TUESDAY 3 JULY     KUNUNURRA

M and I did a final clothes wash.

Back to the shops, to collect our packaged meat, and to buy fresh fruit and vegies.

We needed to visit the camping gear shops to see what useful gear we might be able to acquire, without breaking the bank.

Bought John a 3 litre camel pack (a water bladder that fits inside a day or back pack). Carrying water would be a challenge on the gorge walk, because there is no reliable drinking water there.

Bought him a small, light, lilo, a light weight plate and bowl and a few similar items. We also bought some dried hike food.

I really thought that we should have bought him a rucksack, but the cheapest that was any good at all was $199, and he baulked at that.

From 1998, until just last year, we always carried on our travels, our two old hiking rucksacks, a hike tent, small meths stove and associated hike gear – just “in case”. Of course, this year, they were safely in a shed at home……

There was much packing through the afternoon.

I attracted some disbelieving looks from surrounding campers, as I tore up newspapers into different sized squares and individually wrapped all our potatoes, onions, oranges, carrots, grapefruit, apples. It took ages, but I’d found in the past that this effort was worth it – the unrefrigerated produce lasted much longer that way – and if a piece did go bad, it did not spread to the other items. I packed all that into cardboard cartons that we’d obtained from the supermarket.

Our clothes went into two soft luggage bags; these normally travelled empty, flat, in Truck. At least, we had brought those from home with us.

Our Chescold gas fridge was to be the refrigerator for most of our joint chiller items. M’s 12v Engel fridge was largely given over to freezer storage of our meat.

Took down the van annexe roof, packed up the floor matting and packed away as much as we could.

John tried to activate the new phone. It was not easy to work, and he did not really have time for detailed reading of the manual – in any case, as far as he is concerned, manuals are the very last resort when all experimentation fails!

I tried to send an experimental text message to daughter, to test it out – John not knowing how to text – but it didn’t seem to work.

The old phone kept on working, even though it was not supposed to – because the new phone was supposed to have its number! At night, I phoned daughter, who said that the strange text message (from me) had come in to her on a totally unfamiliar number.

John promptly phoned Telstra, who told him we couldn’t keep our old number, in spite of being told we could, by the salesman. Typical. John was told he would have to phone and sort it out tomorrow.

I was not happy. I was extremely unhappy…..

Phoned son and really urged him again to consider joining us, at some point, in the Kimberley, to take a break from his marital woes.

I fell into bed totally exhausted