World Solar Challenge In Australia - Oct 2011 - Rachel Batzer

Monday October 10th

2011-10-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

Offto Katherine Gorge which we briefly visited last race. We were enchanted and wanted to see more thistime than our 30 minute hike had allowed. Driving in, bush fires were the main stay of the landscaping.

We choose to do the tourist thing and take a boat ride up into thefirst 2 gorges, there are 13 gorges in all.

During the dry season they are broken up by rock dams. During the wet season the water can rise 12meters and flow at 60-70 knots…yes I did say knots. Consider that the Rogue River flows about 10knots on the average rapid.

One of many trees well suited to arid life.

When the water flow connects the gorges the “Salties” (Salt Water Crocodiles)come into the gorge. They have traps tocapture them and make the waters safe for swimming. They leave the “Freshies” (fresh water crocodiles)since they only eat small fish and birds. Salties get up to 7 meters or more, Freshiesjust up to 2 or 3 meters.

Kookaburra, happy to steel food if you let it.

Wallabies are accustomed to humans and are willing to lets us getclose. The babies are great fun towatch, leaning out of the pouch just enough to graze and have a look around orthrashing around all tucked inside.

Drove just 700 kilometers today Dunmarra to Darwin. On arrival to Darwin we headed straight tothe track and went to work. Job numberone was applying the large sponsor stickers to the trailer…it takes a crew toget them on straight without wrinkles everywhere.

Sunday, October 9th

2011-10-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 9^th. Left Uluru. The original plan wasto tour Kings Canyon National Park taking the “unsealed” (dirt track) to AliceSprings. A local advised against thisdue to the bush fires that have burned through that area. And the guide book said only a heavy duty 4wheel drive should attempt the unsealed road and to expect heavycorrugation. After our experience in theFlinder’s Range with the dirt track, we decided to keep to the “sealed” (paved)roads. Our four wheel drive has lowclearance and seems to tend toward 4 wheel drive. It was just as well since we needed to getsome 2000 more kilometers behind us if we are to be in Darwin on Tuesdaymorning.

Traveling the Stewart Highway is pretty much a straight shot with aslight bend every 10 to 20 kilometers to keep the drivers attention. It was completed just in 1987. They tell the story about the road superintendentArt Baker who was known for his bushman skills. He would get a few kilometers ahead of the road crew, light a bonfire ofold tires, giving the bulldozer operator something to aim for making the roughcut and the grader would follow to “tidy up a bit”. Each year there are accidents and deaths fromforeign drivers forgetting which side of the road they’re supposed toinhabit. The long empty stretches of theroad lend to lapses…so an occasional sign is the answer?

The Stuart Highway is also infamous for the road trains. These are the triple trailers we have on the interstate except that each of their trailers are twice the length of one of ours. Whether they are passing you coming from ahead or behind, they generate a well felt air push.

This year we came across the old style road train. Much slower, less laden and it has no problem with wet roads.

One of our duties as we head north on the race route is to do a bit of reconnaissance. Things like weather, road conditions and possible camps. Our first few days had such heavy dark cloud cover it could make solar collection interesting. We also had a lot of steady rain something we had none of last race.

Now further up north we are running into a lot of smoke from all the fires. Since before Alice Springs both sides of the highway have been or are actively burning. Sometimes the burns go on for many kilometers without a break…finding a camp site could prove tough. We are required to stop each night promptly at 5 PM give or take only 5 minutes.

Road conditions change drastically, in places they are what we expect asphalt to be, then in the blink of an eye, they become extremely rough, having been covered with “chip seal” essentially tar and three quarter minus rock. The solar car has thin tires meant to reduce friction losses, they don’t take kindly to rough and sharp pavement. Flat tires are an issue of safety as well as time lost.

Between the clouds, rain, smoke and burning the race could have some real challenges.

The rental car we have is proving to have a short range, something of a problem when fuel stops are infrequent. Seems the gauge is often close to “E”. We had hoped to make it to a fuel stop at Tennant Creek but were a few liters short so we pulled into Wycliffe Well.

