To Takarakka.

So........this time last week we set off early on our escape to Carnarvon Gorge in Central Queensland. We knew it would take us about 9 hours to get there so set off just after 6.30 am. We were just heading up the Great Dividing Range into Toowoomba, just under 2 hours later when we got a phone call from Wendi to say that Will's Mum had fallen again half an hour after we left.Shirley had managed to get her back into bed but she had some cuts and bruises. Wendi said she was on her way over to Celtis St and we said we would hang fire in Toowoomba for awhile until it was  clearer whether we needed to go back or not. We found a 'Subway' and had a breakfast roll and hot drink and Will rang Shirley. Dulcie had slipped in the bathroom but did not appear to have broken anything. Shirley said 'Keep going.'We decided we would because we could still turn back if necessary but we still had a long way to go and if we hung around in Toowoomba and it was eventually clear we did not need to go back we would have wasted travelling time, so we kept going.We were near Dalby when we got a text to say 'All O.K. Keep going,' as Dulcie was up and dressed.We stopped in Chinchilla for a break and had a little walk down the main shopping street to stretch our legs and wandered into a hardware store and came out with an antique looking, revolving, tea light chandelier.........as you do. It was a completely impulse buy, but we both loved it and thought it would be great for Frogknot. We found space for it in the packed up Roxy and headed onto Roma.We had lunch at Roma.......a pie from 'Bakearoma'! They didn't have the Mango Chicken Curry one that I wanted......it is always the way! I had a chicken and mushroom one instead.We got more petrol in Roma and headed on to Injune. It was the last day of June so we were in Injune in June. I wanted to try and get a picture of a woman in the street which I could caption ' June in Injune in June,' but didn't manage it.From Injune we headed into the Central Queensland Highlands and eventually at about 4.30 pm arrived at Takarakka Bush Resort near Carnarvon Gorge...it was packed! The World and his wife were also there.We pitched out tent under four Macrozamia trees and settled in. The guy who was in the tent next to us came back from his day in the Gorge. He was there with his son, Nick. He never introduced himself but I shall call him 'Limpy' as that day he had walked right down to the other end of the Gorge, to Big Bend and back and it was about 22 kms and he never quite recovered from it while we were there at Takarakka. Limpy seemed to know the guy in the text next to him, Todd, our next-door but one and 'cracked open a few tinnies' with him and chatted awhile.We had our tea and sat for in the darkness before going for a shower and we were in bed by about 7.30 pm.Limpy wasn't the most thoughtful of neighbours and was banging his boots together at about 10.30 while still talking loudly and I still had not been to sleep......but eventually I must have.

Frogknot repaired.

So.......I think I mentioned last time that we were at Frogknot that the ceiling had started to sag and we added a new pole to hold up the bit that seemed to be sagging the worst.Will was fearful that the roof was going, but when we arrived yesterday, even though the ceiling was worse, he thought that only the ceiling joists needed replacing.We took the ceiling down today.......what a mess it made.....especially after my two hours of cleaning after we arrived yesterday!The joists had been completely eaten away by termites and were so fragile and light the wood felt like cardboard and crumbled if you tried to hold it. The termites seemed to be long gone and tiny black ants had moved in. As Will took the ceiling down he was showered in ants, he passed the ruined wood to me and I carried it out as the ants swarmed all up my arms. I don't think I could have done that a year ago!We went into town and got some wood for the new joists and then came back and fitted them, re-packed the insulation and screwed the corrugated iron ceiling back up again. It was not an easy job getting everything lined up in the right place and it does not look as good as it did originally but it is far better than it was yesterday!  I can't believe we did it all in a day and before it got dark!There was a lot more sweeping again.....but the place is shipshape once more.Time for a bath on the rock........under the stars........there is not a cloud in the sky!

Another Frogknot Sunset.......It's good to be back!

So.......we are back from the Wilderness, still alive and have made it to Frogknot.The place is shipshape again after a few hours of 'Nickification', a wander out to 'The Rocks' to catch the sunset, and Will is now in the kitchen rustling up a Thai Green Curry.We have had such an amazing time at Carnarvon Gorge and over the coming days I will try and upload the photos and tell the tales of our days up there.

In the meantime here is a little fellow Will disturbed in the wood pile here at Frogknot.

Let the adventure begin!........

So.......we are heading off early in the morning and it is a great possibility that you will hear nothing from me until we get to Frogknot next Sunday evening. There is a chance that Takarakka, has some mobile signal for the next 2 nights but definitely when we are camping at 'Big Bend' we will be in the wilds.See you on the other side!

The Tribunal.

Considering how quick I was to set this Tribunal thing in motion.......ever since the date had been set I have been absolutely dreading it.Part of it was the unknown but mostly it was because I have watched too much 'The Good Wife' and know how sneaky lawyers and legal people can be.When the Tribunal people sent me the information they had received from Centrelink, it did not contain all the information Centrelink had sent me when rejecting my first appeal. It also contained parts of forms that I had filled in that were completely irrelevant and loads of transcripts of phone calls and contact I have made to Centerlink, in a very small font, that I could not be bothered to wade through.I couldn't bring myself to look through the documentation for ages and then feared that I should be telling the Tribunal people that I have evidence of my own.....but nowhere in the letter about the Tribunal did it ask me for documents.It has loomed large the last week or so and has stood blocking my view of the holiday to come.We spent last night at the cinema and saw 'Far From The Madding Crowd', which is where we will be once we get away.It was a lovely film and made us both miss home ('Go see it!') but it took my mind off the Tribunal until I got into bed.I think I got about 2 hours sleep....as I tried hard not to go through what I was going to say.We were up at 8.00 and ready and all set up by 8.45 am. Those last few minutes were very tense and I was actually trembling!The phone rang dead on 9.00 am.The guy on the other end was called Pat, he said he was on his own in a 'sealed room' (?).He began by stating what he understood the problem to be and he had a good grasp of the situation.....'Centrelink have mispaid the Carer's Pension after reading $225 as £225. They admit that mistake.'He mentioned a few times that he was bound by law and I could infer from what he was saying that from the evidence he had available he was pretty sure I didn't have a case......because letters were sent to me containing evidence of the mistake that I had not picked up upon and reported within the legal 13 week requirement.It was then that I explained to him that it was only after the Centrelink appeal was rejected the first time that I realised Centrelink had sent these important letters to the wrong address (Frogknot) and as such I had never received them and therefore was unable to correct and, in fact, was unaware of any mistake until March this year. We directed him to a part of the (irrelevant) completed form that stated my 'Permanent address' was Celtis St but pointed out on one letter that he did have a copy of that the address was Glen Aplin (Frogknot)."Ah!" he exclaimed, "That puts everything in a new light!" He actually sounded quite pleased for us.The upshot is.........he thinks he can help us and that 'there is provision in the law' that will be on our side but made it clear that if not there was another, further channel we could go down to try and get some of the money I am owed back. He will report back to us in within 14 days but he wanted us to send him scans of the documents Centrelink sent me after the first rejection, to prove their case but which  show they were sent to the wrong address.It ain't over until 'Elaine' sings!