Day 22 Hamelin Pool to Billabong 80 kms

At the briefing last night Collis had got a dodgy weather report stating high winds with SE wind gusts of up to 40 kms/hr which meant very strong head winds. So he suggested everyone leave early to get the early morning no wind period. This turned out to be pretty wrong as once the wind kicked in around 9 am they had tail winds blowing them down the highway.
Woody stopped at the Overlander for a snack and a phone call home. Collis chatted with Heather and she told Collis not to put up with any of Woody's nonsense but Collis said it's too late as Woody knows how to get his own way after all these years. While there we heard the happy news of a past rider who has recently married announcing that they are expecting their first baby. There is going to be a new little Richaaard or Ricki. Congratulations guys, wonderful news. Maybe you could call the little one Hamelin or Billy after the towns we were riding to & from.
We arrived into Billabong early afternoon. The owners have done some upgrades since our last visit although not much has changed in the camping area. Still no grass and the toilets are pretty ordinary. We had potato and bacon soup with garlic bread for lunch at the motel. Dinner, I think will be at the roadhouse though. Funny setup here with the roadhouse having dongers and the motel having the caravan park. Both places have meals.
The wind has picked up this afternoon with Georg sleeping in his tent and the pole breaking and he is then covered in tent. He has moved his tent in an attempt to avoid the wind gusts. He has also fixed his pole temporarily. George's sense of humor has come to the forefront in the last couple of weeks and he can be very funny when he wants to be ( he can also be very grumpy when he wants to be and everyone knows when these times are). "Horrible, horrible" Georg!
Georg's repair to his tent did not work and a half hour later he had managed to get himself a motel room and is drying out his bedding and changed into some dry clothes. He was not smiling for quite a while after this. He may have to borrow our spare tent tomorrow night at the bush camp. All is not lost Georg.
With the rain and the cold wind, we all decided to head into the roadhouse early for dinner. All the meals were pretty good and a little different to the usual roadhouse fare. Theo's order got confused and we think Georg ended up eating it. Theo wasn't a happy chappy but he was pleased with his meal when it eventually arrived.
Early to bed although there is a group of young people who may get a bit rowdy during the night. How old does that sound?? Good luck to them.