We woke up to a luxurious warmth this morning, owing solely to the fact that the generator had run all night and thus the power had also remained on for the entire evening. This was due to an issue with the water supply, when a couple of unrelated incidents had seen the supply tank run dry. To replenish the supply, the pump for the bore needs to run. It was win, win for us, as with power available, we could run the heater all night.

Although, as we found out just before we went to bed last night, it was either the heater or the microwave, but not both at once. Drawing too much power, I managed to black out half a dozen sites. I poked my head out of the door to find at least one confused little Asian bloke from the hired campervan next door, running about with a lamp shining brightly from where it was strapped to the middle of his forehead, trying to figure out why his headlamp was the only source of light he had that was still working. I shrugged my shoulders and put a look of what I hoped would convey perplexity on my face, as if to say “how would I know?”, before running back down to the reception area in the hope of finding a staff member up late, who was able to solve our dilemma. I was in luck, and now know exactly what to do should I happen to test the limits of the power yet again.

Anyway, back to today, when we did wake up, as late as it was we didn’t feel particularly well rested. Bec was beginning to feel the effects that yesterdays digging efforts were having on her lesser used muscles, while I was just feeling the effects of having stayed up until 2:00AM. Being that today was destined to be a day of rest and relaxation, we therefore chose to take our breakfast in bed, while watching a spot of TV.

When we did finally manage to extricate ourselves from the bedroom, it was to find that it was actually rather chilly outdoors. In an effort to warm up to some extent, we strolled down the meandering dirt path to reception, where we were able to collect a descriptive booklet that was to lead us on a 3½Km nature walk about the outskirts of the caravan park. I honestly don’t know what made us think that going for a Sunday afternoon hike would be a good idea, what, with our muscles already complaining of overuse and threatening to go on strike, but walk we did. And I can tell you, that walk, or at least the version we managed to take was longer than 3½Km. A wrong turn or two here and there quickly added to the distance we were sauntering.

A VIEW OF OUR BUSHWALK.

That said, it was a rather interesting experience, with a menagerie of trees numbered, with correlating descriptions presented in the guide we had borrowed. Not only were descriptions provided, but also an idea as to how each of the plants may have been used in the past by the local Aboriginal tribes.

Returning from our bushwalk, it was back to the van where todays chores still awaited us. Today it was my turn to get stuck into some work, while Bec sat back and watched. A nice change for her that was. As a result, I soon found myself sitting outside, a chill breeze wafting the scent of a nearby campfire alluringly past my nose as I strove to rid the dogs of their loose hair. Having dragged the brush through both of their coats, I managed to remove a decent bag full of stray tresses that otherwise would have found themselves floating about the caravan instead.

It was then time to begin the despondent job of packing up the awning. We are due to leave Gemtree in the morning, a proposition that means I need to pack up as much of our camp as I can today. In a bustle I flapped and folded and rolled, packing up our awning and groundsheet, stowing all the associated bits and pieces. It is always a sad task, but more so today, as it means that we will be again moving closer to home tomorrow.

I had just enough time to kick back with everything done, before it was time for dinner. To give us break from the cooking and cleaning duties, we had decided to head on over to the outdoor camp kitchen again tonight, where fish and chips are on the menu. We have been promised that only the best, frozen and battered fish will be served up. None of that fancy shmancy stuff here. But if it saves us from the tedium of cooking and cleaning, I couldn’t care less.

The Sun Goes Down On Another Day.

Freezing cold as it was again by now, and the outdoor dining room, regardless of how many fires it was lit by, better suited to a warmer, dare I say tropical, climate, we stayed only as long as it took to eat, taking our leave just as the manageress got the party started with a reasonably awful karaoke number.

Back at the van once more, with the parks water tank still not reaching the mark of being full, we again had the unexpected luxury of overnight power. Sure, we could easily have made do without it, but as they say, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. So, careful not to cause another meltdown, I alternated between warming a generous mug of milk for a hot cocoa in the microwave, and running the heater flat out to remind us of the tropical warmth we had been hoping to experience more of here in the tropics.

Until next time, have fun, stay safe and don’t forget to write.