The trip from Exmouth to Tom Price was another one of those "you have to have done it to be able to know what it's like"-trips. Six hours fo driving and we only met five other cars on the road - and a lizard.

The lizard was a bit unfortunate since Esther saw it too late on the road that was shimmering in the heat. So she drove over it and killed the poor thing. It was about 1.5 meters long and quite beautiful. Esther freaked and got quite angry at me for not soothing her or freaking as well. But to be honest, I was more wooried about her reaction to driving over the bugger than about the animal. Cause what she did was take her hands of the steering-wheel, cover her eyes and cry: "Oh god, I killed it!", whereas the only thing on my mind was: "Get you fucking hands back on the fucking steering wheel!" Ah, well. I was quite happy to change back into the drivers seat after this incident.

A pricey stay in Tom Price

Driving to Tom Price did take longer than we had anticipated and we arrived briefly after darkness had fallen and the roos had started to come out. We also saw some straying horses and cattle. So we arrived quite a bit later then I like to arrive, especially since the lights on the car are quite crap. The campsite in Tom Price is overpriced, but it's the only place you can stay if you don't wnat to go to the even more pricey hotel. 14 AUD for one person in a car and 20 AUD to sleep in tiny construction-containers is ridiculous!

Mining for iron ore

At the campsite I met some miners who work in the nearby iron-mines. It really feels like there are mines everywhere in OZ. Had a wee chat with them and a bit to drink (they tried to get the Easyrider-chicks drunk and since I was sitting on the same tabel I was invited to drink as well) and they told me that they actually earn more money for less work than their colleagues in Kalgoorlie. Well, in a way I can understand this - after all there is at least some sort of nightlife in Kalgoorlie whereas there is nothing in Tom Price. I mean, this place is so desolate you have to have seen it. Therefor I find it even more strange that Sarah said she wouldn't join us for the two day tour of Karajini National Park that Esther and I have booked. She seemed a bit pissed off about us taking off for two days, but it's not like we forced her to stay behind. Besides, I stayed longer in Exmouth so that she could dive with her whale sharks. Well, I just hope that she finds something to do.