WEDNESDAY 27 MAY     TOWNSVILLE

A day of odds and ends.

Drove to shops, where we mailed letters. I bought a long sleeved cotton top – to deter biteys but not be too hot. John bought a pair of footy shorts – he likes to wear these rather than more stylish ones. We measured the size of plastic cube crates in a shop.

After lunch, went back to the same shops. John bought more of the same shorts – he was really pleased because they had pockets. I bought a little battery operated dictaphone for recording travel comments as we are going along. Bought four of the cube boxes.

Visited the Tourist Information Centre and obtained some material about places north. Bought a more detailed map of northern  Qld than the one in my Road Atlas.

Went to the doctor’s surgery. All my blood tests were alright, which confirmed what I thought. Half thyroid is working fine.

John repacked the back of Truck, using the new cubes to replace odd shaped cartons. My books and maps fitted into two cubes! The cube shape allows these boxes to be readily stacked on top of each other – the roof height of Truck allows for a stack of three of these. It is a much better use of the space in there.

We had quite a long chat with new neighbours, about hip replacements, schools and education. They do VISE tutoring on remote properties, something that may be valid for us in the future. It seems a way of seeing some remote areas from the “inside”. School of the Air supplies the materials; they get meals provided by the host family. They do six week stints at a time.

Just to be on the safe side, as we are getting towards the peak tourist season in these parts, I phoned and booked us in for a week at Mission Beach and two weeks at Cairns. I do not really like booking ahead, with place and park unseen, but it seemed prudent.

I roasted John’s chook for tea, with the usual vegies and gravy.