Back To The Real World!

We enjoyed our short stay in Karumba & headed across country along the Savanah Highway. We stopped at Croydon where we visited the oldest general store in Australia & the info centre. It was actually a neat wee town & has a long, interesting history, based around gold. We stayed the night at Mt Surprise & in the morning did a tour of the Kalkani Crater (an extinct volcano with a great view of the surrounding National Park) & the Undarra Lava Tubes. They are large caves formed from an eruption by Mt Undarra many years ago - the amount of years ago depends on whether you are a creationist or evolutionist.
We were driving along the Savanah Highway - a dry, relatively barren landscape until we got to Ravenshoe, where it changed into lush, green countryside - we thought we were back in New Zealand! Such a contrast!
We made it to Kuranda on Sunday afternoon - almost a week ago - feels like longer! We are staying at my sister, Liv & her husband, Ben's place. They have a 'shouse' - cross between a shed & a house. It's a great setup! They go to South Africa (they are actually GOING, unlike us), next Tuesday, for 3 weeks, so we are in charge of all amenities plus 2 puppies!
Nicholas, Catherine & I started at Freshwater School on Tuesday. It's very much like Gympie West with 700 students - a big change for Nic & Catherine though! They have settled in well - Catherine loves it, Nic is not so keen. I've had a good week (4 days) teaching PE & next week there is a soccer guy coming to take my classes so I'll be his assistant - can't complain about that!
Today John got a job where my brother Paul works in a steel factory - so there goes the shouse cleaned & dinner cooked every night!
Thankfully we've managed to find work!
We hope to see some of Cairns & it's surrounds but work does spoil the time you have to see the sights!
Trust you are all well & happy!

Work Ahead - oh no!

Well sadly, our holiday is coming to an end. It had to happen but it is sad and will be a shock when it starts! I have a 3 week contract at Freshwater School in Cairns - 2 weeks PE & 1 week in a Year 2 class. And so, our relaxing time here in Karumba must end. We'll be in Cairns on Sunday - have to miss out on a few places on route but funds are needed!
After leaving Cloncurry we headed to the Burke & Wills Roadhouse. We were about 3 kms away when we got a flat tyre - we've had a good run travelling 12 000 kms with no major incidents. It wasn't a problem but for the 40 degree heat & the fact that John had to drive a 500 km round trip back to Cloncurry to get the tyre fixed - couldn't continue without a spare! The kids & I parked up in Bruce at the roadhouse with wet sarongs over us, watching movies on the laptop while we waited for John.
We had planned to stay at the Lawn Hill National Park but on the advice of the locals, we left Bruce at the roadhouse & drove the 500 odd kms to the Park for the day. We are glad we didn't subject Bruce to the rough road. Lawn Hill was lovely! We hired a canoe & paddled up river to some falls where we swam for an hour before paddling back. It was great fun. We stopped a few kms down the road at Adele's Grove for another swim & a rubber tube ride down some gentle, shallow rapids - ok if you're a kid, not so great if you're a heavy adult! Again, a picturesque spot.
We left Burke & Wills roadhouse the next day & drove through Normanton (see picture of huge croc) & up to Karumba. We watched the sunset from the pub & have had barra & chips two nights in a row! Tonight's menu is prawns! So now I'm going to relax - I have to make the most of my last few days!
I have to mention (for those in the Kandanga Swimming Club) that we met up with Stacey Robertson at the Cloncurry Pool. She ran a fun day teaching the kids life saving & CPR skills. It was great & she is doing really well. Would be good to have her back in Kandanga!

Back in Queensland

We're back to just the Tidy's again! We put Jill on the plane last Thursday & Di yesterday! It was sad to have our travelling buddies leave us!
After Uluru we travelled back to Alice Springs & before Jill left us we visited the Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame, which was really interesting but I can't help comparing it to The Stockman's Hall of Fame & the amount of money spent on that compared to the women - which was housed in the old Alice Springs Goal & was started by a local woman in her own home & only by 'blood, sweat & tears' was it moved to a more accessible place. Why are women not recognised as valuable in the 'settling' of Australia???????
We visited the Transport Hall of Fame a day later & that had more sponsorship than the women! Kenworth had spent millions on a massive shed housing their trucks from the past to their latest (hot off the production line) trucks! Doesn't say much for women that trucks can attract more interest & money!
So, to leave that subject, we drove Nanny to Mt Isa. We stopped at Wycliffe Well for a night - the UFO capital of Australia. I did get up in the night especially to see the UFOs but didn't see any. Our next stop was the Camooweal Billabong - again. We were surprised how much the water had dropped since the month prior! We did see the graceful brolgas though.
We spent some time at the lovely Lake Moondarra again while in Mt Isa and also visited the Underground Hospital - I reckon that people were very thankful it never had to be used - a freaky place (maybe due to the fact that none of us could never be a nurse or doctor - all those terrible looking instruments & equipment!).
And so, we are back at Robyn's Roadhouse after spending a night at the lovely Corella Dam between 'the Isa' & Cloncurry. John & I went for a walk around part of the dam & were thinking of having a 'dip in it'. The next thing we saw was the carcass of a small crocodile - only a 'freshie' but it put me off 'dipping'!
As I said, we're in Cloncurry at my lovely friend, Robyn's, place. Here for a couple of days & then will make our way North East to Cairns. There is so much to see - we'll have to keep moving. We need to be in Cairns by 22 Oct in order to look after Liv & Ben's place & puppies. We also need to find work if we can.
The photos will be a mix, sorry I can't caption them.
Take care all.