We were keen to arrive in Townsville by around midday so we
were up bright and early to get packed up and on our way. We were delighted when two groups of campers
came up to us and said how impressed they were with the boys and what a
wonderful adventure we must have all had.
I think that they thought the boys would be disturbing the peace when we
pulled up! Not our boys – they
entertained themselves with no screaming or yelling just normal chatter.
Each day Connor has helped by climbing up on to the roof
rack to place the items and then Peter has tied the load down. The grey tape has come in handy before the
rope and today Connor must have thought he would use the rest of the roll as he
kept adding more and more. Jake and Tim
took it in turns to be able to also go on the roof rack but today as it was our
last major pack up both boys were up on the roof.
On our way we had to pull over to allow a couple of trucks
with large loads to pass – they were escorted by four forward vehicles
including two police cars and a follow up vehicle. Wide loads are quite common on these roads
with the transport of equipment to the various mines.
Campaspe River rest area has quite good facilities including
flushing toilets, BBQ’s, a shelter area, and tank water. Peter must have been too busy to finish his
morning ablutions as part way along the road out came the shaver – much to the
amusement of the boys but not me.
With less than 140 kilometres to go we soon arrived in
Townsville and how good it was to know that we were at the end of our
travels. With only about thirty
kilometres to go Peter suggested that we do a round robin of compliments for
the person sitting round from us and then randomly. It was really interesting to listen to what
we each had to say. We were still
friends!
We stayed overnight at the Big 4 Walkabout Caravan Park (we
had stayed here last year as well) and the boys were soon in the pool or
playing on the bouncing pillow – it was great for them all to have these fun
things to do. It was 27 degrees and just
so lovely warm. The tents were put up
for the last time! Our site was adjacent
to the camp kitchen which was very handy with boiling water on tap, table and
seating, BBQ and fridge and stove.
Shopping included ice cream – a real treat.
The next morning before heading off to the house where we
are now house sitting in Townsville the Patrol got the first clean to get the
worst of the dirt off – Connor and Peter enjoyed as much water fighting as
cleaning I think.
We have now completed our epic journey from Kensington in
Victoria to Townsville in Queensland via the Simpson Desert. We had travelled some 4000 plus kilometres
through some very difficult terrain and outback areas. With five in the Patrol and all our gear and
food and water, plus an extra sixty litres of diesel carried for parts, we had
a very full vehicle. We had no major
problems – we now had a chip in the front window screen thanks to a truck on
the Winton to Hughenden road, some wiring (belonging to the caravan plug) had
been broken, the backing light had been dislodged and the left hand tool drawer
in the back of the Patrol had a break in the door front. In all, nothing at all worth worrying
about. We had played quizzes each day to
cement our learning of the areas we had travelled through, we had enjoyed card
games each night, we certainly knew how to erect and take down camp, and we
were all still friends. It had been
amazing experience for us all and we were all so pleased to have enjoyed it
together.
|
Tim swimming at the Big4 |
|
Connor having a swim |
|
Connor and Tim |
|
Jake sure looks like he is organizing something |
|
Down the slide |
|
No show without punch Tims turn |
|
Jake on the jumping pillow |
|
Jake and Tim |
|
Must be story time |
|
Tim thought that if Peter needed a shave then so did he!! |
No comments:
Post a Comment