28th December 2013

What a stinker of a night last night! Soooo hot and still for the most part. Of course, the wind picked up again around 2am but not as bad as the first night. The air con whirring next door may have made me feel it even worse.

I woke nice and early, the sun was not yet sneaking over the top of the ranges. How lovely it is to lay there and read without the heat and the flies. I was tempted to turn on the radio and make a bit of noise but I know what it is like to be camping with tired and cranky kids so I restrained myself.

I ran into Clem (with the trail bike) in the communal facilities. He and his family are on their way to NSW after 6 months in the Northern Territory. They went up there for a holiday and ended up staying for a while with work being very plentiful. He thought it was time to return home and see what needed doing at his place. He assured me that if I didn’t mind living in some rough areas I would find work without any problems in the Territory. Apparently they are screaming out for workers in all fields. I wonder……

My chat with Clem was the first time I had actually spoken with anyone since my arrival. It was lovely to exchange pleasantries and a bit of light chatter and then go back to my little piece of paradise.

I was sitting drinking my coffee and contemplating the scenery when Sharon the caretaker came and introduced herself. She asked how long I planned on staying and was not at all surprised when I said I had no idea. A lovely friendly lady, she said that she and Graham were off to town (Port Augusta) for supplies and did I need anything while she was there. I assured her that I would be heading in myself before long and thanked her for her kindness. Just the perfect type of person to be looking after this place.

As I made a mental list of what I need, ice and maybe a decent new esky being the priority, one by one the others around me began to pack up and leave. By the time I was ready to head into town I was once again on my own!

On the trip to town I once again saw the emus. Not so many this time but obviously it is a place they like to hang out. I wondered for a moment whether it could be an emu farm but then when I looked at the state of the fences it was obvious they were not there to keep the emus in.

On my return from town I noticed a clunking noise in the front driver’s side of my car. Uh oh! Maybe I should not have spent that money on the new Waeco Ice Box! Oh well, what is done is done. Fortunately I do actually know a mechanic in Port Augusta and a lovely fellow he is too. I will have to get him to take a look at my car and hopefully repair it for me.

It was so nice to return to Spear Creek and ‘my’ tree. It has been a lovely place to rest and rejuvenate. Even better when there is no one around and one can feel as though they are the only person on earth.

I received a message from a girlfriend asking me what my plans for New Year’s Eve were. I don’t think she really understood when I said that I still didn’t know if I would even be back in the city by then. Not everyone feels the same as I about the bush but now that I have found this place, thanks to my friend’s recommendation, I am not at all keen to leave it.

As I snap photographs of some of the bird life I think to myself….Ahhhhh what a perfect place to write…. My place of Solitude.

To be continued…..