They claim that UFO’s fly over on a regular basis. I can see why they don’t stop since the fuel was $7.50 a gallon. We put just enough in to get us to Tennant Creek where we found the cheapest gas since Adelaide at $6.00 a gallon.

Stopped by the Devil’s Marbles just at sunset.

This was one of our favorite stops last trip. Actually it was our only “tourist” type stop on the Stuart Highway as we raced south.

Like before we only had time for a short exploratory visit. It was fun to revisit my post from two yearsago.

All along the road we saw what looked like apples and watermelons. We finally stopped to have a closer look.

The desert was a bloom and producing wildly.

We managed to fly along at 140 KPH throughout the day but once night hit, we slowed to 100 KPH. The kangaroos have an odd inclination to run alongside a car and without warning dart in front of the vehicle. There are also free ranging cows, dingoes and assorted large birds all of which can cause fatal accidents if hit. And the little critters that won’t hurt us, don’t appreciate our flattening them and we don’t like it much either.

We counted 1300 kilometers good enough for the days run, ending up in Dunmarra a small road house. These are found all along the highway as “all in one” stops with the all important fuel, food, coffee, showers, camping and etc.

Saturday October 8th

2011-10-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

Aussie camping. The tent sits ontop of the truck…used for real Outback touring. Think the crawly things have more trouble climbing the ladder to getinside.

We headed back to Uluru to Mititjulu water hole. Annette saw it the night before after we hadseparated and knew I shouldn’t miss it. Itmade for a quiet picturesque breakfast setting on one the many artistic benchesyou see here.

Just 50 km from Uluru is Kata Tjuta (The Olga’s) another must see. Thename means many head which describes it perfectly. It is just as awe inspiring.

We did the 2 mile Walpa Gorge walk and thelonger Valley of the Wind.

Uluru isthought to be a single rock forced up by geologic folding. Kata Tjuta was likely many rocks, compressedcomposite then folded and pushed up creating the huge bolder appearance of Katain contrast to Uluru a single intact stone head.

The wild life warning signs are different here. Instead of the usual deer or elk as we'd see, you get the Kangaroo or lizard. We did see lizards on the Olga trails.

The beautiful Zebra Finches flit about in large groups nesting low in the trees.

We saw sunset on Kata Jtuta then headed backfor another meal. Same menu for us andditto on the Ibuprofen, shower and bed.

Friday October 7th

2011-10-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

One of the must see places in Australia is Ayers Rock. It’s one of the most recognizable landscapes in the world. The land was given back to the aboriginal peoples who changed its’ name back to the original Uluru. There are over a half million visitors a year but no overnight accommodations in the park. A nearby well developed service village provides all needs for the visitors. It has become the 4^th largest city in the Northern Territories. There are campgrounds available for the budget travelers since the hotel rooms are $400+ a night. It was a good night to break out the tent.

I’ve seen plenty of postcards of Uluru and was sure that the red hue was digitally enhanced. As we approached the park entrance in the distance we could see the red rusted mound protruding from the desert floor. It didn’t require any color enhancement.

Our first stop was the well designed cultural center that tries to educate the visitor how sacred the land is to aboriginal people. They discourage climbing Uluru or removing any rocks from the park. According to the local story of “the sorry rocks” everyday there is a package from a guilty tourist mailing back a souvenir rock with a letter of apology for the misdeed. Some feel guilty while others feel it has brought them bad luck and want to return the rocks to change their luck.

Parked the car where the climbing route starts. Despite the park literature asking people not to climb, there was a steady line heading up Uluru. The aboriginals see it something akin to climbing up the Lincoln Memorial and sitting on Lincolns head. Interestingly, in their culture only men are allowed to climb. They have many strict divisions of male and female roles.

We got a late start on our hike around Uluru. It’s hard to describe or take a photo to capture. Around every corner is another stunning view of the red rock cathedral.

