Foo-the-Roo leaves Adelaide en-route to Flinders Range National Park

Sun, 7 May 2006 05:01:18 GMT

This whole day was a hectic race against the clock in an attempt to prepare the equipment and provision for our food and petrol needs for this trip.
The list seemed to be endless but we set ourselves a goal to leave Adelaide by four in the afternoon.

After a quick shower and free breakfast in Backpack Oz hostel, we drove to a wholesale warehouse called Gaganis. This place was recommended by a local friend of mine, Avi, who lives in Adelaide. Its basically a warehouse with
products in huge packages; 10Kg rice bags, 20Kg flour bags etc.
While we were fitting the stock in the car, I asked a truckie where can we find a good place for CB Radio and got an address of him. Citizen Band Radio is like a walkie-talkie, but the type you install in a car. The guys in the shop (called Electronic Bug) were very helpful and we ended up renting a Radio, thanks to the cheap price and the fact that it came with all the required accessories.

Next stop in this relay-race was a car-parts shop; spare fuses, oil, battery water, spark plugs, jump-start kit, tools and screwdrivers. We also bought a tow-rope with two shackles, which was rated as 3,500Kg, but when opening
the box we found out that one of these metal shackles was badly cracked! This was a flexible nylon rope, so if we would have tried to tow a car with it, the shackle would surely crack-open and the rope springs like a rocket

Before filling our stomachs, we went to a petrol station to fill the cars stomach like it was a camel; petrol tank full, LPG (gas petrol) tank full and two 20L petrol
jerry-cans filled up to the brim. Hopefully, enough energy to drive the car for 1,500Km without seeing a petrol station.

After a quick lunch we went to the supermarket for some fresh produce that we couldnt find at Gaganis, and by 17:15 (more than an hour late) we hit the A1 road northbound. It was a long and kinda boring drive, but the set goal of arriving in Flinders Range National Park before 11pm was achieved.

There was a risk of hitting kangaroos lurking along the road, however Foo-the-Roo (see photo) was keeping a watchful eye and did a great job keeping those
bouncing buggers away from us.

At around 11pm we pulled over at some lookout and camped for the night. Dinner consisted of fried eggs and makeshift tuna salad, complimented by break, mayo and tomatoes. Delicious, nutritious and tastes much better when having it under the open sky with a clear view of the Milky Way.

Food:
Breakfast kornflakes, jam and tea
Lunch hamburgers from Rundle Mall Adelaide
Dinner fried eggs, bread, tomatoes
Expenses:
Food 140$, car parts 85$, CB radio rental 125$
Petrol+LPG 107$

The Adventures of Foo-The-Roo, King of the Desert

Foo-the-Roo leaves Adelaide en-route to Flinders Range National Park