A few Dollars More

---

DAY 276


We wake up again this morning in this beautiful environment, it is 7.00 Andy has already jumped out of bed and tells me that the lake is beautiful. Half asleep I jump out of bed put my fleece on (still wearing my pyjamas) grabbed my camera, really pleased that I have my lens back, wandered down to the side of the lake to take some photos.

Don’t get me wrong here, despite being tired I did open my eyes and look at the lake and not just take the picture, it was spectacular, the sky was blue, a few clouds dispersed, the colour of the trees reflected beautifully in the pristine smooth lake, broken only by the occasional bird dropping in for fish.

Photos done, I grabbed my cup of tea and went back to bed to wake up, that probably sounds a bit weird, but it was a chilly morning so bed was way too cosy to miss that opportunity. It was not long before I managed to surface fully dressed and game on for the day.

Darryl and Sarah (aka Wallaby Wanderers) are moving on today toward Mount Surprise, we are still deciding which way to go, we have a number of options and have also decided to rent Julies house in Cairns so that means we will have plenty of time to explore Cairns and the beautiful surrounds of the tropical rainforest.

A short while later Darryl and Sarah appeared on the sun and dew soaked grassy slope, while I cooked breakfast, Andy was typing the blog and chatting, we were discussing which way we were heading and how far we are likely to get today. The Wallaby Wanderers were discussing getting to Mount Surprise and staying at Bedrock, when Andy came up with a great idea, he suggested that we travel with them back to Mount Surprise for a couple of nights as we were heading back that way for our wedding anniversary treat at Undarra.

So, then I came up with a great idea, if we were going back to Mount Surprise then we could go for a fossick, a deep sigh emerged from Andy, he has visions of spending the day in the dirt and on the shovel, not that Andy minds spending a day in the dirt, but fossicking can be hard work in the outback heat.

Well, after some discussion, the decision was made and Sarah was just as excited about the fossicking. Mount Surprise has semi precious stones of Topaz, they are plentiful and waiting to be found.

We pack up, Darryl and Sarah much quicker than us because caravans are quicker to pack up, but of course we get talking to Jodie and her daughter Charlie from the neighbouring campsite which we inevitably do, so it takes us longer to pack up as usual.

Soon we are on the way out of the National Park and driving through the beautiful Tablelands toward Atherton where we will stop to stock up on fresh supplies. Andy uploads the blog and photos while I go and shop.

The shopping done I am on my way out of Woolworths and walking across the car park, when something catches my eye on the ground, the colour of a $50 note I bent down to pick it up and then realised that there was another one floating around, I looked around to see if there was anyone who may have dropped it, but no one was around. Getting back up to Andy I told him what I had found, he suggested I keep it, but I wondered if I should hand it in at the Police Station, I know how I would have felt about losing $100.

I thought, just in case, I would ask Sarah if she took any money out of the cashpoint, when she appeared I asked if she had, she said “yes,” so I said check your pockets a horrified Sarah said she had lost $100, “It’s your lucky day! I just found $100.” Dutifully, I handed over the money to Sarah, thankfully I had found it and not someone else.

Andy and I needed to pop into the butchers so we went back into the shopping centre, I left him shortly to pop back into Woolworths and when I came out I could see he was talking to someone who looked familiar, it was Julie. Andy says he was walking back to the truck when someone shouted “Andy” he was amazed to see Julie who we met only a few days previously at Lake Tinaroo, although she lives in Cairns she was in Atherton visiting friends.

We tell her that we will be happy to rent her house while she is away, we chat briefly and soon regroup with the Wallaby Wanderers and hit the road to Mount Surprise.

The road again is windy, narrow in places and road trains make it tricky for overtaking. We keep in touch with Darryl and Sarah via UHF, we could not hear on the first channel 22, then we found out that it can be a closed channel on most UHF radios so we tried 16 then we found out that it was the local channel for the fire service so we moved to 28.

We stopped at Archers Creek for lunch, Darryl knocked up some great ham sandwiches and a cup of tea. There was an American girl hitchhiking, on her own, she was heading to Georgetown, a guy stopped in a car but he was only going to Mount Surprise so he moved on. Sarah spoke to her, if we were travelling further we may have been able to help (as we were travelling in a pair), one of us could have taken her and the other could have taken the rucksack. Ordinarily we would not look at hitchhikers, but we had both noticed a missing woman notice on the board at Archers so it makes you think.

Back on the road we travelled through familiar countryside, we had been on this road before, but seeing it from the opposite direction. We could not get Darryl and Sarah on the UHF so we pulled over at the turning for Undarra so that they could catch up, it was only 10 minutes later, they explained they had been stuck behind a road train, we also have the benefit of being able to travel a bit faster as they are towing a caravan.

We rock up at Bedrock at just after 5.00, of course singing the theme tune for the Flintstones, Sarah has spied the mini golf course so a gauntlet has been thrown in our direction. Well the gauntlet has been accepted; we are game on in the morning.

We are shown to our site, we are lucky enough to have a site opposite each other, as we drive round we see Peter and Pat are here, we met them at Heartbreak Hotel at Cape Crawford, they were very keen to find out how our trip went across the Savannah Way from Borroloola, so before we had even put the jockey wheel down Pat was chatting to us, before we had chance to do anything else another lady came over to speak to us, Darryl and Sarah were already set up with the kettle on, thankfully Darryl made us both a cup of tea.

We pitched up got everything sorted, Andy showered so I took his nuclear clothes and put them in the washing machine with another huge pile, I had one machine Sarah had the other, they were busy all evening with the monstrous pile of clothes.

Andy and Darryl cooked a chow mein for tea (using the camp oven), it went down well, and for a change we were sitting inside a caravan and eating, it was a pleasure to sit indoors after dark for a change.

We were reading, chatting, doing blog work and then Sarah suggested a game of cards, so we played rummy, a fairly friendly but competitive game slightly more challenging than when Andy and I play it on our own, every card that I wanted Sarah put down, however as I was before Sarah I could never pick it up, so I was constantly changing what I should do with my hand.

It was late, the rest of the caravan park seemed to be asleep, we hoped that we had not been too loud for anyone close by as we were having such a laugh. We hung the washing on the line so that it would dry as soon as the sun was up in the morning.

Andy and I wandered back over the way to our tent, the stars are looking beautiful as usual they are in abundance here, we clamber into the tent and virtually fell into bed, which is tricky as the bed is on top of the trailer and 4 foot from the ground.

Goodnight bloggers, another great day.

---

Photos

Charlie and Jodie
Some of our camping neighbours

Lake Tineroo
Early morning at Lake Tineroo

Archers rest stop
Stopping for some lunch at Archers Rest Stop