Exactly 1 year ago today we wrote the following on our first blog for the trip:

If “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, then surely a trip of some forty-odd thousand kilometres starts with a similarly ambitious trip of 4.5km, to the nearest campsite to our home in Mona Vale, the very pleasant Lakeside Caravan Park in Narrabeen. Remembering, but paying little attention to our 80% packing rule, we loaded the van with seemingly as much stuff as we could find, threw the rest that we found into, or on top of the car, and headed off on Monday 19^th January 2015 (somehow having the full date in here makes it somewhat more official).

It’s been an amazing year, full of incredible experiences, wonderful people, iconic locations and laughter! Given that “lost time is never found again” we have really relished life’s most precious resource and spent it wisely, in the loving company of each other, experiencing things we will remember (or at least have photos of) for the rest of our lives!

For those old and new friends we have met along the way, everyone who has supported us with messages or “likes” on Facebook and all the people who have given us warm welcomes and smiles wherever we have gone, we would like to extend our warmest appreciation for being part of the journey and making it into the experience that it has been. This is a beautiful country, with beautiful people and spirit and it makes us proud to be Australian!

Jerdacuttup is probably not a place too many Australians would have heard of or visited (in fact I found it pretty hard to find on the map the first time Charlotte told us that’s where her brothers farm was). The easiest reference for those not from the area is that it’s between the towns of Ravensthorpe and Esperance, in the southern part of WA. When we first looked it up Wikipedia told us that in the 2006 census it had a population of 6. Now we met at least 8 people while we were there, so I am pretty sure the census data was wrong, but it does give you some indication as to the size of the “town.” Most people around Jerdacuttup are farmers, with either livestock or crops and the size of the farms varies but they are certainly larger than hobby farms. Farmers in this region, as with most in the business, put in lots of hard yards, generally without outside help, to keep an income flowing in and the farm alive. It’s a tough life, but it’s also incredibly rewarding and beautiful. Standing out in the field we felt a palpable draw to the land and this kind of lifestyle.

Uncle Tim and Auntie Chris took us on a tour of the farm to introduce us to the chickens (including the cockerel who taught us quite a bit about cock-a-doodle doing!), cattle, sheep, cats, two alpaca’s (hand me downs from a previous farmer), three horses as well as the farm dogs, Lexie and Blue.

 

Before too long, Chris had April and Denver in the driver’s seat, making their own tracks through the property as we bumped across the fields! One of the first discussions we had was around water and how the dam levels could do with a bit of a top up. Luckily we hadn’t lost our rain divining mojo and before too long the clouds had rocked in and showers were the order of the day! While it put a limit on how much time we could spend outside it was worth it to see the shear look of delight and celebration on Tim and Chris’s faces each time they checked the rain gauge! You really start to understand how vital water is in so many parts of the country – we city folk take it for granted that you can just turn on a tap and have easy access, but it’s not so simple when you have to catch and manage your own!

During the rain breaks Tim and I went outside to get stuck into a few farm jobs – putting up some screening for the vege patch, cutting down a tree, protecting the almond trees from birds as well as helping out with killing a couple of lambs for food. As soon as I saw the tractor in the shed I was keen to get behind the wheel and as soon as it was needed I jumped into the driver’s seat and brought it down to the farm. In what probably wouldn’t pass any OH&S standards Tim then hopped into the bucket and I lifted him up high to saw down the branches of the tree before felling the trunk itself. Reflecting on what you would have to go through to chop down a tree in any capital city – council approvals, impact statements and general red tape I was again drawn to the simplicity of farm life – if you need to chop down a tree you just get out there and do it. Tim and Chris had planted most of these tree’s over 20 years ago, so they didn’t really want to lose any of them, but in the end they had expanded to the point where they needed to clear it so they could provide some covered protection for the farms ute’s.

Whilst Tim and I were outside Hayley was enjoying having a full sized kitchen and busied herself cooking beautiful meals and treats (like pumpkin scones!) for us all. Because of the frequent rain breaks we also enjoyed playing inside a lot, digging out all the old games that Tim and Chris had from when their kids (Lucas, Ashley and Rebecca) were growing up here. We played card games, trucks and Lego as well as plenty of drawing and colouring and Hayley finally got the game of Scrabble that she had been craving since we left home!

