Day 6 - Yulara to Finke and onto Mt Dare

The coldest morning yet. Reported to be -2. Today involved a bit of back tracking. Back to Erlduna for fuel then into Kulgera for lunch. Kulgera marked the turn off to Finke and the beginning of the dirt.

The road to Finke was in good nick. There were a couple of sandy bits that could easily flicked you off with contempt if given the chance. Saw a Wedge tailed eagle munching on a dead roo which got me thinking about the wild life we had seen thus far. Which was cows, sheep and a couple of dead roo's. Rather disappointing really.

We got into Finke and found a spot to watch some racing. After all the stories we'd heard about this place it was not bad at all. Rated well higher then Coober Pedy.

The original plan was to camp along the track somewhere and watch the bikes leave in the morning before heading out to Dalhousie Springs. But after shivering last night and not being that hopeful of a good fire to keep us warm it was decided that we should press on for Mt Dare for the night. Time was running short and we needed to get going if we were to make it before dark.

I think it actually ended up being over 100k's.

The road got progressively worse as we went on with one section of rocks nearly throwing me off. Only sheer luck and a very good pucker grip on the seat saved me. 

 It looks nice and bright in this photo but I can tell you we got there on last light

We checked in, ordered some dinner and headed over to set up camp. Shower was refreshingly freezing... Back into the hotel for dinner and we were greeted with a pack (and that is an apt term) of KTM riders. We sat as far from them as we could (again, I don't want to paint all KTM riders with the same brush but on this trip there wasn't much separation) We sat with 2 couples from the Hastings area and chatted the night away. They were heading over the Simpson the next day. The table next to us had a Husband and wife who's son was racing in the Finke. They had flown their helicopter from Finke to Mt Dare to stay the night and were heading back in the morning to watch him leave. Tough way to travel... His mate also flew in but he had a plane... Must be tough... 

Dave the owner came and sat at our table for a chat. He's been there 12 years and is looking to sell. We started watching a movie that Dave stared in about the first Simpson crossing for the year. Unfortunately 9:15 saw us struggling to stay awake and we were off to bed.