Kinchant Dam

This our site near Mackay - it's actually in Sarina. That's our caravan on the right, with Annex, and the boys sitting in chairs on the left. Behind the boys is "The Meeting Place" where there is pizza night (yummm), music night (where we got up and had a dance), morning coffee and afternoon tea. The evening do's are usually over by 8pm so there's no problems with the noise. It's a very sociable caravan park which is great.

We only have 2 weekends left here so yesterday (Saturday 6th Sept), we went to Kinchant Dam for the afternoon and eve.

It's a pleasant and interesting 40 minute journey over there, through many cane fields, halting occasionally whilst a cane train crosses the road.

We had a great swim. The water was quite warm, though not as warm as Hazelwood Pondage - an olde swimming haunt of ours near Churchill/Traralgon.

Then the boys climbed some trees

...and Rosie swam...and swam....and swam.

There were a few of these rather unusual looking trees at the waters edge. These are their seed pods.

The children thought they were carobs from the carob tree (Hayley took them to a Carob Factory whilst we were in Coffs Harbour). Sure enough, they were correct. Carob powder is an ingredient in cakes and biscuits and is often used as a substitute for chocolate.

A leaflet we had of Kinchant Dam promised barbeques. So we took along a load of BBQ food and all utensils. Now, in Australia, in parks and picnic areas, there are these electric BBQ's where you push a button and the hot plate gets hot. It's as simple as that.

This one was different though!

Yep, this (in the foreground) was the BBQ. Not a button to push anywhere!

Us lads soon located some wood together and got a decent blaze going. Waaahaay!

Okay, okay, it was dark by the time we got the food cooked...!!!

and the girls prepared the food in the darkness...

...but it tasted great..

And then it was home time.