Queensland - Great one day, perfect the next. The weather was good yesterday and better today with 26c, little humidty and plenty of sun and NO wind (that means a lot to us Ballaratians). We visited town today and it was open for business today after yesterdays public holiday, a nice little place with a real outback feel. The bakery had to be seen to be believed. I have seen more organised and attractive places in several 3rd world countries. The supermarkets had many bare spots on the shelves and limited options but we managed to get what we wanted after visiting 3 shops.

Back to the camp to pack a lunch where we had been told to drive 50km out of town on the bitumen towards St George then 20 km down a dirt road to a place called Charlotte Plains then call in to the house and introduce ourselves to Robyn.

We found the place no worries after negotiating many emus, kangaroos, sheep, goats and cattle all wandering about aimlessley. Robyn invited us into the homestead for lunch. She is the 3rd generation family owner of this 700 hectare sheep and cattle station and runs it on her own after her husbands death. The family have a history of race horse training and she has a son (Robbie Russell) who played in the Rugby World Cup twice for Scotland (due to his grandfather being born there).

She then took us to the shearing shed where they were shearing en masse. The contractors shear about 200 sheep per shearer per day (6 shearers) at $5.60 per sheep. They live on site for the duration in cabins and are fed and watered for the duration. They are doing around 6,000 sheep this time around. They will get about 100 bales of wool at 200kg per bale.

We then went to the artisian well which was a sight then back to watch the sheep drafting (sorting them into different types prior to shearing)

Then back to the camp for a meal cooked by Susie expertly over the open fire down by the Warrego River as it got dark and the amazing aray of stars began to shine. This place is a must see. Its fantastic. A great day in a place I would have never thought to visit if it had not been on the way to somewhere. Off to Charleville tomorrow