Monday

Bit of a lay in this morning. Today is supposed to reach 32° but there is a good breeze that's keeping it cool. After breakfast I spend the morning cleaning the van - changing sheets and wiping walls - to try and reduce the dust that got in while we camped during the wind storms. Martin spent the morning dismantling the car. When he'd tried to change the filter sock in the snorkel at Broken Hill it wasn't there so he had to pull the snorkel apart to find it and get it back out. He has now ordered external filters.

I finished before Martin so took a walk through the camp, around the lagoon and down to the river. I spoke to a couple who mentioned that there was a tour of the property this afternoon. I had read about this before we got here. There is a resident artist at the camp - Eddy Harris, a local from the Barkandji people and he does the tour. I also came across a man fishing in the lagoon. While I stood talking to him the fish were literally jumping out of the water but he hadn't caught any.

After lunch the wind started to pick up so we packed the awning away just to be safe and then took a drive into Wilcannia. There's not much here anymore but the history is surprising - this was once NSW's 3rd biggest port behind Sydney and Morpeth. There are some beautiful old buildings and it looks like the town is trying to overcome it's reputation as a town you don't want to stop in.

Back at the camp I decided to try my hand at fishing before the tour starts. Those damn fish are still jumping but just won't jump on my hook. Disheartened I went back to camp and then went up to meet Eddy. He took us to see some aboriginal middens and had some fascinating stories. He and Martin got on well and the jokes were coming think and fast - not good ones though. Eddy showed us some bush tucker including a wild orange tree. He explained the fruit looks like passionfruit on the outside and when opened up still looks like passionfruit. I was waiting for him to say they tasted like oranges but he said they had a musky taste. When I asked why they weren't called wild passionfruit he started laughing and said he didn't know.

Eddy explained all the future plans for the park including a bar and restaurant looking out to the river and upmarket bungalows with spas that will have the verandah overlooking the river.

We had dinner and decided an early night was in order due to the wind. So glad I cleaned all that dust out this morning!