Wednesday, 10 August 2011

Day 39

DAY 39 – Tuesday
We had a bit of a sleep-in, and Darren decided to see if there was anywhere that he could do an oil change on the Pajero.  He asked at the bar and they directed him to a place down the road.  He put on his work clothes and grabbed the oil and he and Thomas headed off.  I cleaned up the van a bit and read a magazine.  Before long, Darren rang and asked if Mitch could bring his Jump start pack to him.  The battery had gone flat due to the Wayco draining the wrong battery.  They jump started the car and came back to camp.  We decided to have a look around Daly Waters and spend another night.

We drove up the road to an old World War II Airstrip for a look around.  Inside one of the hangars was a display of photographs and history of the site.  It was interesting to see that the airstrip was actually the first Australian International Airport, with planes coming from Australia and overseas.

Our next stop was the “S” tree.  This is actually a dead stump now, and you can faintly see the “S” that was carved into it in by John McDouall Stuart when he was exploring the area in 1862.  Not far from the tree is a flying fox that was used to carry people and food across the river during the wet season when Daly Waters was cut-off from the main roads.

Back into town and we went and checked out Chilli’s shop, and some of the other sights of Daly Waters, including the most remote traffic light.  The boys had a play with Chilli’s dog “Digger” and I am not sure if it was the dog or the kids that enjoyed it more! 

Once back at the caravan we decided that we had earned a swim, so we put on our bathers and grabbed our towels and headed for the pool.  The water was lovely and refreshing, so we stayed a while!

When we got back to the caravan we had new neighbours, Peter and Penny from the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and their two girls Chelsea and Olivia.  Darren chatted to them for a while and he and Peter compared widgets and gadgets, while they had a beer.  Before long they had struck up a friendship and swapped details.  Peter had a broken door on the toilet in his caravan, and Darren and he were trying to work out the best way to fix it.  Darren finished up using his Magyver skills and to Peters delight fixed the door with some Velcro tape.

We had curried sausages and vegetables for tea, and then headed over to the bar.  Mitch wanted to hear Chilli’s comedy act again and Thomas wanted to catch up with his friends for a game of pool.  We had a couple of drinks, and off to bed.

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