Birdsville

We arrived in Birdsville two days earlier than we had planned. This was brought about because the Cordillo Downs and Arrabury roads heading north from Innamincka were still closed from last weeks rain.

These road closures forced us north towards Windorah via the bitumen. We then joined the Birdsville Development Road 118 west of Windorah where the single lane bitumen ended. The remaining 261 km of dirt into Birdsville was not affected by the previous week's rain.

Our hot water heater stopped working four days ago. In the meantime, we have been boiling water on the stove and washing by having a sponge bath in the shower cubicle. 
I used a pin that I inserted into the small hole where the gas enters the flue, but this didn't clear the blockage. As a last resort, I had a needle attachment in my bag of tricks that are used to blow up footballs/basketballs. This fitted neatly into my compressor hose and I was able to clear what must have been dust stuck in the gas line. End result happy wife is a happy life.

We are currently camped on the town common about 1.5 km south of town. Water taps are dotted throughout this area and there is a dump point nearby. There are probably about forty vans currently camped here with people arriving each day. 
The caravan park still has vacant spots but I'm sure this will fill in the coming days.

So our days here have been spent reading, relaxing, walking into town each day and watching the new arrivals enter from the south.