THURSDAY 14 MAY     LORNE STATION

It was a fairly usual morning, just taking it easy around camp.

An unusual occurrence was that there was an extra signal bar on our phone – and the Internet dongle was able to work. Email! John emailed our doctor at home, to get him to set up an appointment for later in the year, with the hip replacement surgeon. He had decided it was time to act on this painful hip. Having had the first one done in 1997, this time he knew the ultimate benefit of the surgery.

When I was handwashing a windcheater in the camp laundry, discovered that the gold ring I wore all the time, that had a curved shape with three stones set in it, was missing one of the little stones. It was a gift, many years ago, and I wasn’t sure if the stones were diamonds or cubic zirconia – suspected the latter. I would have to try to get a replacement stone put in at home. I didn’t know if I lost it down the laundry drainhole, or scrabbling around in the dirt yesterday. A noodler might find an unusual stone out there! Despite the levity, I was quite sad at the loss.

Into town for bowls at 2pm. I had not envisaged me doing so much bowls on this trip, but it was keeping the driver happy. I guessed I owed him some bowls credits for the Warrumbungles walks – and the ones we might be doing later, if my plans worked out. It was a good idea to build up the credits in a pleasant bowling environment, I judged.

We both played in different teams. Mine drew the game. John’s lost. No prize money for us today. After a quick afternoon tea at the club, the supermarket was next. They had scotch fillet steak on special – really good value – so I bought a couple of lots; there was a bit of room in my little freezebox.

For the past couple of nights, since the big group left, there had only been three or four other lots of campers at Lorne. But it was now filling up again, with about ten vans in tonight, including another Bushtracker. They were becoming – like Trakmasters – much more commonly seen than was the case when we first set out, eleven years ago. There was a van parked just around the corner from us, tonight, the closest neighbours we’d had, so far, here. The Hacienda cottage, next to us, was also occupied for the first time since we had been here.

Decided that we would extend our time here by three nights and leave next Monday. That would allow a day for another trip out to the Grawin – John wanted to have another try at the noodling. I wanted a day to play tourist and do the car door tours of the area. And John wanted to play social bowls on Sunday. The timing of that would allow me enough time back at camp to cook us a roast dinner – if we could decide between chook (John’s wish) or lamb (mine).

We paid for the three more nights – $18 per night.

Tea was pasta with sauce based on tuna, capers, tomatoes.

After a few days here, I now had two gripes about this caravan park. One was that the permanent residents, of which there were several, smoked in the amenities. And, at night, there was often a sewerage smell drifting over the area.