Birdsville 2013 - Day 5

Sunday 31st March, 2013

Whoops, forgot to leave the Easter Bunny a note before we left home to say where to find us!

Nice sleep in this morning, we were going to go out to Big Red to do Graham Cahills photography session at 6am, but it is overcast, windy, drizzling and 11degrees - as much as I was interested in going, staying curled up under the doona won.  The dust storm and clouds that came in yesterday afternoon eventually brought some rain last night, unfortunately the wind stayed all night and rocked the cazbar out of the camper, didn't make for a restful sleep.  Swept the camper out this morning after that Dust Storm, have a look at the dirt that was on the floor and the colour of the floor....

They reckon that women talk a lot, Craig can't help himself when we're camping he's always having a chat with our neighbours and nothing was different this morning.  We did have breakfast at some stage in amongst his chitter chatter.  The Easter Bunny got a lift with Shauno this morning through the caravan park to give out easter eggs to all the kids, Adrian & Tania had gone out so I asked the Easter Bunny & Shauno to stop in at their campsite and leave some eggs for the little bloke Jamie.  When he got back he was tickled pink knowing the Easter Bunny had stopped in to see him, we even got a picture of it for Jamie.



Easter Bunny at young Jamie's campsite

Decided to go for a drive this morning and have a look at a few things around Birdsville:  Birdsville Racecourse;

Birdsville Racecourse



Yep, Boris thinks he's a racing dog!

Craig's lining up early....



Yes he's still racing around.



I think Boris loved the space to run around

 the old Diamantina Crossing where Darren called us to ask what we were doing (we'll drop in on our way back to camp). 


Old Dimentina Crossing

Looking up river

Looking down river

Our model.....

Went and had a look at Birdsville's water supply - very interesting.  Bore comes out of the ground, goes into the cooling ponds, then gets pumped back up into the cooling tanks.

Where the water came out

Very hot water

We headed back to the caravan park stopping in at Happy Camper Travelander campsite to see what was happening.  Turned out it was lunch drinkies time & nibbles of course.  The overcast sky moved and we were back to blue sky and sun, but at least it wasn't as hot as yesterday. The boys created a little game to play when someone finished a beer  -  seeing who could get their empties into the rubbish bin first throw from the mark - you know what they say "small things amuse small minds", haha.




Hmmm I see 3 x trouble there....

The game for small minds.

I should just introduce you to these people that I keep referring to:
Darren, Julia and their sons Jayden, Damen (owners of Travelander)
Their Victorian Agent:  Hayden & Jess and their tribe of kids - Zoe, Cooper & Sienna
Our neighbours at Birdsville Caravan Park: Adrian & Tania and their little boy Jamie
and Vic & Frank were camped across from us.

Next thing we know it's a 1/4 to 3 and the Charity Cricket Match starts at 3pm, plus Travelander are sponsoring a swag throwing competition with one of their SwagIt swags (you throw it the furtherest and you take it home).  It was starting to get the name of the Biggest Tosser amongst the boys.... (by that I mean the 3 adult "boys").
Hayden was chatting about whether the cricket match would have the Aussie iconic "streaker" during the match, we girls looked at each other and said "take your shirt off first", will he or won't he.....




Friendly chat before the match

Hayden & Cooper waiting for the
match to start.

You'd think the black dog would lie
in someones shadow wouldn't you..



Our motley crew waiting

The cricket teams were Glen Hadden, his sons, Mr... Feral Finance Dave Challinor from Fortified Finance and I'm assuming some readers of the mag who put their name down to participate.  Opposing team:  4wd Action crew - Roothy & his daughter, Graham, Shauno, Jamie Hazelden and a couple of fellows whom I'm not sure who they were.



Team Glenno

Team Roothy

Shauno batting

Everything was being filmed.