With recent rains everything was in bloom and pools of water graced the edge of the rock base. Plenty of birds and lizards, but few pesky flies. It’s hard to frame a picture because of the scale but that didn’t stop me from trying. Nothing like digital photography.

It’s about 7 miles around, my legs were done at 3½ and near dusk. Annette continued on while I hitched a ride from a passing car. It was full dark when Annette got back to the car. Her last km was hurried along after she saw 2 dingoes (wild dogs) racing by behind her. It was a three quarter moon so plenty of light to see and be seen by the dingoes. It also lighted the way for the last of the climbers coming down off the rock.

The resort was hopping when we dropped in to find a meal. Live music, big screen, pool table, and hard working bar crew. It is known for its Outback menu, any kind of meat including emu, kangaroo, alligator and crocodile. We had pizza with pumpkin, tomato, basil and feta. Next was Ibuprofen, shower and bed.

Thursday October 6th Kulgera

2011-10-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

Thursday night October 6^th we slipped into Kulgera Roadhouse. This is a well know Stuart Highway truck stop between the Northern Territories and South Australia. Everything is rustic, the bar, the restaurant, the rooms.

But we didn’t complain since we got the last room till Alice Springs and dinner was hot, served by the usual friendly Aussie. We’ll be back here too for a 30 minute required stop on the solar race.

2011-10-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night October 5^th we arrived in Coober Pedy the world’s largest Opal mining area. It has the feel of a frontier town surrounded by a lunar landscape. It’s a strange town of 3000 interesting and colorful residents where half live underground to escape the extreme

summer heat and winter cold. It was the film location of Mad Max 3 and other end of the world science fiction flicks because it looks like it.

Annette made reservations to stay at the Desert Cave Hotel.

Nice room but not sure of the cave part until we toured the town and saw how the locals dug into the hillsides creating caves that opened to street level. They then build the face front wall with an entry door and windows leaving the rest of the ”house” as cavern.

We visited a Greek Orthodox church that was completely underground except for the front door and stain glass windows.

There seems to be no science to opal mining. Just throw your hat and start digging where it falls. The mining equipment looks home built, but that’s how it’s done. Every other shop was selling discount opals or places for tourists to “noodle” …look for opals in the tailings of mines.

We’ll be back soon since this is a required 30 minute stop on the solar race.

2011-10-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

Tuesday October 4^th, we left early heading north to the Flinders Range to see the natural amphitheater at Wilpena Pound. Our plan was to travel one of the early Outback Tracks (dirt road) through the Flinder’s Range, on to Eyre Lake then to Coober Pedy. It has been unseasonably wet this year which has allowed Eyre Lake to fill for the first time in 36 years and Peter thought the bird viewing would be good.

The area had large sheep stations in the mid 1800’s but declined due to over grazing and repeated droughts as well as floods. It is said that Australia was built on the back of sheep. We stopped at the ruins of the large Kanyaka station which had well over 200,000 head of sheep. These early pastoralist leased the land and the banks determined and maximized the sheep production without understanding the effects of overgrazing and how fragile the land was. Eventually this era ended but the land is still recovering.

Rain was misting or lightly falling all day as we headed north. We pulled over at Rawnsley Park, a sheep station turned dude ranch. It was a short drive off the main road on a dirt track. It really started to rain that night, dropping 2 cm of rain (not much by our standards). The next morning we learned the road north of Flinder’s Range Park was not a “bitriment” surface (asphalt) and would be closed. They warned us that if you get stuck it’s a $1000 fine per wheel to get pulled out. They pleaded their case saying that there wasn’t enough money to repair the dirt tracks of the deep ruts that happen when people drive on them wet and the roads become treacherous. After driving the short dirt track back out to the main bitriment road, we were believers. Our four wheel drive slid around as if we were on sheet ice and easily sunk in 2+ inches as we drove. We were grateful to be back on pavement and lost all illusions that the dirt tracks “weren’t really all that bad as they say”. We decided to visit the park and then make a tactical retreat to Port Augusta to continue to Cooper Pedy on the Stuart Highway.

