Cutting to the chase on this difference of opinion, we left Adelaide at 5:27am (SA time) after taking Tammie for a short walk (me) and making much coffee (Frances). We rolled into home at 7:00pm (NSW time) thus taking 13 hours and 3 minutes to cover 1235 kilometres. Not bad: given the amount of time spent battling the traffic lights of Adelaide (and having at least two large towns (Renmark and Mildura) to go though I cannot see the Google maps approach being faster.
The weather for the drive was rather average. It rained heavily all through the night with the BoM reporting 31mm in the period. It had cleared pretty much until we got to the Freeway but then rained more or less for the next 250km. While it required a bit of care the roads are all good so we were able to keep pedalling along.
After 400km we stopped to refuel at Ouyen and continued on towards Piangil. Then we saw a sign saying the Tooleybuc Bridge (over the Murray) was being worked on and could be closed for 30 minutes at a time. Bugger. We had just passed the last alternate route. Oh well. Fortunately we pressed on since once we got to the bridge there was no sign of closure, nor indeed any work being done on the bridge. A large brickbat to the cretin who put up that sign.
At some point around here we tried the smoked and cooked mini-snags Frances had bought the day before. Sorry - they wuz raw! I hurled mine to the raptorial masses although Francie did point out that Tammie would have loved them! (On getting home we fried some and they were very tasty.)
Once over the Murray we were soon at the Sturt Highway and started counting the raptors we saw as we went along. Here is the outcome:
| Species | West of Hay | East of Hay |
| Black-shouldered Kite | 29 | 18 |
| Nankeen Kestrel | 5 | 11 |
| Black Kite | 4 | 3 |
| Swamp Harrier | 1 | 0 |
| Brown Falcon | 2 | 0 |
| White-bellied Sea Eagle | 0 | 1 |
| EMU | 19 | 0 |
We only counted for 125km East of Hay, rather than all the way to Narrandera, to give an equal amount of effort on either side of Hay.
By the time we got off the Plain it was pouring down again and did so more or less all the way to Yass. This part of the trip was made enjoyable by listening to Philip Adams interviewing the author of a biography of Manning Clark. We decided to come back through the City as by now it was dark and the roads 'roo ridden. As a result we didn't see any until we got almost home and they were sufficiently polite to stay away from my 'roo bar!
Bird of the day All of them on the Hay Plain
Plant of the day The big Yellow Box in our lawn
Interesting sight of the day An aircraft flying along powerlines near Balranald.
What we learnt today Counting raptors makes the trip go quickly!
Water, water everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink
It came down from the cloudy sky,
without a pause to think.
Now desert rain is very rare,
Not so is home and dry!
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