SUNDAY 22 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

I was on reception, John canoes. Lovely 10am start for me, but late finish in the shop. At least, the till balanced – which did not always happen. When it was “out”, one stayed checking it over until the reason for the discrepancy was found – which was most of the time. But with often several people working the till at different times through the day, it could be hard to know who made what error.

We ran out of icy poles and ice creams – due to the forgotten order last week. That meant disappointed campers. Most travellers never stop to think of the logistics of getting supplies in places like this, and so expect us to stock everything they might want – and at city prices!

The helicopter arrived with the Archer family. Mike wife, Sue, is also an expert in the field of fossils, and would participate in the dig. They had a person to supervise their daughters.

The shop and reception work was steady through the day – numbers really building in the camp areas.

The pals helicopter pilot would be available for sightseeing flights over the National Park and surrounding area, in between his morning and afternoon trips down to Riversleigh with the leading paleontologists. He asked if we would publicize/sell these flights at reception – $80 for a 10 minute flight. He intimated that if we did well at the sales, he would do a free flight for us! Definitely motivation, that!