Whilst the farm provides quite a lot of its own produce (and you can get items from the shops sent in your twice weekly mail run which is a pretty amazing service!) there is still a fortnightly trip into one of the local towns needed to do chores and a larger shop. Following Tim and Chris into Esperance (where they were picking up some new cattle tags for the stock that would go to market) we were able to enjoy some waterfront dining at Taylors Beach Bar and Café as well as explore the foreshore of Esperance (although the Pier was closed due to some structural failings!). Chris kindly brought the kids a little treat (April got a dress and Denver some Lego) before we took a leisurely (but wet) coastal tour on the way home. We will be keen to spend some more time in Esperance on our way back, as it is supposed to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world!

Dinner at the farm was either cooked inside or out on one of the many fire pits dotted around the farm. The rain held off enough for us to have a few BBQ’s on the hotplate, which has the added benefit of coals for potatoes as well as providing a great base for marshmallow roasting!

Determined to put our camping skills to the test we made Damper twice, the first one was pretty dense (you only needed a slice a couple of millimetres thick) and the second one end up a little on the chargrilled side! I know we would have got it right in time, but we ended up running out of opportunities! For the last night or two we enjoyed fresh lamb and it was simply sensational eating – truly a farm to plate experience!

Along with the livestock on the farm we were treated to visits by foxes, kangaroo’s (that Tim doesn’t mind so much as they don’t grow crops but other farmers are keen to move on!), a tiger snake (that Tim does mind!) as well as a host of birds, the most impressive of which was the Mopoke (or Tawny Frogmouth), which is a part-time resident in one of the tree’s and often has his mate with him! Calling out all night in their funny tones they are quite active and rely on their great camouflage during the day to stay protected from predators – can you spot him in the picture (keep in mind we were actually trying to take a good photo of him!).

We loved spending time on the farm itself, but were also keen to meet up with Hayley’s cousin Rebecca (have you noticed we just call everyone “cousin” – it’s easier!), who lives in Ravensthorpe. Heading to Hopetoun we met at the beach, intending to have a picnic, but the torrential rain put an end to that! In the end we went back to a holiday house shared by Rebecca’s family for tea and a chat! The kids had fun playing until a series of injuries (starting with Louisa and Craig stubbing their toes and ending with Tim falling down the slippery stairs, where it’s likely he cracked a rib!) called an early end to the afternoon and had everyone scurrying for the relative safety of home! Despite the almost comedic end to the day (says he without a stubbed toe or cracked rib!) we had at least managed to catch up with Rebecca and kids and made plans to come and stay with them on our way to Albany.

We were reluctant to finish our real life farm-stay, but after extending a few times (and knowing that we would pass back this way on the way to the Nullarbor) we said goodbye and, armed with a freezer full of lamb, we made our way back along the dirt and onto the bitumen. As it happens we had driven right past Rebecca’s farm on the way through Ravensthorpe (you can’t miss it as it covers large chunks on both sides of the road) but at the time we didn’t know the address, so we weren’t able to put two and two together! After a short drive (but one within which somehow both kids needed to go to the toilet at separate times!) we arrived at their farm and parked the van up next to the house!

With the kids playing in the huge “alfresco” area we settled in to catch up with Rebecca and her husband, Gary as well as their two kids, Louisa and Craig. After moving away from Tim’s farm, and swearing never to marry a farmer, it’s easy to see just how much farm life actually suits Beck. We left the kids playing in the yard while Beck knocked up some of her infamous homemade baileys and then proceeded to crack open a lovely bottle of wine over dinner. Plenty of stories, memories and laughter later and it was time to head out to the van for the night (where hopefully there was no cockerel nearby to crow at any strange hour!).

The next morning we took a tour around the facilities and fields and were amazed by the scale of the farm! It’s a massive operation with two trucks, multiple headers, seeders, sprayers, tractors, portable silos, utes’ and all sorts of other farmy equipment! The kids took great delight in sitting in each one and while they were just playing you can really see the impact that technology has had on the farming industry over the last decade! Modern equipment can tell you what yield you are getting from each section of the land and can automatically adjust the planting and spraying to increase crop growth. With GPS mapping the equipment can almost move itself around (it certainly avoids overstepping into a previous area) and once co-ordinates are mapped and yield data collected, the software can give you quantifiable reporting of what you get from every square foot of land, enabling you to adjust the rotation, planting and management of your crops to get the most yield possible! It’s a far cry from how I imagine farming was back in the “good old days!”

