26 June - Broken Hill to Whining Windmill Camp

Happy Birthday Stef. 

In tent, 6.30am, warm and toasty. BOM app says it's 3 degrees but feels like 1.5. Not conducive to getting out for a shower and to start the day. Brrrrr! 

Plan is to be ready to depart Broken Hill by 11.00. We all need to shop for fresh fruit and veg, fuel, air and for some a quick look around Broken Hill. 

Having done all the bits and pieces we got away at 12.00 Broken Hill time heading towards Tibooburra. 

Full convey procedure in place we headed off. 

There was a piano and Hills Hoist clothes line along the roadside - neither of which we stopped to learn about. 

The plan over the next couple of days.

 Lunch at a roadside stop. 

Our lunchstop, just a rest stop on side of road somewhere. 

Obligatory traffic lights and roadworks in the middle of nowhere.

Then off again with a plan to make camp about 3.30pm. With Dad and I in the lead we started looking for a suitable spot. After much radio communication we continued a little further. Finally found a top spot up past a windmill, with plenty of flat spots and wood. As we were all settling in, then we heard a mournful screeching sound - the windmill! It's in need of a good oil, and the haunting sounds will no doubt sound horrifying in the quiet of the night. 

So despite my best attempt to find a good spot I reckon I might be reminded of the haunted windmill camp for many trips to come. 

Fire roaring - Thanks Michael. This is half the group...

Nibbles and drinks by the fire, however, half the crew were missing - salted away under the bonnet of Sarah's car - they had no air conditioner today, the problem was easily identified  - there was no air con belt. Thankfully Steve had thought of that and had a spare one on board. Seems in the process of repair a spanner was truly in the works - as someone had dropped a spanner into a tight spot. 

They eventually joined us by the fire - Dundek's ate soup early, quickly followed by the Davey crew and stew. Jadon and Dad and I ate later - we had stew (prepared earlier) with pull apart and Jadon whipped up snags and tiny taters. 

Dad and Meg by the fire. 

Car repairs - Sarah, Steve, Stef and J

Looking serious 

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Getting hands in and finishing it off.

We then celebrated Stef's day of birth with a shot of Galway Pipe port courtesy of Steve. 

Marshmallows by the fire and sitting around enjoying the outback ambience - of the pained windmill. 

Ready for bed and it's not yet 8.30…Steve has just arrived with chocolate. 

The wind is picking and in tandem so is the spookiness of the windmill as it turns painfully in the night sky. A sliver of moon has dropped below the horizon an hour ago and the stars are many and away from the fire would no doubt be awesome, but we are all too lazy to move from the warmth. 

Bedtime 9.58 the wind has died off and no pained windmill sounds, but just as I put my head on the pillow, the windmill has caught a breeze again.  It's sounds like Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter a bit. Very hard to describe but quite a human and inhumane sound.