Year off around Australia

Go and get ourselves sorted - paid our $200 for a powered site until the 14th August. We have site G10 which we're very happy with - nice size and close to all the amenities. Settle in, get 2 loads of washing going, $6 per load in lovely new washing machines (did a great wash) and I go use the CP showers. Have some lunch, leftovers and sandwiches. Now ready to go for a drive to Rodeo HQ to let them know we're available to volunteer (we've had no response from Roger's form filling and emails). Achieve this - with leaving our contact details with the Rodeo information ladies - who assure us that volunteers are needed and that the oppropriate co-ordinator will get in touch shortly..... Go down the street to shops, Roger has a few things to do. I decide to walk to the Tourist Information 'Outback at Isa' where Rog will drive and meet me. Enjoy a nice look here, decide not to book any tours just yet - in case we're volunteering next few days. Roger's done what he set out to do for today so we head back to our caravan to relax before getting organised to walk to this evening's town centre festival. Nice walk leave around 5pm, takes about 20 minutes, and we have a beaut evening with the festival activities - street parade, organisation's (ie kinder and schools) food and produce stalls. I enjoy a steak Burger and bottled water for $13 (Roger ate abit before we left our van) and we both enjoyed the kinder's take on waffles (the works!) $15 each. Now seated in a 'beer garden' area of the Civic Centre - watching the music artists - really good entertainment! Both Rog and I didn't take jackets and we're caught out with how cool/cold the evening has become. With this in mind we just held out to the music sets finish and decide to watch the main fireworks display ( a small display earlier at 7pm) as we walk 'home'. This we achieve - the fireworks were great! Now time 10.45pmto have a cuppa and warm up before bed.
Thursday sees us without any request for our volunteering....so today will just be a relax and tinker day! Breakfast and lunch our usual caravan 'dos'. Roger shoots off about town doing some stuff he wants to get done, I just catch up on 'computer stuff' and my budgeting books. Tea tonight is chicken snitzels and salad. Roger decides to use the camp kitchen oven for some golden syrup dumplings - first cooking 'fail' Rog has had in ages! Didn't turn out as we know they should - we still ate them anyway (thermomix custard helped!). Time for a quick drive to the town lookout - good thing to do. Back for Rog to have his shower, I watch some more The Guilded Age (S2 E 3&4).
Friday sees us still not contacted re volunteering - think we're both happy (thanks to Cloncurry Rodeo ❤️) to just let this slide. We have breakfast, I go have my shower. Roger gets online (the way of it nowadays) to make a booking for the underground hospital tour at 1.30pm - gets it. Now we go for a drive - Roger wants to go to St Vinnies ( something he's looking for!) and looking for a shop that supplies rubber that he could make a mudflap out of.....no luck yet, so we do a Woolies grocery shop. Next go looking for the Bakery that other travellers have recommended- we find it Grant's Pies & Cakes. Yes it's GOOD! Very busy too (good sign). Get a loaf of bread and our today's lunch. Curry pie and apple turnover for Rog, sausage roll and caramel macadamia flan for me mmmm yep! We're early, but we arrive at place for our Underground Hospital tour. Good spot to relax and fill in time, help yourself to a cuppa and sit in the shade of a veranda with a nice breeze. Tour is a goodie. After this we try the Mt Isa lookout again (did earlier today too busy) - get a park this time so check out the daytime views. Back to our caravan - relax time for me, Roger's working on replacing the mudflap that came off the caravan along the Birdsville Track (few weeks back now!). Have a lovely evening, tea tonight chops and stir-fried vegetables., then Apple Crumble Roger cooked up in the airfryer. Usual tidy up, Roger has his shower and I have a nice phone chat with Raelene. Bedtime and I (we) watch a couple more episodes of The Guilded Age S2.
Saturday sees us up after 8am, leisurely breakfast, then Roger's tinkering with caravan 'stuff', muttering about loose wires and poking about in the fridge (which he cleaned and rearranged yesterday?). I have a lovely 'face time' whatsapp chat with Sharon. Next we get organised to go for a drive to check out Lake Moondarra. Roger packs food so we can make our sandwiches out and about. We take bathers and paddleboard (to inflate) if we decide to get on the water.