It was great to see both farms and to get a feeling for how these guys are living in what seems like another world from where Hayley and I grew up. Everyone made us feel really welcome and it was great to spend some time with this part of Hayley’s extended family. Fortunately, it wasn’t going to be goodbye so much as see you later, as a big family catch-up had been arranged for just after Christmas. Ashley’s house at Australind was where the Hughes family was spending Christmas together, with Lucas and family coming down from Broome and Rebecca and Tim’s families heading up from the farms. As we were going to be in Perth, along with Ken and Charlotte, Kellie and kids and all of Peta’s family we were going to head down and have a huge BBQ just after Christmas Day.

We had heard wonderful things about the Albany, Denmark and Walpole area and were keen to spend some time around the region before heading back to Perth. I had managed to get the car booked in for its 40,000 service (so much for the opening paragraph about a journey of 40,000km – we are still on the other side of the country!) and we found ourselves at the Middleton Beach Caravan Park, which as the name suggests is right on the beach at Albany. It was a great spot and with the beach nearby, a wonderful pool and games room, as well as a host of other families enjoying a pre-Christmas break, we had a wonderful time. The kids made great friends with Taj, Julien and Rick and spent every free moment playing with them, either around at their caravan or at ours! Hours were spent with toy cars, Lego and footballs just enjoying each other’s company and having fun!

With the adults colluding together to separate the kids for a while, we headed to the “Valley of the Giants” Treetop walk, which is between Denmark and Walpole. There we ventured into the tree canopy, some 40m above the ground at points, for an enjoyable walk on a series of steel truss, built on pylons that gently sway when people walk along them. Slightly disconcerting at first, everyone soon forgot about the movement when you were able to look around and see the beautiful Tingle trees of the area and the spectacular views out into the valley. April and I went around twice we had enjoyed it so much and then we joined up with the others to visit “the Ancient Empire,” which is a boardwalk taking you through the forest floor where you can get up close to some of these giant trees, often up to 16m in circumference at the base. The boardwalk meanders around, and sometimes through, the old trees and is definitely worth spending some time exploring, even if it doesn’t quite get to the heights of the tree top walk!

 

Lunch was spent at the on-site museum, exploring some of the supersized creepy crawlies that used to inhabit the area and sitting outside in the peaceful surroundings of the forest. Always the explorer, Denver soon found himself behind a false wall, where a steering wheel was mounted, allowing you to look like you are driving an old Holden. Of course all the family had to have a turn, pretending to turn corners, slam on the brakes and taking the mickey out of each other. I have no idea why this “exhibit” was part of the display, but it certainly provided us with lots of fun (and soon all visitors wanted a go – the power of popularity!)…

After visiting the coastal areas of Denmark we stopped at the Lakehouse for a sample of some of their award winning wines, dips and other food stuffs… In the end the kids had a gingerbread man each while Hayley and I shared a chocolate brownie (with ice-cream of course!). This beautiful location has many natural inhabitants and we were joined by a bright blue wren, which picked gleefully at the crumbs that were left behind by the kids! After demolishing the delicious food (and sampling many of the dips whilst the adults tasted the wines) the kids were captivated by the departure of a helicopter, which had brought passengers from Albany out for a special lunch. We had a nice chat with the passengers (and even took a photo for them) before we all sat back and watched the helicopter take off. Wing tips on helicopters can operate at supersonic speed (the speed of sound), so it’s no wonder that they tend to displace plenty of air as they launch into the sky. It was a pretty impressive end to a lovely stop over.

Before we had left Sydney, Ryan and Dan had given us a book of 100 things you must see in Australia and we were gradually ticking them off. One of those things was a place called “The Gap” near Albany. Upon arrival at the caravan park we had been told that part of this area had just been re-opened to the public following some renovations over the past 18 months or so. When we arrived, the Gap viewing area was still under construction, but the walkway to the “Natural Bridge” had just been opened. I think that they had somewhat missed the point when they decided to make this area “safer” and more touristy – keeping people back from the natural arch may stop people falling in (one day, after all, the whole thing will collapse) but it’s the natural wonder that people want to experience and appreciate, with the emphasis on natural! Feeling slightly jaded by the experience (especially because Denver forgot his shoes and had to be carried over the hot boardwalk!) we decided to stop at Cable Beach (we had good memories of the name) and were treated to a spectacular beach with incredibly clear blue water, which more than made up for the slight let-down of the Gap area!

