I have been down in this delightful part of the world many times in recent years drawn by the allure of the gorgeous desert landscapes allied to the convenience of having friends who live here.

Speaking in May about the new service, Diamantina Mayor Geoff Morton mentioned the transformation not just to fly-by-nighters like me but to essential services in the region with instant and reliable access to world’s best practice.

The key word there is reliable as I found out yesterday (Thursday).

I was down here to catch the last day of the Big Red Bash at Birdsville.

The plan was to fill up with fuel in Boulia using the company fleet card.

However when I arrived in Boulia to my dismay the servo was displaying the sign “cash only”.

It wasn’t their fault, the whole town had lost the internet they said.

I had about $180 cash to last the weekend and decided to drive on to Bedourie and fill up there, thinking this was a local problem. But I was wrong, the Internet was also kaputt in Bedourie and the lady behind the counter at the Simpson Desert Oasis told me everywhere west of Longreach was affected.

Needing fuel I filled up, watching the bowser anxiously as the $1.80 or so a litre diesel ate in to my cash reserves.

I didn’t fill up completely but drove on, enjoyed the day at the Bash (though not spending as much I as thought I would) and had a nervous drive back to Bedourie as my tank hovered on empty.

I made it safely back and heard the good news that Internet connectivity was restored and therefore I wouldn’t need to take the drastic step of busking in the street to raise money for my fuel back to Mount Isa. It was a reminder however that Internet connectivity is never 100% reliable and we should never 100% rely on it. This is still a remote and potentially dangerous part of the world for thoughtless people like me who take things for granted that they shouldn’t – Derek Barry