Charters Towers

After a few electrical hassles with Thommo & Flan Man's Kimberlys, the decision was made to head towards Ballina to get things sorted out at the factory !

We had a good days travel after a wet pack-up at Atherton. Mostly light rain during the night, but a bit of a downpour around 5.30am meant that those of us camping packed up fairly wet. Dave spent the night inside with family for his Dad's 80th birthday at Milla Milla and Jill & Peter spent the night with friends in Atherton so they escaped with dry lodgings for the night.

There were plenty of roadworks on the way down today. We probably spent close to an hour all up sitting at roadwork traffic lights, but the finished bits are awesome. It will be a super-highway when it's all finished.

Jaynie & I scored a shattered rear driver side window courtesy of a road train (funnily enough on a fabulous two lane piece of road) which we haven't been able to find a replacement for yet.  Nikki & friend from Charters Towers Autoglass were brilliant - scouring the countryside for a replacement for us and eventually taping our shattered one up to (hopefully) get us further south before it gives way. Good, old fashioned country service is alive and well folks !! Between us all, the convoy scored plenty of chipped windscreens today - out with the U-Fix-It kits again !

Most of us washed our trucks and campers when we hit town tonight, just to avoid getting covered in sticky red mud every time we moved. In some ways it's a shame to not get them back into town in all their Cape grime and glory, but this-morning's combination of dust and rain (= M U D) was the final straw ! Clean cars to Canberra !!!

David is in high spirits tonight after the drubbing dished out by QLD in Origin 2 but the same can't be said for Thommo & Ian (who barracked for NSW but curiously - Ian wore a maroon jumper).

I rescued a miniscule gecko from Casa del Camprite tonight - no idea how long it had been there - but came across the tiny little fella when we set up camp tonight. After an extended play session on my wrist and arm, he (or she) was finally relocated to the shower block here. Hope it isn't too cold for the plucky little bugger.

Tomorrow we head south towards Emerald and the ever cooling temperatures !