Albany is also famous for its “dog rock” (although that didn’t make the top 100 things for some reason!) and the resemblance to a dog is actually quite striking! The addition of a collar makes it even more realistic. Albany also has a host of very enjoyable walks and bike paths that you can use to explore the coastline in both directions. It’s a very beautiful area and with our prime beachfront location we really enjoyed the time we spent there. We wrapped up our Albany visit with dinner at the Three Anchors, which has a fantastic playground and makes some great cocktails! It’s always nice for us to have a dinner out (it doesn’t happen that often) so it’s great when we find a nice place that suits everyone!

Somehow, Hayley had managed to snare tickets to see Hugh Jackman in concert, something she had wanted to see since it was first publicised! As it turns out, cousin Chelsea was going and had a spare ticket, which Hayley quickly put herself forward for, meaning we needed to arrive back into Perth just before Denver’s 7^th Birthday. Backing the van onto Peta’s driveway (Peta was in Melbourne awaiting the arrival of her grandchild) we quickly settled back into Perth, Hayley heading out to a fantastic concert with Hugh, while over the coming days we prepared for Denver’s birthday as well as the upcoming Christmas festivities! It’s a busy time of year, even if you’re on the road, with Denver’s birthday quickly followed by Lesley’s birthday and then Christmas itself.

Last year Denver had quite an ambitious birthday cake, in the form of a Lego head, but this year we managed to settle on a fairly simple figure “7”. Opting for an Orange and Poppyseed cake (he is his Dads son!) we whipped up a cake, decorated it with Jaffa’s (which are quite hard to find these days!) and after a fun morning at the waterpark with the cousins we got stuck into it! Earlier that day we had celebrated with a special breakfast before he opened some amazing presents. Because we had been able to give people some warning as to where he would be the Birthday fairies had managed to catch up with him and treat him to some extra special gifts!

No sooner than Denver had managed to build some of his birthday Lego, the Christmas festivities kicked off – we did carols in the park with the cousins (where some volunteer face-painters were learning their craft!) and the kids loved getting up and singing carols. There is something about Carols and Christmas lights that really make Christmas exciting and before long we had visited the most spectacular light display in town (3 weeks preparation and a couple of forklifts are involved) and went to some “Jazzed-up” carols at the Ellington Jazz Club. That was a fun morning with lots of audience participation! April was the “Kangaroo” for the 5^th day of Christmas song and Denver accompanied Harry up on stage to do Jingle Bells with handbells!

Having been tasked with supplying the Ham for Christmas day I decided (with the help of Mr J Oliver) to give it a bit of a sticky orange chilli glaze and along with an amazing salad that Hayley created, we added it to the already huge Christmas feast at Chelsea’s house. Following a spectacular lunch (hands up who doesn’t eat too much at Christmas lunch!) we spent the afternoon lazing in and around the pool before the arrival of a “maxi-taxi” signified that Kellie, Chelsea and Toby had arrived with Grandma and Grandpop! An afternoon of laughs, Christmas cheer and frivolity gave way to another feast in the evening, this time with prawns added into the mix… Over the next day or so we managed to eat our way through all the leftovers, play with all the toys and catch up with most of the action from the last year!

The day after Boxing Day we headed south for the huge catch-up with Charlotte’s extended family! With around 30 people all told the catch-up at Australind was a great day. There were games of cricket, running races, wheelbarrow races, food galore and everyone had a great time catching up with people that in some cases they hadn’t seen for decades! With the hours passing quickly (when you’re having fun!) the whole group got together for some family photos to celebrate the reunion and then set off in all different directions to head home.

Before Chelsea and Toby went back to Sydney there was time for some more fun at Adventure World as well as a huge New Year’s Eve party! Adventure World was another great day out with plenty of sun, water and rides (we even bravely / stupidly / crazily – cross out those that don’t apply) lined up for what must have been 2 hours in the sun to ride the brand new waterslide “The Kracken!” The fact that it had been advertised relentlessly, the park was as full as it could get (they actually had to close the doors as they reached capacity!) and there are only a couple of “big” rides, combined to make it a very long wait for what is a couple of minutes sliding down. It’s worth it (the drop is pretty amazing for a waterslide!), but only if the line is a maximum of 15 minutes long next time! The rest of the day (we were in at opening and out at closing) we had a great time, sliding on the water slides, relaxing in the pools and riding only those rides with minimal lines – like the kids rollercoaster, overhead rail rider and squirt-boats!

