After a number weeks of work, pruning, cleaning, whipper snipping and raking at home to deal with the results of a few months away we hit the road again. First stop was a gravel pit south of Injune and the promise of sunsets to come.
Someone was in the spot we had last year, so we went a bit further up the hill, and it turned out to be a slightly better view, and a lot bigger area (once I'd used the hoe to clear a bunch of grass). The sunset on our first night didn't disappoint.
Dazz's first job was to set up the scaffold for the shower before our niece and sister in law arrived.
We added a gazebo to our setup this year, which gave us a bit more shade.
Most people come to the Gem Fields to fossick for sapphires, and there was a bit of that too.
The food, however, didn't disappoint. Here's a selection of menus and finished products... (the beef and red wine stew was also a big winner, but unfortunately the photographer wasn't on top of his game that day, so no photos).
The brolgas and rainbow lorikeets were regular visitors and 'Poppy' put in a couple of appearances too.
We had great weather, apart from the line of storms that came through at 6am one morning... we were woken by the thunder and then a massive wind gust that wreaked havoc with the gazebo and tarps. We all ran around in the rain to bring in things that were getting wet (sorry, no photos... we were too busy running!). After a couple of hours we had fairly clear skies and by the afternoon everything was dry and back in place. The gazebo had a slightly bent leg, but Dazz and Nathan gently pulled it back into shape.
Sitting around the campfire was relaxing and we enjoyed watching the moon through its phases, and as always the sunsets and stars were stunning.
