On our very last day, as we packed up camp, our lines with their trusty alert bells were in all day. We’d forgotten all about them.

About an hour before we left the resident pelicans (a trio) started their lazy trip up stream. We watched them as they came closer but didn’t think anything of it. Until of course, they started swimming under Tim’s line one by one.

Pelican One. Nothing.

Pelican Two. Nothing.

Pelican Three? Dingaling! Dingaling! Dingaling!

It might possibly have been the highlight of everyone’s holiday, watching Tim run down to his fishing rod as it bounced up and down and up and down as said Pelican Three flew off. He got there just in time to stop him from dragging the rod in to the river, and I know he wouldn’t have gone in for it if it had gone!

I hope you know I’m not talking about any of our feral kids. I’m talking about feral child from up the way. The child who rode Jaxon’s bike deep in to the river, threw an axe at Dougie D, threw a shovel at Jaxon and was ALWAYS making Dexter cry by telling him he hated him and he should go away.

Tim didn’t catch anything…or did he?? Stay tuned!

Joel was my best company at times. He’s grown up so much!

Anyhoo, we ended up with a 6m X 6m gazebo for the four of us and the five of them. Two kitchens and plenty of space for tables and what not.

But while I got left in camp and the other adults left me with the kids it RAINED! Guess where the rain from the four joining gazebo’s goes when it rains? Yep…IN! So all by myself I had to frantically move everything away from the center.

We also had a couple movie nights in there.

We somehow fit in their bikes so they could ride around.

Jaxon learned the very important life lesson about cattle grids and how to ride over them faster than he did the first time. He got brought back to us in the back of a ute by two lovely old men after his front tyre fell through the grid and he fell off.

The water was freezing but in typical kid fashion (ok, I got in too!) they were in there almost all day. Not a single “I’m bored” from either of them. Jaxon made friends with the feral kids up the way and got to go in their boat across the river. Once. Once because little did we know feral mother and feral father were planning on just dropping the kids off in NSW and going fishing up the river! The four boys disappeared in to the bush and around the bend with no adult supervision. On the OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER! No thanks!

Dexter made friends with the grey nomads camping next door. They were our saviors twice! The first time when our car battery went flat and we needed a jump start and the second when our gazebo broke a screw and Norm had a replacement for us. He had EVERYTHING! Dexter told him he’d have to get our address so he could come to our house for a play date.

I love waking up to the birds singing. I love going to sleep listening to the fire crackle away in to the night.

The photo below was taken in the middle of the night in the middle of a storm.

This next one was just long exposure in full moon light.