We enjoyed our walk to the amphitheater though with the low clouds little was visible of the massive rock landscaping.

The amphitheater was used as a large sheep station for a short time till Mother Nature had her way with drought followed by flood.

Another legacy of early land use, the park is currently trying to contend with the large populations of feral goats, rabbits and foxes through extermination. 100,000 goats so far and still more to go.

We enjoyed the smaller things not obscured by the clouds like the dramatic gum trees, emus and kangaroos.

Annette even found a huge Huntsman spider beneath the bark of a gum tree.

On the way back to Port Augusta we passed the old steam engine train that previously hauled wool and now hauls tourists.

2011-10-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

In 2009 we picked up the solar car and trailer in Sydney and hauled it to Darwin. This time Chopper Del Sol was air freighted to Darwin. We are picking up one of the escort rental cars in Adelaide and driving the race course in reverse “Up the Stewart Highway” joining the MIT team in Darwin. We are hoping to stop and see a couple things on our way north that last time we drove by a 100 klips an hour.

We arrived Monday Oct 3rd, a holiday for Aussie's. Our first night in Adelaide was as guests of our friends Peter and Anne Milne, enjoying more fine Australian wine.

2011-10-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

And so we return to 2011. Saturday October 1st is the last day to get our day jobs organized and the house pets ready for our 3 week absence. It has been long hours on little sleep with lots of coffee but we are as ready as we are going to be.

The morning started at first light, heading out to the Applegate Valley to pick up 3 ton of alfalfa for our pet horses, Cassie and Bubba. Handling 3-wire, 120# bales, is a good way to start the day. The dozen or so Koi fish will be fine though they think they are always under fed even when we are home. Blackie and Hector, our cats have a month supply of their favorite canned food. Though Hector is not sure how he is going to work the can opener while we are gone.

The bags are packed, just 1 ½ pounds short of our maximum 200 pounds allowed. We brought enough for 16 people to camp in the Outback including the kitchen sink, stove, tables and toilet. It looks like a lot of gear but is less than two years ago when we weren’t sure what to expect and the team was on a tight budget.

This flying still is amazing to me. I understand the engineering of wing lift and engine trust but when you look at a 747 and think about how something this big gets off the ground…

We walk into a metal tube that weighs 50 tons and in a short time; walk out on the other side of the earth. Now it only took 25000 gallons crude oil to get us here but that’s another story. I guess the world is not that big after all.

We arrived in Adelaide on time with all luggage present and accounted for.

2011-09-25T00:09:00.001-07:00

We are headed off on our next adventure, taking us back to Australia for the 2011 World Solar Challenge. The blog from the 2009 race was never finished because during the race internet access was limited and when there was access the whole team was vying for it. Once home, life ran away. This year I am better prepared for the race and have access to my own computer so we shall see how I do.

Getting caught up on the 2009 race would be a good place to start the 2011 blog. The MIT team finished 2^nd in their class and 5^th place overall. The rules used in the race had two different classification of cars based on the type of solar array. Out of 30 cars in the race, 7 entries had gallium-arsenate which produce 20 % more power than silicone but at a premium cost prohibitive to teams with less than million dollar budgets. This year gallium arrays are allowed fewer square feet of cells, leveling the playing field and keeping all cars in one class. MIT will again have a silicon array.

The Eleanor at the finish line in Adelaide.
The first three teams to finish used gallium arrays. MIT ran a close race finishing just behind University of New South Wales who was 1st in their class (4^th overall). The ceremonial finish is a grand affair with each car driving to Queen Victoria Square at the center of Adelaide.

Everyone is all smiles for the team photograph after the tradition

Taking a well deserved plunge into Queen Victoria Square Fountain

In Adelaide, we were hosted by the Rotary Club of Burnside. We were very fortunate for their help with housing for the team. Club President David Dewar even took the team out for a fine dinner at his son’s hotel.

Andy and David exchanging Rotary flags.

