That night a storm passed through. There had been strong winds from the south and a little rain. In the morning our campsite was slightly sodden. It raised hopes that for the first time in a long time the wind wouldn't be against us.

Came about 45kms from campsite to Cadney Station in about 3hrs. Not quick, but still a surprise for me because I found it a struggle. Any hope of a tailwind soon disappeared. Headwinds again despite what had happened during the night. It was cooler and a there was still a bit of rain about.

Pierre wanted to get to Marla that night, which was another 83kms on from Cadney. Because the morning had been hard going I didn't think I had it in me. For lunch Pierre knocked off a half chicken and chips. I barely got through a plate of toasted muesli. We would see.

I knew my legs were good as soon as we set off from Cadney. Strange that. Pierre took the lead and thankfully the wind dropped. It was overcast and there was still some of rain as we headed north. We chipped away and the kms added up. In the end we did it relatively easily getting to Marla on dark.

In Marla there was water lying about everywhere. Obviously it had rained heavily here. Checking into the caravan park we saw occasional flashes of lightning. All this water was something exceptional.

As we were setting up in the caravan park and were greeted by a couple we had met earlier. They were impressed we had made it this far. An increasingly common occurrence.

Nice shower. Basic dinner served by a Chilean guy who was keen to talk football. Also common were young foreigners working in remote places. There was a young Asian working in the diner too.

After Pierre and Vero had gone to bed I bought a packet of pistachio nuts and stood out the front of the park for 45 mins or more, ate the nuts and looked at the night sky. Stunning.

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...go to day 14 - May 23