Tennant Creek to Katherine 680 km

The air was a cool 22 degrees as we left and within the hours the solar eclipse was to happen. We stopped to observe the eclipse at 8am, just as a bank of cloud came over and obscured the event.

We were in the NT and the speed limit is 130 kph, so we were going to get the distance covered in good time so a few scheduled stops were extended.

After a quick stop at Three ways to look at the road train mural, we were onto Renner Springs. Firstly for fuel but to also admire the incredible cap display they have. Thousands of caps are hung on the roof. Only later to find that this kind of display is typical of many stopovers, some kind of theme is selected to adorn the space, I guess as a tourist attraction.

This is the main reason for our stop at Daly Waters, to observe the bizarre decore, from military badges though to underwear.

As the next haul to Katherine was 270 km and the temperature had risen to 35 degrees, fuel efficiency and stamina were declining, a call was made to drop into the springs at Mataranka for a refreshing dip and then onto Katherine which was them only 110kms then a much need day of rest.

I can tell you that the heat and the distance certainly take their toll on you physically.

This was the first day I had used my Camelback (a 2 litre water filled backpack, with a remote tube) I really appreciated having this fluid onboard, I went through 4 liters that day.