Camooweal Billabong to Bitter Springs (Mataranka) - 20 June to  25 June

Last night at Camooweal Billabong 

Our last night at Camooweal Billabong was quite special, as this could be the last time we and everyone else are able to enjoy this excellent camping site. We are thinking that Mt Isa Council may come to their senses and not close it, but then again we're talking about politicians coming to their senses. Well there could be a first time for this to happen!

However before we could really enjoy our last night and another fantastic fire on the shores of the billabong, Alan had an important chore to do.

When he was doing the washing up the night before, the soft silicone top of one of our collapsible storage containers got sucked down the kitchen sink. It was just the perfect size to be sucked down and not come out! You can compare the size against the sink plug.

Normally you wouldn't take this top off the lid, but it was off this time.

That little cap got sucked down the sink and was restricting the water flow. Even our plunger couldn't get it back up. We didn't want it to go down into our grey water tank, as it would have been impossible to get it out of there.

Now I hear you ask, who carries a sink plunger in their van? We do, ever since our sullage line got blocked with fish scales, and Alan had to blow the line clear with his mouth. Yuk! This was back in our Jayco days, and this plunger has been used multiple times since then. Thankfully he hasn't had to blow down a sullage hose since :) A necessary piece of caravan equipment and very compact. We have a policy that whatever we have in our van must perform at least 2 functions - except for the plunger, because it's no good for anything else, but great for what it does do!

So under the van Alan ventured into the dust and removed the sink drain line from the grey water tank, while Jayne kept the sun out of his eyes (a big job). Once done, Alan plunged away at the sink, and Jayne stood watch outside until it popped out (an even bigger job).

What a lot of palaver, just to retrieve that little silicone top. Covered in dust and sullage, Alan jumped into the shower. That top's never coming off again!

From Camooweal we stopped for a night at Barkly Homestead Roadhouse and Jayne did many loads of washing. 9 days worth actually. Luckily the washing dries really quickly in this very dry atmosphere, and the whole job was done in about 2 hours.

We had dinner at the Roadhouse as well as two bottles of wine between us. What a pair of devils we are!

The Roadhouse has only just opened after it was burnt down in November from a fire in the kitchen. They have rebuilt it really well - the ablutions are way too fancy for out here - automatic taps, marble sinks and new tiled flooring.

Newcastle Waters South free rest area was our stop on the way to Daly Waters Pub.

Jayne had to resort to some special head wear to eat her breakfast due to the flies.

Daly Waters Pub

We've only ever been here once on our first trip in the NT.  It's a tourist drawcard, but once you accept that it's also a lot of fun in a very quirky sense.

Not so much a Grey Nomad place this time around as its the start of the Queensland School Holidays, so lots of families and kids everywhere. Kids!

Of course you have to have Braham cattle just roaming the street

Joining us on the veranda of the pub was a lady we also saw at Barkly Roadhouse who constantly had two miniature poodles squeezed together on her lap. If that wasn't strange enough, she also had a bird in a backpack! It was all a little too creepy, and at one stage, we thought she was going to dive in for some French kissing with one of the dogs.  We actually moved tables as we felt like we were intruding in their special moment :)

The stuff hanging inside the pub gave Jayne the creeps

There are lots of "special" signs around the pub. This is the pick of them from Jayne.

Longhorn cattle aren't seen often in Australia, but they had some great examples of these beasts here.

Bitter Springs Camping

This is an amazing area. Naturally heated spring creek where you drift down on a pool noodle ($7 from the shop - what a business!). Then you hop out, walk back up to the start and do it all again. The water is about 33°C. Spring water rises from underground at a rate of 30.5million litres per day. It was discovered by Europeans around 1870. There's been lots of conflict over the water with the Indigenous Australians over the years, but thankfully this area is open for all to enjoy.

It took ages to get a photo without hoards of people in our shot.

The next day we went really early after people had left the caravan park for their onward journey, and we had a much nicer time.

The whole experience is very serene, provided you can get away from the hoards, especially the kids!

It's amazingly beautiful

Friday Cheers!

Getting close to catching up with Chuck and Sue in Darwin in 5 days time. It's going be a hell of a celebration!