I finally reached Bowen on the 5th July. The original plan was to stay here for as long as it took to re-register my official Centrelink address to Qld with the idea of claiming rental assistance and other pensioner allowances.

As it turned out these plans were dumped in favour of a more spontaneous travel itinery which involved enough free/low cost camping to keep my weekly rental less than $100 ($14/night). I could not see the practicality of reporting to Centrelink every time of moved camp.

On my way through Mackay I purchased a new inverter hoping to solve my suspect battery storage problem. I hated the thing as it was far noisier than the one it was replacing. I also purchased a voltimetre to test the voltage holding ability of each of my batteries. Happily it turned out that all my batteries were in good shape and each was able to take and hold a full charge.  

My new kayak mounting board arrived and I re-advertised the kayak package on ebay with free delivery between Ayr and Proserpine. While in Bowen I sent my first postcard set to my mother and attended the dentist for a new filling.