To Broome and Back!: Day 59. Bungle Bungles to Mary Pool (Nellie Walton) 09/07/2015

This morning was a little cooler when we departed the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park to journey on to our next overnight stop at Mary Pool, a free camping site on the Mary River, and one that we have heard mentioned several times as being a very good site. We had arranged to meet there a very good friend of Marg and John Gambell’s. Nellie is a friend from Marg’s time of nursing in Gympie, Queensland. She is travelling on her own in a small pop top caravan and has been on the road since April. She greeted us on arrival with much warmth and affection and although we had never met her before instantly felt comfortable in her presence.

Well, Nellie turned out to be a real gem. She is a what we call a “country girl” but with a gentle voice and demeanour. She entertained us with stories of where she had been travelling, gave us a few tips on where to go and what to see. She also produced a photo she had taken whilst on the road to Derby and it had us baffled It looked like a Thyalicine but was probably a mangey old dingo. To John’s delight as we sat around a campfire late in the afternoon and before we started to cook our dinner on the open fire, she offered him a glass of her “hooch”. She has at her home in Hervey Bay, a distillery where she brews her own Whiskey. She is travelling with about 14 litres of her brew and was thrilled to share it with someone. John said it was a very good brew and it was 40% proof! After 2 glasses of Whiskey, she then had a nice drop of Red with her dinner finishing with a Baileys later in the evening. We had a wonderful evening with her and it was a sheer delight to be sharing a camp with her. John finally got to use his frying pan that he has been carting around waiting for the perfect fire to cook a meal. For those who may come this way we recommend Mary Pool free camp site, we enjoyed it very much.