Red Clawing with Grandfather

We have had a good week and a bit in Biloela, Jon's hometown. Dad and Mum Van Itallie have offered wonderful hospitality, Katherine has taught Jon the intricacies of 'Band Hero' and Grandfather VI has taken us out on Callide Dam in search of the elusive red claw. Actually, they have proven to be not-so-elusive. We caught 202 in 5 days! Lots of fun on the water pulling in pots, dodging angry red claw scampering around in the bottom of the boat, rebaiting pots with all sorts of delicacies (they seem to favour passionfruit and Sunlight soap!!) and counting turtles. Then we go home and dehead and devein them...now that's fun! Oh yeah, then we get to cook them and eat them....the best bit! Thanks Grandfather for taking us out in your tinnie and thanks Grandma for cooking them all for us!

Callide Dam currently sits at about 6% capacity. Still a popular place to fish, red claw and ski.

Grandfather and Jon get the tinnie ready.

"Home, home on the range." It's a strange combination out here....sea birds and bovines.

Hooray! A catch!

Grandfather prepares to rebait the pots.

Kirsty acts as ballast at the front of the tinnie. She tended to favour the 5PM trips rather than the 6AM sessions!

Now that's a catch!

We've Done It!

In one sense I guess you could say our round Australia adventure is over. We have completed the lap, arriving in Biloela where it all began way back in February. BUT we are NOT done yet!

Grandma is shocked? dismayed? bamboozled? by Jon's post-lap analysis. Grandfather thinks it's a great story.

Not quite the finished product as we plan to keep on driving. But if you look really closely you can see where the mighty Navara has taken us since February....south, west, north, south, west, north, east, north, south.....all over really! 37 000+ km.

And the best bits.....definitely July-September which was spent across the top of WA, NT and QLD hitting all the 4WD 'Big Ticket' items like: The Kimberleys, Gulf, Cape York. Tassie and the Victorian High Country still rate a mention in the 'best bits' list.

We get to go back to Fraser Island next week.....wonder where it will rate?