We stayed with Rotarian’s Peter and Anne Milne at their lovely home and quickly became friends. This area is the “Napa Valley” of Australia so evenings were spent sharing conversation, food and tasting some of Australia’s best.

One of the must sees is Kangaroo Island which is just a short flight off the coast. This is a unique island because its geographical isolation has allowed native wildlife to thrive. Some of the mainland threatened species like koalas, platypus, and ringtail possums are protected here though threatened by feral cats. One local farmer figured how to solve the problem with feral cats while providing a unique gift for the person who has everything

We also took in the coastal beaches to see the sea lion colony and dramatic rock outcroppings.

A highlight was a native bird demonstration at which Annette got to hold a Kumondee (picture)

Once home again in Jacksonville, it took a few weeks to recover and a year to develop amnesia about how hard we worked. And so that brings us back again to the 2011 World Solar Challenge.

Devil Marbles

2009-12-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

Pete, the safety officer had told us to make sure we stopped by Devil Marbles.It was right off the road and we had gotten ahead of the race car and took a moment to stop. We had fun seeing what we could and playing on the rock and taking picture. Got Annette to pose holding the rock just right. It a great place to spend stop but we re behind the car now and wouldn't catch up till the end of the day.

2009-12-11T22:03:00.000-08:00

We have been traveling in the Northern Territory and were always fascinated by the termite mounds that we drove by. They came in all shapes, sizes and colors.there are 2600 species of termites in the world and Australia has over 350 types in Australia There were just fields of 2' tall slender mound that were 5' on center that looked like.chess pieces. A local tells us that if they get much bigger you need a tractor to knock them over and you can climb all over them with out bothering anything. The large ones are Cathedral that are incredible large and solid. It wasn't easy to climb in shorts but I had to try.

Monday Oct 26th

2009-11-12T21:57:00.000-08:00

Morning starts before sunrise with getting the array set up for the morning charge. Breakfast is laid out with something for everyone. Lunch set up follows with everyone making their own. We hear stories of the last race where they lived on pop tarts and PB & J's. Everyone seems happy to have good food.

The array had to be walked over to the starting point while still being charged. It was a bit tough trying to get 6 engineers to agree on the best way to move the awkward array. We had our 30min stop still to complete so we were 45min behind Team Twente. We reconnected the array to the car and were off.

Sunday Oct 25th

2009-11-12T21:48:00.000-08:00

Sunday October 25th everyone is up early. The car needs to be at the city center for the opening ceremonies. It was great fun with the speeches while the band played. The starting flag was waved for each car about 1 min. apart. The cars quickly merged with city traffic leading to the Stewart Hwy.

Annette and I enjoyed the start but left to finish packing the now empty trailer and get checked out of the hotel. It was a lot of work but we finally got on the road two hours behind. We needed to catch up. With pulling a trailer and traffic, we had to put the hammer down.

This is racing and anything can happen and usually right at the start. The Bochum team from Germany was stopped because their lead car was totaled by a rental car being driven by Stanford parents who were following their team.

Michigan State and Tokai University

We went by several teams with flat tires and passed over 30 teams before the end of the day. Finally caught up with Eleanor by 3:30 shortly before getting to our Control stop at Dunmarra. A Control stop is a required 30 minute rest period. There is one about every 300 km.
We were right behind Team Twente that had arrived 20 min. earlier.

This was a good place to stop. Showers, bathrooms and picnic tables were great for our first night in the outback. A good first day with everybody in great spirits since we were in 5th place with Team Twenty in our sights.

There are 7 teams in the race that have the gallium type array that produce 20% more power than our silicone array. They are incredibly expensive and only afforded by teams with 7 figure budgets.

Annette made dinner with the team eating in shifts. Some working on the car, others setting the array to catch the last of the days sunshine, while the rest were getting ready for bed. The night sky was incredible but little star gazing was done as sleep comes quickly when tired bodies climb into sleeping bags.

Time Trials

2009-11-12T21:18:00.000-08:00

Next event was the time trials that set the starting order. This is an anxious moment for the team. There are vivid memories of watching their car flip over in the last race time trials, 4 years ago. The team walks with the car as it takes it turn on the track.

