This Adventurous Age

MONDAY 16 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

John was on canoes, with some reservations about how his knee would be, after a day of hauling the canoes about. The person on canoes helps paddlers get the canoe firm on the launching ramp when they come back in, and often helps them push off at the start. As well, they take the canoes to the ramp area, and pull them out after hire, and turn them over to dry out. It is definitely not all sitting about, admiring the view!

The knee survived the day’s work ok.

I was on reception -seemed to be getting quite a bit of this role. It was my favourite.

It was an eventful day.

Boss had to chase the old white bull out of the campground again, last night. We heard some shots, a bit later. Boss M was in a really bad mood this morning – she was really quite fond of the old fellow, and this had been his patch for years. On my way down to the van for my morning break, saw Boss coming in with the bobcat, with the shovel on front. From that, I deduced that the station was minus one old white bull. I felt quite sad, too, but he really was frightening the campers too often.

We had a big camping party booked in for the next few nights. Most of them had arrived by 1pm. They identified themselves, as they arrived, as being part of the group organized by this one lady – who hadn’t yet arrived.

At about 1.30pm, I took a phone call from said lady, asking if I could let the rest of her party know she would be late arriving, because they had gotten “a bit lost” on their way here from Burketown. Her navigator had misread the map and they were at Hells Gate Roadhouse! I couldn’t help myself and replied: “A BIT lost? If I was you, I’d shoot the navigator!”

They had obviously missed the turnoff to the Gregory, about 25kms west of Burketown, but talk about slow to twig! They’d gone at least 170kms west and north west, instead of about 100kms south, had crossed the very noticeable Nicholson River, and passed the turnoff to Doomadgee community. Hardly landmarks that I’d have thought anyone could blink and miss.

So I trekked off down to the campground and delivered the message that they thought they’d be in by about 4pm. That came and went and no sign of them. But there was another phone call, about 4.30pm. They were at Bowthorn, this time. I had to trek back down to the campground with the latest update. I didn’t think the lady who was navigating was very popular, by now.

They eventually arrived at 7pm, after I’d closed up the shop for the day and was about to have dinner. They had tried to take the most direct route on the map – not always the fastest, or easiest to follow. This had fetched them up at Bowthorn, after having a flat tyre along the way, that someone at Bowthorn had fixed for them. At least their group would have plenty to talk about, around the campfire, that night.

Broken line: the intended route; solid line: the way the ladies actually went

(Map from Google Earth)

Mid afternoon, a couple had driven in, in a large motorhome. I had seen it coming down the drive way, but by the time I looked up again from the booking I was doing, realized they had simply stopped it in the middle of the roadway circle that comes past the reception area, and from which the track to the campground leads off. They had left it there and gone walkabout – effectively blocking all other traffic. The huge parking and check in area, only a few metres away, was clearly marked.

I had to explain to subsequent drivers, the need to back up and go to the campground via the “out” route. Not much appreciated by the ones towing vans and trailers!

When the missing couple wandered back, nearly an hour later, I politely asked them to move the motorhome to the marked parking area, before doing any business, so that other campers could get in. It was getting towards the busy time of the afternoon, with campers returning from the National Park, and him blocking the “in” way.

Driver said he thought it was all right there. I pointed out all the signs he’d ignored, and a couple of vehicles having to back up. He then asked, quite nastily, if I wanted him to book in at all? In the tone of one who was conferring a great favour upon us, by his presence. I was becoming rather cross by then, and said “Actually, given your attitude, not really, sir”. Couldn’t help myself – it was just too good an opening.

They then left, no doubt assuming that the Rangers at the National Park would welcome them more gratefully. They would have been in for quite a shock. The Rangers were trying to avoid having to look after campers, this year, and told most comers that their area was full, and to come here! They had reduced the sites to a handful of rather small ones – there were bollards everywhere. There were certainly not motorhome sized sites any more. He probably would not have been able to locate a Ranger anyway – it was a bit of a local joke, these days, that the most endangered and rare species at the Park was a Ranger! Very rarely sighted.

I suspect sir probably just parked in a roadway or carpark somewhere there, for the night, no doubt ignoring No Standing signs there, too.

I found the majority of our guests were great to deal with, but the unpleasant minority certainly left a lasting impression.

FRIDAY 13 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

One of those days when I am always expecting life to sneak up and wallop me with something nasty!

I was on shop, John on yard stuff.

In the late afternoon, there was a small tour group taken up nearby Bill Hill in the Coaster, to see the sun set in the west, and the moon rise in the east, at the same time. It was knock off time for us, so we drove Truck up there. There was an interesting outlook from up there, to the mine in the east and the Constance Range to the west.

Up on Bill Hill

Moonrise

The boss of the trucking company arrived with the mattresses, at dinner time, so he was an extra, unexpected,  mouth to feed. New cook was doing a good job, in terms of variety and quantity of food.

THURSDAY 12 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

I was on reception/shop. John was to potter about doing yard stuff.

Staff attempt to deter tourists from wandering through to have a look at the staff camp

The helicopters group left. To date, this year, we’d had 140 fly-in guests. We had to keep separate records of flights, so I was rapidly learning my plane makes. A big surprise had been just how many visitors did arrive by plane.

Still issues with the phone and EFTPOS. B was still reporting the issue daily to Telstra.

The supply truck came in at lunchtime. Boss had a number of new mattresses, for the extra accommodation, on order, and these were supposed to be on this week’s truck. They had been off loaded in Doomadgee. After a phone call, the company boss promised to bring them, personally, tomorrow. That was going to involve him driving from Mt Isa to Doomadgee, then here, then back home – a round trip of 1100-1200 kms. I suspected that truck driver was going to receive a good bollocking.

