Day 4 Wednesday 25th June
Welford NP to Bladensburg NP (450 km)

The sky cleared in the night and it was a beautifully sunny day today.....much warmer too. We got up just around dawn. The river looked lovely in the morning light and there were lots of budgerigars around. We lit another fire and had a cooked breakfast and a wash!! The other camper stopped by to say "hello" on his way out. We were on our way by 9am and as we crossed the clay pans we had to avoid dozens of large 'roos. We drove approx 45 km to Jundah and just at the edge of town was a beautifully clean amenities block with a free hot shower......if only we'd known! The development road to Longreach was single lane, but sealed. There was lots of road-kill and we only just avoided one large wedge-tailed eagle feasting in the middle of the road. (Estelle was driving at the time....eek!). We also saw lots of cattle and a few wild horses. Once again we stopped for wood since wood collection in National Parks is not allowed.
We got fuel in Longreach and availed ourselves of the cafe in the Qantas Museum for coffee and lunch. We didn't visit the museum itself since we did that a few years ago. We also got a mobile signal so we were able to make contact with home and pick up emails. Then we were on a major road, the A2 Landsborough Hwy to Winton and then the dirt road into Bladensburg NP. We know that this a popular park and so we attempted to book a site on-line, and then by phone, when in Longreach. The phone guy told me that the web-site was down, so he couldn't do it either. So....we just came here anyway. It is quite full....although the sites are fairly spaced out. They have 'up-graded' it. You can no longer camp right by the river....you have to be 50m or so back, and you can no longer self-register at the hut in the campground. This means that we don't have a permit.......but we did try!!! If the Ranger comes in the morning, we can pay him. We set up, collected some river water, made our fire and enjoyed the last of the day by taking our chairs down to the river bank. Once again we successfully cooked a roast dinner in the camp oven......lamb tonight....it was very tasty!
After washing up, we sat by the fire and read until bedtime.....stopping every so often to look at the stars!