THURSDAY 3 JUNE     YULARA

We were up at a reasonable time. There is so much movement in this campground that it would be hard to sleep late.

I discovered that we had a significant leak – from the mains water system that links the outside supply to the sink tap. It is mostly rubber piping and something had loosened and allowed a steady drip of water into the cupboards under the sink. One big cooking pot was full of water and this had overflowed. There was water on the floor under my seat and along the back wall of the van, due to the slight lean of the van. The two bags of bread making flour stored under my seat were wet on the bases. I was able to retrieve some of the flour and store it in a container, and threw out about a half of each bag. Fortunately, flour is not too expensive.

John made repairs to the leaking item and I dried things out as much as I could. Must get into the habit of checking that area regularly and especially after rough road travel.

John decided that we would walk around the Rock again – the other way!

Took a packed lunch and drove to the Rock. Sat near the start of the climb and ate lunch, watching the climbers. I got chatting to some people sitting near us, who were interested in talking about Cape York. But our conversation was cut short when John said we must walk. I hoped they didn’t think us too rude!

After a few hundred metres, I stopped to take a photo and John went in front. Thereafter, he walked as fast as he could – I think he must have decided to see how quickly we could do the circuit. We had one brief water stop, although it was quite hot. We did the 10.6 circuit in just under two hours, which seemed to please him. But walking so fast meant one had to really focus on watching the track, rather than on looking about and enjoying the scenery.

Sat and watched the climbers some more – there is a strange fascination in this, it seems.

Drove back to Yulara, where I collected my photos and bought a paper. The mail was not in. Bought some fresh produce and withdrew some cash from the supermarket.

One good thing that happened in the day was that, as we entered the National park on the way to the Rock, the lady ranger was pleased to see us. She’d checked with her supervisor and she could extend the passes we bought yesterday, to cover our whole stay. It was very nice of her to take the trouble.

It looked like the sunset might be going to be nice, but we opted to shower while most people were away watching it.

Tea was tinned tomato soup, curried chicken and pineapple rice.

After tea John asked to look at the photos I’ve had processed here. This is unusual – but there were some that he had taken, in there.

John phoned S who was just back in PM after a few days at Bougainville. They talked for a while.

It was a chilly night, with the moon and stars really bright, and no cloud.

I stayed up till midnight – unusual for me – reading and knitting. John played computer until 5am.