Game on and I've got to say it was the dodgiest backyard cricket game rules I've ever seen! Funny though that's for sure. Glen Hadden sponsored the game and handed over I think it was $1,000 to the Starlight Foundation (charity of choice for the weekends events). Now during the match some of our little group noticed the absence of Hayden, apparently Darren saw him on the other side of the oval near the Bakery (normal assumption would be - he's going to the bakery....), well I'm happy to report their was an Iconic Aussie "Streaker" during the cricket match, well a shirtless one anyway and guess who..... no not Craig, it was HAYDEN! We were all killing ourselves with laughter when he got to us, it was even announced over the loud speaker system "oh, we've got a streaker", I'm sure some people were laughing and shaking their heads at the same time.  You can't have a game of cricket in Australia without a streaker surely!



Even had a commentator on the field



Craig loved this shirt & check out the flies






Graham about to pickup one of the children
on the field.



Everything was being filmed for the mag

The 4wd Action team in action

Righto next on the agenda this afternoon, now the cricket match is done - oh the cricket match was a draw.....  every child wins a prize, haha.  It's time for the Travelander "biggest tosser", no hang on that's not right, it's time for the Swag Throwing competition.  We had a demonstration from Hayden on how to toss a swag...


Hayden the demonstrator

Craig lined up in case there were no takers, but he didn't have to participate as there were plenty of willing tossers......   Men & women had a go, along with some of the 4wd Action crew (although I must say, I don't think those guys tried their hardest!).  It was close at the end, but there's only one winner by 0.1m, I don't know the winner name by he tossed the swag 12.1m, so he was lucky enough to take home his very own SwagIt swag.
There is still more to come for today, but again here's a taste.

One of the ladies having a toss

Graham Cahill having a toss

Shauno being a tosser.

Even Jamie Hazelden had a toss.

All the excitement on the oval done, the boys headed to the pub to buy Julia & myself some wine, while we headed to the bakery to get a very late lunch (unfortunately it was closed).  In the process 3 children were misplaced between the Happy Camper campsite and the oval, Julia & Jess went searching for them and I took Boris back to our camp for some shade.  Now to my knowledge the boys were supposed to collect the wine and come back past our camp, so I waited..........  Eventually I rang Darren to find out what had happened to everyone - plan had changed, everyone at the pub and the 3 children had been found.  Righto then, closed up the camper, organised Boris and my stuff, about the leave and wouldn't you know it a fellow popped his head into our camp and started asking about the camper.....  Finally heading up to the pub and who should I run into but Craig & Darren (thought to myself, isn't that nice it had been so long since my phone call they've come looking for me - umm no, they'd lost another child who stormed off in a huff (these kiddy things are so easy to manage aren't they, lol).  Craig, Boris & I headed to the pub, Darren grabbed huffy child by the ear and lead him back to the pub - apparently it's Darren's shout for dinner tonight at the pub, sweet I don't have to make boy dinner now.

Dinner consumed, I've sorted Julia & my wine (no the boys hadn't done that - one wonders what they had been doing at the pub all that time before I rang...).  I took Boris home for his dinner, Julia & Jess took the kids home to bed.  Some time later the 3 musketeers arrived at our camp quite chirpy & at least they remembered to bring our wine home!  It seems it was time for rum & cokes and it's like watching an episode of the 3 Stoogers or something, I was just about bursting a side seam laughing at their comedic banter.  Darren & Hayden were taking the mickey out of Craig's awning erection techniques, because it was a bit saggy after yesterdays wind and poles collapsing, but that didn't count in their eyes.  At some stage Hayden wandered off, Darren finished his rum and dawdled off home with Julia's wine.  The disappearance of Hayden was figured out, he went to have a shower & get all gussied up for Darren's return to their camp, he was there waiting for him to have a night cap - I think that's sweet don't you....   I'm off to bed, Craig's made another rum and I'll leave him chatting yet again with Vic & Frank - Goodnight all.

P.S.  During the course of the day there has been discussions about leaving tomorrow instead of Tuesday & making a convoy with Darren & Hayden to Innamincka.  We were speaking to Adrian & Tania at some point during the day, they were going tomorrow also and heading to Innamincka, so sounds like we're leaving tomorrow now in a convoy of 4 vehicles - how exciting and different for us.