Happy 8th Birthday Eamon!! We have been secretly purchasing all his little presents over the last couple of weeks which hasn't been easy, but he was pleased with it all: a sports watch, rashy & boardies, Back to the Future DVD trilogy, pencil case; and a Nike sports bag. The card was a noisy Star Wars one which was tricky to sign without him hearing us! Renee made a lovely colourful sign saying "Happy 8th Birthday with lots of wishes Eamon" which we stuck onto his window on the van. It was our caravan neighbour's birthday too - he turned 68!

We had bacon and eggs for brekky, but the birthday boy has picked up a bug, so he didn't have any. Eamon perked up a bit around noon, so we ventured out. First stop was the Stockyard Gallery - there are lots of lovely local paintings; next was the Elsey Station Homestead - a replica of the building used in the 1981 movie We of the Never Never. Close by were the Mataranka Thermal Pools that flow from the Rainbow Springs - they're a nice 34 degrees similar to Bitter Springs.

Barramundi Feeding was happening at Territory Manor at 1pm, and we got there in time to see a beautiful peacock in the gardens, and also a turtle in the water. When it came time for the feeding, Eamon & Renee both got the opportunity to put some pilchard into the water, and wait for one of the 6 barramundi (or their friends the black bream) to grab it out of their hand! It was very interesting and worth the visit. The cafe and bar at the Manor was very inviting so we had barramundi, salad & chips for lunch and it was great (except Eamon, who was still not hungry).

A little more rest for the birthday boy, and we headed back to Bitter Springs for a late afternoon swim with our noodles. During the evening, Eamon received birthday phone calls from Uncle Vincent, Nanna, Hugo, and Riley so that was great. We deferred the cake, but sang happy birthday to Eamon with our maltesers in hand instead!