Morning dawned warm in Streaky Bay. We talked with the
couple next door, who were also delaying their trip across the Nullarbor to let
the hot weather pass. As it happened, they were headed for the same caravan
park as we were.
By the time we were out of the park, had done our shopping
in Streaky Bay and were on the way to Ceduna it had already become quite warm.
At Ceduna it was 40 degrees when we tanked diesel, and it was still before
midday.
We set up the caravan, leaving it hitched for the planned
early getaway the next day. Then we had lunch in a shelter because it was just
too hot in the van. Time for a swim, so we went out on the boulevard and
plonked ourselves down in the bright green grass under the Norfolk pines. We
took turns in swimming as there was much interest in our belongings and such
that we had with us. By now it was so hot that as you got out of the water,
your eyeballs would feel as if they were
burning. As well, so was our skin, even though we were sitting in the shade.
The local aboriginals walked to and fro on the foreshore and
I could not really discern what they were doing. They were all middle-aged to
old, they wore multiple layers of clothes and they seemed to have urgent business,
calling one another to come over here or go over there. One party came up to us
to ask us for spare change. When it turned out we did not have any, the lady
said “No worries, sorry to bother you, happy New Year”. A four-wheel drive
picked up and dropped off groups and drove past our spot about 8 times or more
while we were there. All rather mysterious.
As if sensing that we needed an explanation or something, an
oldish white bloke strolled over to us and started to chat. Discussing his
inevitable connections in Tasmania, he fell to criticising the blacks and
sighing about the white man’s burden in looking after them. Symbolically he
picked up a paper tissue he presumed had been dropped by “them” and went on his
narrow way. Shades of Suid-Afrika of long ago!
Swimming done, we went and sat in the caravan with the
air-conditioner going full blast and everything tightly closed against the
fairly brisk hot wind outside. Time to snooze, read and wait for things to cool
off or dinnertime came – whichever first.
Dinnertime won. We had booked in the bistro next door. This
seemed to be the main venue in town and was quite packed. It was also quite
cool – which at this stage was more important than the quality of the food
served in the place.
Gradually the sun set, almost straight out to sea as Ceduna’s
shoreline faces west. The clouds promised an interesting sunset, so we went
back to the caravan to get the camera and proceeded to the beach. The sunset
took on quite a vivid orange tone and it soon appeared that a rain shower was
heading towards us across the bay, filtering the light from the setting sun. I
reckoned I had about 3 minutes before it hit, not realising that it was
sneaking up on us from the side as well. There was a great burst of wind and
then we were lashed by horizontal warm rain, the first drops of which literally
turned to steam on the bitumen. How bizarre. It was all over in 10 minutes. A half-hearted
thunderclap or two and everything moved on to fool some other South Australians
into thinking they were going to get some relief from the heat.
As we had promised ourselves an early start, we
retired early, falling asleep to the roar of our air conditioner. For the first
time in living memory the New Year crept into our lives without us being there
to greet it!
No comments:
Post a Comment