The storm hit in the early hours and we were woken up by thunder and lightning. Matty, Jonny and Anna dived into bed with us and Tally jumped into Katharine's bed, although that was more to soothe Katharine than the dog, as she didn't seem phased by the storm at all!! We had a huge breakfast while waiting for the rain to stop and every time it abated we'd pack up a bit. We hit the road around 11 am with one of our caravan tyres looking a little flat. It was the same tyre we needed pumping up in Lithgow. By the time we reached Manildra it definitely had a slow leak so we set up the van and while Nick changed the tyre, I made everyone lunch. Manildra is a fantastic little town on the road between Orange and Parkes. The showground offers power and water for $15 a night and when we arrived we were the only customers. Beyond the showground is a golf course and then a cattle farm so everywhere we looked was green grass, trees and cows on the hill. We had just decided to spend the afternoon relaxing in our new surroundings when the sky turned black, so instead we jumped into the car and drove into Orange. Along the way we found Hilltop Orchard, which had a fantastic little shop selling fruit, veg, eggs and jams. We bought a little bit of everything and were given 2 litres of local cows milk free to try. As we reached Orange the heavens opened and we could hardly see a thing. We found a tyre repair place and had the tyre fixed free of charge as their computers were on the blink due to the storm - must be our lucky day!! Then we did a grocery shop and headed home. By the time we made it back to the van the rain had cleared up and the sun had come out. Nick and I did a couple of laps of the showground with Tally while the kids played in the van. It was the first time Katharine was happy to stay home alone and I'm sure it was because she could see us all the time - still, she's growing up!! It was late by the time we had all had dinner and showers so the kids went straight to bed and Nick and I watched a bit of TV while they fell asleep. By the time we turned the light out it was pitch black and very quiet - perfect!