THURSDAY 1 MAY     ADELS GROVE

We got up early, still in the dark. Went over to start unloading the truck, at 6.30am. As the pallets were unpacked, on the dry dock deck, I checked off their contents against the various shop dockets that came with the orders. The routine from last year soon came back!

I had to phone the truck office in Mt Isa and let them know the truck had been here overnight, so they could in turn let the store at Doomadgee, and the people at Redbank Mine, to the north-west, know that the truck would be late to them too. If this was not done, people would start to worry that there may have been a breakdown.

I was on shop/kitchen again and B had more tent repairs to sew, so I got the joy of cleaning the amenities again! I tried to assist cook a bit, but there was not much to do.

I did do a lot of scrubbing, on hands and knees, on the dining deck. Fat from slopped dinners had soaked in and left really obvious trails that did not look good. The boss really did need to investigate sealing that deck timber, as a matter of urgency.

The bosses arrived back mid afternoon. They had brought a little old Suzuki back, to be used to ferry staff and cleaning gear about and take supplies to the hire tents – located some distance away from the linen store. That would be a big improvement on using the little hand cart and walking all over.

John was on yard work today. At the moment, with few campers in, this was not too onerous. Once the place got busy and lots of the camp sites had to be groomed after campers left, this would be a full-on job. Sites were raked and fire pits cleaned out.

I knocked off at 6.30pm, exhausted after a very long day in the heat.