Received from Jill and Bob on 13 March

we have been travelling for the last week in the real Outback. We drove North from Adelaide up into the Flinders National Park. Wilpena Pound is a huge basin surrounded by red rocky bluffs. We then headed North up the Strezelecki Track about 500 kms on sand and rough stone up to Inniminka. The road surface is a real abrasive tyre wrecker.

Everyone carries 2 spares. The roadside is littered with tyre carcasses- Jill counted 52 tyres in about 30 kms ! These would be mainly truck and trailer tyres, the average 4wd would know they had a puncture and stop before the tyre shredded. We are using BFG's mudgrips which have proven to be very hardy- no punctures so far. Most 4wd's use narrow section Light Truck tryes on split rims.

We came across a broken down Fuel Tanker about 200kms from the nearest Garage. He had snapped a tierod driving into a bull dust hole- which are hard to see. His nearest parts would have to come from Adelaide about a 1000 kms away. We travelled 100kms on roads which had recently been flooded-- they had 100mm of rain in one day in mid January- their first rain for a year. The Cooper River was in flood and all the creek crossings were rough. We carried on to Birdsville and back down the Birdsville Track to Maree and then Coober Pedy.

The distances are something else. 500kms on dirt gravel is a normal days drive. The Heat and the Flies were also very noticeable. Most days temperatures were in the mid to high 30's. As soon as you get out of your truck you are surrounded with very friendly flies hundreds of the buggers- all trying to crawl up your nose or into your ear or mouth. The flie nets hanging off hats are a very popular fashion accessory. Funnily enough all the flies disappear at dusk- thank goodness.

Well thats enough from me Bob and Jill Dickinson