Like flies to ... Manna?!

We were up early for a last walk around White Cliffs before packing up and heading to Broken Hill, choosing a route that included 200km of dirt - cos driving unsealed roads feels more like an adventure (and we like the potential for lizard spotting)!

It was a good choice, with wonderful scenery and a particularly cranky shingleback!

Broken Hill was a quickish stop for groceries, fuel and water - then we continued to Manna Hill, which we'd chosen as our overnight stop. 

There were at least half a million flies when we arrived.  They were small and super-tough, quite undeterred by the 65km wind gusts!

It was at this stage that we realised our fly veils were still packed in Elmer, at home.  Drat!

We had a drink on the verandah of the pub, with Nick doing excellent fly-chi manouevres.  The flies were far hardier than us and it wasn't long before we retreated inside the camper trailer. 

I decided to chef inside where there was more protection from the elements.  

Our meal was quite simple because we had expected to report at the quarantine station when crossing into South Australia, so hadn't bought any fresh produce at Broken Hill.

The wind was a constant 35ish km/hr throughout the night - with very regular gusts of 67 km/hr. On the positive side, we weren't cold!  

Sleep was difficult due to all the flapping canvas and creaking framework. Even though we were awake, neither of us thought to film the more intense periods. Of course I felt sure we'd leave the ground at any moment, like Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz!