Busy days in Spain

We've spent a few busy days in our little apartment in Barcelona.  Lorraine and Bill have had a few problems sleeping, as the apartment is directly above a very busy, very noisy tapas bar which opens late and goes all night.  One night we decided, after a drink or two in our room at 2.00am, that if we can't beat'em we would join them, so we toddled downstairs to mingle with all the beautiful young people intent on keeping us awake.  

Well, we tried to get a drink at the bar which was manned by only two people, and after waiting around 20 minutes we gave up.   On our way out, Lorraine gave the doorman a piece of her mind (I think she may have been just a little bit inebriated), then we moved on to the nearby Irish Pub where they were very happy to serve us - we poured ourselves back into our apartment about 3.30am, a little the worse for wear.

When travelling to new places, I love to visit the local food markets to get a snapshot of the 'real' town, where people meet, eat and buy their groceries.  I find it fascinating to see 99 varieties of chillies hanging in bunches in a stall that sells only chillies, or a stall that sells 200 different versions of ham, chorizo, bacon and cheeses.  The Mercat Boqueria in Barcelona was wonderful - food was beautifully presented, if you wanted to buy a freshly squeezed fruit juice, there were so many varieties all lined up and sitting in shaved ice - lovely.  And olives - I really dislike olives, but I'm travelling with 3 people who love them - so of course we had to buy some to go with the beautiful fresh prawns and cheeses that we bought from the market to have for dinner that evening.  

After picking up our car from the railway station on Thursday we went for a drive down to Sitges, about 40mins south of Barcelona, where Trevor and I had stayed on a previous trip to Spain.  We walked around the marina and had a delicious pizza and a couple of Caipirinha cocktails and beers for lunch.  Afterwards we had a swim in the Mediterranean, where Trevor and Bill tried really hard (seriously????) not to look at topless young (and not-so-young) ladies.  The water was very refreshing in the 30 degree heat.  We then drove into the main town, had a look at the beautiful church and the interesting shops before heading back to Barcelona.  A good day out.  Next day we were leaving Barcelona and heading for Valencia for a couple of nights.

Barcelona Architecture

Here is a link to a Picasa Album on Barcelona Architecture
Barcelona Architecture

Walking, walking...

Since arriving in Barcelona on Friday I've walked around 41km, according to the walking app in my phone.... no wonder my calf muscles are aching! 

First days in Barcelona....

Next day we did some more exploration of the area while waiting for Lorraine and Bill to arrive.  We took a walk down to the marina, Port Vell, which was redeveloped as a major recreational area and marina prior to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.  There are lots of activities, shops, restaurants to keep you occupied while viewing the 400-odd yachts and sailing craft in the harbour.  There must have been a race on while we were there, as the bridge was opened to let 20-30 yachts and crew from various countries through to the ocean - very entertaining.

Lorraine and Bill arrived around 4.00pm from Paris and joined us in our apartment.  It was good to catch up with them and hear all about their travels over the last month or so.  We had a 'set menu' dinner at a little tapas restaurant a few streets away, but it was pretty ordinary.

We decided to get a good overview of Barcelona by purchasing a 2-day pass for the 'Hop-on-hop-off' Bus tour for 35Euro.  We spent the next 2 days on the bus, and visited sites such as The Pedrera (Casa Mila), built by Antoni Gaudi, a famous and controversial Spanish architect who built many unusual buildings in Barcelona.  We also visited the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, both built by Gaudi, as well as several churches and the beaches of Barcelona.  

The bus is a great way to get around and get a feel for the city.  I love the architecture here, the old, the new and the downright outrageous!  Most of the buildings are so elegant, with wrought-iron balconies (or balconettes), and not a lot of high-rise.

Chargrilled squid &
grilled pepper puree

Duck carpaccio with mango salsa

We've had some interesting meals here - the best one so far was Shoko, at one of the beaches - we all enjoyed our meal which was 3 courses, a drink and coffee for only 11.50 euro pp.  Really interesting food for a very reasonable price.

Tomorrow we'll probably have a swim at one of the beaches and have a serious think about where to eat next....

Starting our Spanish Sojourn

The next chapter of our travels takes place in Spain and Portugal.  We are travelling to Barcelona, where we will meet up with friends, Lorraine and Bill, before hiring a car and driving a full circuit back to Barcelona.

Our flights from Canberra were with Qantas/Emirates via Adelaide, Dubai then Barcelona. We were lucky enough to bump into Bronnie's friend, Nori, at Canberra Airport, who arranged for us to be bumped up to Business Class for the Canb-Adelaide leg - very nice, thanks Nori!

The Emirates flights were excellent - mostly on time, plenty of room, comfortable seats and well serviced.  No complaints.

We arrived in Barcelona, where we were very happy to reunite with our luggage (haven't seen it since Canberra), then caught a taxi to our home for the next week - a 2 bedroom apartment in the middle of Barrio Gotico, near La Rambla.  The location is excellent, plenty of restaurants, bars, supermarkets around, so I think we'll be OK for a while.  We did a bit of grocery shopping, and wandered the streets for a while before heading home for a rest.  Travelling is soooooo tiring!

Later in the evening we wandered out to find food - plenty available, and we stopped in a little tapas bar a couple of streets away where we had the tapas 'set menu' of three tapas, paella or fish for 11 Euro pp.  Topped off with a half litre of sangria, we are finally in Spain!

Pre-Cruise Tour - Fairbanks, Denali, Talkeetna

We spent two nights at the Wedgewood Resort which was lovely - the suite was huge, set on a large resort which also housed a Vintage Car and Vintage Clothing Museum. As part of the Royal Carribean Cruisetour we had a tour of Fairbanks Town (which we already knew quite well by now), the University of the North, the Alaska Pipeline and panning for gold at Gold Dredge No 8. Trev and I managed to find $27 worth of gold between us, and Ruhani and Gary ended up with around $36. I had the gold set into a little necklace which actually looks quite good.

Next up, all aboard the Wilderness Expess Dome Train to Denali National Park. This train journey is definitely a pleasant way to travel. Luxury leather seats, plenty of leg room, clear-domed carriages so you get a good view of the surroundings, and first-class food in the dining car below. I loved it. After several hours of travelling through mountainous, changing scenery, we arrived at Denali - we stayed in the Grand Denali Lodge, perched high on the mountain overlooking the town. The room was very good, with excellent views.

Next morning we boarded a coach to take us into Denali National Park, hopefully to spot some wildlife and enjoy the scenery. Well, we were very lucky. We saw Bald Eagles, Caribou (Reindeer), a porcupine, a couple of tiny ground squirrels, two separate sightings of grizzly bears, and finished with a sighting of mother grizzly and two cubs playing in the water. Other tours were not so lucky with their sightings.

Next morning, it was back on board the Wilderness Express to take us to Talkeetna, the town where the TV Series "Northern Exposure" was partially filmed. Talkeetna Wilderness Lodge was beautiful, with views (on a clear day) of Mt McKinley (Denali), the highest mountain in Alaska. Unfortunately, we didn't get one of those magical clear days, so we are yet to actually see Mt McKinley. But we watched the sunset, around 11.30pm from the balcony, and that was good.

Breakfast next day was at an interesting and very popular place called the Salmon Bake - not one of the walls or floors was straight, and you felt like you were drunk without having a drink! And of course, the meals were huuuuge! They don't know how to have a small meal here in Alaska. I had a breakfast burrito, and Trev had a standard breakfast and they really should have seen us through till dinner time. But, of course, they didn't. After breakfast, it was back on a coach to take us through to Anchorage.

Our Next Adventure - Canada and Alaska

We started planning this trip in March, and it's finally here.  Our friends, Ruhani and Gary, have joined us on this adventure.  After two 10-hour flights (Sydney-Seoul-Seattle) we arrived in Seattle to have one night's stay before flying on to Fairbanks, Alaska.  We had a brief look around Seattle to check out Pike's Market and the area of the Space Needle, and I have to say I'm so impressed with the Seattle transport system.  We stayed out near the airport, and used the light rail to go into the city - cost us $5 for a day ticket which covered all light rail and bus systems around the city.  Although we didn't have a lot of time there, we got an idea of what to have a look at when we return to Seattle in August for 3 days before coming home to Canberra.

The next day we caught an Alaska Airlines flight to Fairbanks - around 4 hours.  We arrived around 10.30pm and contacted Allan, our host at the Downtown Log Cabin, to pick us up and take us to our cottage for the next 2 nights.  He was a great host, and had lots of interesting stories to tell, having moved to Alaska many years ago with his wife, Verna and four kids, to work on the Alaska Pipeline.  They own a couple of properties which they rent out during the summer, and we had rented the Hall House, a two bedroom cottage.  It was very comfy and cosy, and had everything we needed - including lots of supplies to make our own breakfasts over the next two days.  We got ourselves organised, and watched the sun 'set' just after midnight, only to 'rise' about 3 hours later.  Very strange, trying to sleep in daylight - even after 24 hours of flying time. 

Trevor and Gary had booked a trip to the Arctic Circle the following day, while Ruhani and I were left to our own devices.  They were picked up around 7.00am, and Ruhani and I had a chat with Allan who suggested a walk into town along the Chena Riverbank, have a look at the Fairbanks Visitor Centre and grab some lunch, then he would drive us out to the Riverboat Discovery Tour.

The Visitor Centre was very good, with excellent displays of Alaskan Native culture, and information on the Alaska Pipeline and Mt McKinley (Denali).  We had lunch at the local 'Diner", which was not great - I ordered eggs benedict, and they came out covered in lumpy yellow sauce which was not terribly appetising and looked awful - you win some, you lose some.

We headed back to our cottage and Allan drove us out to the Riverboat Discovery Tour.  This was excellent - well done, well organised, and the young people (mostly students, and many of them Athabascan Indians) were very knowledgeable about their culture and history.  The paddle steamer took us down the Chena River past many amazing and some 'creative' homes, log cabins and mansions.  We stopped at the Dog Mushing property of Susan Butcher, four-time winner of the gruelling Iditarod Dog Sled Race.  We watched a demonstration of the dogs pulling a quad bike, and they were just amazing - they were so excited and keen to get going, they were nearly jumping out of their skins.

Next, we paddled up to where the glacial river, the Tanana, meets the non-glacial Chena River - it was quite obvious where the silt-filled glacial river met the Chena - two totally different colours and temperatures.  On the banks of the river were fish traps - large contraptions which scooped up fish and dumped them into a central bucket.   

We stopped at an Athabascan Native Village, with presentations by some of the young students about their way of life as nomadic indians who have now adapted to a more western style of life while still keeping their own identity.  The skins of wolves, wolverines, arctic and red fox, muskrat, beaver, and bears were on display, as well as salmon drying and smoking huts.  We returned to the Riverboat Discovery centre and had our photos taken in the '40 degrees below' room.  Quite chilly!

Ruhani and I finished the day by having dinner at 'Big Daddy's BBQ' then returned to our cottage to find that Trev and Gary were home after their big day out at the Arctic Circle.  So Trev has crossed that off his bucket list now.  Next morning, Allan drove Trev and Gary out to the airport to pick up a car rental.  Trev gets to drive on the wrong side of the road again!

We did a bit of shopping at Walmart, had lunch (a very good Thai meal) then headed out to Chena Hot Springs, about 60 miles away.  It was a lovely drive, and we had our first moose spotting on the way out there.  Chena Hot Springs Resort was lovely, with plenty of activities available, but unfortunately we got out there a little late to do many of them.  But we did have a dip in the very hot springs - lovely.  Headed back, moved to our new Hotel, the Wedgewood Resort, did a bit more shopping at Fred Meyer - where you can buy your guns along with groceries, then dropped the car off at the airport and returned to Wedgewood for the next part of our trip - the start of the land portion of our Royal Caribbean Cruisetour.

Canberra Balloon Festival 2013

I spent the early hours of this morning on the Lawns of Old Parliament House in Canberra, taking photos of the wonderful Canberra Balloon Festival.  What a magic morning - and some amazing balloons.  Click on the link to view.  Enjoy.
Canberra Balloon Festival

Lawn Hill Gorge - an oasis in the desert

Wow, what an amazing place!  After travelling about 300km from Mt Isa, mostly on dirt road, we arrived at this beautiful oasis.  We had booked into Lawn Hill National Park for 3 nights, with us at one end of the park and Carole and John in the 'tent' area at the other end.  Each campsite was located to give everyone a bit of privacy so we weren't all sitting on top of each other.  Near us was a boardwalk area where we could go down to the river for a swim in the crisp, cool water. 

There are several good walks in the national park, and we did most of them over the 3 days.  On our first full day there we walked to Indarri falls, which was a series of waterfalls into a lovely turquoise lagoon, surrounded  by palm trees and eucalypts.  There were plenty of fish just taunting us in the lagoon, as of course there is no fishing allowed in the national park.  We continued on for a walk up to the upper gorge, with spectacular views over the gorge, then back down through the falls and up a ''short' walk to Duwaddarri Lookout.  Well, that walk may have been short, but most of it was uphill over very slippery shale, then of course a difficult walk down the shale back to camp.  It was a good, if tiring, day with spectacular views.

Next day we walked to the cascades, which unfortunately wasn't actually cascading, then the walk up the Island Stack and 'Wild Dog Dreaming' which again was spectacular, with a variety of birdlife flying and diving into the river, and some lovely wildflowers.  We followed this with a 2-hour paddle in a 2-person canoe.  I was rapt - the bright red colours of the gorge we paddled through, brilliant blue skies, a turtle on the bank of the river (though we did miss seeing the freshwater crocodile that everyone else seemed to have seen!), the clear turquoise water, and bright sunshine - what a magic day.


We had not originally planned to go to Lawn Hill, but Carole & John told us it was worth the trip - and they were totally right.  The scenery was spectacular, the colours brilliant, the birdlife abundant, and the vegetation amazing.  All in all, it's been one of the highlights of my trip so far.  

The only problem we had with this place was the booking system:  you have to book through a central office in Brisbane (which is responsible for ALL national parks in Qld), and we were given two nights on one site, with a third on the site next to us because it was fully booked.  However, when we arrived the place was half empty  - we ended up staying all three nights on the one site, because the people who were supposed to arrive didn't, which was good for us.  But everyone we spoke to about the booking system agreed that it hadn't worked  very well for them, and some had had to stay at Adel's Grove just up the road for a night or two before coming into Lawn Hill because it was apparently full!  I think even an honour system would work a lot better than booking all national park sites through one system in Brisbane, when the people in Brisbane have no idea of what is actually happening in the parks.

Boulia Camel Races - Finally!

Well, we've had some very wet, soggy, windy, days here at Boulia!  We've trudged through the mud and rain so many times to get to the toilets and showers and the main grandstand that we're all pretty good at mud-skiing.  Everyone is still in very good spirits, even though we don't know whether the track will ever dry out for the camels to actually run.  Lots of vans and cars are now so encircled by mudholes that there's no point trying to get out anyhow - and all the roads out of Boulia are cut because of rain, so we might as well just make the best of it.

The organisers are doing their very best to make sure that other events are still happening, and trying to provide entertainment in spite of all the problems.  The Rock n Roll night still went ahead, and I'm happy to say that we Canberrans were the ONLY people to actually get dressed up in our 50's gear and do a bit of Rock n Roll dancing on the Friday night!  We certainly made an entrance, and had a great time.  There was another group from Newcastle, I think, that dressed up as Elvises and they were having a good time too.  Our little group, together with some of the Camel Riders (all girls) had our photo taken to go in the North West Star newspaper in Mt Isa.  We had a ball!

The Camel Races didn't actually run on the Saturday or Sunday, but they did some camel tagging, rodeo events, gumboot throwing and tugs-of-war throughout the weekend, with a really good fireworks display on Saturday night.  The organisers finally managed to bring in  a grader to clear and grade the track for some races to go ahead on the Monday, so we did actually get to see some of the camels run on Monday morning before we headed to Mt Isa.  Trev and I had a bet on the second race, and came second - the odds that the only bookie left at the track was giving were so bad that we bet $10 and won only $6.50!  Not a great effort, but we can at least say we had a bet at Boulia Camel Races!

Monday afternoon we split up - Lai and Garry are heading for Winton, Lorraine and Bill are going back to Brisbane, and we are headed for Mt Isa together with Carole and John.  However, all the caravan parks were booked up (everybody escaping from Boulia once the road was clear), so we spent the night about 40kms south of Mt Isa on a clearing at the side of the road.  We had a good meal, another roaring fire, then arrived in Mt Isa early on Tuesday morning.  

We visited 'Outback in Mt Isa' and booked an underground mine tour, then arrived at our caravan park where we caught up on washing before going on the tour.  It cost $44 pp (seniors concession) and took a couple of hours.  It was very interesting, but probably a bit expensive for what we actually got.  

Tomorrow we are heading to Lawn Hill for a couple of days - it's supposed to be beautiful, and the weather has cleared up, so we're looking forward to it.

Bedourie to Boulia

Bright and early next morning we headed for Bedourie - about 190km of dirt and bitumen.  The road was pretty good, with no major problems.  We arrived by lunchtime, had lunch opposite the tourist info office, and found out that, to my dismay, the hot artesian springs were closed for cleaning, so no swimming on that day.  We tried finding a camping spot at the nearby creek, but it was too difficult for most of us to get into, so we followed Trev's Ozi Explorer map which showed a waterhole a few kilometres out of town - we couldn't find the waterhole but found the racecourse instead.  And it had a good-sized shed with electricity, two hot water showers, three sinks and two toilets.  So we set up camp around the shed, had a roaring fire, a good meal and hot showers -brilliant!


From Bedourie to Boulia was another couple of hundred kms, on mostly sealed, but some dirt roads.  We got all the info we needed at the tourism office, then headed out to the racecourse to set up camp for the next few days.  So far there were six of us, but Lai and Garry would be joining us the next day, so we needed to get an area that would support all of us.  Boulia had had a bit of rain over the previous few days, so there were some very slushy bits of ground.  Anyway, we managed to get a good camp set up, and we're hoping that the rain will hold off, through the forecast is not good.


Garry and Lai arrived next day after 3 months of travelling around QLD and NT, and it's really good to catch up with them.  We booked into the local pub for dinner that evening, and I'm happy to say it was a much better experience than at Birdsville.  They actually took bookings, and the meals were good country pub meals. We bought some tickets in the meat trays, and Garry won one of the prizes - a good serve of frozen fish, so we'll be having that for dinner tomorrow.  It started to rain that evening, and the ground is looking very soggy - so bad that the Camel Races may not even take place ... still waiting to find out.

Windorah to Birdsville

We travelled on through Windorah after refuelling and stayed the next night around 180 km from Birdsville.  We found a nice little spot just off the dirt road behind a few trees to set up camp.  While setting up we were entertained by literally hundreds of little green budgies performing an aerial ballet - they would all swoop in one direction, then suddenly turn and head in another direction before breaking up into little groups, going separate directions, then reform into one huge mass.  It was fantastic to watch, then they all settled into a couple of trees for a while before taking off again.  Nature is wonderful!  And we were also treated to a wonderful sunset while keeping warm around our campfire.

Next day we headed for Birdsville, where we finally met up with Lorraine and Bill, who had travelled across from Brisbane.  We'd been trying to catch up with them since Quilpie, but couldn't get in contact.  We booked into the caravan park for a couple of nights, as we planned to spend at least one night camping in the Simpson Desert, just past the large sand dune named Big Red.  

That afternoon we rearranged our vehicles and packed tents, sleeping bags and enough food for a night out in the desert.  We set off next morning, leaving our vans behind at the park.  The road out to Big Red wasn't too bad, but recent rains had affected the road, and we had to take it easy as Bill and Lorraine had recently bought a Captiva, which was AWD but not 4WD, so they didn't have as much clearance as we did.  We got up to what had previously been a river crossing but was now a large lake (Lake Nappanerica) and had a huge detour (a go-around) around the lake to get to Little Red, then on to Big Red.  The detour was a bit rough, but the lake was absolutely beautiful, with lots of birdlife, trees in the middle and red algae and vegetation through the water.  With the red dunes as a backdrop, it was quite spectacular.

On arrival at Little Red, we watched a few cars drive up, then drove up ourselves and checked out the view.  From there we drove around the lake and onto Big Red.  We spend a good couple of hours watching vehicles driving up and down both sides of the dune, and clapped and cheered along with everyone else when the vehicles made it to the top, and laughed when they didn't.  It was great fun, and everyone was having a good time.  While there, we bumped into the local member for the area, Bruce Scott - Trevor and I had both driven him several times in Canberra in our jobs as Comcar drivers, so we had a chat with him.

We found a spot to camp (believe it or not, in tents!) between the beautiful sparkling lake in the foreground and Big Red in the background.  Couldn't have picked a better spot - and it was free.  We climbed Big Red to watch the sunset with a glass of champagne, then cooked dinner and had a roaring fire that evening.  What a great day.

Next morning we packed up, then Carole & John, Bill and Lorraine headed back towards Birdsville while Trev and I drove up and down Big Red a couple of times - and yes, I drove up and down it myself.  Woohoo!  The good old Rangie conquered Big Red.  We followed the road on the other side of the dune to go back around Little Red and caught up with Carole & John to head back to Birdsville.  Our car and new caravan are now looking very dusty and dirty - red sand and dust caked onto every surface.

When we got back to town Trev and I popped into the Birdsville Bakery for a curried camel pie and a kangaroo and claret pie for lunch.  A young man and a film crew walked in, and I realised it was Tom Williams from 'Dancing with the Stars' and 'The Great Outdoors' - they were filming a segment on Birdsville for 'The Great Outdoors', and we ended up being in the background while Tom was ordering his curried camel pie - so now we're famous!

That evening we all went over to the Birdsville Hotel for dinner - well, that was a bit of a mistake.  On our last trip out here we had had a really good meal, so thought we'd do it again.  When we went to order a meal (you can't book, you just have to turn up and hope you get fed), we were told it would be around an hour and a half wait for our meal.  Well, over 2 hours later we were finally served.  I know they had a busy night, they must have had a  couple of hundred people there, but this was ridiculous.  And our food was not great!  Lorraine's was cold, mine was overcooked and they'd run out of mashed potatoes and veges, so I got the last remnants of curly chips and about six peas - not impressed at all.  Won't do that again!  People at the next table to us had ordered at the same time, and two of them were fed around the same time as us, but the other two had still not received their meals as we were leaving.  Very poor.

Next stop - Bedourie then on to Boulia for the Camel Races.

Heading North for Boulia Camel Races

This trip will be our first in our new Paramount Duet Expander caravan.  We purchased it a few weeks ago from Canterbury Caravans in Bayswater, Victoria, and we're really happy with it so far.

The plan is to travel up to Birdsville with Carole and John, where we'll meet up with Lorraine and Bill, then on to the Boulia Camel Races where Lai and Garry will join us.  From there, we are heading to Karumba, on the Gulf of Carpentaria, then on to Townsville and back home.  

We left on 1 July and spent our first night in Lake Cargelligo.  We stayed at the caravan park for only $20 per night for a powered site.  They had a good fire going at the camp kitchen area, and we certainly needed the heat.  I'm sure that Lake Cargelligo would be a nice place to stay in good weather, but while we were walking around the town it started to rain, and it felt like needles of ice piercing my face.... bitterly cold.
  
Next morning, we were off to Louth, where Trev has previously spent many hours with his fishing buddies not catching fish.  We had been there before with Bill and Lorraine, and stayed at a free camp on the banks of the Darling River.  We set up camp in the same spot, then went up to Shindy's Inn, the local pub, for a drink and a bit of local knowledge in regards to the road conditions etc.   Apparently all the roads we are planning to travel on are in pretty good condition at the moment, so things are looking good.  It was still very cold in Louth, and my little hot water bottle came in very handy.  Trev threw in his yabby net, and managed to catch a grand total of 3 yabbies - we felt sorry for them, so released them to live another day.

From Louth we travelled up to Hungerford, which is just over the border into Queensland.  On the way, John had a bit of an altercation with a large emu - didn't do any damage to the car, but the emu definitely came off second best.   He had badly broken one of his legs and was unable to get up on his feet - poor John had to put him out of his misery, which wasn't pleasant.

We refuelled in Hungerford, then onto the Currawinya National Park on the Paroo River.  It was a beautiful spot, we found a camp right on the river and decided to stay for 2 nights.  There was plentiful birdlife around the waterhole, and it was very pleasant sitting on the riverbank with a drink, a good meal, and watching the sunset and moonrise.  There are some shearers' quarters and a huge shearing shed (with some machinery) in very good condition, as well as ruins of a couple of homesteads in the park, so there's plenty to look at.  


On the second day we travelled up to the two large lakes in the park, Lake Numalla (freshwater) and Lake Wyara (saltwater).  Both lakes were quite different - Numalla was almost yellow, and Wyara was blue, with a huge pelican colony on banks in the middle of the lake.  Wyara is the breeding ground for the pelicans and other waterbirds, and there must have been thousands of adults and chicks on these banks.  It was a wonderful sight.  In the late afternoon we drove from the lakes to a rocky outcrop called 'The Granites' - gorgeous red rocks which we climbed up for a great view over the national park.   It really is a lovely park, and hasn't been 'over-sanitised' which is what seems to happen to a lot of national parks in New South Wales - they have too many rules and regulations which are really designed to keep travellers out, rather than welcome them in.

From Currawinya we travelled north and stopped at a tiny town called Toompine (population 3) - it's tagline is 'The Pub with no Town'.  It literally is just the pub, but offers free camping to travellers, obviously on the premise that if you are staying there you will probably have a meal or a drink at the pub.  This is something that a lot of little outback pubs are doing to stay alive and works very well.  While having lunch there we were chatting with the publican and another couple mentioned that they were going on to Quilpie - she said that if we wanted to stay at the caravan park we should book ahead as it was filling up fast.  I said we were planning on staying there too, so she phoned the park and booked four sites for us all - pretty good service, but nothing out of the ordinary for country people.  They all work with each other out here, which is a great thing to see.

We arrived at Quilpie caravan park, set up, then booked in for a cooked meal around the camp kitchen - $15 for silverside, veggies, white sauce and damper, together with a singalong around the campfire.  Great fun, and a good way to meet other travellers and have a chat and a drink.

So far on our travels we've learned the following things:

• make sure you close and test all cupboard doors and fridge door before setting off (had a couple of drawers pop open and spill contents onto the floor, but nothing too drastic)
• red dust will find it's way inside, no matter how airtight you think your van is
• watch out for emus - we've decided that the collective noun for emus is:  'a stupidity of emus' - because they have a body the size of motorbike and a brain the size of a gnat, and if they see a car they will actually aim for it instead of running the opposite direction
• double-check all your instruments - especially the one that tells you whether your watertank is full or empty (we ran out of water even though Trev was positive he'd totally filled the tank).  But the meter showed we were out of water and it was correct!

Tomorrow we're heading for just past Windorah then onto Birdsville to meet Lorraine and Bill.