WEDNESDAY 11 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

Day off.

We just sat around our camp for much of the day. John’s knee was stiff and sore today, so he needed to rest it.

I cleaned the van. It really needed it! On working days, I had neither the time nor the inclination to do much in the way of tidying or cleaning.

What the van looked like after a long run of working days

After the mail plane came, I read our mail, and the paper. I was actually surprised to get the paper. Perhaps my comments to them after the last long weekend, made an impact!

A party of nine arrived in little helicopters – they were booked into the DBB tents.

Bosses got back in late afternoon.

TUESDAY 10 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

The bosses left this morning to drive to Mt Isa, for a specialist appointment for the baby.

From these parts, at this time of the year, everyone goes to Mt Isa via Riversleigh – the direct route. The Gregory River ford was low enough to drive through, and the O’Shaughnessy crossing was dry. It was the most direct route.

This would provide a welcome break for the cook! As the bosses only have a bedsit room (with ensuite), off the loading dock, the main kitchen doubled as prep area for all the baby’s food too. If there were nappies soaking in the big wash trough that is on the dock, then boss had been known to bath the baby in the kitchen sinks, too. There was always baby stuff lying around the kitchen – one had to dodge around the high chair, walker, toys. It could get really annoying for cook, in particular.

Today, I was “floating” – which meant I helped out wherever it was needed. John was on rubbish/donkey fires – jobs he could manage with the bandaged knee.

Fetching mulch for the vegie garden

MONDAY 9 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

This had been the Queens Birthday long weekend.

I was on tents today, John on rubbish and donkey fire care, which left him with some time for other work.

John and D were working on converting the old office donga into three more accommodation rooms. They had framed up partition walls and were putting some sheets of veneer/ply that boss had around the place, onto the new walls. They needed liquid nails to do this and did not have much left.

While they were glueing a sheet into place, D braced himself against what was behind him – a window, which broke. D felt a piece of glass in his back. John held the large piece of glass, while D worked himself free from it, then the glass broke and fell and a piece sliced down the front of John’s kneecap.

The men finished the sheet they had been fixing – so as not to waste the precious liquid nails – and only then went to find the boss for wound inspection! There was much blood.

B in particular, was amazed and horrified at their priorities!

D was alright – there was only a small cut in his back. The boss was not so sure about John – thought  he might need  a Flying Doctor evacuation to Mt Isa. She rang them. They said to take him over to the Century Mine, for the paramedics there to assess him.

Boss R had to drive John there, because he had the security clearance to drive there – and knew the way!

I was oblivious to all the drama that was happening. I came up from my duties in the laundry, with a basket of the boss’ washing, to find John sitting on the step of the loading dock, looking rather pale. As it was late in the day, and knock off time for me, I got to go to the Mine, too. There was a lot of security rigmarole at the gated entrance.

When it was cleaned up a bit, there was a big flap of skin hanging off the front of the kneecap, that would not be able to be stitched, so there was much bandaging instead.

There was a great deal of teasing of the guys over the incident, for days afterwards.

I think D was grateful to John, for ensuring that his back injury was not much worse.

John would be on “light duties” for a while. He had to wrap the knee in a garbag, to shower.

Off to shower with knee wrapped up!

SUNDAY 8 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

I was on shop/kitchen hand. John on amenities/rubbish.

Still having problems with the phone and EFTPOS. B had been reporting it daily to Telstra. Having the EFTPOS out was a real pain, because we then had to use the old manual swipe machine, with the multiple carbon copies.

We acquired a rather surly German backpacker today, to be kitchen hand. She was in the WOOFER scheme, where people work a few hours each day, theoretically in organic/green establishments, in return for keep.

She had been working up at Pungalina – a very remote, fairly new, safari camp tourist venture, in the NT Gulf country. The manager there flew her in here this morning, in his ultra light plane. I wasn’t sure how long she would last. She was not exactly brimming with enthusiasm for anything.

John was growing vegies for the kitchen – zucchinis, tomatoes, spinach. He was incorporating work in the garden with his other jobs about the place. There were already pumpkins that had grown from the kitchen compost dumping, and bananas and pawpaws from plantings left from the days of the Frenchman.

The vegie garden not long after John started working on it

The men had been seeing a number of baby brown snakes around – maybe 18 inches long. Boss thought there might be a nest near the workshop or vegie garden. Comforting thought!  I gave some thought to whether mother snakes stuck around, after laying their eggs, or left their offspring to their fate?

SATURDAY 7 JUNE     ADELS GROVE

I was on tents, John on amenities/rubbish.

A scavenging Great Bower Bird beat John to this rubbish

John asked D to fix the brakes on the old truck used for the rubbish run. Its brakes had been almost non-existent since last year, but now something major had broken. D said it would be u/s for a week.

It had been a risky job, dumping the camp rubbish in the distant five metre deep rubbish pit, with no brakes to speak of. The theory was to back the truck up to a small log laid at the edge of the pit, then tip the rubbish out of the tip truck. Then the driver would go down into the pit, to set fire to the day’s offerings. Burning it deterred some of the wild pig scavengers, as well as reducing the size of the accumulation.

Last year, F miscalculated, and managed to dump the truck, as well as the rubbish!

Because the nature of the rubbish was largely unknown, and could be volatile, the men had gotten a competition going amongst themselves, to see who “set off” an object that flew the furthest from the pit. So far, John was winning – a camper put a discarded gas strut in the rubbish, and it nearly took John’s  head off, as it flew off a great distance, like a rocket.

To save themselves the unsavoury trek down into the pit, this year the guys had taken to lighting the rubbish fire in the truck, before it was tipped – potentially a risky practice!