Tonight we are at Erldunda which is in the centre of Australia.  There is a caravan park at the back of the resort.   The Resort is only motel rooms,  but I guess 'Resort' sounds better! There is the Service Station, a Restaurant and Bar at the front.  That is Erldunda!  There is also a station by that name, nearby.  It is on the turnoff to Uluru, or as we all know it, Ayers Rock.  We'll be there tomorrow, Thursday!  As we were about to leave Coober Pedy this morning I got a text from brother Smock to say Geraldton had had 44 mls over two days.  Great news!  But we hadn't heard anything from the farm, so decided it was time for a call.  Rang Jase, Nic and the girls and spoke with Soph and Ella before they got on the school bus.  They told us they had 'puddles' so that was good news!  When we spoke with Jase, he said not much inland and while we chatted, Nicole went to check the rain gauge.  Eight and a half mls, so that was music to our ears!  Still worry when you are in the middle of Australia!  "The crops are hanging on pretty well" Jase said. Tonight we went down to have a drink in the Bar during 'Happy Hour' and ended up staying for dinner!  Much better than coming back and making the rissoles!   Tomorrow night will be rissoles and veges.    So now we can say "We've dined a the Centre of the Centre of Australia".  That is the slogan that was on the menu.We've travelled about 460 kms from Coober Pedy today.  Once again on the Stuart Highway.  At times we've been beside the 'Ghan' railway line.  Shame we weren't lucky enough to see the 'Ghan' making it's way to Darwin or Adelaide!   The countryside has changed many times.  It was so flat all the way to the horizon, on either side of the road at times.  There was not much for the cattle to eat either.  Not that we saw any cattle whilst travelling through that country.  Then the countryside became very similar to the north of WA, with much more growth.  As we got closer to the S.A./Northern Territory border it became quite rocky.  And at times the road was very straight!  There are not too many towns out here in Central Australia, just a roadhouse every so often.   We had morning tea at Cadney Homestead.  Quite a nice Roadhouse,  Restaurant and Bar.  Even had some Pokies!  The sign said it was the 'Gateway to the Painted Desert'.  On the HEMA map the 'Painted Desert' goes out to Oodnadatta and back to Marla.  By the time we left Cadney Homestead there were 15 caravans parked there.  The next stop was Marla for fuel and one felt like they had arrived at an Oasis, after being in Coober Pedy for 3 days.  There was lawn and trees and lovely bougainvillea's!  And the sprinkler was going on the lawn in the caravan park area.  Marla was officially declared a town in 1982 and has a bar, supermarket and post office.  All at the service station.  We had lunch at the Tarcoonyinna Rest Area.  There was a stone monument that should have told us a little more about the name, but the plaque had been removed.  Damn vandalism!   There were three couples from S.A. there who were travelling together.  They were going to Katherine and then over to W.A. and right down to the bottom and back home in six weeks.   Boy!  They can't be going to stop anywhere for long!  Soon after lunch we passed the Agnas Rest Area and that looks a nice one to put in your favourites of Wiki Camps.  It's far enough off the road, a reasonable size and it is beside the Agnas Creek, which actually had water in it.We had to have the photo shoot at the rest area on the border.  Huge parking area and a very popular spot as one would imagine.  Surely everyone stops here!  Especially if it is your first trip on the Stuart Highway.

Just over the border was the Kulgera Roadhouse and there is a Police Station and camping area there.  Then 70 kms further up the Stuart Highway is Erldunda.  Nothing more to blog about.  The park has plenty of drive through sites, water and power.  A bit of grass on the sites, plenty of trees and the cost is $32.00 a night.  They've got a 'BIG Echidna' and a 'BIG Lizard' and some 'Emus'.  Good internet service, but no TV.  And the park is pretty full tonight........... 18 photos