Missing Days 4 Aug, 31 July and 25th July

Thursday 4^th August – 12,680 Km



Packed up, refuelled, checked out the ANZ to see what we can do about our expired debit cards (which are now sitting in Perth!) and picked up Census forms. All chores done and we set off south for Mataranka. Checked out bitter springs, so named because of the bitter taste, quite pretty but no time for a dip as there was a barra feeding demonstration happeningat “The Homestead” which the 'boys' wanted to see so we shot off to that. Quite amazing, informative and the barra were huge. Learnt the black ones are not good eating – only the silver ones. When the barra 'boof' they take a gulp of air when they surface ,catch a fish then expel it through their gills. (no the air, not the fish :-) The first BOOF made everyone jump. Luke warm springs, at the Never Never Homestead, a bit disappointing, also (for conservation sakes) a bit man made, so not as awesome as Litchfield, but can't complain – much better than being in Perth in winter. We pressed on and camped in a rest area about 40 Km west of Roper Bar. More rubbish bins than you could shake a stick at. Quite a novelty, most places, even relatively expensive campsites don't provide a rubbish bin. Got talking to a French couple that had come from Cape York, he was a photographer, and it was quite interesting to glean his information.