Eleanor in the corners with the media watching.

Wisely we finished 14th knowing that it makes little difference in a 3000km race and all the cars will start within 30 min. of each other. All breathed a little easier when Fiona finished her lap. Good job Fiona.

This is the brake test.

These are some of the other cars. Very unique designs.

This is Team Twente from Netherlands. This is a very interesting design that has a tilting array and solar concentrating lenses. This was a beautiful car that had a lot of crowd appeal.
Stanford team.

Team from Istanbul

Australian High School Team for gifted students...none of the team members were old enough to drive the car they built.

There was a meeting with all the teams to explain the starting procedure for tomorrows start. We need to be at the starting line at 6am. They are quite strict on the order and being ready. Any miscues and the team is put at the back of the line.

Road test

2009-11-12T20:57:00.000-08:00

By Thursday afternoon the car was ready for the road. We have 4 drivers and they need practice to get accustomed to the Aussie driving. Roads are good but there are no shoulders and driving on the other side of the road while being passed by road trains is unnerving for even an experienced driver. The team needs to practice emergency stops, driver changes and flat tire repairs.
The race needs to have all 4 vehicle working together. The control center is the Chase car that is just behind the solar car. 500 feet in front is Lead that clears traffic and reports any road hazards. Chase protects the rear of the solar car from overtaking traffic and monitors power performance and sets speed controls. Trailer does what ever needs to be done. We are all connected by CB radios and the chatter can become quite hectic at times
The first road test ended when a problem with the emergency brake. The disks were replaced that night at the shop and we lost valuable practice time. It was fortunate that this happened before rather than during the race. We learned from several other miscues that allowed us to improve our racing procedures
This is Nuon Solar Team from the Netherlands that was practicing at the same time. They are a well established team and are one of the favorites

2009-11-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

Wednesday is scrutineering. Each car is inspected for safety and compliance with the race rules. Drivers are weighed and assigned handicap weights to equalize the drivers.
We had some early excitement when the car was measured and thought to be over length but was okay once the measuring procedure was corrected.
Critical test is that each driver must demonstrate that they can enter and exit in less than 15 seconds.
Every part of the car is checked for compliance with the race rules. This is reviewed beforehand but there is always some confusion over the interpretation of wording or intent of rules. Safety is priority and there isn't any gray area.

The battery pack is removed for close inspection. This will be tagged with a tamper proof lock and inspected at the end of each day of the race. The pack is well designed and generates a lot of interest from the inspection team

Mike, Rachel and I after the car has passed. With great relief the team packs the car back in the trailer and heads back to the track.They still have work to do to get ready for tomorrows road drive. It is late again and Annette and I are heading back to the hotel.

2009-11-12T20:28:00.000-08:00

Rachel and Mike and the rest of the team arrived today. This week will be spent getting the car and support vehicles ready. The lead and chase cars need to be rigged with crazy lights, communication and signage. Annette and I are getting the camping gear sorted out and doing the last of the shopping as well as being "go-fers" for the team. Everything seems to take longer since we don't know the area or best place to shop. We are still having trouble with the truck. After having it in the shop 3 times, we asked for a replacement. They agreed and we realized what a dog of a truck we'd been driving. Now we can drive with air conditioner ON and the heater OFF. Everyone's quite busy getting the last of the details worked out. Need to get the solar car ready to get some practice time on the roads. Drivers and support vehicles need as much time as can be squeezed out in the next few days. Long days, we stop just before the restaurants quit serving dinner. There are a lot of tourists and the bars are open but most of us are too tired to stay up late and besides, there's still work to do before dropping into bed.

First day in darwin

2009-11-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

Sunday Oct. 18th. Arrived at the track, about half the teams are here. Met Pete the Safety Officer. We lucked out being able to rent the last 12 passenger van from Thrifty after the car from Budget wasn't what we needed. Got to the hotel which is conveniently located in the middle of town. Our internet access is limited. This is a problem for us getting our blog updated. We had limited free time and computers were taken up by students who are still in school and working online. Annette even proctored a test for a student. That evening Annette and I went to the Sunset Farmers Market that is next to the public beach.

