Sunday 18th July - Tanami Road - Sangsters Bore to Charley Creek

Jet lag; at least that’s what it felt like this morning. Having crossed the border into the Northern Territories we’ve also changed time zone, losing 1.5 hours. We set the alarm for 6.30am, half an hour later than normal, but failed to get out of bed for another hour. Our excuse was that it was cold and dark outside as the sun does not heed time zone changes and still rose as accustomed. At least the evenings are now lighter; 6:00pm and the sun is still above the horizon (but only just). SPOT

The highlights of today were a swarm of locusts as we were looking for a suitable bush camping spot (we didn’t camp near them), and some Aboriginal art shopping. For the art, we first called into the Warlukurlangu Artists Group at Yuendumu, only to find it shut as we forgot it was Sunday. It did give us a glimpse into an Aboriginal community, which I’m afraid to say wasn’t that positive. Unkempt houses, derelict cars, litter scattered everywhere, naked toddlers wandering around unsupervised and a general sense of neglect. I’m not sure if the sign on the outskirts of town is a good or bad thing either, there are obviously many deep seated issues to be resolved.

Our second art stop was at the Tilmouth Well Roadhouse which has a gallery for local artists, and prices are reputed to be 60% less than in Alice Springs. After an hour mulling things over we came away with four very reasonably priced paintings, although two were definitely Anne’s choice (I’m sure I’ll grow to love them!). SPOT

As for the locusts, we had one stowaway trying to hide in the mud with which Anne decorated the front of the Land Rover after going through a puddle too enthusiastically. Hopefully the rest of the swarm are long gone by now...