Fraser Island

11th August Saturday

Off to Gympie today for last shopping before going to Fraser Island tomorrow. Didn't drive into town as found a Coles at Goldfield Plaza. Stocked up and just had a wonder before getting back to camp lunchtime. Slowly put tent down over the afternoon and put the awning out as we intend to sleep in LRover tonight, makes it easier in the morning to just get up and go. Had a walk round memorial and took photos.

 Didn't chill down as quickly tonight with only a few clouds about. Spent the last evening talking round campfire again and saying our goodbyes.

12th August Sunday

Woke before alarm, showered had breakfast and left camp at 8am. Marion rang they were just aproaching Gympie. At Rainbow we were in rangers office getting permits when Laurie rang, Ronnie has blown a tyre on his trailer and they are at Standown Pk changing it. Went and had a coffee to wait for them. After getting their permits and filling up with fuel and water and food for their tummies drove up to Inskip Point to catch the barge

 to Fraser Island($100 return) we had already put down tyre pressures. It seems the low tide is quite high and is already on it's way in. It took us over 2hrs to get to our camp site for the week and the tide was very challenging in places

, had to make a few detours inland

 to get round the rocks,

 water washing under the vehicles as they drove along. We saw a big shipwreck on the beach.

 The wind made it very difficult to put the tent up but it's supposed to calm down tomorrow. Finally got everthing sorted just after 3pm,

 now the clouds are rolling in, feeling very tired. Lightening storm out at sea for several hours. Not a late night for anybody tonight.

13th August Monday
Warm night but very windy and rain. When we got up we had a swimming pool in the awning, Laurie gave us some mats to put over the top so we didn't have to paddle. It is still raining, at times the sun tries to peek through. The sea and sky are grey. Laurie says it should clear up today. The men spent time getting the fishing rods ready while the women sat around reading. By the evening the weather has improved tremendously. Going fishing off the north of the island tomorrow.

14th August Tuesday
Barely a wind and sunny start today. Laurie cooked us a fried breakfast before hitting the sand(road). Drove up the beach to Indian Head

 before taking an inland track to Champagne Pools,

 where we saw Wales blowing in the distance as we walked the boardwalk. We then drove back inland to Orchid Beach, no fishing done as other fishers seemed to be packing up their gear. The scenery all along the drive is as always, stunning.

 Decided to head back after an ice cream and the boys might try fishing off the beach by the camp. Laurie spoke to someone who said fishing is not good at the moment and to perhaps try further down the beach towards Cathedral. It has turned into a hot sunny day, such a contrast to yeaterday. Fraser Island is managed by QLD Parks and Wildlife Service and is a World Heritage listed protected area. The coastal waters are alsoprotected to protect the wildlife and habitat. Everyone so full after nibbles at Happy Hour,

 didn't have any dinner. Spent evening chatting with the surf going in the background.

15th August Wednesday
Warm night, Laurie already out catching fish,

 2 Tailor, Ronnie got his waders on and joined him

 and was soon catching fish. The rest of us just sat on the dunes with our cuppas watching. They had just packed up their gear when a dingo

 came along the beach, it saw us on the dune, then Laurie started using his catapult and it headed off into the bush behind our camp, we watched it climb the hill and circle behind usbefore dropping down onto the next beach further along. Except for Marion, who is having back trouble, we all headed off to Indian Head and climbed to thetop. At the top you can see the beach towards Waddy Point

and on the otherside towards Corroboree Beach.

Whilst there we saw Manta Rays

 in the sea, they must have been quite a size for us to see them so far out. We wnjoyed the walk and views. Back at camp after lunch the men drove off down the beach to do some fishing, not biting so they came back and tried their luck by the camp, success Colin caught a fish called a Tailor,

 Laurie cast out for him but he is still learning, the other 2 caught fish as well but we have the first fish we can actually eat. Ronnie and Laurie continued fishing till nearly dark, as were a lot of other fishermen along the beach. Good day.

16 August Thursday

Laurie and Ronnie already up fishing when we woke up.  Another lovely sunny start.  Very easy alow morning, late morning piled into vehicles and drove down to Cathedrals at Fraser for and ice-cream.  Passed tour buses stopped at the shipwreck and a small plane

which had landed on the beach.  Cathedrals is set back from the beach and is a private camp with fuel and a small store, we then drove to Eli Creek

 and walked the boardwalk along the creek into the forest,

 very pretty.  Back at camp Colin checking vehicle when 2 Rangers stopped and would you belive it one is a Land Rover nut, don't think they even checked our permits.  Ronnie and Laurie

 have gone back down to the beach to fish leaving Colin to look after us girls. Ronnie and Laurie arrived back after dark with bucketfuls of Tailors, they will go back to the same spot tomorrow morning.

17 August Friday

FRIDAY FACT - FRASER ISLAND IS THE BIGGEST SAND ISLAND IN THE WORLD

Lot of condensation in the tent, everything is damp and dripping.  Ronnie and Laurie already left to go fishing.  After breakfast pulled all the bedding out to dry in the sun.  Roonie and Laurie returned with a good catch, now to gut and fridge them all.  The rest of us just chilled.  We saw a white headed sea eagle over the camp, Laurie tried to tem[t it down with a fish but it wasn't playing, lovely sight.  Rose helped Laurie cooked dinner of crumbed Tailor and chips, scrummy.  Laurie went back out at dusk and caught a few more.

Back on the road

4 August Saturday
Colin went to pick up Laurie's new car with him it is a Discovery TD5 auto. It is a nice tidy vechicle can see how it has moved on from our earlier model. It has turned out to be a warm sunny day. Ron and Wendy popped round in afternon and stayed for dinner, it was a lovely evening and good to renew friendships.

5 August Sunday
Warm in the sun, Tim popped round and stayed for breakfast, Laurie does a mean fry up. Colin and Laurie got the camper trailer into the garage and were doing man things to it, readying it for the trip to Fraser Island. It was a slower day but still got things done. Skyped the twins who were staying at Natalie's and that was good fun.

6 August Monday
Rose making lists, contacted shipping company and they will be emailing shipping details to us later. Details arrived and we will drop Carnet off Wednesday, the LRover leaves country 6 September and arrives in UK 18 October, it seems if we drop Carnet off asap we should get it back before we return home, glad to have it sorted. Went out to the RSL (bit like British Legion in UK) for dinner, Colin and I went for the Roast pork, absolutely stuffed. Back at home Marion cooked a lovely chocolate pud which we had with custard and ice cream, we might start to put some weight on.

7th August Tuesday
Went and did our food shopping, as we are leaving tomorrow. Itis very warm out, summer clothes unpacked again. Filled up with fuel. Repacked boxes qnd left souveniers/mementos at the house. Weather forecast for next week looks good, low to mid 20s in the day with a chill at night. We cooked dinner tonight, good hearty British food, pie chips beans and gravy.

8th August Wednesday
Finished putting belongings in LRover and got away just before 10am, heading to Cargo Clear at Eagle Farm Brisbane, to drop off Carnet. Satnav should have taken us the shortest route, but it has a mind of it's own and took us via Morningside over the river and Hamilton, we shall go over the Gateway when we take the vehicle across. We have to contact them on the 22nd August for date they need vehicle, nice to have it sorted. We got onto Bruce HWay as soon as we could to clear Nth Brisbane, then onto route 60 towards Caboolture, where we stopped at the Centennary Pk.

for lunch, it was a lovely spot. Back onto road and stopped at the lookout at Beerburnum and walked up the mountain, it's 700mtrs but it was so steep

we didn't make it. We could see through the trees across to the Ocean

 and then the other way to the Glass Mountains, stunning. At Landsborough now driving towards Kenilworth, we have twisty steep roads and the views are amazing.

 Stopped for the night 6km south of Kenilworth at Little Yabba Picnic Area(free), lovely well kept site. Put up the Oz Trail Anywhere Bed so will try it out. Zip on main tent still playing up. Lit our BBQ and cooked Pork chops and jacket spuds. Chilled down quickly. It is nice to be back on the road and camping again, the stay at Marion and Lauries was needed and enjoyed.

9th August Thursday
Cold night, bed was good but still had condensation on the mattress, will try a blanket under mattress tonight. 6degs in LRover, there was a mist around this morning, but when sun comes out it was very warming. Left site at 10am, after waiting for tent to dry out, into Kenilworth where we visited the cheese factory. We took part in cheese and pudding tasting, yummy, we bought 2 cheeses(one garlic and the other sweet chilli) and a chocolate cheesecake. Kenilworth is a very picturesque small town. Carried along the Mary Valley Rd until Brooloo Rd. We pulled up at Imbil and had coffee and cake at the Rattler Cafe,

 whilst sat outside, the children from the school came walking past with hats they had made, even the teachers had dressed up. A teacher stopped and told us that the Melbourne Cup was coming to town on the train at noon. We had a walk round town, past The Railway Hotel

 to the station, eventually the train pulled in and all the children

 cheered as the Cup was carried off the train, we all gathered in the towncentre and were able to take close up photos of the Cup,

 Merzougah even touched it.

 Right place right time for a change. Back on the road up to Gympie. The scenery is stunning and very reminiscent of English countryside, it's beautiful. We found our way through Gympie to The Tin Can Bay Rd and our camp for the next few nights at Standown Park, and only $15 per night. The caravan park only used to take Vietnam Veterans, but when they applied for funding it had to be opened up to anybody, they do discourage children. It is in a beautiful open parkland setting

 and the facilities are very good. We joined happy hour round a campfire, talking to a few of the Vets before dinner.

10th August Friday
FRIDAY FACT - THE MELBOURNE CUP DAY IS A PUBLIC HOLIDAY IN VICTORIA

Much warmer night, wind got up in the night and was quite gusty at times. Beautiful sunny day. The owners of the park have built a memorial garden for the Vets, with flagpoles.

 In one weeks time it will be the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, so they are trying to finish the planting etc before then. Colin has volunteered to help today and is barrowing mulch to put round trees, following a Vet in a motorscooter who is watering them. You can already see that it will be fantastic when finished. On the anniversary the park will be packed with Vets and there will be marching and ceremonies. The volunteers worked till lunch. We sat in sunshine in the afternoon reading, trying to stay out of the wind. After dinner sat around campfire chatting and getting warm.

4 walls and a roof

28th July Saturday
What a cold night, heavy frost on the vehicles and grass. Went and had a shower, could have stayed there all day warming up. Decided last night we can't hack the cold any longer so heading to Brisbane, we spoke to Marion last night and told her but she will keep it a secret from Laurie so we can surprise him when we turn up tomorrow all being well. Didn't get away till 9.50, heading east along the Warrego HWay. Sun has come out but still a lot of cloud around. Passing pastures with lots of cattle in them. Road is bad still, but there are a lot of road repairs being carried out, due to flood damage. Past Roma saw a lot more trees, long straight rollercoaster roads. There are a lot of roadtrains on the roads today and we've spent a lot of time listening to the truck drivers on the CB. Finally stopped at Warra Rest Area, very tired, it won't be a late night.

29th July Sunday
Asleep just after 7pm last night, another cold frosty night, but we were much warmer sleeping in the LRover. Away before 8am back on the Warrego HWay still heading east, there are signs saying they are starting roadworks on 30th July, they need them as the road surface is pitching the LRover all over the place. Stopped for coffee, it's still cold only 14degs inside LRover. Colin put his jumper on and Rose has put her Uggs on. Found awning poles loose on the roof rack, hadn't put them away in the bag, looks like we lost one of the horizontal poles, it could have been worse. We are passing through grain country now. At Toowoomba we had a very steep descent on the east side, views were stunning between the trees, we could smell the brakes burning. We made very good time, rang Marion to say we we were only 10mins away only to find Laurie was out. It was great to see Marion. Just made a cuppa when Laurie arrived home, what a surprise for him!!! Spent rest of time catching up with both of them. It's great to be back in Brisbane again.

30 July Monday
Warm and a good sleep, Colin went with Marion to pick up Abbey as she's not well, poor Laurie has to go to work :( Colin spent the day taking fridge out of LRover and blowing dust out with compressor, he said it wasn't too bad. He's been clearing inside and moved the water tap switch to a better position. Rose spent day doing laundry and spending time with Marion and watched Happy Feet with Abbey. Surprisingly busy day

31 July Tuesday
Colin up early, Abbey not at all well she saw the doctor and has a nasty virus. Colin spent day tinkering with LRover.

1 August Wednesday
Colin again working on LRover whilst Rose helped Marion around the house and sat with Abbey when Marion had to go for physio on knee. Tried OzTrail camp bed in tent and it fits nicely, we will try out on the road and might get one as it gets the air bed off the cold ground.

2 August Thursday
We went to Wynnum Plaza for a look around and Rose treated herself to a $10 (£6) watch, then to Bunnings for electric cabling and switches. Nice to have a mooch around.

3 August Friday

FRIDAY FACT - WYNNUM IS WARMER THAN A TENT
Rose went with Marion to appointment at hospital to have knee checked out, healing well. Colin still tinkering and put lights inside vechicle to make it easier when looking for stuff. Leigh dropped in with her cat Bella, she is off the USA for 15 days holiday, good to catch up. Spoke to Dee will try and see her soon as she is now in Brisbane for a while.

Warm days, cold nights

21st July Saturday

Another cold night. Went into Longreach to library but couldn't upload photos, got a bit of shopping

and heat beads for BBQ then onto swimming pool for not very hot showers, but feel clean. Back at camp sat in sun for a while then went for a walk collecting firewood, our neighbour Jim (originally from Scotland) took his vehicle out to collect some bigger bits of wood. The heat beads we had bought needed firelighters, oops forgot !!! Got the BBQ going using just wood then coals. Big rump steak for dinner tonight enough for the two of us, cost $5 (£3). Eventually had dinner, the steak was lovely, had enough left over for steak sandwich tomorrow, which we put into a container to cool down. Lit fire and sat chatting to Jim and Julie till 10pm, got back to tent to find the steak had gone from the container with the lid on the floor, we think it was a feral cat as we've seen some on site in the evenings, (hope it bloody chokes).

22nd July Sunday

Not so cold last night, sunny day ahead. Went into Longreach to the Stockmans Hall Of Fame to see the show at 11am, it was very busy. The show is led by Luke who tells jokes

 and does tricks with his horses, he told us about how camels

played a part in early Oz exploration and when they were of no further use were set free into the bush,(owners could not bring themselves to kill them as ordered), there are over 1 million living in the bush. He had 3 dogs that rounded up a small herd of bullocks, (bullocks have no bollocks according to Luke), then he yoked up 6 bullocks collected a log and then used the strength of them to pull the log up onto a cart.

 Whilst yoking them he quoted a poem from the early 1900s that lasted about 10mins wiyhout any notes. It was a brilliant show, worth going to see. Back at camp Colin had a look at the brakes (not stopping) to find the nearside front pipe had 2 small holes in it, so we will not be leaving tomorrow, more repairs. Spent evening round campfire again with Jim and Julie, after we spoke with Natalie and Liz, another great evening.

23rd July Monday

Up and into Longreach with brake pipe, first stop Autopro, they didn't have enough pipe so we went to an engineering shop 2 blocks away, they had enough pipe but nobody to spare to flare the ends, (they use steel here and not copper) so back to Autopro for them to flare the ends, it has taken us nearly 3hours. Colin fitted the pipe and tightened up wheel bearings on front nearside, so back on the road tomorrow. Another BBQ and campfire before turning in. Not a bad day after all.

24th July Tuesday

Eventually left site (why does everybody want to talk when you leaving ?) first stop swimming pool for hot showers, then food shop and fuel, left town 10.30 heading east to Ilfracombe and Barcaldine. Stopped at Ilfracombe to look at some of the Great Machinery Mile, it covers 1km and is made up of machinery, equipement, farm implements, vehicles and wagons from yesteryear,

 quirky. Onto Barcaldine our camp for the night at the showgrounds, a bargain $5 per night for a tent. Had a walk into town to look at The Tree Of Knowledge. In 1891 there was a strike by the shearers, the unions wanted to stipulate who could work in the shearing sheds and to work according to union rules. The Tree Of Knowledge became a symbol of that period,

 also the Labour party was born. In 2006 the Tree was poisoned, the council received funding from many sources to preserve the Tree and built an architecturally designed memorial, which opened in 2009.

Reading the Heritage Trail signs along the street, it seems a lot of the buildings burnt down and were rebuilt only to burnt down again some years later. The original are characterful and charming. Whilst having dinner there was a rugby training session going on with what looked like under 10s followed by teenagers who were put through their paces.

25th July Wednesday

Warmest night in quite a while. Stopping another night. Woken up to hearhorses galloping past, later saw 2 riders excersing their horses. Sat in the sunshine eating breakfast, just what we needed. Had a walk into town for laundry and treated ourselves to a coffee at the bakery, we were going to upload photos but battery was flat on computer. Strolled back to camp site and relaxed in the sunshine for rest of day. Not feeling so tired now. Rugby training again tonight, the little lads are practising tackling, had a walk round campsite, not much happening but it's lovely and warm.

26th July Thursday

Cloudy start, forecast 25degs, away by 9.15 heading to Blackhall. Either side of road is very green, but also a lot of dead Roo's at side of road. Road surface is not good, back to potholes and corrugations on the bitumen. Stopped at Blackhall and saw the big ram

 in Ram Pk, the park

 is being set up as a living history of the district, the Ram signifies the importance of the sheep industry for the area. We saw statue of of Jacky Howe

the legendary shearer, he is Australias most famous shearer who shore a record 321 sheep in 7hrs 40mins in 1892. Walked to the memorial park and saw the statue of Leiutenant Turner,

 a local man who won the Victoria Cross and Military Cross in WW1. We have noticed all the towns we travel through are very proud of the achievements of their local people. We carried on along the HWay and stopped for lunch just north of Tambo, we were going to stop but decided to drive onto Morven, we made good time despite the many roadworks (the roads were very badly damaged due to the floods over the last couple of years). We arrived at 4pm. Camping at the Rec Ground is $5 per night with power, unbelievable. When sun went down it got very cold very quickly. Colin rang Laurie after dinner to find out how Marion is after her knee operation. She was in a bit of pain last night, they have bandaged her from ankle to thigh and at the time of calling she was trying to get in the bath, keeping the bandage dry, it made us chuckle.

27th July Friday

FRIDAY FACT - The name Australia comes from the Latin Terra Australis Incognito which means the Unknown Southern Land.

Craig's birthday. Very cold night, frost on roof of LRover. Warm weather gear has come out again. Had a walk into Marven which was founded in the 1860's and named after a town in Scotland, it was a stop over point for Cobb and Co. Coaches and Bullocky teams. We visited the Historical Museum, (Colin got a concession from $2 down to $1, every bit helps), it is a small museum but manages to cram in a lot of bygone era bits of bric a brac, old machinery, and Aboriginal artefacts. In a separate building is a miniture display of wooden buildings

as they would have been in the original pioneering days, amazing attention to detail. Outside is a hut made entirely of Kerosene tins

 from the 1930s, at that time during the depression it was the only accomodation available. It is a fascinating town. Backat site the sun is out but the wind has got up, several people have lit fires and after dinner we joined one of them, the old boy got out his guitar and sang songs and recited some of his poetry

 and told us of his times as a stockmans cook during the 1950s, it was a great evening and gave us a bit more insite into the hard lives of those days before mechanised transport. Into a cold bed with our hats and gloves on.

matilda highway

14th July Saturday

Harry and Ellie 6 today

Phone rang at 7.30 this morning, Natalie for a chat with Colin, really nice to hear from her. Cloudy and not warm. No leaks from LRover. Drove into town for a mooch, it's not very big and for a Saturday not very busy, ended up at a visitor centre, but staff not the most helpful and not a lot there. Mount Isa was founded due to the discovery in 1923 byJohn Campbell Miles of lead ore, Mount Isa Mines was set up and in 1931 smelter operations commenced. In 1943 lead mining ceased in favour of copper mining for WW11 needs, in 1946 it switched back to lead mining and in 1953 both lead and copper mining started. The town grew until 1968 when it was declared a city. There is no mountain in Mount Isa so the town name can't be shortened to Mt Isa. Just after 5pm we Skyped Harry and Ellie to wish them happy birthday, it was really good to see them and see how much they have grown, Harry got some golf clubs, bag and some "golfs"? for birthday and Ellie had a princess dress and a fashion wheel, as usual the connection not very good so in the end we rang them and had a chat. They really seem so grown up. It was lovely to talk and see them, missing them so much. End of another day and time for bed.

15th July Sunday

Packed up and left site

 by 9.30 Filled up with fuel then visited the Sunday market, expensive and a lot of jewellery, didn't stay long as very ordinary. Travelling East along Barklay HWay towards Cloncurry. Landscape very green with rolling hills in the distance. The top edge of the clouds are straight along the horizon,

looks like a snow field. Past Cloncurry onto Flinders HWay then turned off onto Landsborough HWay towards McKinlay. The landscape has flattened out and the trees have disappeared for a while, reminded us of the wheatfields in the south. Quite a few military vehicles passed going the other way, some of them were LRovers (the Australian army hasn't got rid of all of them yet Laurie). Arrived at the Walkabout Creek Hotel

 at 2.30 approx, our camp for the night, the Hotel is famous for being in the film Crocodile Dundee,

 it has memorabilia scattered through the bar area.

 McKinlay is named after the explorer John McKinlay who discovered the region. The town has Queensland's smallest library (only opens on Thursday's) to serve a population of 20. Sleeping in LRover tonight, much too windy to put tent up.

16th July Monday

Colin cold in the night, only had light sleeping bag on, Rose was fine (she had all the sleeping bag). Left at 9.15, wind is gusting very hard, there are no trees to stop it, it is coming from the East and we are driving straight into it. On Landsborough HWay to Winton. There are more cows than than there are trees in this part of QLD. We did see a few hills for a while then back to flat scenery, this is really outback QLD. Got to Winton just after lunch and staying at the rear of The North Gregory Hotel for free for 2 nights, will go in for a roast dinner $10 a head, which is cheap. Had a walk into town after erecting tent, it is a town with character, might visit the Waltzing Matilda Centre tomorrow. Wind is gusting, only got 430kms from a tank of fuel as heading into the wind most of the drive. Went to see Helen the entertainer in Happy Hour 5-6pm, she was good, told us the story of how the song Waltzing Matilda came about and sang a couple of different versions. It's tune dates back some 300 years to an Irish tune when an Ozzie changed it into a marching tune in the 1800s, where a young woman was heard humming the tune in front of A. B. "Banjo" Paterson who then wrote the lyrics, Waltzing Matilda was first performed at the original Gregory Hotel in 1895, it is recognised now as the unofficial Australian national anthem. Had roast lamb dinner, our second meal out since leaving Brisbane all those months ago. Time for bed.

17th July Tuesday

Good nights sleep, even though we are in a town it was very quiet. Blue sky and the wind has dropped finally. Saw Helen and bought her CD of the different versions of Waltzing Matilda, with history. Went to library and brought blog and photos up to date. In afternoon just chilled in the afternoon sunshine after deciding not to visit the museum. Arno's wall is just behind the hotel, the property owner who is originally German built the wall of concrete inserting all sorts of metal bits e.g. motorbikes,

 sewingmachines, tv's microwave ovens, typewriters,hubcaps even a kitchen sink and other bits of Ozzy eccentricity.

 Sat down with our neighbours Ron and Ellie late afternoon till dinner for a great chat. They had left the site in the morning to go south on a dirt track only to find it closed due to the mud. They also told us of a good free camp site near Longreach. Warmer night.

18th July Wednesday

Cloudy this morning and it feels damp. After lovely hot showers left Winton back on the Landsborough (Matilda) HWay east towards Longreach. Weather has not improved, very cloudy and drizzly, so much for being the dry season. Landscape is very flat and open with cattle in the fields. As we got closer to Longreach we are seeing water in the creeks and trees. Arrived at the rest area just about lunchtime, it is situated 4km west of Longreach. It is a flatlarge site but you can see the ruts left by vehicles from a few days ago when they had rain, there are 2 toilet blocks with signs stating you can get hot showers at the local swimming pool for $2.50 bargain. Blue sky is starting to come through as we set up camp, with no wind. Put all bedding out to dry off in the sun. Met a couple of blokes one in a Disco and one in a Range Rover, the guy in the Disco was just finishing off putting a new gearbox in his vehicle, he'd had to be towed from Winton last Saturday, he only got the Gearbox delivered that morning and fitted, by 2pm they were on their way to Brisbane, all credit to them with no assistance of any lifting gear. Lovely sitting in the sunshine for a change talking to the neighbours. We are staying a few days to recharge our batteries as both very tired physically and mentally.

19th July Thursday

Sunny morning, bacon and egg butties for brekkie. Warmed up in the sun before driving into Longreach for a look around, another town with lots of character, bought a few bits and pieces and picked up some info about the town, will look though and see if anything we would like to visit. Sat out in sun rest of day and read, Rose even got sunburnt. as evening drew in it got a lot colder. Spoke to Dee and then Laurie on the phone.

20 July Friday

FRIDAY FACT - WALTZING MATILDA MUSEUM IN WINTON IS THE ONLY MUSEUM IN THE WORLD DEDICATED TO A SONG

Cold night 6 degrees this morning, but sunny. An old Model T Ford

 from the Qantas Founders Museum was driven onto site, in 2009 it drove from Longreach to Darwin renacting the original drive in 1919, they give the car a run every Friday. Qantas was founded in Winton in 1921 but soon moved to Longreach where a hangar and the country's first purpose built landing field were constructed, the museum opened in 2002 and is built around the original historic hangar. We have done nothing today.

A track 2 many

7 July Saturday

No hats or gloves in bed, definitely warmer. Left site at 8.50am, bakc onto Plenty HWay, just after 10 stopped for coffee having travelled 70km without seeing another vehcile. Continued on for a bit when Colin pulled to side of raod,we have a problem. The spring hangar on the nearside has got detached from the chassis. 

Colin managed by using the towing strap and a small strap attached to a ratchet to move the axle forward, then using a hammer and cable ties got the exhaust away from the tyre, after 90 mins when only 2 vehcicles stopped to make sure we were ok, we drove at 25kph to Jervois Station 40 kms east of us, hoping they have welding equipment. Nearly 2 hours later arrived at Staion, booked in and explained the problem to lady owner, she said she would talk to her husband that night when he came in from mustering. Set up camp, we have showers, toilets, drinking water and plenty of food, there is also a payphone. Jervois Station covers over 2700 square kms and they farm beef cows, some of which wander through the camp in the evening, it is also a weather staion for the Bureas of Meteorology.Site soon filled up with campers and also people coming in for fuel (diesel $2.13). Not such a cold evening.

8 July Sunday

Woken by fellow campers up very eraly packing away, even though they din't leave till nearly 9am. Lady owner drove up to tell us that husband should be back this arvo to look at Lrover. We are the only ones left in the camp but lots of vehicles coming for fuel. Colin put his cruffs on and jacked LRover up, he managed to get the spring hangar off and cleaned up, it just needs welding back on :), he checked the offside but that appears to be ok. 6pm and no sign of anyone. After dinner rang Laurie from payphone, and explainednthe problem, it seems Dodzee is in Longreach and was hoping to meet up with us, Laurie had Dodzee on the other phone talking between us, plan is for us to ring Alice to find out cost of recovery from there and Laurie/Dodzee will do the same their end and we will speak tomorrow afternoon to decide what we will do. Rose feels much better knowing that Laurie is there to help us.

9 July Monday

We are getting warm temp 12 deg in LRover. We decided to catch up with writing journal onto computer today and a few other chores. There is nothing to do here. Just after 8am Colin was told he could use the workshop, things are looking up. Colin spent all day making plates for welding, one of the workmen Luke (2 dogs), he had already helped with advice, said he would be back at 6pm to do the welding. There are campers coming in from Tobermory saying they've had rain and road is muddy, later on heard a Road Train had got stuck and a camper trailer gone over, The Plenty is closed at Tobermory. Denise the station owner came over with a weather report, there is more rain coming from the east in a few days and the road is definitely closed, looks like we may have to go back. Spoke to Laurie and he told us if we could get to Mt Isa Dodzee's son Daniel might be able to give the Landrover a once over to make sure everything ok. Luke came and spent a couple of hours welding, it doesn't look pretty but it is strong.

  Got back to tent at 9pm and straight to bed, very tiring day. Rang Laurie and told heim we were acktracking and would ring again when we could.

10 July Tuesday

Fellow campers up and away very early, we think one blloke will be going through the closed road. Slowly packed away, Denise came up to tell us road from Tobermory now open so that is where we are heading, rang Laurie and left a message to let him know. Went to settle bill and were charged $150 which we thought was good. Left site heading east, road quite good and firm in places

but then you hit some soft sand, when you get to a crest the views are amazing. We even went through roadworks. Made good time and arrived at Tobermory station

just after 1pm. The campground closed in 2007 and reopened in May this year, as a duty of care as asked by the authorities, it is a nice site only thing no phone. Road to Boulia is still a bit messy but road via Urandangi to Mt Isa is clear, so hope no more rain. the site does have a noise problem with hundreds of Gallahs and a generator at night but we've got ear plugs. Camp hosts Steph and errol came and sat with us for a while before the rush started and it soon filled up. Lovely hot shower and bed.

11 July Wednesday

Earplugs are a good invention, slept right through. Tent wet due to fog, hopefully won't take too long to lift. Left site just before 10am QLD time. Errol showed us short cut to Urandangi track, the dirt road is very smooth just like the last part of the Plenty. Then Colin found the mudholes, he even managed to get mud on the windscreen, he had fun. Landscape is getting more barren with very few trees. Passing quite aq few cows which move quickly off the road. Stopped at the Dangi Pub for a cuppa and sausage roll, chatting to Pam we were told we were the 3rd vechicle through that day, as we were leaving a Landrover 110 TD5 pulled in so Colin had a bit of a chat. After our muddy adventure the fan has stopped working. Arrived on the bitumen at 2pm and it is 28 degrees, at one stage nearly ran out of trees

in the landscape, very barren, 
 on the Diamantin Developmental Road straight into Mt Isa.Found the visitor centre and they gave us a list of caravan parks, we chose Sunset caravan Park and arrived just before 4pm to find only 2 spaces left on unpowered area, beside the creek, booked in for 2 nights. Put up tent and had dinner out of cans, rang Laurie to fill him in on our adventures. Still 20 deg when we went to bed.

12 July Thursday

Up early, laundry done. Rang Repco to see if they had a water pump, they did, when we arrived wrong one but they have orderd one for tomorrow from Townsville. Back to site and we've booked a further 2 nights and asked if we could move pitches to be in the sun, no probs, threw everything in Landrover and carried tent approx 100 metres. Colin has bonnet up, fan now working, washers now working. Rose is cleaning Landrover trying to get rid of the dust, even washed the curtains. Finally sat down after a hot power shower, checking emails and updating security on computer. It is still warm but more cloud than blue sky.

13 July Friday

FRIDAY FACT - HARRY AND ELLIE WILL BE 6 TOMORROW

Warm night, met and English girl in camp kitchen who is now living in Oz with Ozzie partner and child, she worked in Northampton for a couple of years but lived in Rothwell, another small world moment. At 9.45 got a call to say water pump has arrived so scooted inot town to pick up and do a bit of shopping before returning to camp for Colin to fit part and Rose to upload photos to blog. Colin had to also change the fan belt which had been damaged due to the water pump moving. Rose spent hours uploading the photos, wifi very slow, so caught up with correspondence as well. Had message from Emma, it will be ok to Skpye tomorrow for the birthday kids, looking forward to it. Vehicle now back in one piece. Few clouds and some drops of rain, but not enough to get wet. BBQ Pork chops for dinner filled the plates. Just read for a bit after dinner, both tired.