Yeehaw Cowboy!!!

We left Port Douglas and headed over the mountain, and onto the Atherton Tablelands, to Mareeba. As we approached the town we were welcomed to Mareeba by a sign that boasted 'the town that has over 300 days of Sunshine!" We are now known as the Rainmakers, so I was wondering if we could change their average rain fall!

We arrived at the Mareeba showgrounds on the final day of the Annual Winter Rodeo. Each year, spectators are entertained by full-on Rodeo action. All the usual rodeo events including bull ride, saddle bronc, steer wrestling, ladies and & junior events, team relay, and the Interstate Rodeo Challenge Qld-v-NSW.

We parked up in one of the paddocks and had a fantastic day watching the young riders risk their lives for our entertainment. One of the common phrases heard that day was "you couldn't pay me enough money to get me on the back of one of those bulls!"

We spent the next few days hanging out with mum and dad, and waiting for our friends Mark and Amanda to arrive. They arrived the day before their daughter's 8th birthday. We celebrated her birthday at a beautiful little picnic ground at Granite Gorge.  After paying our $5 fee to stay at the park for the day, we received a bag of food for the little rock wallabies scattered all over the gorge.

 

 

 

A couple of days later more friends, Matt and Nikki and their 3 kids arrived. We met Matt and Nikki earlier this year in Bendigo, Victoria and we all hit it off immediately. They were planning on going to Cape York and were hoping to be able to travel with us.

I have no interest in going to Cape York but it has been a dream of Dan’s for some time now. With my fear of crocodiles, my tendency to panic about the kids getting injured or lost and my aversion to corrugated roads, I had decided to stay in the caravan with Zac and let Dan and the two big boys go on a camping trip by themselves.

This wasn’t part of Dan’s plan and he stressed how important it was to him that we all reach the Northern most point of Australia together as a family. He practically begged me to go with him, and so after lots of disagreements, I gave in. I have had a pretty tough couple of months and all I want to do is have a rest, but instead I am about to plan, pack, clean, sort and buy supplies for a trip 2000km round trip to one of Australia’s most remote, dry and dusty places….. wish me luck!