To Mornington

Monday 2^nd June 2008

(Photo of cicadas because I didn't take any others today, it seems)

Well, the Stanleys were much quicker at packing up their little trailer than we were – their earlier rising may have something to do with that.

We encountered them again at Imintji roadhouse because they needed to get their trailer tyre fixed by the workshop here – not exactly many to choose from in this neck of the woods. The ‘shop’ consisted of a container lined with shelves that actually held pretty much all the necessities but not so many of the niceties so we stocked up on a few things. Unfortunately, what we didn’t realise is that they are probably the best stocked place on the Gibb River Rd and we should’ve invested in a bit more edible matter while there. Anyway, everyone was guzzling an ice cream as we left so we were all happy for a while.

The Stanleys had to drive on to Mt Barnett roadhouse in search of Unleaded petrol because Imintji only has diesel so we headed on into Mornington alone. At the turn off from the ‘main’ road there was a booth where we had to make a call in to let them know we were coming. Dad’s preparatory work was successful and they were indeed expecting us.

According to the map we had 72km to travel and we were a little nervous of the road conditions after reading a couple of different accounts but once again the reality was heaps better. They told us the grader (a machine of mythical proportions in these parts) had been through and the road was mostly great – except for the several gates that had to be opened and shut on a regular basis. There were a couple of water courses to cross but nothing that troubled the trusty Landcruiser and our (hopefully) sturdy Jayco Flamingo. However, there was one creek crossing in particular that we worried might be just too much for the Stanleys and their camper – we’d just have to wait and see.

The distance was further than the map specified and we were beginning to wonder if we’d ever arrive when we finally drew up to the Mornington gates announcing that the property has been de-stocked (got rid of the pesky cattle that trample and destroy watercourses and their associated wildlife habitats). Yet further still we reached the campgrounds and finally the reception.

Di and Amy assigned us a spot in a roped off area reserved for ‘special people’ like us only, when we got there, we found other people already set up and taking up all the shade. They were unwilling to move their ute because they only had an esky and needed to keep it cool and their reason for setting up there was that they’d been told they could choose any area where grass had been slashed and they wanted to be as far away as possible from all other campers but particularly the noisy ones that had moved with them from Silent Grove. I agreed that the ‘roping off’ was decidedly inadequate and we returned to the reception to see what could be done.

They put us into the Grove which is a secret spot tucked behind the (hot!) showers which has loads of shade and is watched over by an impressive rock face. The reason they hadn’t suggested it before was because we had to share (but only for one night) with some Conservation Volunteer people who had been working on creating some garden beds.

Whilst up at reception we’d had a chat with Richard who was going to see what he could to find for us to do – not that we thought there’d be any shortage – and sure enough, by next morning he had a complete itinerary printed up for us!

The girls were impatient for the Stanleys to arrive and share our spot and finally they did – we didn’t want to force them into isolation with us but luckily they were keen.

Paul and I were keen, too – to sample the delights of a cooked meal of a slightly more ‘refined’ quality! We fed girls at home because there isn’t a choice up at the restaurant and they weren’t interested in the fish on offer but Paul and I were in heaven. And cheesecake to follow – ahhh! The girls sat in the car to watch one of their movies. Richard joined us for a glass of wine and a chat about what we might be interested in and then it was time for the Talk and Slideshow by Jill about what goes on with AWC and Mornington in particular. We fetched the girls over and they did sit still and absorb a lot of it but couldn’t cope with the whole thing so they went off to investigate the Interpretive centre and then came and bugged us until we were ready to go.