Was glad to step out of the tent this morning and find no sign of our brown slithering friend.

Had a relaxed morning taking care of camp housekeeping – basically re-organising storage and doing washing. The machines were humming early this morning – it seems that everyone had decided it was laundry day . This made for long and lively conversations at the clothesline about everything from ‘where you from and where you going’, to ‘where you escaped to in COVID’ to local and international politics. I absolutely love the interesting mix of people you gat in these camping grounds.

Washing was close to dry by the time the conversations ended (nothing quite spins like a hills hoist in the outback).

started with a drive round town. There are some beautiful parks and playgrounds . The blue painted trees are prominent here marking the commitment to rural men’s mental health.

Today we unveiled Charleville’s big secret – the US WW2 base that house 3500 US airforce with 300 plus planes and the top secret Nordam bomb sight technology. Charleville was chosen for the base as it was too far for Japanese bombers to reach without re-fuelling and because its climate was optimal to avoid plane corrosion.

While great for the US soldiers the plight of the Australian women who either worked at the base or were enticed there for  social events with the hope of becoming a war bride was somewhat different.  Several hundred of them ended up marrying soldiers, returning to the US on a war bride ship and having to give up their Australian citizenship as they boarded.  When things weren’t what they were promised on arrival they then couldn’t return as they were no longer Australian citizens. Folklore has it that several of the next generation in Charleville have found out later in life they have American fathers. 

After a late afternoon nap we did some outback stargazing at the Cosmos Centre. they have an amazing set up there- four massive telescopes with a personalised guide at each one – we were able to get up close and personal with Venus, Jupiter, Alpha Centauri, another star constellation whose name escapes me and of course the moon (which was near on full).  If you squint in the right direction you should be able to see the bilby in the moon. 

Now back at camp heating up a late night meal of pumpkin soup and roti- last night here before we start heading north again.