As was decided the night before, the alarm went off at 5.00am. All that was left to do was to visit the loo, shut the windows on the caravan, grab the iced coffee from the fridge, disconnect the power and of course check the tyres were all still inflated, before we were out of there promptly at 5.15am. All was quiet in the caravan park. Even the wind was quiet. We exited as quietly as we could.
We hardly ever drive during the dark hours, so this was a rare experience for us. A few stars sparkled in the sky. The air was still, belying what was soon to descend upon the region. There was an absence of wildlife. We had expected to see the odd kangaroo dazzled by the spot lights. The roads were largely deserted except for a few other ambitious people like us. We thought we might see the odd caravan making an early start so as to avoid the winds, however there were none.
We were treated to breaking dawn and then what seemed a long time later, sunrise. As we chewed up the miles and the sun rose higher in the sky,
the air began to move. By the time we pulled in to the Glendambo Caravan Park at 8.30am it was already building and quite gusty at times. We were glad to be there.
You were supposed to check in before proceeding to the caravan park but the office wasnt open until 9 so we took the liberty of finding a site and connecting to power.
Time for breakfast. On his shopping expedition in Coober Pedy the day before, Greg had spotted some tantalising looking spinach and feta tarts which could serve as breakfast either while on the road or once we arrived. Nuked for 60 seconds and washed down with a coffee, these were pretty awesome. Well spotted Greg!
The remaining 2 caravans departed so we were all alone hunkered down behind some bushes hoping for a little protection from the wind. As the day wore on the wind got stronger and stronger, gustier and gustier, and ladened with more and more dust. Opening the door to go outside was treacherous. You had to hang on firmly to the door as it could easily have been ripped from your hands. We didnt need to add a broken
door to our list of adventures. The temperature was rising too. We were thankful that 240v meant we could use the air conditioner.
There isnt much to do in Glendambo even on the best of days, but we did manage to catch up on a bit of missed shut eye and because we had power and connectivity a lot of blogs, plus a bit of reading and a few video games. Still the wind grew stronger.
About 4.30 we ventured over to the motel bar for a drink and game of pool. By this time vans were starting to pull in. At midday we were still the only ones and we had watched in dismay as many had gone sailing past on the highway. Mad idiots! A few others joined us for a drink and to calm their jittery nerves after a somewhat horrendous drive from sometimes not that far away.
Around 5.30 the wind seemed to drop a bit as did the temperature. Then all of a sudden, the wind direction changed and blew back with vengeance, albeit for a relatively short time.
By bed time, the wind had clamed a bit again and the temperature had dropped a lot so we were able to enjoy a relatively quiet, cool and peaceful nights sleep.
