Charleville

26 June

Ernie Adams with Emu in the Sky

We left Ilfracombe knowing there were things we wanted to do in Charleville but other campers had told us to stay at the Evening Star Caravan Park, 10kms before Charleville. The Evening Star is situated on a cattle station but the owners decided to build a caravan park 5 years ago to supplement their income in times of drought. Through foresight and planning they have ended up with a caravan park with large sites, good amenities and activities to keep the holiday makers entertained. Upon arriving we were told that tonight Ernie Adams a local aborigine was going play the didgeridoo and show us aboriginal artifacts. Ernie played the didgeridoo very well and, although his artifact show wasn't terribly good, he had painted some lovely paintings and he told us the story of what he had painted. We bought one which was entitled Emu in the Sky. After eating dinner we took a packet of marshmellows to the very large communal campfire which was lit in April and will be kept going until September. The fire was reignited by pushing some sticks into the coals that had been smouldering all day and then more wood placed on top. The result was a beautiful fire - perfect for roasting marshmellows - that threw out plenty of heat.

27 June
After a slow start to the day, it was Tom's birthday, we went in to Charleville to book a night-time star gaze at the observatory and to look around. We managed to do a bit of shopping before going to a local cafe for a special lunch for Thomas. This was another place that had been recommended to us and it did not disappoint. The information we have received from other travellers has been invaluable and it has pointed us in the right direction many times throughout this trip.
We thought we should see the Stiger Vortex Rain Cannons while in Charleville. In 1902, in the midst of a drought, these cannons were commissioned to break the drought. The idea was to produce a blast that would change the atmospheric pressure and produce rain. This did not work but 2 of the cannons have been kept and mounted in a park

Stiger Vortex Rain Cannons

Declan and I dropped Tom and Linda back to the campsite before grabbing the fishing rods and trying our luck at the Warrego River, the northernmost tributary of the Darling River. Once again we came up empty-handed but I spent most of my time releasing Declan's line from snags.
We picked up Linda and Thomas from the campsite and after rugging up headed back in to town to the Observatory. After a short talk we were herded out to the building in which the telescopes were housed. The roof rolled back and the three telescopes which were GPS enabled picked up the stars and planets our guide was informing us about. The staff were very knowledgeable and our time there was very interesting.
For dinner we decided to go to the local hotel and have a birthday dinner for Thomas who, for the second time that day, we managed to fill up. Gee, teenagers eat a lot.