G’day fellow supporters!
The last two days have been very wonderful out here in the Outback. Today was our second day of trailering from Coober Pedy all the way to Adelaide via Port Augusta. We have covered several more hundred kilometers and continue to see other teams along the drive. The atmostphere has been very moist as we’ve been in rain since we started trailering. Other teams have been trailering as well mostly due to the poor weather conditions for driving on solar energy. Nevertheless, our team remains in good spirits. Yesterday, a couple of us swaped seats in the lead and chase vans to switch things up a bit. This meant I ended up spending many entertained and exciting kilometers in the passenger seat of the lead van next to Steve! What a day. Steve has a knack for making us laugh and ensuring we get the most from our experience here. We had a quick pit stop in Alice Springs and he gave specific instructions for each of us to follow once we entered the grocery store in town. My job was to head straight to the candy isle and pick out some tasty treats for the rest of the drive. As we all followed Steve’s instructions to the T, we had quite the snacking bash once back on the open highway. Musk candy (febreeze sticks), honey soy chicken chips (toe jam), and the lemon lime bitters drink were among the most entertaining snack items tried by all.
On our way into Coober Pedy (opal capital of the world and home to the driest golf course!) we drove to a lookout point at the breakaways! We had the most amazing view of the landscape and explored the land for a little while. I sprinted off into the distance and made my way up a peak where I saw two beautiful owls fly off! Some others were at another peak and we had fun hearing our voices echo across the way. After making it back to the vans, Steve took a few of us to see the dog fence which is the longest fence in the world at 5,614km! This fence helps keep dingos out of the south east part of the continent. To complete a fun-filled day, we treaded around in mud observing gypsum scattered about, explored an underground Catholic church, and then all met up at a restaurant for a delicious dinner.
Instead of camping out for the night, we camped in! Coober Pedy has a unique underground campground where we settled overnight. This morning, we left the old mining opal town for the long shot to Adelaide. As it was another stormy day, we trailered all the way in past the final control stop in Port Augusta. All teams must make it to the finish line by 11am tomorrow morning, Saturday, to declare victory in Victoria Square! Our plan is to pull Ra 7s out of her crate tomorrow morning and drive across the finish line on solar energy! Everyone is excited to meet back up with the other teams to exchange race shirts and celebrate with one another in the fountain nearby.
It’s hard to believe we’re reaching the end of WSC 2011!
Cheers,
Lacey