SUNDAY 28 JUNE     ROLLINGSTONE

It was another noisy morning and early wake up. Grit teeth and endure!

After breakfast, we set out to go driving.

Our first stop was Big Crystal Creek and Paradise Waterhole, to the north of Rollingstone. I had been looking forward to seeing this place, given how lovely Little Crystal Creek had been. But it was nothing special.

There was a pleasant enough campground there. Two sizeable water pipe lines came down along the creek valley – presumably something to do with Townsville’s water supply?

From there, continued north along the Bruce Highway, to the Frosty Mango, a roadside stop designed to pull in the passing tourist traffic. It sold food as well as bottled sauces, and the mango ice cream that we had gone there for. But this treat that we had really been anticipating was very bland and disappointing and really did not taste at all of mango. I wouldn’t bother going back there again.

At that point, I couldn’t think of anything else to do in the near area, so we drove back to camp and ate our packed picnic sandwiches there!

I did not have a swim this afternoon. The noisy kid swarms had discovered the pool after all!

It was quite hot and humid, so we retreated to the van, with the air con on.

I spent some time writing up a long blog entry on the big Warrumbungles walk we’d done, then somehow hit the wrong button – and lost the lot. I was mightily annoyed, put politely! John was convinced he could retrieve the work and had a fiddle around, but couldn’t. All very disheartening.

John got talking to our neighbour and discovered they hailed from the next suburb to us. They told me they had visited Adels Grove in 2003, and remembered me checking them in! They were on their way to Cairns for a couple of months. We had happy hour with them.

I boiled corned silverside, for tea – in the electric frypan, outside the van. That worked well and the meat was very nice, with carrots, beans and mash.

The “compound” group, which had expanded yesterday to include later comers on other sites near us as well, were quite noisy this night, until about midnight. I predicted quite a few sore heads in the morning, and kids sent away early to free range.