Outback: Roma and Rolleston in English

Tuesday, November 01, 2022

It had been raining on and off during the night, sometimes heavily, with strong winds. But the tent held up well. The area around us turned into a landscape of puddles overnight. But the air was fresh and pleasant, and there was no sign of the humidity from the previous evening.

We packed up our things and continued our journey. At the next rest area, we were able to freshen up (rest areas are reliably available at regular intervals, if only for safety reasons, 'Break your drive, stay alive.'). And we had breakfast in Roma. Roma is a small town and somewhat of a regional center. And the town of bottletrees! The trees actually look like bulging bottles and line almost every street, front yard, and park. Here, we also bought some groceries and filled up our tank.

From Roma, we continued on the highway heading north. The landscape became greener and more picturesque, and the traffic became lighter. There were no more settlements for the next 200 kilometers, not even very small ones. Then came our turnoff to Carnarvon Gorge. But after just 20 kilometers, our journey came to a temporary halt: we suddenly stood before a floodway, a flooded section of road, and couldn't proceed. It seemed that there had been quite a lot of rain here too. Together with others, we assessed the situation, waited, brewed tea, discussed and considered our options. Some turned back immediately, others later (after the situation remained unchanged for two hours), and some brave souls even attempted to drive through. Hannes also dared to drive through the floodway. It went well. But just a few meters ahead, there was another one! Even deeper, and with a stronger current! Okay. That was the signal to turn back. The afternoon was already well advanced, and we had to find a place for the night.

We decided to drive a bit further north, to Rolleston. A small town, but with everything you need to live, including a decent campground with showers and a hotel/pub where we could eat well, and a small gas station. The only annoying thing was the swarms of sandflies (a kind of pesky, tiny mosquito), but otherwise, we had found a good spot for the night.