9th July 2012. Lightning Ridge. Felt pretty good this morning after yesterdays soak in the Artesian Baths. Take note Ruth - much nicer than Rotorua. At least we could see afterwards - no sulphur!! After breakfast we decided to try our hand at fossicking. We paid $5 each and went to the huge stockpile of rocks and dirt that had been taken out of the open cut mine. No opals were found - just a really great fossicking pick that had been left behind by someone and dust filling our ears. We left Lightning Ridge at around 11.30 am and headed for St George. We were going to overnight here but decided to push on a little more and spent the night at Surat in a lovely free camp by the Balonne River. Plenty of people around but we managed to get a spot not too close to the caravans that had generators. Travelled 356 km today.

10th July 2012. Surat to Walleroo. We stopped at Roma for a bit of a shop for fruit and veggies and also a couple of things for the camper. One was a thermometer. Great pie shop there for lunch then off again - we thought heading for Carnarvon Gorge. We stopped for fuel at Injune and called to the information centre there. Fuel here was 155.9 per litre which is the most expensive so far. We were advised to overnight at Wallaroo (68km further on) rather than tackle Carnarvon on dusk as they had been getting reports of slippery conditions on the road into the National Park. We decided to wait out the wet night and see what tomorrow brings. Free camp at Wallaroo - large area but very muddy and HEAPS of HUGE road trains coming and going all night.

11th July 2012. 9.30 am start - seems the normal time for us to get away. So much gas mining around here. 90% of the vehicles are 4WD dual cab utes with the large orange flags. 14.9 degrees on leaving (thanks new thermometer). Overcast with patches of blue. Pulled off the road to take a photo and almost got bogged. Good driving DB and great tyres Phil!! Still that litgtle exercise prooved that we unfortunately will be giving Carnarvon Gorge a miss this time. We heard reports along the way that people were advised not to go as it was pouring there and there was a fear of having to stay for a week. Mel and Matt would think that would be a perfect scenario but it was $35 a night just to camp. Lunch at Springsure and found a wash bay to wash the mud off. Cost $2 but well worth it. Dad called and we are in the same area so we're meeting up at Emerald late in the afternoon. Emerald is a busy large town known for the gem fossicking. We didn't do any when we were there. I prefer picking out the shiny ones from the jewellers window. I'm still cleaning dirt out of my ears from the Lightning Ridge experience. We free camped at a stockpile area just outside of Emerald. Lovely to sit around a fire and chat with Dad and Robyn swapping stories of our travels so far. We are now 1,614 km from home.

12th July 2012. Very misty this morning. Dad left at around 8 this morning and they are heading north east. We are heading north west - searching for the sun. Drummond Range - watched the low clouds spilling down the range. Hopefully they are making their way away from where we are heading. According to the maps we have now hit 'outback Queensland'. Morning tea at sleepy little Alpha. Great coffee and hot chocolate served by a pretty little French chick. DB was very impressed with his 'ot shockalart (spoken with French accent). The weather has improved and WE HAVE FOUND THE SUN!!! Arrived Barcaldine at lunch time - a little pub town with wide tree lined sstreets with brightly painted old pubs. In 1891 it was the headquarters of a major shearer's strike. This apparently lead to the formation of the Labor Party. The organisers used to meet at a ghost gum named "Tree of Knowledge". It was unfortunately poisoned in 2006. Legend has it that some suspect Liberal Party insiders were responsible - ha ha. They now have a quite elaborate memorial there. Free camp at Barcaldine tonight with around 25 other vans. 300 km travelled today.