We packed up and set off at 9:00am, not quite sure how we managed to achieve it! Caleb disappeared all morning playing with Indy the French Poodle. As we pulled out we collected him from the neighbours, Chris and Terry, who sang his praises about his manners and likeability. They took a photo of him with Indy and printed it out for him to keep. They said goodbye and seemed genuinely sad to see Caleb leave. 

This whole area along the coast is known as the Cassowary Coast and the main highway is lined with signs warning about being aware of Cassowaries. As it is a protected species, they are quite coveted in this region. We have seen plenty of pictures of them, but none in the flesh … until this morning.

Ray spotted him first and pulled over the car and van as quickly as he could. We got a good look at him and snapped a quick pic before he disappeared behind a veil of foliage. When feeling threatened, cassowary birds can do a lot of damage, even kill, so I was slightly relieved to see the back of him. 

We passed back through Townsville on our way to Charters Towers, our destination for today. Stopping off at the shopping centre for a few essential items that we know we won’t be able to find again until Brisbane, we also grabbed some lunch. 

Caleb was chewing on his bread roll and felt something hard in his mouth. Further investigation revealed that one of his teeth had just fallen out. He was super excited at the prospect of the Queensland tooth fairy being more cashed up than the Melbourne one, and started talking about $50 and $100 payments for his tooth! (Another one corrupted by the lucrative mining industry perhaps). We reminded him of the usual $2 payment and because he is a Melbourne born kid, he comes under the jurisdiction of the tooth fairy there. 

We are feeling slightly disappointed that we are having to retrace steps that we have already taken through this area, and returning to places we have already explored seems a waste of time. 

The difficulty is that there are so few roads that are made of bitumen, other than major roads, that we can take a caravan on. This makes it necessary to retrace many steps. An ‘off road’ camper could take numerous different routes throughout the outback but our van (although it has travelled to places it shouldn’t have) isn’t built for that kind of adventure! 

We arrived in Charters Towers after a long day on the road. Returning to the same caravan park that we stayed at last time we were in the area, we set up the bare minimum and stretched out. 

It never fails to surprise me just how tiring sitting in the car all day long can be. I had already had 2 Nanna naps in the car during the day and as I stretched out on the bed before dinner, I dozed off yet again. 

Ray and Caleb were busy outside creating a car track for 2 of Caleb’s cars. In a moment of weakness, Ray had promised to build it when we arrived. They were busy sawing and screwing but I missed the end product because by then I was well and truly asleep. I’m assured I will get to see it tomorrow.