July 20th

Orange grevillea

Surprisingly the day has dawned clear. However this latest rain event has changed  our plans yet again. It is best, or should I say essential, that we keep to bitumen roads until the weather clears completely and gravel roads dry out. This does not really matter as we can still explore some new places that are not so remote.

Large red grevillea

We have followed the Flinders Highway to Charters Towers which is quite a vibrant small town. From there we have come east toward  Townsville and camped on the Burdekin River at the Macrossan Free Campsite. It is a huge area and there are a large number of campers making use of this Council land. Our grandson, John and his mate camped here in February. It was probably a lot warmer at that stage. However the temperature is pleasant this evening. There is a warning about crocodiles. It is amazing where that sign pops up!

Today along the Flinders Highway we have seen lovely wild flowers...red and orange grevilleas which I am unable to identify and some wild hibiscus in bloom. This has instigated a lot of discussion about Rosella Jam which we made years ago when we toured the Kimberleys. I bought a jar of this very tasty red jam earlier in this trip. I was completely unaware that the Rosella fruit came from a Hibiscus plant ..to be specific it is Hibiscus sabdariffa.. Thanks to Eileen who has been reading about it on the internet. I am unsure whether the plant we found is the one that produces the rosella fruit for jam.

Wild hibiscus