Round 2...

This is the second attempt, hopefully this one will work better than the last one.

We're sitting just outside of Longreach at a free camp area, there are sooo many caravans. Everyone walks around saying hi, while checking out their set ups. As you can imagine, Az is chatting to whoever will listen about their set ups and asking questions and telling them about ours. It's interesting trying to visualise how big ours is compared to what we're looking at.... I tell you, whatever size it is, it's going to feel palatial! Then again, anything that I can actually stand up in, or even sit up in, is going to feel like a mansion!!

I drove for the first time today - thought aaron might appreciate a break after the mammoth effort from yesterday. He was agitated and bored within 3km. I try to keep talking to him when he's driving to alleviate the boredom (as much as I'm sure he'd prefer I just shut up), so kind of expected him to do the same...nope, straight into his book... Not a peep for 200'.!!

We went to the QANTAS museum today and did a tour of the 707 and 747...the guide could have seriously talked under water, although I think the concrete would have tried to run away! We needed panadol by the end of it - information overload..but was great to learn about.

Yesterday we did THE most boring drive EVVVEER!! We did about 600kms on the most boring road - there was nothing to see at all. We drove from Undara Lava Tubes to Hughendon, which we basically drove straight through because everything closed at 11am..being a Saturday - everytime we went to walk into a shop, they shut the doors on us. So we left Hughendon and drove straight through to Winton. We were a bit skeptical if anything would be open, but managed to get to the info centre...I had forgotten how much entry to places is! Holy sheet!! We drove around town and stopped at Aldo's (??) Wall - the guy that had put a concrete fence around his yard and basically shoved whatever bits and pieces he could find in there..lots of antiques and stuff. Aaron and I were wanting to rip some of the stuff out of the wall - soOo many amazing antiques. There was a bus full of oldies and you could hear them saying how it was an eyesore and should be pulled down. Really, some people will complain about anything!

We stopped in at one pub, thinking we'd have a drink with the locals...walked in and straight back out. Then went over the road and had a drink at another pub - bit dodgy. So were about to head to our free camp when I saw an ad for the "best pub in town", how could we go passed it??? So what started with one beer, ended in lots of drinks, dinner and accommodation. We worked out we'd been in the car for 4 weeks and decided to treat ourselves. Such a small world - we sat down at the bar and amongst all the usual stickers was a "save kirra" sticker...we asked the owner, Paul Nielsen, who gave him that...he turns around and said he put it there..and then continued on to tell us that Dick Van Stralen shaped all his boards and show us where to surf around australia...he bought us a few rounds and we chatted til they closed up (10pm...way past our bedtime). An old opal miner tried to pick me up at the bar, oh what an experience! The accommodation was traditional pub style...definitely catering more for the male.

Tomorrow we head to the Stockman's Hall of Fame and we thought we'd mosy onaround town. I've got to get a hat and long sleeved shirt for my fossicking in a few days time!! I'm going looking for ruby and sapphire. The old mate that was playing footsies with me at the Winton pub had found $60,000 worth of opal in one season...all illegally he was quite proud to tell us. He showed me a photo of his rig (mind's out of the gutter people!) And here I was thinking he'd have a little digger....he had a huge excavator and a 10 tonne truck!!! I was blown away.

Thanks to all who have been reading and commenting - have been loving hearing that you've been enjoying the blog...even if it's a bit long. So much to tell you guys (will be glad to get back on a computer though, the blackberry will need to retire soon!).

Stay tuned xxx