New Years was once again at Chelsea’s house and the party continued, this time with mojito’s added into the mix! After a busy few days most people still made it to the 9pm fireworks and a “hard-core” few even managed the midnight versions! Given the time difference I was expecting to be able to see the midnight fireworks at 9pm, but I guess if they did that there wouldn’t be much to throw to when midnight Perth time came around (just a few people stuck in Sydney still trying to get a cab home!)…

Farewell 2015, you were a pretty amazing year – let’s see what adventure’s 2016 has in store!

Arriving in Perth the day before Beth was due to fly in (we like to refer to it as “just in time travelling”) we navigated our way through the traffic of the “big smoke” on our way to Ferns house. I had a few thoughts on the way there, including how narrow the lanes seemed after so long in the wide open spaces of the country, how we would be welcomed by Fern (a lady I had only met for 10 minutes in Darwin) and primarily, how difficult it may be to actually get the van onto its intended spot on her driveway. Roadhouses, rest areas and camping spots are generally all quite large, with plenty of room to turn, adjust angles and move around easily, but the only experience we had backing the van into a driveway was the day we picked it up and had to reverse it up to Hayley’s parent’s house!

Suffice to say that was some experience, at that point we had never even reversed the van together, we had only just completed the training course with some basic tips (but not how to reverse up an angled driveway with cars parked all over the neighbourhood!) and at least half of Hayley’s family flew out of the front door like bee’s to the honeypot to “help!” and welcome us into our new home. In the end, after what I can now safely say was a complete fluke, we got the van up that driveway seamlessly (but not without throwing all of our “calm and considerate” training out the window – sorry Hayley!). I was keen to avoid a similar incident (after all we now had our argue-free method down pat!), so I was hoping for wide streets, plenty of access and no watching ensemble!

Without the context of the item itself it’s always hard to estimate whether something will fit into a certain space, especially when that something is 8.3m long from tail to tip (without the car!). After going the long way round the streets to open up the preferred reversing angle and preparing ourselves to block the road for a bit (fortunately not in peak hour) we were able to squeeze the van into Ferns second driveway, level ourselves and unhitch as quickly as possible. We may well have been the first caravan this neighbourhood had ever seen, but we were able to get ourselves out of the way and operational without too many issues!

Fern, who was out sailing for the afternoon of our arrival, had left us instructions for getting into the house and had even whipped us up a meal in case we were hungry (easing some of my concerns that she had made an invitation she would have liked to take back!). Soon we were joined by Catherine (who had heard there was a “housewarming” party on) and we celebrated arriving into Perth with some champagne and wine on Ferns balcony before being joined by a group of Ferns friends for our impromptu welcoming party which rocked on until 3am! With the kids sleeping in the living room and us in the guest room we made ourselves at home over the coming days and enjoyed the wonderfully gracious hospitality of Fern, her family and friends as we joined their wonderful and incredibly sociable lives.

Not wanting to waste a moment with Beth we picked her up early the next morning and made our way to Fremantle to catch a ferry over to Rottnest Island. As a festival was on the following day our trip options were limited (the always tough summer accommodation was impossible so it could only be a day trip) and without bikes for the kids, or enough time to really see everything by bike anyway, we jumped onto a tour bus. The tour took us around the entire island, stopping at numerous points of interest such as Sea Eagle nests and sheltered bays, providing us with a great overview of this spectacular location. It wasn’t long out of town that we were all happy we didn’t take the bike option, as the rolling hills and distances would probably have been beyond us, just as it seemed they were for many other bikers “resting” around the island! If we had some more time (and a few less drinks the night before) this would be a great option, but as it was we definitely made the right choice!

 

At the lighthouse we were treated to some excitement in the pursuit and capture of a Dugite Snake (part of the deadly Brown Snake family), which had snuggled into this popular tourist stop and didn’t seem keen to leave! I had never even heard of this type of snake, but the way the Ranger was handling its capture made it clear that it wasn’t one to be messed with! Also not to be messed with (but infinitely more cute!) are the Quokka’s, which are part of the same Macropod family as Kangaroos and Wallabies but are smaller and have better climbing abilities! Despite being mainly nocturnal, you don’t have to work too hard to find Quokka’s on Rottnest, although the “wilder” Quokka’s who exist outside the populated areas look in much better health than the “tame” ones that roam the town square feeding off scraps. Although you can be fined for touching them that hasn’t stopped the latest internet sensation “Quokka Selfies” from taking off internationally (just Google it!). We were happy to observe them in their natural habitat rather than try to strike a pose with any of them, especially when we found a Mum and her baby nestled under a shrub!  

