Happy that we had explored Hill End to our satisfaction, we decided to relocate some 50k’s east to a free camp on the Turon River near Sofala. We had stayed at this site in the past.
We were not in any hurry to depart Hill End and actually left mid-morning for the hour or so drive. In reality, it had been so cold overnight that we woke to a frost and found hose that had been left out and connected frozen solid. It took a couple of hours for our fresh water hose to melt to a point where it could be flushed and folded.
Our GPS devices said that the trip was over 100k’s but a little local knowledge (“He” had a good knowledge of the area) knew that part of the road between Hill End and Sofala that once was a gravel road, had recently been sealed. Ignoring the instructions being given by our GPS devices, it took just under one hour to relocate to our new campsite on the Turon River, 6ks’ to the east of Sofala.
Having spent a long time with metal detectors at this site, we decided to have a quiet afternoon and a longer happy hour. With the temperature a little warmer in the late afternoon, we cooked outside and joined our friends for our evening meal in the open air.
A quickly reducing temperature drove us inside. We were aware that the forecast for the next day included a morning low of -4 degree (c).