There has been a lot of rain in this area resulting in swarms of mozzies. The Blue Dolphin Resort is not the type of caravan park we normally stay at - it is designed for families with kids. There are several swimming pools, games rooms, hire equipment like go-carts, and playgrounds. It fronts the Clarence River where there is a sobering memorial to a 3 year old girl who drowned in the river in 1982. We caught up with an old friend and spent the rest of the day revisiting our old stomping ground. Not much has changed since we left here, except for the construction of a really high bridge over the river. We managed to walk to the Bowling Club for dinner and were entertained by some local singers and musicians. On our final day we were having lunch at our favourite cafe. After a few minutes we realised the couple sitting next to us were old friends we met at the Brisbane dog park. It is such a small world! We picked up Max and Coco from the kennels where they had been very well cared...

Saturday was Beccy's birthday. We had early dinner because she had to perform at 8.15pm. As things turned out her show didn't start till 9pm because of other events running over time. For some of the non Roadie audience that was way too late and they left before seeing the headline act. The audience was not very resposive - many of them seem to think Beccy's style of entertainment is not country music, because it is different to the likes of Slim Dusty. We Roadies all enjoyed ourselves! On Sunday morning we all packed up and farewelled our old and new friends. The rain held off so we managed to drive out without getting bogged again. We only had a short drive to a caravan park at Yamba. Anita will have a break from cooking and we will just have a rest before heading home.

We are at Ulmurra which is our final destination on our Aussie Road Crew tour. This small town is on the Pacific Highway beside the magnificent Clarence River. Over 300 caravans were already here before we arrived. There has been a lot of rain in this area so there is lots more mud, although st least the paddocks are green. The Jeep was bogged again with the weight of the Bushtracker, but we had plenty of help getting free. I drove the dogs to Yamba Kennels where they will stay till Tuesday, as it is challenging keeping them dry and out of the mud. We will spend a few days at Yamba before heading home. There is a large covered area for concerts and we all went up to hear Bec Hance and Pete Wilson. Bec is pregnant so occasionally forgets her lines due to baby brain. She still manages to finish her songs and have a good laugh.

There is an old store in Tingha that is a museum. It was opened in 1881 and closed in 1998. The last owner sold the property to NSW Heritage and it opened as a museum in December 1998. Some of the stock and store shelving looks like it has been there 100 years. The museum wasn't due to open while we were at Tingha, but they obliged when we told them we had a group that would like to see inside. There is clothing dating back to when many Chinese worked in the local tin mines. Much of the produce on the shelves has been there for decades. It is a large building with rickety stairs leading to accommodation out the back.

Our next stop was in stark contrast to thw dry outback. We were 15kms outside Tingha which is not far from Inverell in NSW. The farm lives up to its name in that everything is green. Bizarrely the longest waterslide in Australia is on this property - and no, we didn't have a go but many Roadies had several goes. The animal collection includes monkeys, lambs, geese, ducks, cattle, llamas and alpacas. We had electricity but no running water so were reliant on our tank water. There were good showers and toilets. One concert was made up of requests from Roadies. Apart from hearing great music we had an hilarious time as Beccy was in top form doing her Tina Turner impersonation.

I lost a day at Lightning Ridge with a lurgi that is going around. Other Roadies have been unwell but I seem to have been the unlucky one getting a chest and sinus infection which is lingering. From Lightning Ridge we travelled to Wee Waa for 3 nights for the Cotton Capital country music festival. This drought stricken area benefitted from thunderstorm rains, but caravans didn't fare too well. An awning was wrecked and people were out during the lightning trying to stop it from causing more damage. Fortunately all ok. There was other minor damage and by morning we were surrounded by mud. We had to be towed to more solid ground before I could let Max and Coco out of the Bushtracker. The rest of that day was spent getting rid of as much mud as possible.

We drove through Brewarrina and Walgett on our way to Lightning Ridge. The remains of Aboriginal fish traps are an attraction in Brewarrina. These clever constructions allowed the capture of fish and eels. Unfortunately they are not well preserved and I saw a syringe on the water's edge. The town is only 130m above sea level. While the area is currently in severe drought, the floodgate indicates the river could rise 20m plus. We are staying at a caravan park located on Lorne Station. This is a huge property just out of Lightning Ridge. The managers led us on dirt tracks to see the sunset on the Ridge. We also saw lightning in the distance. The facilities are basic but it was a great venue for our Bec Hance and Pete Wilson concert.