After taking in the relaxed way of life and enjoying some lunch and playtime we hopped back on the ferry for the return trip. The kids and I dropped Hayley and Beth off at the hotel to meet up with their friend Leanne, who now lives in Margaret River and had come up for the night so they could enjoy a fancy dinner at the renowned Nobu at the Crown Complex. After a great night of cocktails, amazing food and great catch-ups (luckily inside for it bucketed with rain outside and the kids and I, unable to get into the house, slept in the van) we met up again the next morning in Fremantle for a wander around the delightful markets, where I helped myself to a well-earned early lunchtime beer (we are still on holidays after all!) and Denver insisted on buying Beth a birthday present of expanding water beads.

Fremantle is a popular part of Perth and it’s not difficult to see why. Beth took Denver on a tour of the Fremantle Prison while the rest of us explored the harbourside area. By the time Denver and Beth were back we were watching a b-boying dance off which had been arranged between ten local competitors and some of Perth’s biggest b-boy stars. It was highly entertaining and very interesting to watch these guys show strength, agility and showmanship in this face-to-face battle. By the end of it Denver and April were having their own face-off in the park as the infectious beats and energy took hold!

After the days fun adventures we were looking forward to heading out that night to watch the Rugby World Cup final. Fern and a group of her friends had arranged for us to join them at a private room downstairs at “Steve’s” an establishment that since 1908 has become a Perth institution for the area. As it was a midnight kick-off Hayley and Beth headed home before the game, but I stayed up drinking beers in the cellar with a good mix of Kiwi’s, who were soon in fine form as the game swung their way. It was a bit of a disappointing end to what had been a great tournament for the Aussies (and a great night out) but you cannot deny the All-Blacks are the dominant force in world rugby at the moment and deserve to have won! The next morning we were party to Perth’s “2 degrees of separation” (a narrower version of 5 degrees) as I had a text from one of my best friends Kris (and Shane) who were now living in Perth and had seen me appear in a friends Facebook post the night before. As it turns out, (it’s complicated but stay with me), Shane and Bruce (who is Ferns friend and the reason she was in Darwin), are great mates and in fact Kris and Shane had planned to head up to Darwin with Bruce, but didn’t quite make it! If they had Hayley would have quite likely gone out on Bruce’s boat with Kris and Shane, which, while I am no “separation expert,” may even only be 1 degree (or none as they were together?)!

Continuing our “all action” start to our Perth stay, we were soon out “Trick or Treating” for Halloween with Chelsea, Glen and Peta (who had kindly watched the kids the night before!) as well as the kids Darcy, Lucas and Harry. The streets of Dianella were transformed into a sea of Orange and Black as hundreds of kids run around the neighbourhood gathering lollies, resulting in more than one household having to make an emergency dash for additional “candy” supplies! The kids quickly filled up their sacks with more lollies than can be good for anyone and with the sugar high keeping them mildly hyperactive for the rest of the night we visited some amazing displays of creativity where entire yards, garages or sections of houses had been converted into cobweb, eyeball and pumpkin lantern filled dungeons of doom! What a great event and a fun way to spend the last night of Beth’s stay!

The following day we were taken on a guided tour of the Swan Valley with both families packed into Chelsea and Glens Tarago. Home to a host of fantastic places to play, eat and drink we had a great time despite some moments of rain, stopping at the Margaret River chocolate factory for a few samples and some delicious chocolate treats (including the most amazing hot chocolate the kids have ever seen!) before heading to lunch at the Feral Brewery, which despite the name, made some delicious food and great beers! In the afternoon we visited Mandoon Estate, which has something for everyone as it combines a boutique winery with a great brewery and wonderful art-filled grounds for the kids to run around in. Spending time with Cousin Chelsea and her family was one of the main focuses for Hayley when coming to Perth and it’s no wonder as these guys are an amazing family and great fun to be with!

