Day 66 - The 2k detour....

There is a lot of confusion about regarding which road are passable, which are flooded and which aren't even there anymore! I bump into some American tourists in Charters Towers who insist that all the roads are open and it is possible to get to Mount Isa (a town on the way to Alice Springs) The news, police, RACQ and papers all say that Mount Isa is currently an island along with Cloncurry before it and Julia Creek before that! I try to tell them but they insist they have local inside knowledge and experience, however, they look like they have just past puberty! Nevermind.

Anyway, by the sounds of things, the road has washed away and even if the floods subside enough for us to get there in the next week, we still won't make it beyond Isa. This is a real arse because now we are flooded up shit creek without a paddle.......unless we take the long way round! Instead of driving the 1600km over and down to Alice Springs, we'll drive the 3600km down and up! Why someone hasn't come up with the genius idea of plough a freeway straight through the middle, I don't know. Anyway, with time on our side we have to cover around 500kms a day to get to the centre for Jess' 30th birthday! I have booked something special for us there and it would be crap to miss it, plus it will get our trip back on track. Sweet.

Jess isn't convinced.

I campaign a bit and she comes round to my way of thinking that it looks like a really short distance on this little map of ours and in reality, what the hell else our we going to do. We briefly entertain an idea of ditching going to the centre and flying to Fiji for Jess' birthday. Then we find out Fiji is in a state of emergency due to extreme flooding. Stupid wet season.


So we head off. If we can live like pikeys for the next week, stay in free campsites and cut down on our champagne and caviar evenings, then we should be able to make it. The weather will only get better, we get to see more of outback Australia  - everyone's a winner!