Day 9 - Cooper Creek to Mungerannie

Our camp for the night was on the flood plain of the Cooper Creek. Along with the rains and everything coming to life ... comes the compulsory mice plague. We were overrun last night with the little critters all over the camp. It proved entertaining to let them climb on top of the swags and then smack them away in a flying back flip into the bush. We were also serenaded by several packs of dingoes howling a mournful tune through the night - or at least those who didn't snore through the show.

An early start saw us picking our way down a rocky and sandy track through the Cooper wetlands. We've been extremely lucky and timed our ride in between floods. The track was closed here only two weeks ago, and is forecast to be underwater again in another two weeks with rains from Queensland making their way down the channel country.

Large expanses of water are a welcome break in this flat and dry landscape. Flocks of Correllas and other bird life accompanied our first five kilometers through the wetlands before we broke through to the now familiar desert surounds, and our day's work stretched out in front of us. 71km through to the Mungerannie Roadhouse.

The high pressure system that has been accompanying our travels has moved on a little, and brought a welcome shift in wind direction that gave us a gentle tail wind. Combined with a slightly less bumpy track, we were able to kick along at a much better pace than yesterday's ride.

Our familiar friend the Puncture Monster raised his head again this morning after laying dormant for a few days. Ric picked up a prickle thorough the rear tyre that slowed him down from our cracking pace. We'd no sooner fixed that one than Alan called for a photo shot under a Lake Eyre road sign. In the process of carrying the bike off the track Ric somehow managed to pick up another prickle through the rear tyre! Score now Ric 2, Andrew 5.

We made good time for the rest of the morning and made Mungerannie in time for lunch. Confidence up and spirits soaring, we've decided to waive the scheduled rest day tomorrow and push on for Birdsville, another four days riding ahead. We enjoyed a delicious pub meal at the hotel cooked up by the delightful Pam, and then watched a short film about one of the legends of the Birdsville Track - Tom Kruse. Tom was the first postie to make it through to Birdsville from Marree in a truck with the mail.