape.

The countryside was flat and pretty uninteresting and we refueled at Marla some 230kms north of Coober Pedy. After that we came upon a few hills so we had to stop and take photo.

This is Colin modelling his new off road riding kit..... doesn't he look very smart? Notice the feeble excuse for a hill in the background!!!

There are quite a number of road trains thundering up and down the highway. They are so big they create a bow wave that nearly knocks you off your bike.

We crossed the Northern Territory border just south of the Kulgera roadhouse where it is mandatory to get off your bike and have a photo.

The Kulgera roadhouse was under new management and it showed as there was no food in the Bain Marie or sarnies in the display. We ordered a hamburger which turned out surprisingly well. At the roadhouse we met a couple of young guys who were riding Suzuki DR650s like Colin's. They were covered in mud and so were the riders. They had come down the track from Finke which had taken a fair bit of rain over the past few days and nearly drowned the bikes. They were making a movie of their trip with the help of a support truck.
We got to Erldunda Desert Oaks Motel - Caravan Park (roadhouse) about 4.30pm. The room is very comfortable compared with some of the places we have stayed. We did some laundry as we couldn't keep our dirty clothes under control. Almost civilised now and smelling sweetly. We're off to Uluru (Ayers Rock) tomorrow. It is only 250kms so should get there by lunchtime.