31st August 2008

This morning was slightly different to other mornings. I rode my bike to Geikie Gorge which is about 26 kms east of Fitzroy Crossing. The road was nice and quiet with only a few cars going to Geikie Gorge. The road was flat with only some flood ways crossing it. That broke the monotony of a flat road. The wind was favourable until I turned south onto the Great Northern Highway when I rode into a very strong headwind. I had been travelling at up to 35 km/hr then when I turned the speed was only 22 km/hr and very hard work. Luckily there was on a couple of kms to ride to the Karavan.

Prue did a walk around this beautiful Fitzroy River Lodge Resort which we can highly recommend to you. This Resort is located just east of the Fitzroy River bridge. It is owned by the Aboriginals but none work here and is solely managed by white staff

consisting of a lot of backpackers. There is a variety of accommodation to stay in from budget rooms, Safari cabins, motel rooms, caravan sites and luxury studios.

After returning from our exercise, we went up to the Resort restaurant for a cappuccino and fruit toast. The toast was not as good as we get around Lennox Head but fine otherwise. The coffee was really nice.

Later on, we went for a swim before lunch in the lovely refreshing pool. The outside temperature was around 36 degrees and the water was quite cool to swim in due to being under sails and tree shade. We swam later in the afternoon as well.

During the afternoon swim, we spoke with a lovely couple, Len and Elaine, from Sydney. They have just travelled over the Tanami Road so we were most interested in their comments about is. We plan to go across starting on Thursday and aiming to reach Alice Springs on Sunday. They told us the worst is on the Western Australian side but not too bad after that.

During our chat with Len and Elaine, we discovered that I know a very good younger friend of theirs in Lennox Head. He works for the Rural Fire Service and is an inspector at Murwillumbah. I have known him for a number of years. Another case of hearing of someone we know.

Anyway, we had drinks with them after our swim. Then we all went to the Resort for the Sunday evening Buffet roast dinner. It cost just $25.00 for a three course dinner. It started with French Onion soup, then a choice of roast meats and vegetables and/or salad followed by dessert. Coffee and tea were also available after the meal. Great value for a lovely meal.

So ended our day at the Resort. The only problem we have had is there are literally millions of little ants that get into everything and bite but do not leave a rash. So some insecticide spray has been needed to slow them down. That is the only down side to this location.