Monday 1st June.

Finally arriving at Alaric Station Veteran's Retreat after bumping along for 100 kms on a dusty dirt road . To find nobody there, the manager was off showing some ex navy guys around the property. These fellows were all members of a demolition team whose job it was to find and deactivate mines attached to ships etc, all were highly trained divers who were having a reunion at Alaric.

Despite being ex Navy they turned out to be good company around the fire at night, enjoying a few beers and BS etc.

Robyn quickly made friends with some of the local residents

Our camp at Alaric Station with one of the ex navy guys (a staunch Liberal supporter and avid letter writer to the editor)  with Myra in her Kill(h)er pyjamas.

 The ex navy guys toy. Which Rossco and I had a brief drive of half Molly the Monk one night, good fun.

The second day at the station the four of us loaded into Rossco's car and drove about 4 kms to an abandoned opal mine to have a fossick around. We did find a few tiny slivers of opal.

However Robyn managed to find a wild goat and her kid stuck in wet sticky mud at the bottom of a bulldozer scrape. They were well and truly trapped by the sticky mud. Rossco managed to lift out the baby goat and put it on dry land it was very weak and shaky.

Myra and I arrived on the scene and helped Rossco to tether a rope around the mother goats horns and haul her out of the bog. We left them with some water in plastic container and found some leaves for them to eat.

Didn't have time for photos of goats sorry.

Day three, we again bundled into Rossco's car and went off exploring in a new direction to find a disused shearing shed and shearers quarters. This station and others around it used to be sheep grazing properties, however this being very drought prone country sheep gradually became unsustainable due to sheep pulling up grass shoots roots and all leaving nothing. Changing over to cattle which only eat the green shoots leaving the roots to regrow.

These are very substantial facilities which are now left to deteriorate.

While we were out there we ran into the Quilpie Shire dog trapper whose job it is to help eradicate wild dogs and dingos.

 He gets to run around in one of these fun little buggies.

That afternoon we set off to working opal mine some 10 kms away. This is a large open cut mine and is still very productive. We drove up to the top of the escarpment which gave a great view all around the area. Driving along the top we came to an area where could look down to a series of ravines which is the habitat of a small wallaby which are only found in this small area.

Myra has a go at cracking a rock open, which is where boulder opals are found. If your very lucky.

Next day saw us loaded up and driving back to Quilpie to fuel up and head west. Rossco and Robyn to return back home and Myra and I head off north. Arriving in Windorah for the night in a basic little caravan park for $15 per night including power.