There were many local artists, street performers, and food vendors. Annette got a great hat and artwork.

Katherine Gorge

2009-11-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

This is our last long day of 1150 km. We set out for Katherine and wanted to stay at the Gorge. This is one of the major national parks in South Australia. By mid day we turned onto the Stuart Hwy at Three Way. The road is really straight and flat. Termite mounds are every where and seem to come in all different sizes, colors' and shapes. We met up with the Michigan advance team who has been in Australia for over a month. They are planning to spend a few days in the area. We arrived at Katherine at dusk and headed to the Park. This is a developed park that gets many visitors. Showers felt good. After a hot day, sad to find the swimming pool had just closed. Up early again to see what we can before we head out to Darwin. This is a huge park but only had time to hike up the trail to the top of a view point. It was another beautiful morning and of course there are more kangaroos on the trail. We split to let the van get to Darwin early. We need to secure our rental chase car and they close early on Sunday.

.

2009-10-22T04:01:00.001-07:00

Up at first glow of morning light to break camp and see the caves. This area is flat and in geologic terms has been stable for 540 million years. The caves were formed by changes in the water level from year to year, wet to dry seasons over a millennium. The park has numerous dramatic sink holes that create openings to the extensive caving system. Unfortunately you need ropes to enter the caves so we contented ourselves with peering down.
Leaving the park we came apon this large bird. It didn't seem to be afraid of us. If anyone know what what kind of bird this is please let e know.

2009-10-22T03:36:00.000-07:00

Lots of road trains, all with serious cattle guards. I can see why, kangaroo road kill, almost every 100 feet. Truckers don't swerve and kangaroos don't have a chance. Need to be careful especially at dawn and dusk.

Went through Mt. Isa. Large mining operation with processing plant. Smoke stack in the center of town had to be 500 feet tall. Country side really changed from flat to rugged with dramatic rock outcrops. Road is good now and truck is handling well at 100 kph. We're asking a lot from this truck so we have to keep the heater on high, full time, to keep the heat gauge below red. And it isn't cold outside.

200 km more to Camooweal. Long straight road. Went fast, but seemed a long time. Must be tired. Picture of alex fueling up at sunset.
Turned down a washboard, 22 km road to Caves National Park to camp. Annette created another fine meal. Great stars, all new constellations, could only recognize Orion. Went to sleep as soon as the head hit the ground.

2009-10-22T01:12:00.001-07:00

Up at first light. Quick breakfast. Only another 1000 km. Didn't have time to stop in Longreach. They have Stockmans Hall of Fame and Qantas museum. This is where the airline started. (Qantas = Queensland And Northern Territories Air Service). Would have been a great stop but it will have to wait till the next time we are by.
Stopped for fuel in Winton. Both cars started to have problems with fuses. We've been running our inverters to charge up computers, cell phone, radios and any thing else we can find. With all the engineers on this caravan getting a fuse changed took almost 1 1/2 hrs. Had some fun chatting it up with a longhaul trucker that was delivering these huge tires to the copper mine in Cloncurry. I could understand about every 3rd word with his Aussie brogue. He was amazed that we were driving this big trailer with our Toyota. "Ther' tough rigs that yor can get 500,000 km on a straight 6, but ther' really slow without a turbo. Couldn't yor' get a Ford". We waved good bye after passing each other 3 times that day.

2009-10-22T01:09:00.002-07:00

Long drive to Barcaldine. Passed many open range cattle with water tanks filed by windmill pumps. The sunsets bring a welcome relief from the heat are are beautiful to see on vast expanse. Stayed at a caravan camp (trailer park). It had Internet, good showers and open kitchen. Another good meal by Annette. Slept outside with a brilliant starry sky with no moon. The local herd of kangaroos wandered through camp, keeping us company all night.

