Righto day 20, the budget is blown and we are a week behind schedule and who cares, we are having the time of our life.
I woke up this morning with a cracking headache which seems to be not so much from the 6-8 beers I had last night (and the night before, and the night before ....) but from the lack of water I have been drinking - which seems ironic seeing as we have decided to stay another night at Lake Argyle which is a fresh water dam some 18 times the size of Sydney harbour (100 times at full capacity). Out of all the facts and figures we have been given, the best way to describe it is ....it's really big. Actually the girl at the reception desk reckoned really big but I reckon it's really really big, and I reckon all the details on all the brochures relating to size and volume should be changed to reflect that up to date interpretation.
The beers last night were consumed watching and laughing at Adelaide dancing to a live soloist. Often she had the 'dance floor' to herself and the crowd in stitches. At other time Tilly as looking after her, as she does often. Her big finale was a jump in the air landing in the splits position which brought the singer to a stop and the crowd to their feet. After stopping mid song he walked off stage and gave her a CD and then took off again from the point where he was up to. Very funny stuff. Fair dinkum that kid will go alright when she gets a bit of confidence!
Come to think of it I think I have had a few beers every afternoon since being on the road. I'm starting to look a cross between an Ethiopian taxi driver and ET. I'm going to give giving up the beers some serious thought soon. It's 6:30 am and Bill just ran in to say there is a lady running an exercise class down near the pool and he reckons I should go down there - I tell him I'm busy thinking about something.
Up and at 'em we have breakfast, I do a bit of leather work for new straps on Jess's swag, and we are booked in for a lunchtime cruise. We marshall at reception at 9:15 for the cruise. The cruise was absolutely stunning complete with a complimentary lunch of roast fish, all the trimmings and beers or wine.
It's not a good day to give up beer!
We are assured by the guides that there are only fresh water crocs in these waters and after I get a satisfactory answer to "have they EVER pulled a salty out of this lake?" We jump in for a swim. The water sits at a constant 26 degrees, or thereabouts, and it was awesome.
We are told that the sex of a freshwater croc is entirely dependant on temperature. Anything above or below 38 degrees will result in a girl and exactly 38 degrees will produce a male. So there you go fellas, take note of a species that have survived hundreds of millions of years, if you want to throw a boy you have to adjust the briefs to get the jewels hanging at exactly the right temperature.
It really is a great cruise and on the way back the tour guides announces that our children are the best behaved kids they have ever had on the boat. They go on to say usually when there are kids on the boat it is the tour guides who want to jump in the water. They radio ahead back to the caravan park to make sure management have a free ice cream each for each of them upon our return to the park. The other cruisers applaud the kids and it is a very proud mum and dad moment.
Back at the caravan park we bump into Fanny Lumsden and her partner Dan who have coincidentally pulled up beside us to camp the night. Fanny is an accomplished country singer and has come a long way from the young girl I remember strumming around a campfire in the upper Murray, and it was really great catching up with her and meeting Dan, a gentleman and yet another good bloke we have met on the road.
Not a good day to give up bear!
We are making a habit of meeting old friends on this trip that are flung far and wide - and meeting new ones.
We enjoy a couple of beers and then make our way to the infinity pool for a photo of the sunset back drop on the lake, and then down the short but steep hike to have another swim and a fish in the lake, hoping to better the one black brim we caught last night.
On dusk we all tidy up to head over to the beer garden for a meal and Fanny and Dan join the Phegan clan to watch the state of origin.
Not a gday to give a beer...
NSW struggles to get over the line in a thrilling game and in doing so fail seal what has nearly been the perfect day. A couple more beers with Dan and we retire to where we are camped for a few tunes and guitars are out.
It's really not a beer day to give up good (hiccup...)...
Pretty soon a park manager comes over to politely tell us it's 9pm and the kids are all in bed and we should wind down. Not our kids the grey nomads. We accept the umpires decision and hang the guitars up and settle into a night cap.
A great day and a great night, with the only sobering moment hearing my grate mate Colin Mitchell has been crook with his cancer battle. We have shared many adventures and there are many to come. Makes a bloke wonder why he doesn't pack up the missus and kids and work/travel full time.
Not a good day to give up beer. Keep up the fight Wobbles.
Night.
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