Needing a rest after all the action the next few days were a bit quieter with some of the highlights being an early Christmas parade, playing Uno and “Speed Uno” with Catherine, Denver riding with Fern on her powered scooter down the street and both Hayley and I heading out onto the water with Fern and some friends for some sailing. While Hayley had a good time out on the water she was happy for me to head out at the next opportunity, which turned out to be a great afternoon as we somehow managed to win on handicap (the biggest handicap was most likely me!). Sailing is something I used to enjoy now and then (mostly with my Dad) but I haven’t done it for a while, despite my general love of the water. It’s a nice way to spend the afternoon, which is probably why Fern and her core group of friends can often be found out on the water at one club or another enjoying a sail and all the social frivolity that comes with it!

During the time we had been in Perth, Charlotte had also been in WA, visiting her brother Tim (Hayley’s Uncle) on his farm down south (a place called Jerdacuttup, which was also on our itinerary when we left Margret River). With her visit to the farm and Esperance complete, Charlotte came back to Perth and Ken flew in for a few days, to have a catch-up with us as well as the rest of the family relations that live over here. 

We spent an enjoyable week with them with plenty of extended family get-togethers and visits to local attractions. We spent a day at Whiteman Park and the excellent transport museum (including the Thomas look alike “Ashley” and a fuel pump that the kids loved for some reason!), explored Hillarys Boat Harbour, where the kids played in the sand and enjoyed a visit to the local cold-rock ice creamery where April tried chewy sour worms blended into her ice-cream (let’s just call it a learning experience!) and the boys enjoyed a day out at the WACA. Attending the first day of the second test with New Zealand we watched some great batting as David Warner knocked up a double century and Australia amassed 544 runs, with all kinds of records being broken along the way! In the soaring heat we were glad to find a spot with some shade, as a day in the full Perth sun is more than most can take!

 

With Ken and Charlotte returning to Sydney we stayed in Perth to celebrate Lucas’s 6^th Birthday with a day at Matilda Bay, caught up with one of Hayley’s friends from London (Rick) and his kids (in Leederville where Hayley had the best Strawberry ice-cream “ever” at Gusto Gelato), took Fern and her kids (Aron, Oli and Katey) out for a wonderful Chinese meal and visited the wonderful Scitech (a hands on interactive museum with a planetarium).

We had all enjoyed being in Perth so much (and Chelsea had convinced us she was raising a Turkey in the backyard) that we decided to loop back for Christmas. Originally we had planned to be near Adelaide for Christmas, but after some quick discussions and adjustments, we worked out a Southern WA loop, taking in Margaret River, Esperance and the farm as well as Albany and Denmark before returning to Perth for the festive period. Hayley has some very strong family ties and fond memories of Perth, not only having being born there, but also having lots of landmarks and childhood recollections of some great times, in particular with her dear Auntie Eileen. Taking me on a trip down her memory lane we visited Hammersley Street, where Auntie Eileen and her sisters all lived within a 500m radius. Studying the virtually unchanged outside we wondered whether the inside of the house had changed much since the property had been sold. Having done a similar thing in Ilfracombe (UK), where I lived for a few childhood years, I said we should go and knock on the door and see if the new owners would let us take a quick look inside. When the door opened the lady (who had just delivered twins but loved a chat!) was only too happy to let Hayley take a trip down memory lane and help her recollections of what had been where. While much of the house had changed internally it still held enough wonderful memories (including the cricket pitch bathroom) to bring a few tears to Hayley’s eyes as she fondly remembered all the fun times they had experienced in that house…

After a busy but wonderful stay it was time to welcome our next visitor who was coming to catch up with us again having visited in Tasmania and Alice Springs. Normally we would have been already set up in Margaret River, but this time around Nana was keen to experience the whole caravanning way of life, including the travelling and setting up process! After picking her up from the airport (where we saw Adriano Zumbo arrive for the Margaret River “Gourmet Escape” which was on the next weekend) we hitched up the van and took off on our 4 hour drive to the Taunton Valley Farmstay. After being squeezed into the back of the car for a few hours I think Nana was happy when we finally got there and after setting up the van and annex we were just in time to participate in the daily feeding of the friendly farm animals, which included goats, bullocks, donkeys, sheep, cows and a couple of pigs (although only one of the pigs was friendly!). It was much colder in Margret River than it had been in Perth so we were glad that Nana had brought enough warm clothes to cope with what were some pretty cool nights out in the annex! Over the next week animal feeding, followed by toasting marshmallows on the fire, because our nightly ritual and it was amazing to see just how much the kids loved feeding time – you would have thought that they might get a bit tired of it after a while (it was the same each time), but they were just as keen and excited on the last night as they had been on the first!

