MONDAY 18 MAY     LORNE STATION

There was quite an exodus from the campground this morning. At first I thought it might be because people had come only for the weekend. Later, too much later, I decided it had everything to do with the weather forecast for rain.

After John’s opal seduction of yesterday, I went up to the office and did some negotiating to extend our stay by an unknown time, and pay up at the end of each completed week. Very obliging, they were. The $54 I had paid for our previous extension reverted to part of the next $100 per week payment; couldn’t argue with that.

I was able to do two loads of washing, since there was now no competition for the machine.

Then we left for the Grawin. The drive out was starting to seem quite familiar.

I sat in Truck and knitted while John went noodling up on the heap. D was there too. I went up for a while after we’d eaten the packed sandwiches and mostly just watched the men digging about. They were not finding much.

Today was cloudy, which made it harder working out on the heaps because there was no sunshine to catch a glint in the gravel. John gave it away about 2pm and we drove back to camp.

My washing was dry and I picked it in before the cloud developed into anything nasty.

We went into town late in the afternoon, to the Opal Bin opal gallery and shop. I bought that solid opal pendant that had been niggling away at my mind for the last few days. It came from the Grawin and was a very attractive chunk of black opal. I loved the modern simplicity of the setting. That was it – got my opal! Didn’t want to go looking for any more…..

Talked with D round our campfire for happy hour. He showed us his album of stone work he’d done and John showed him his photo book of wood furniture he’d made. Both were talented, creative guys. D showed us some more of his opals. He had some nice looking pieces. John was not game to show him the jar of pieces he’d earlier bought out at the Grawin, in case D confirmed that he’d been conned.

There was quite an ominous cloud build up through the afternoon. During the night heavy rain set in. For once, the forecast was right, it seemed.