Day 1 - "Any damn fool can be uncomfortable"

So said my wise old uncle Harry when I was 14 years old. We were setting up our sleeping arrangements in the garage of a holiday home in Kerry and I was trying to skimp. I have kept renewing my acquaintance with that saying ever since.

Dell and I started planning our series of holidays round Australia about five years ago. The only barrier to setting out had been renovating our house, learning how to rejuvenate our bush and a couple of hundred year floods that destroyed part of our dam.

We finally set of on 1 June 2010 about three hours after our planned time. Loading the car for real took a whole lot longer that we anticipated. The battery terminals for our second battery were not a matching pair. The one I tested was a tight fit. The second terminal was so sloppy it would not stay on. Therefore leave nothing to an assumption. Test everything you will use. Too late to find a fault when you are on the Birdsville track.

First stop was at Possum Park eighteen km north of Miles. It is an old WWII magazine or munitions dump. The static accommodation included underground bunkers and railway carriages. The owner, Julie, was very welcoming and friendly. We were able to camp at the edge of the grounds in an area of bush. Arriving late in the day as the light was fading we discovered the car was not as conveniently packed as we had imagined. We finally got everything erected and most of our comforts to hand. We were glad we had included a leaf rake in our kit because there were lots of small branches to clear before we erected our tent.

We felt a bit tired so used the central bbq to cook sausage with slices of potato and carrot. We probably won’t repeat that particular recipe. The other campers were very friendly. Probably interested to see what the new arrivals with new kit would do next. I think we will put some wear marks on our kit for the next trip. The shower and toilet block were clean and there was always lots of hot water. The site also supplied rain water or bore water.

It was a cool night but our jumbo Lawson bags with liners, 10cm mattresses and stretcher bed setup was warm and comfortable. We had an excellent night’s sleep.