2009-10-22T01:09:00.001-07:00

Up early, adjusted the trailer weight again. Headed west to Barcaldine. Road is flat but rough. Saw our first road train. That's a semi with 3 trailers that can be 50 m long (160 feet). A little nervous when they pass and doing a 120 kph. This is big country. Huge wheat flieds and cattle country like the mid west. Had lunch at a road side park. There were a dozen emus hanging out not paying us any attention. Kind of like the deer in Jacksonville.

2009-10-22T01:08:00.000-07:00

Bruce warned us about the kangaroos and emus around dusk, they will be eating at the road edge and jump back into the bush or just as easily leap in front of you. Saw lots of “flat roos”, then finally saw a “round” one watching us go by. Arrived at the motel 10:30 pm, 15 hours later.

2009-10-22T01:05:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, up early. Needed to rearrange weight from trailer to the rental truck. I think the team brought every tool they had from their shop. Still feel the trailer weaving while towing but had to get on the road before morning traffic got heavy.

There were 3 choices, head north following the coast or the inland New England Highway or go west directly to the Outback which is flat and straight. The coast road had too much traffic especially with Australian spring break. Bruce recommended the Outback because it was the quickest and a straight drive, best for the trailer. But it seemed it would be just too boring, so we took the New England Highway. It only added 300 km and mostly rolling hills. Plan was to drive 900 km to Toowoomba which should take us 8 hours. Trailer wasn't handling well and quickly realized the truck was under powered. It could only go 30-40 kph up hill and maximum of 100 kph down hill with the trailer.

2009-10-20T16:04:00.001-07:00

We been unable to update the blog because of access to Internet. This was last Wednesday of last week
The trailer electrical wire was too heavy for the connection plug. Had to make up our own connection, using speaker wire. The existing trailer wire was so mismatched that we had to take everything apart to sort it out. Got everything working except the running lights. Found out later, they haven't been working for years.

The hitch was a problem, the trailer is set for a 2 and 5/16 inch ball (or 58mm). The only ball size in Australia is a 2 inch (50 mm). And the hitch won't stay on with a 2”. Option was to change the hitch on the trailer but no time to do this. Or shim out the guides on the locking mechanism and gray tape they to keep the shims from falling out.

We didn't get away from customs dock until 4 pm, headed for Bruce's house. First thing I noticed, there are not any 20 foot trailers that are as wide as the road. So here we go, still figuring out driving from the right seat on the left side of the road, stick shift on the left, turn signals and wiper controls reversed, pulling this over weight trailer through Sidney with 5 o'clock traffic. I don't know if Sydnians are polite or just knew enough to give way. We made it back to Bruce's with only an occasional horn and wind shield wipers going off instead of turn signals.

2009-10-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

First look inside the trailer

2009-10-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

Pulling the trailer out to get ready for Customs inspections. There are two inspections. First is to check for things that you should not bring. the tough one is to make sure the trailer is clean. They are very serious about this. We had to pull all content out and vacuum the floor of the trailer. This was a lot of work for Alex.

2009-10-12T06:32:00.000-07:00

Pictures in the park.

2009-10-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed the sunset and found a good place to eat. Walked back through Hyde park. There was a display of large scale photograph that were quite interesting. Nice way to end our first day.

2009-10-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

Went downtown to see some of the sights. Sydney is a beautiful city. Walked through the park and had to see the Opera House at sunset.

2009-10-12T03:35:00.000-07:00

Good flight to Sydney thanks to Qantas. Meet Alex to pick us up and go to Bruce Gordon's(Anne Barry's brother) house. Short walk to Coogee Beach in the afternoon. Annette instantly got her shoes off to walk in the Pacific.

2009-10-08T00:19:00.000-07:00

Camera packed, ticket in hand, bags stuffed and zipped. Lets go

2009-10-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

We have created this blog so that our family and friends who have been great supporters, can journey with us on this adventure to Australia as we follow Rachel to the World Solar Challenge. Stay tune as we share our adventures in the down under.