Well here we are again and heading even further north into the land of the unknown and its getting very warm indeed. The car is now handling the heat a whole lot better since I put a tropical fan onto the cooling system, its fortunate I brought it with me this time. It is something I was given in Thailand the last time I drove around the world in this car. Now that we have driven as far as I wanted along the East coast to Townsville it was then time to turn left and head inland, still driving on the highway on route one.
   
    We left early from the Townsville camp site and as soon as we were just half way out of town the car suddenly came to a halt. Well it could only be one of two things that could possibly be wrong, one being wet electrics and as there hasn't been any rain for about the last six months it could only be the other which was fuel and as I had not yet run out of fuel it must have been a problem with the pump or a block, so as I put my hand down to turn off the fuel pump at the switch it very nearly cooked my hand and on closer inspection the wires were actually melted so I quickly pulled the wires off the switch to isolate the problem. I jumped out of the car and immediately went to the rear and opened the boot as the pump wires run from the pump through the boot and into the car itself. I found that the water container which should hold five gallons was now about only two pints full and all the water had cascaded out of the boot over the pump and was shorting out the wires which were by now nothing more than bare copper, so I had my work cut out that morning putting in new wires. Then we were back on the road once again. Once we were out of the town and on the road time began to go by very quickly and although the roads are not the best I have seen they are still fairly good. As the state speed limit is only 100Kph I could only do that but any faster and the car would have suffered as there are a lot of pot holes and the whith of some roads are not all that wide. I even managed to overtake one road train which was very slow and I got board sitting behind him. Later on I stopped to grab a couple of ice creams as it was getting very hot and also to allow the car to cool down a little by hosing the engine and radiators with cool water, then the road train pulled in and I went over to ask him why he was driving so slowly, he smiled and explained that the three trailers all containing BP fuel weighed a staggering one hundred tonnes. Well at least that explained why he was so slow, I shall never never argue with one again and if I ever get the opportunity to overtake one again then I will be very courteous. The end trailer seems to swing in and out by some three feet each way on there own accord. By the end of that day we got to a town called Richmond which is almost right in the middle of no where and the site was almost baron of grass but at least there were trees under which we were able to pitch the tent and shelter from the late afternoon sun. We were told this area had great fossil fields and so later on before it got too dark we went off for a walk and we actually found some small shells also this area is known for its Moon stones which are or should I say were large rocks which tumbled over and over during an age long forgotten and became round, the name Moon Stone I think must come from the Aboriginal saying. The sad thing is we didn't find any and a local said its very doubtful too.

   
    Next morning we set out bright and early which is a nice cool period and the car likes it that way. I was told the roads would become narrow and as I drove though only a short time the road almost vanished and we were on a dirt road, I thought this was a little strange and I stopped and asked another driver heading the other way if this was the correct road but unfortunately it was not so I turned the car around. The rocks all around us looked very interesting so I pulled in and we took a look around, we were actually looking for these elusive moon stones. Then James found one which wasnt exactly round but never the less a Moon stone and then I found one. Two each by the time we were ready to leave. We went back into town and got some supplies for the day and were soon on the correct road again, I pulled in to buy petrol and talked to the attendant who disappeared for a while then returned with a Moon stone as big as a medicine ball and about as heavy. He said I could keep it and although its a bit heavy I didnt want to disappoint him so I put it in the boot. I still have it and would love to take it home with me but it just might be too much to carry. This day was a long and hot one and the scenery was at times very spectacular with great roaming planes of long golden grass and not too many trees which were by now quite short I suppose to conserve energy in the intense heat. The dust on the roads edge was a dark red and by the end of each day it was just about everywhere around the car us and the food. We only stopped a couple of times during the day and once pulled in at a service station to stock up with ice and to cool the car. By the end of the day we got to a big town called Mount Isa and just outside were some hills which required me to change down from top to second or third gear also the car began to sound a little rough so when I parked in the site and got the camp all sorted out I took a look at the engine, the noise was like a popping from the carburettor and I had my suspicions about the head gasket but, at that time I had no compression tester so I had to wait until the next morning before I could go out to the local car spares shop. A soon as I bought a tester I went outside to check all the cylinders and my suspicions were confirmed, it was the head gasket which was blowing through numbers one and three cylinders, so I then took the car back to the site and immediately booked in for another night and sort permission to work on the engine. To remove the head and replace the gasket plus do a whole host of other jobs took me the best part of the day and of course with the help of another guy Jimmy who helped me all day.

   
    I took the car out for a test drive and all was well if not better than before and so I was happy once again and prepared the car to leave the next morning. That evening we had a few beers and a good meal then to bed for an early start.
   
    Next morning we were on the road as usual and making very good progress although the roads at first were a lot worse than before and we were now on roads that were in fact single track lanes so each time I saw a lorry I pulled in to let it go passed or pulled off the road altogether to let them overtake us this meant going onto the red dusty side and the dust would fill the car as we came to a halt. By twelve oclock the sun was almost at its highest and the temperature got up to 42°c by mid afternoon. Fortunately for us this days drive was not too long and we got to the Berkly Homestead camp ground at around 3.oclock in the afternoon. This is even more into the land of never never and the whole place is just one big dust bowl and a few trees but, the added bonus were the Parrots flying around us and resting in the trees above where we were pitched and, sometimes twenty at a time.
   
    I did all my washing there and got the car filled up with petrol and some oil before we both hit the sack, we even listened to home and away on the radio as the little television I have would not pick up a picture. Its not my first choice of program but at least it was better than listening to Parrots all night up above.
   
    Next day we were up before the sun had risen and we got the camp all set away by about seven and were away shortly after. I realised almost straight away that the car liked the cool morning air and was soon happy to be jogging along at around 120 Kph, and I kept it like that almost all day, we stopped to fill the car up again as the next stop for fuel was over 250K away and I defiantly did not want to run out of fuel in the middle of never never land. We also decided to have a late snack so James cooked up some bacon which was slapped inside two pieces of bread, its a neat idea, I wonder if there has ever been a name given for this neat trick. At least it stops ones fingers getting covered in oil. Anyway by this time I had driven some 250 miles and the time was still only 11.30am which really surprised me that we had covered so much ground in a short time.
   
    After our snack we drove on and during this time a couple of very long road trains went past us on the opposite side of the road "thank goodness" but the draft they created was enough to push the car about six feet across the road and then I herd an almighty thud and banging, my first reaction after hitting the breaks was to look in the mirror, I know it should have been the other way around but never mind, I saw the Satellite aerial hanging from the coax. As soon as we stopped I jumped out of the car and saw the Satellite aerial about twenty feet away all in pieces and the coax hanging from the roof. This was serious and I was defiantly not too happy. I tried to repair it on the spot but it would take a miracle to do so I gave up and threw it into the back of the car and continued to drive. I decided to carry on as the time was still early and we actually arrived in Katherine "and yes that is the correct spelling Alan !" at around 5.15pm and found a great camp site called Shady Lane Caravan Park which really is a tropical paradise. Next thing I did was to phone Thrane&thrane to ask them if it would be possible to get another aerial for the phone and after a while I was given a contact John OTool in Sydney who has arranged to send by air mail a new aerial all the way to Katherine by over night courier. We have now been staying here at Shady Lane for three nights and are due to leave tomorrow if all goes well and start our third stage of the Australia tour and head to the west coast.