A quiet night … no trucks, warm but not hot and dry tents.  We woke up to no electricity. My porridge soon morphed into muesli – just add sultanas and nuts.

Main topic this morning was wind direction, possible rain … strange how every weather app differs.  ‘It is what it is’ … and it was!!

The wind was relentless … head and side wind … my early start was to escape they predicted strong winds as the day went on.

It was tough from the start … crossing over dry salt lake with no protection, however the lakes were quite spectacular as the sun glistened on the salt crystals. Areas of bush were welcome for a little wind protection. I arrived at Newdegate around noon as the wind speed increased, cyclists still on the road had a hard time of it as the winds exceeded 50km/hr; the last 10kms always the hardest. … The local general store and cafe was the first port of call … choices … I’m too exhausted to make a decision, the assistant looked at me a little strangely … I later learned that most of us presented in the same exhausted manner … haha … the joys of cycling.

The wind became more gust as the day progressed … The weather radar predicted rain some time later that evening. The caravan park is very basic … this area is ticked one box away from ‘drought’ few resort to cabins … we are able to erect tent on verandahs.

‘Will it rain tonight?’ The big question … The locals are mixed … ‘I hope so!’ It is so dry they would love a good downpour. A meal at the tavern and on return a few rain drops. Through the night we had just over 4mm, not much but a start for the locals.