Pimba and Melrose

Had a good time in Coober Pedy but time to hit the road again and we need to catch up with Rob and Mel in Melrose by Friday. We decided to head for Woomera and spend Thursday night there before driving to Melrose on the Friday…very strange place Woomera, lots and lots of houses and apartments but there doesn’t seem to be anyone living there, strange VERY strange.
We decided to stay at a place called Pimba  about 10 kms along the road from Woomera. Trish’s good old Camps 4 book worked again, it shows all the free camping areas around Australia, very handy.  Pimba was a cross roads with a pub/petrol station/restaurant and a very large car park for trucks and fellow travelers. Toilets and showers are free too. We set up and after about an hour there were 12 other travelers set up around us and then the rains came and it poured for hours, then the winds came and the van shook all night long. In between howls of wind and lashes of rain I think we managed about an hours sleep….on to Melrose, things could only get better.
Heard on the radio on the way down to Melrose that all roads into Birdsville, Maree and Innamincka were closed to all traffic so that was the end of any thought of a Lake Eyre trip.
We met Rob and Mel in Port Augusta to do a wee shop and then off to Melrose, as we approached we could see black clouds rolling in and by the time we arrived it was lashing rain and then we had some hail and then some more AND it was FREEEEEEZING!!!!!  We had left Winton in 40°C, it was around 28 in Coober Pedy and now Melrose was about 5°C. There is a creek at the camp grounds and on Thursday kids were playing in it (no water!) by Friday evening we were thinking the now fast flowing river would burst its banks and flood us out, the amount of water was incredible. We lit a fire on Friday night and huddled around it, good food, good company and as usual some of us ate too much J. Saturday was expected to better weather wise but it turned out to be as cold so we headed off to the pub for a few cleansers and a meal. We had intended to stay in Melrose on Sunday night and then head to the Flinders on Monday but the weather was soooooo cold and according to a few fellow travelers it was a lot worse in the Flinders so we decided on Mildura, always warmer there and we hadn’t been in about 15 years so decision made…..