Strange day. It started with rain, again.
We packed up, Marjo made breakfast so I could get up a little later. Fed the dogs, had a shower. While Marjo prepared the inside, I packed away dog beds, chairs, table, rolled up and stowed the fly screens, packed away the tarp to avoid mud in front of the door, the mat and turned off the gas. Then a 3 minutes shower and we were on our way. Close to the amenities we emptied the toilet cassette and took new fresh water on board.
That job takes about 2 minutes and we kept the motor running to warm the diesel engine. This was a about 10 am. Soon a grey nomad came around the bus in evening gown, pyama’s and bed slippers and said “can you turn that off”. Marjo thought he was talking about the tap and she said “it’s almost done”. Then he made a gesture at the bus as if to say “I mean the engine you silly sod” and I said “we’re almost done and leave then”. Friendly crowd. Perhaps we disturbed him in some important pyama and bed slipper activities as his parting words were “people have to work here”.
The constant rain didn’t make it better. Our next stop is Bowen, I thought Marjo wanted to snorkel from the beach and horseshoe beach is the raved about location. The closest camping that returned my call and allows dog is Wangaratta, about 4 km from horseshoe bay.
We stopped at an information desk next to the Big Mango and Marjo got some local information, also about crocodiles. She read that crocs can run fast but if you’re reasonably fit you can outrun them in a straight line. Don’t zig-zag as the croc is smarter and will cut corners and get you.
To get fit we walked the 4 km along the beach from Wangaratta to horseshoe bay and back. I think we are fit enough to outrun a croc now. We need to put something on Dotti though, like hot chili so the croc won’t eat her. She was too tired/painful leg to join us. Nossi will have no problems outrunning all of us.
The weather turned perfect, sunny and warm. Marjo snorkeled and saw some reef but was spoilt by our snorkeling in the Whitsundays some years back. So although nice, nothing to write in a blog about.
The camping is horrible. People stay here from June till August/September and know each other. It’s a bit like Payton Place or some other tv series where people have nothing to do then talk about each other and have so much time on their hands that everything is discussed in minute detail. Oh no, I hope that’s not what I’m doing in this blog. Please tell me I’m not becoming a grey nomad….
Well, tomorrow we’ll go to a more secret place…..hydeaway bay (I know, weird spelling).
Oh and we forgot to take any pictures today so just a few oldies…..
Posted from Bowen, Queensland, Australia.
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