Mount Isa

Profuse thankings to Darren, Carol and Kym at Mount Isa School of the Air for the tour round, letting us sit in on some lessons, the opportunity to play Santa, the job bagging plastic coins, and all the donations you so generously put into the pot.

To all at Brumby’s Mt Isa, who donated to us some pies, croissants and a lovely iced bun to have for lunch, in the canteen, with the teachers at the School. Naughty but nice. Don’t rest your elbows on the table! Sorry Miss. Don’t you talk with your mouth full! Mmmm-mh Ms.

Thanks to Miner’s Mate, the Caltex Servo for the fuel donation

Biggem up Margret Symons, at Toyota, Camooweal St, who donated to us a fuel cap, seeing that someone left the one we had on the roof of the van after topping up in Cloncurry, Gareth.

Cheers to Bob and Mariann at Colonial Convenience Store on Camooweal St who donated some lunch to us.

Again the IGA comes to the rescue: Alexis and Anita at the IGA in Mount Isa sent us to work at St Vincent de Pauls charity shop, sorting clothes and delivering furniture, and donated some groceries and fuel.

Thanks to everyone at Mount Isa Caravan Park for letting us stay, giving us some cigarettes and being so thoroughly charming.

Thanks to Susan and David at BP Camooweal Roadhouse who donated $20 fuel to us.

Thanks to Big Col, the Road Train driver, who we met at Camooweal Servo and who took Anne in the giant truck to Berkley Homestead, letting her drive part of the way along the home straight.

Maronan Cattle Station, near Cloncurry

We went, we woofed we sampled Aussie life outback station style. Big thanks to the ever-informative Nevenka, her husband Colin, who runs the station, the kids Rose and Kasie, Governess Juile, and Oldfella George, who also taught us much. It was a brilliant experience, and the place where the Outback came alive for us.

Thanks to Megan and Denzil and all the kids who collected donations for Book Aid and helped sell the Showbags Nevenka donated to us for the Cloncurry Races. We raised over $500 that day.


Thank you to Cloncurryshire Council worker Jo Green, who donated the money for twenty minutes of internet time for us at the local library.

Meeh-Meeh to the Debbie Lawler and the kind people at the Roadrunner Roadhouse, MIllwraith St, Cloncurry, who donated £10 fuel to us.

Berkley Highway West

To Pat and Spiro Borg at the Caltex Servo, in Hughenden, who filled our tank for us

Jane Holden fed us tea and sandwiches at the Holden Café in Hughenden.

Thanks to everyone at Richmond Caravan Park who put us up.

Hello and thank you to Bob at the Mud Hut in Richmond for the feed.

Thanks to Mike for the beers you bought us at the Mud Hut.

Thank You Linda for the list of free campsites in Central Queensland

Townsville

The incomparable John McDonald, promotions manager at the Walters Group IGA store there, soothed us with his lemon-squeezy dulcet laidbackedness and enthusiasm for anything beyond the nine dots. He arranged work for us at Camp Quality, a kids camp for cancer sufferers, one of the many local charities he and the store he works for are affiliated with, where we gardened for the day, where we earned some fuel and food from the goodly John and the kindly IGA.

Pleasure meeting with Mark and Nikki at Camp Quality, who do good work, for some beautiful children.

Thank You to Darren, Janine, and Ethan Staunton in Kirwan, for a place to hang our heads for the night. Darren makes an incredible curry. Cheers for the shampoo and cd’s too.

Bonza to Darren, Jon and Sharon at the Network Communications store, in Castletown Shopping World, for the $30 of Optus phone credit.

Bonza too to Lauren, Elouise and Gemma at the Vodafone store in Castletown Shopping World for $20 Vodafone phone credit.

Cheers Den at Den’s Internet, 265 Flinders St, who donated 20 minutes free to us., and invaluable wisdom into the bargain. Mention also to his lovely sister Anna, who helped us out with some names for work further along the track.

Thanks to Very Tall Andrew at the Townsville Bulletin who ran a story on us. He was over tall you know. What’s the weather like up there, we quipped.

To Michelle and Christine at Reef HQ, that underwater aquatic extravaganza, for donating a trip round for us. Made us crave fish N chips.

To all the staff at Mobil Calcium, Charters Towers, who donated a jerry cans worth of fuel to us for the trip out back.

Too easy mate. We rested our perspiring behinds and lay our sweat-beaded brows at Pentland Caravan Park, our first taster of the Outback. It’s big, we agreed.

To Nick and Wendy, at Julia Creek Roadhouse, who donated $10 fuel to us.