SUNDAY 6 DECEMBER     LAKE MARABOON

I got up early. John slept until later.

It was nice sitting outside in the early morning – with a little cooling breeze and lots of birds.

After breakfast, we drove to Emerald and bought the weekend papers. Emerald is much more of a “proper” town than I had expected. I had associated it with the gemfields and assumed it was typical of such settlements. But it is not on the gemfields at all – they are some 80kms to the west. It is a service town, predominantly for the surrounding agriculturalists. It is growing very fast, due to the growth of irrigated cropping and new cotton farms nearby. From what we heard on the local news, aerial spraying of crops is a hot local issue, due to possible contamination of beef from the sprays. We did see some crop dusting as we drove – those pilots are crazy!!

On the way back to camp, bought some mangoes from a roadside stall.

We had a phone call from our Canberra friends. They are off to South Korea soon, for a month, and after that soon off again – to India for three months. Obviously, overseas travel, especially in Asia is what they enjoy most. Each to his own. I have no wish to travel overseas, these days, whilst there is still so much of this country to experience.

I phoned K to report our location. He says he is getting the pool ready for summer. That is good to hear.

Had a quiet day after that. Read the papers. Knitted some of a vest that I am making for P for Xmas.

We tried to phone JJ – the ex-husband of a close friend, who we knew had moved to the sapphire fields near Emerald. I found an address and phone number for him in the local phone book. But the number will not connect. Has he moved? Died? Not paid his bill? Gone south?

In the late afternoon, walked up to the lookout over the dam and read all about it on the information board there.

Tea was tinned fish, salad, leftover noodles.