One of the things that was very noticeable as we travelled was the lack of other travelling families with children. ‘Grey Nomads’ abounded and they were often delighted to spend a little bit of time with our young ones. The grandmas in particular clearly missed their grandchildren and our children were a reminder of what they had left behind when they took to the road. That said Miriam, Hannah and Esther were pretty self contained and kept each other amused.
Once past Isisford we were keen to push on to Rockhampton. Central west Queensland seemed more populated and less remote and so did not appeal so much to our sense of adventure. Also we had more or less decided that we were going to head up to the top of Cape York and we were cognisant of the fact that we would need to get up there and back before the ‘wet season’. Our departure from Adelaide was later than anticipated and time was marching on. In addition we were keen to see our friends the Stephen and Gillian Barton and their eight daughters in Rockhampton, so were Miriam and Hannah, friends!
We spent a most restful 8 days with our friends. Hot showers, meals on a table, excellent companionship and a reminder that most people in Australia live in cities along the coast.
