WEDNESDAY 27 JULY     BEACHPORT

The day was fine but even colder. When I took Couey out for her first walk in the morning, there was ice on the boardwalk! The wind continued to be freezing.

After breakfast, John took dog walking through the canal and lake scrub tracks. She managed to find some animal’s manure to roll in. Did a thorough job – both sides. I hoped she’d enjoyed the freedom roll, because she certainly didn’t enjoy the cold hosing down she got, back at camp! Then, John played ball retrieving games with her for a while, to speed up the drying out process. I walked her around the streets, on the lead, to do my part for the dog drying.

John found the coolant level in Truck was down, so went off down the street to get some more. Whilst there, he felt the urge to visit the bakery and came back with a pastie for his lunch, and a Boston bun.

It was a bit of a concern that Truck coolant level was down. We hadn’t exactly been driving in hot weather! Having spent about $15,000 in the past couple of years, having the vehicle thoroughly repaired, things should be working perfectly.

After lunch we went for a drive, back out along the Scenic Drive.

I took some photos.

From the end of the Scenic Drive, John decided to venture along a 4WD track off into the dunes. It was loose and sandy and I was not happy. Just not in a mood to put up with getting bogged, like he had managed to do on some previous forays into sand. So, he soon turned round and we went back to camp.

Tea was Mongolian lamb and rice.

Our week here was up, tomorrow, and we decided to move on. Thought we’d head NE from here, up through Lucindale to Naracoorte. I’d be able to show John where I taught for a year. We would pass the little shearer’s cottage, out on the Conmurra road, where I’d lived – in somewhat primitive conditions: generator power and tank water. When the generator ran out of petrol at about 9.30 at night, it was bedtime. A weekly chore was to try to dig a hole to bury the contents of the toilet bucket – and the cottage was on a low limestone ridge with little soil! The conditions that teachers put up with in those days…….