WEDNESDAY 4 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

I was on shop, John on canoes, so good day for us both.

There appeared to be issues with the phone line that affected the public phone, and our EFTPOS machine, which relied on the phone line. B reported it to Telstra.

My paper came on the mail plane. I got daughter’s cot blanket away in the mail bag. I phoned her, after work, to tell her it was on its way.

TUESDAY 3 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

I was on tents, John on yard and amenities.

The tents had mostly dried out. Tent A2 – in the front row, looking on to the creek – was too wet at the front, to use.

H arrived with a tour group. By mistake, he put a couple into A2, instead of the A3  allocated them. They came and asked me for a mop or broom to sweep out the mud, so I realized there had been an error, and moved them. Poor people must have wondered what they’d come to, initially.

MONDAY 2 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

This was our second day off. Mostly, we just lazed about.

The day became increasingly humid and cloud built heavily in the sky. Then it rained – heavily – about lunchtime. We had half an inch of rain in half an hour.

There was much leaking in the tents – they did not usually have to be rain proof! There was water in the tents and under them, and lying in great sheets across the tent area.

V was on tents today and she was pretty frantic, trying to keep the bedding dry.

I was – selfishly – so glad to be off. There was so much mud underfoot. Much of the soil around the tent and main building area is alluvial silt, very fine, and quickly turns to mud.

The bloody van roof leaked again! The silicone around the wiring inlet hole must have worked a bit loose. It made me think criminal thoughts again about the “expert” who did the botched job, last year.

The Grove looked so much greener, with all the dust washed off the leaves. It smelt fresh and lovely.

Old mango tree in Gorve, dating from the Frenchmans Gardens

I finished making the cot blanket and bundled it up, ready to go off in this week’s mailbag. I was glad to have finalized it, after several months. Now I could go back to just knitting in my occasional spare time, instead of feeling pressured.

SATURDAY 31 MAY    ADELS GROVE

It rained during the night – quite steadily for a while. It sounded more than it was. We didn’t get the rain direct on the van roof, but rather had the stream of drips from the tree canopy overhead. Aesthetically, it was some welcome variety. In the morning, the air smelled really lovely. The birds were really rejuvenated.

Bar shoulder dove – a “walker bird”

Through the night, the bull was calling out, from out the front somewhere – lonely, poor old thing.

Practically, the half mm or so that we had was a pain – there was mud tracked all over the place, until the ground dried out later in the day.

I was on shop and assisting in the kitchen. John was on cleaning amenities – not fun, with the mud – and the rubbish run.

The bones were weary. Only had one day off in the last nineteen. We really needed the coming break.

THURSDAY 29 MAY     ADELS GROVE

I was on tents again. There were only two to do, so it did not take me long.

The boss was cooking, as it was H’s day off. I helped in the kitchen. I cut up all the makings for pizzas for tea. The menu seemed to have departed this year from the rigid offerings of company tour nights, of corned beef and then barra, that we had to do last year.

There was only one couple in the company tour, and no other outside dinner guests, so pizzas were a feasible offering.

M and D started work on constructing a little footbridge from near the swim beach, across the creek back water to the little island that the split in the creek had created. It would be another nice stroll for our guests, and would give a good view from the island, back across to the tent area.

The supply truck arrived just after midday. In theory, it was now to come in the morning, but this time it had gone to Doomadgee before here. Our goods were a bit battered and dusty. I helped with the unpacking and checking off.

WEDNESDAY 28 MAY     ADELS GROVE

I was on tents. Did the baby’s washing. So many nappies!

The rapids by the laundry – great outlook while doing the washing

John was on canoes. A camper asked John where all the staff had gone to, in the bus, last night. Apparently, one group of guests had decided there was a mass staff walkout and we had all gone to Mt Isa!

The mail came in. I was finding that, recently, I was not even getting time to read my paper properly, but it was still comforting to have some idea of what was going on in the world outside.

We heard from L. She’d been offered a job in the tavern at Karumba, but there was no work on offer for daughter, so they both decided to keep going and go pick tomatoes at Bowen.

Company tour group came in. The guide this time was the company owner, and part owner of Adels. He always stayed in “his” room – partitioned off at one end of the old coolroom donga (which was now a general storage area). So I had to make sure, in the morning, that his room was clean and ready for occupancy.