"Starry, starry night"... Had the best, most deepest sleep last night... Was very cool again, but R2-DYSON kept up his end of the bargain by keeping the place warm... Woke up at 4am to go to the loo, stepped outside and stopped dead in my tracks! The night sky was completely clear, and the stars were so bright you could see right through them. It was an awesome sight, and somehing I hadn't expected to see. The entire galaxy, even the far, far away one, was in full view. Jo woke up also, and when she came out, we both enjoyed the sight, until the cold seeped in, and it was time to go back to the warmth of bed...

We left Halls Gap at 8.30am, for an expected long, long drive to Adelaide. We passed the Giant Koala at some little country town I can't remember the name of, and the Land Rover on a pole, at another little country town. We stopped in Nhill for morning tea, (another bakery of course), and once again, I have to say how totally surprised and impressed I am at the state of these small country towns we're driving through. They are really well presented and maintained, and they all have amazing main streets that cater perfectly for the travelling public, especially those with caravans. I do believe, that somewhere in the last couple of decades, these communities have recognised the value of the travelling tourist, and have realised that the best way to get their share of the dollar these tourists bring, is to truly cater for their needs. Every town has nice garden areas, rest stops, easy parking, playgrounds and cafes, coffee shops or bakeries for a meal. It has been a surprise, because I was expecting signs of hardship, the struggle to make a living and more... dilapidation? It's the exact opposite, the signs of success, and dare I say, wealth, are far more apparent. This has been really pleasant to experience. We stopped for lunch at Tailem Bend, another smallish country town that is significant for steam trains, but I have no idea why... It was here, that after a relatively fine and clear day, the clouds moved in, and the drizzle began, which soon became rain... Again?!? As we approached Adelaide, and made our way through the Adelaide hills area, that rain became a downpour, and so commenced the scariest, most worrying drive ever... The rain was torrential, and visibility was non-existent. Trucks were restricted to the left hand lane, and a maximum speed of 60kph down the hills. What made it scary, was the fact that we'd come up behind the truck, only see it's tail lights at the last minute, but not be able to see anything in the right hand lane to know if it was safe to overtake or not. We decided the best approach was to sit behind the truck at their speed, (the wash from the truck was no worse than the rain on the windscreen), but the cars going past in the right hand lane would spray sheets of water over our windscreen that were impossible to see through, so for a frightening couple of seconds, we were truly driving blind. I know, I know, the safe thing to do would be to pull over and wait it out, but there was no shoulder to speak of, and there would be as much chance of getting hit from behind if we were stopped... Jo tried to talk to me at one stage, about how bad it was, but I told her not to talk to me, I couldn't think about talking and driving at the same time, my mind was totally occupied... I don't mind saying, I was crapping myself during the worst of it!! The rain eased as we entered Adelaides suburbs, and we could see again, but the gutters were completely flooded and unable to cope with the water travelling through them. It overflowed onto footpaths, and entire roads were submerged. By the time we were calm enough to realise we'd got through the worst of it, Jo got out the camera and snapped a couple of shots, but the worst had passed. I still think our caravan became a boat and floated behind us in a couple of spots...

We drove today for 7 hours including stops. It was too big a day, and I hope we don't have too many more like it... We gained back half an hour entering South Australia, but we are completely exhausted now, and short with the boys, although they're really not doing anything wrong. They've simply been confined in the car all day. We had to set up in the rain, although it's stopped now, and I think the stress of that final part of the trip has contributed to our short temper. We're both looking forward to bed, and a new day tomorrow...

As a final mention, we've had two mishaps so far. Both are my fault, and were easily fixed, but were silly little mistakes. The first occured on the trip from Ballarat to Halls Gap. I'd forgotten to tighten the two k*** that secure the arms of the roll out awning after packing it up, and when we arrived in Halls Gap, they had both vibrated loose and disappeared. We've been able to secure the awning with pegs and ropes in the meantime, but now we're in Adelaide, I'll get replacements. It's easy enough to fix. The second thing is even sillier, and I had second thoughts about mentioning it, cause I know I'll get roasted for it... When we left Halls Gap, I thought the caravan was harder to tow. It was dragging the car, and even Jo said the caravan is more noticeable today than it was before. I thought flat tyres? But they were all fine when we left, I check them each time. 60 kilometers later, yes, 60 kilometers, it hit me!! I pulled over, walked back, and took the handbrake off... Fuel consumption has spiked at 20 litres per 100 kilometers. I wonder why?

Good night, roll on tomorrow...