As a special treat this stint, and because it was going to be his birthday while I was away, my boss arranged for Hayden to fly out to the mine to visit me over the weekend. We had a smashing time. It was fun showing Hayden where I work, but it was even better on Sunday when I took the day off and we drove out to Lawn Hill National Park.
It was such a special and unusual treat. Before we could leave the mine lease we had to confirm with security exactly what time we were leaving and coming back, and that we were sufficienty prepared in the way of spare tyres, first aid kits, emergency beacons and drinking water. The security guy escorted us to the back gate of the mine lease (about 5km away from the mine), and then let us loose into the outback. It was the furthest out back that either of us had ever been before, and that was quite exciting in itself. But we drove no more than half an hour before we reached the campground/petrol station/pub and shop at Adel's Grove. Hayden had to remind me to take the keys out of the car with me (at work we always leave the car parked facing forward with the keys in the ignition in case of an emergency) and we went into the shop to ask for directions to the gorge. The lady behind the counter gave me a bit of a funny look before she explained that there was only one road to take. I suppose it would have been clear if we had driven for days across the middle of Queensland to get there like everybody else. We took that one road, and we got to our canoeing spot in no time.
