SATURDAY 22 APRIL     ADELS GROVE

John spent the day with H’s tour group, at the National Park, learning stuff that he could use when he was running tours, once the season got going.

The other men compared him to one of the historic colonials who went to India and fell in love with the culture, atmosphere, essence of the place, and had to keep returning. I felt there was an element of truth in that, in regard to us and the Gulf Country. The same would be true of those of us who came back here, year after year, to work, like V and F.

I phoned the caravan parks in Cloncurry and told them that we – and the road in through Gregory Downs – were open, so they could pass on accurate information to tourists.

Spent some time on my laptop. Sent daughter an email. Composed a letter to a friend.

While I was working in the van, a cheeky bower bird came onto the van step and looked in at me. We have noticed, especially at night, that there are bird noises around that we had not heard before – Wet Season species staying late.

A couple of lots of campers came in.

I was finding one of the female staff very raucous and could not warm to her. I thought her phone manner, on Reception, was very abrasive and abrupt. She did not seem to me to have very good customer service skills at all.

We staff got together to put on pre-dinner nibbles. I contributed some semi-dried tomatoes from the van pantry. We had a very pleasant staff get together before dinner, together with H’s two guests. My cooked pears from yesterday were used for tonight’s dessert.