Day 65 Wednesday 12/7/2023 Mulambin, windy 14 – 22

Woody walks into Yeppoon. Elle and I drive in as I need to have an injection and Elle needs a chemist. Oh, the joy of being peripatetic septuagenarians. It’s quite handy being ‘on the books’ for the medical centre here as the nurse who gives me my jab also did it in 2021.  Elle faces the confusion we always face on the road. You see our home doctors kindly mark our prescriptions as being OK to dispense 6 units (if we want them, which is handy if we’re going bush). But because we are usually close to towns these days, we only need one unit at a time. It’s always a bit of a gamble as to whether we’ll leave the shop with one box of tablets or a bagful!

We meet Woody and buy fish and chips from Seagulls takeaway and eat them at Keppel Kraken Water Park overlooking the beach.

We breathe a sigh of relief when the family next door moves on. No more being woken by crying babies at 6:00am. And if we feel tired the poor mother looks exhausted. I’ll bet it wasn’t her idea to go camping in a camper trailer with two babies.

As we grab our drinks to take over to Elle’s for happy hour, I can’t find my insulated wine cup anywhere. I can almost hear the penny drop as Woody says “I must’ve thrown it out with the cans last night”. Off he goes, ladder in hand to dive into the dumpster, and Voila!

She’s a bit scratched and worse for wear but a good scrub will do the job.

Accom:$49.52

Day 66 Thursday 13/7/2023 Mulambin, breezy 17 – 22

R who is an electrician pops over and fits a new outside 240v power point for us as we lost the cover on the old one somewhere on the way up.

Down on Mulambin Beach the land sailors are zooming up and down and making the most of the stiff breeze. High in the trees the red-tailed black cockatoos are munching noisily on the beach almond fruit.

Dinner is a BBQ in the small camp kitchen (as opposed to the large camp kitchen). We are joined by a young family from Perth who are doing the Big Lap with the kids. They are both medics, she’s a Scot and he’s English, and when they feel the need to take a break they prop for a while and work, alternating shifts to look after the kids. Some careers really lend themselves to travelling. When we ask if they like living in Australia she tells us “It’s just…better.” And no doubt warmer.

A shadowy figure stands awkwardly in the half-light, yellow eyes glare as it lets forth with a blood-curdling scream. Yep, it’s twilight and the curlews are at it again. Gosh, I’ve missed them.

Accom: $49.52