FRIDAY 10 JUNE     PUNGALINA

Mail plane day. This had become a highlight of the week!

It brought my very small food order. Also brought a note from friend M. She would be at Adels Grove by the time we received this and planned to head this way after a few days there. She wrote that she would try to get a phone message to us when she set out, so we would have a rough idea of when to expect her. And to be looking out for her. Despite our advice to the contrary, she had not set up her travelling Troopy with a HF radio and did not have a satellite phone.

I had previously written to her, with detailed instructions of how to get here, sent c/o Mt Isa Post Office.

I was really looking forward to her visit. Looked like she would be here in the lead-up period to A’s visit. Some extra help in that time would be very useful!

O asked us to go with him to help put a boat into the river at Bathtub Springs – the last of the three powered boats he had on the place. One lived much of the year round at Croc Hole and was accessible for all but the wettest times. The other two were seasonal. We had already helped to put one in at Bluff Water Hole.

O had now managed to clean up the hitherto boggy track into Bathtub Springs. But he needed to manoeuvre the boat on its trailer some distance from where he had to stop the Troopy, so our help would be needed for that. This was the first season he’d put a boat there – it was the one he’d brought back from Brisbane after Easter.

The expedition went off well. The boat was launched into the water and tied up to solid trees on the bank. This provided another fishing and sightseeing experience for visitors. Later, we would be able to come and explore it properly ourselves.

On the way back, O took us off the main track, east, to where there was another cave opening in a low, rocky outcrop. We found what looked like an aboriginal stone “quarry”, nearby, as well as some of the stromatolite formations that seem to accompany the cave occurrences in this country.

The mechanic – W – and his wife A – arrived during the afternoon. W seemed to be a very jovial person. O had mentioned to me, the other day, that A was “a simple person”. From the way he spoke, it seemed like she was mentally slow. But this was not so – she was just a normal, straightforward, country woman, who seemed very pleasant and adaptable.

They had brought in their camper trailer, that was now parked near the house, by the old caravan near the vegie patch. It seemed that A would now be cooking for them all, at the house. I could see why O did not want them there until after the friend’s visit. O’s house was basically just one room – kitchen area, living area, his bed area, all in one, just areas partitioned by shelves.

They also brought with them their dog – a rather small, white, fluffy creature. I worried for its welfare, amongst the dingoes – thought they might see it as a potential meal. Obviously, A would have to watch it carefully, until – if – they accepted it as one of the pack. I also wondered how long it would stay white!

Now, finally, some of the machinery on the place would get some long overdue maintenance and repair work! The first priority would be to get the 4WD people transporting wagon, that O had started to build – the Billycart – in working order. There was much to be done on it and this was really needed in time for A’s visit.