Sun., 8 July 2012 - Daly Waters to Mataranka

Another perfect morning - bright, sunny & with a cloudless sky.  People were either enjoying breakfast outside their caravans, or preparing to "hit the road".  We filled our water tanks & were ready to leave by 9.15am.



Fran's place

 
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meet Fran!



Charlie doesn't really like scones, jam & cream but he forced himself!



We stopped at an establishment known as "Fran's" for morning coffee, scones, jam, cream & banana cake.  It was a real experience as Fran was quite a character!  She served good, wholesome food & we also bought one of her excellent pies to have for dinner, later on.  What a girl - her talents were widely known & she wasn't short of customers.  She sure was a "goer" & had the banter to accompany the service, despite having no teeth!  Some of the notices that she had posted on the walls were unbelievable:  "Please don't pinch my toilet paper or soap.  I have security cameras, operating 24/7!"  She could obviously look after herself & appeared to be one of life's survivors.



Unlike Fran, many of the poor animals that we saw along the roadside had not known how to look after themselves.  There were a lot of dead kangaroos today, as well as two cows, one of the Brahma variety, with a humped back.  I continued to pray that nothing would run out in front of us!

Some huge roadtrains began to appear on the road & we pulled over to allow a couple of them to pass us.  They seemed massive as they thundered by & nothing in their path would have stood a chance - scary!

One of the monster trucks - it had three huge trailers behind it.



Today's journey was not as long as yesterday's & we settled into our campsite at Mataranka in time for lunch.  It was pleasantly warm so Judy & I changed into our swimsuits & relaxed on chairs outside the caravans.  Currently, the fan is keeping me cool as I write - things are warming up!