Return from our nice drive. Roger needs to rest as he's gone and caught a cold, and it's making him feel tired etc. I organise tea tonight - Thermie pasta dish, followed by remainder of Apple crumble. Rog has shower and continues to rest/recover. I tidy up, early night to bed - finish watching S2 of The Guilded Age. Enjoyed this.
Sunday - definitely a 'rest day' - hopefully Roger over the worst of his cold. He cooks us up bacon and eggs for breakfast and tidys up while I'm off having my shower. Tegan calls (on Whatsapp) lovely hearing from her quite regularly. When then relax under our annex, Roger reading, and plotting and planning more of our trip. I make a few phone calls- Stacy, Jenny, Barb. Great to have a catch up.
Sadly Stacy's Nan is not well, so thinking of her and family.
Lunch we have at our caravan - leftover pasta reheated in the microwave. Go for a drive into Mt Isa shopping area to go to Coles to restock on groceries, then we walk around the CBD checking out what shops on offer etc - of course very quiet on a Sunday afternoon. Roger drives back to the caravan park, I choose to walk the 20 minutes back for a bit of exercise. Now just relaxing, reading etc. Tea tonight Florries with salad. Usual evening routine, tidy up, Roger goes for a shower, then early to bed - both reading.
Monday morning - I have a lie in reading my book Dating Game Danielle Steele to get it finished 9.30am. Rog up around 8am has his breakfast etc. When I get up I have my breakfast, then we go for a walk together to the Tourist Centre 'Outback at Isa' to have another look. While there, we see if we can change our tomorrow's booking to do the mine tour to this afternoon - we can, yay! We check out the Mine Museum (no cost, part of the tour fee) before walking back to have our lunch at our caravan. Ham and salad sandwich for Roger, and open toasties, mustard, avocado, ham,capsicum, tomato and cheese for me. We then tidy up and get organised before driving to 'Outback at Isa' to continue looking at the Mine Museum etc and taking our Hardtimes Mine Underground Tour at 2pm. Really good, finished tour around 5pm. I drop Roger back to our caravan, he wants to get tea prepared, so I can then drive to the pool to do a Aqua class at 5.45pm. Cost $11 for 45 minutes, friendly class with 9 of us (2 male) and our instructor. Had fun with a good workout. Drive back to our camp in time for tea, sausages and vegetables casserole done with plum sauce - yum. We have showers, do dishes and relaxing before bed.
Tuesday 13 August. Get up around 7.30am have our breakfast, Weetbix for Roger, porridge with a pear for me. Washing and cleaning today - so I strip the bed, finally including the doona cover this time, and go and get 2 loads of washing happening. Not a long wait (15 min) until I got the 1st washing machine, and would've been less than 10 minutes after that the other machine was available too. Roger dusting, cleaning and washing the caravan floor in the meantime. Relax then, while we wait for the clothes etc to wash. Once the washing hung out on the caravan park's clothesline, we decide to go for a walk to Granty's Cake & Pie Bakery to get our lunch. A real spoil - Rodeo pie and custard donut for me, Curry steak pie and cookies and cream muffin for Roger - with cold drinks. The Pies are amazing, treats were a bit big for us after them! We needed the walk back to our caravan for sure (5km round trip). Get back and our washing is dry, so I make up our bed and we get our washing folded and away. Next we drive down the street to stock up, drinks. groceries then fuel. We'll be right for take off tomorrow. We get back to our van and unpack our purchases, then decide we're warm enough to go for a swim. Nice little pool in the caravan park - water 'refreshing' as not heated. Next showers time and afterwards I start on tea preparation - silverside and vegetables with mustard sauce. Relax and then enjoy our tea. Cuppa time then tidy up. Relax and plot and plan together for tomorrow. I watch Federer Last 12 Days.
Wednesday morning, up around 8am. Breakfast, porridge made in my Thermie for me, Weetbix for Roger. I'll go have a shower, Roger will continue with tidy up and pack up ready for us to leave. We driving out at 9.30am, off to get fresh bread as we leave Mt Isa.Read more