We traveled again on Monday, September 5th, thinking it would be a short drive, so with nary a care in the world, we stayed in Katherine long enough to view the movie based on the "We of the Never Never" book that showed everyday for free at the local pub, then headed toward Berry Springs, home of Tumbling Waters Caravan Park, where we are now. On the way, thinking we had lots of time, we stopped at beautiful Edith Falls, hiked to its upper pool and went swimming in incredible fresh water on a very hot day.
And so then off we were, a little late. We called the caravan park to say we'd arrive within the hour (this was after we'd finally realized we had triple the amount of time needed to get there). Then just 15 km/9 miles out of Adelaide River, where we made that call, and 51 km/30 miles from our destination, Rowan said, something feels funny. I am stopping, right now. Hmmm.
In the numbered pictures below: 1. So, yes, we had a huge blow-out of a flat, at dusk, miles from anywhere. Eek! After thinking a bit, Shirl started waving her arms up and down and flagged down our hero, Frank, who was on his way home from gold mining. Note that we had no cell phone service. No way to walk back. It was getting dark fast. And we'd canceled our AAA service anyway! 2. Frank, who knows a lot about being stranded because his parents took him all around the remote western parts of Australia several times when he was a child, knew exactly what to do and what it's like to be stranded. 3. Here, Frank works off the side of the road showing the sun going down fast and the remoteness of our breakdown. Fortunately, there was a shoulder here, we were not on a bridge, and the road trains with three or four trailers were just far anough away, and it was cool at dusk but not completely black. 4. Our hero Frank saved the day. What a generous and wonderful person.
