THURSDAY 17 JULY     ADELS GROVE

I was on reception, John canoes.

I was wrong about a fall off in trade! We were still very busy. There was a pick up again in the campground business – we were just about full again.

A fly-in guest from a DBB tent, came to me and complained that a camera had been stolen from his tent. Such a happening was unheard of here, so we were surprised. Eventually, we decided that his claim was a bit suspect. The camera and lens were gone, but his very fancy camera bag was still there. Nothing else was missing from their tent – the contents of his wife’s handbag were intact. We wondered whether he had simply left it somewhere, or maybe lost it in the creek – they had been canoeing – and was trying to set up an insurance claim?

OD, the manager of Pungalina Station, over the border in the NT, came in to stay the night, with his mother and his two children. He was driving them back from Pungalina to the plane at Mt Isa. After tea, we got talking to him, sitting around on the dining deck. He was running an upmarket  safari camp operation there, and had just opened up a bit of a camp area. The safari camp only dealt with small groups, and specialized in tailor-made experiences – fishing, sightseeing and the like. He said they were trying to serve “local” food – such as yabby cocktails, their own beef.

He invited us to go and camp there, when we finish here in September – with a view to potentially working there in 2004. It sounded like really rugged and interesting country, and off the usual tourist track. Quite fascinating, in fact. John was interested too. We decided we would definitely go and suss it out. Small guest numbers, and not constantly busy – sounded workable to me!

The supply truck came in at 7.30pm – late, of course. We had been hanging out for supplies of bread and ice creams for days! But we refused to unload it until morning, so the driver had to stay over.