Day 158 | at Katherine showgrounds: cleanup and pig out day
rest day 1
Katherine has the busiest Woolworths supermarket in Australia I’m told and having been there I believe them. It’s sure got to be one of the biggest.
People always ask me about how I get on with water in my travels. The real issue for the last 6 weeks has actually been with food.
And basically all the way since, well, Clare where there was another Woolies. I loaded up the trailer at Alice on May 31 at the last properly stocked supermarket for the Tanami. It was 15 days on the road until Halls Creek and there were a few settlements along the way: Yuendumu, Rabbit Flat (that loaf of frozen white bread was $7), Billiluna. We actually had to plan our trip to make it to Billiluna before the shop closed at lunchtime on a Saturday because it was closed all day on Sunday. There were 2 main ‘supermarkets’ in Halls Creek but the supply truck came in on Thursday and the shelves only had about a third of the items in stock. No problem with vinegar or bleach but no coffee or muesli, etc.
The Buntine and Gregory was another 2 weeks with only Kalkarindji (population about 200 people) at the halfway point. If you eat and could store meat for days you would be ok. If you want fresh fruit, etc, its expensive if they have it at all.
It has been a rather bland, and some would say monotonous, diet of porridge for brekky, bread and cheese for lunch and spag for dinner.
But now it is great to reach that enormous food warehouse and have a few treats. Like a banana or fresh milk.