For our first full day with Nana we were up early and held a planning session in a local café where the Mums enjoyed great coffee while the kids had some tasty treats and I enjoyed sparkling water on tap! After stopping in at the visitor centre to book some tickets for the Gourmet Escape (held at Leeuwin Estate) we headed south through the beautiful Karri Tree forests, towards Augusta. Just off the coast from the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse is the point where two oceans meet – the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean – and nobody knew quite what to expect when we got there.

The lighthouse itself, which is located at the south westerly tip of Australia, is not only a stunning feature in this very rugged landscape, but it also provides an amazing insight into the craftsmanship of the time and the hardship that the early lighthouse keepers had to endure. We were lucky enough to jump onto a guided tour which was just starting as we arrived (“just in time travelling!”) and the tour guide filled us in on the fascinating history of the area and lighthouse including the work required to build and run the lighthouse and its piercing beam (which has an intensity of one million candles and shines over the surrounding sea and landscape for nearly 50 kilometres). From the top (which is incredibly windy but worth it!) you get to see the amazing sculptured lamp as well as a wonderful view of the surrounding area, including where the two oceans bash into each other as the two opposing forces join into one.  Until 1982 this lighthouse ran a kerosene burner, which involved a roster of three lighthouse keepers heading up the 172 stairs every few hours with enough Kerosene to keep the lamp lit for the next few hours. As we left the lighthouse we stopped at the old water wheel, which once supplied water to the lighthouse from a fresh spring. The wheel has now calcified from the lime in the water and although it doesn’t look that inviting it’s apparently as fresh as the day the wheel was first erected!

Heading back towards Margaret River and the farm stay we stopped in at the Jewel Cave, one of a number of cave systems in the Margaret River area (makes sense as the road is named “Caves Road”). The Jewel Cave is the largest show cave in WA and home to one of the longest straw stalactites in the world at over 5 metres (which is amazing given how fragile they look!). With its three large caverns the Jewel Cave doesn’t have the same claustrophobic feelings that many small caves can have and although there are low and tight spots in places it’s a wonderful and amazing cave to explore.

We saw some formations in here that we had not seen before and all of us left with a feeling of wonder about how amazingly beautiful nature can be. We saw Karri tree roots mixing with the limestone to form amazing formations, a huge array of differing stalactites and stalagmites as well as helictites, flowstones and shawls and lastly a couple of skeletons (from a Tasmanian Tiger and a Possum). The bones help to age the cave as well as illustrate the harsher side of nature, as these animals became trapped and perished many decades ago. On the way into the cave you see photos of some of the first explorers travelling via boat, but the water table in the cave has dropped now and it’s dry throughout. You do get an insight into those early explorations however when all the lights are shut down and you get immersed in the darkness.  All in all it’s a dazzling visual display of some of nature’s finest and most amazing work and well worth the detour from the more notorious attractions of the region!

Interspersed with some family fun at the “Amaze’n” maze (where we ran the mazes and played a couple of games of Botchie), Xscape Adventure park (where the kids played on trampolines and in the adventure playground for most of the day and I got surprised on the mini-golf course by a water squirting frog!) and at Simmo’s ice-cream factory, we also visited the famous surfing beaches of Margaret River, The Watershed Winery for a beautiful lunch (and a few bottles of their lovely Rosé) and Busselton Jetty.

 

 Busselton Jetty is an amazing 1.8km jetty that runs out through crystal clear water and features an Underwater Observatory which takes you 8m under the surface to marvel at the underwater landscapes. There is a train which runs along the jetty but we decided to do the walk out and then catch the train back. On the walk out we saw newborn seagulls resting on one of the platforms. One of them had just fallen into the water and had to be rescued by a passer-by. After returning the baby to its rather precarious nest the mother gave it the once over and then continued as if nothing had happened! I expect this is like parenting in the 70’s if any of my parents stories are true!

The Underwater Observatory was a fascinating concrete cylinder which descended 8 metres to the ocean floor with various lookouts at different levels as you descend the staircase. At different levels you could see tropical and sub-tropical corals, sponges, fish and crabs. The crabs living towards the top of the jetty’s pylons soon gave way to a vast array of corals and fish life at the deeper depths. There are over 300 different marine species that live beneath the jetty and it’s often described (mainly by their own PR guys!) as Australia’s greatest artificial reef. It was a wonderful experience and although the photos don’t do the colours justice it was a great insight into the vibrant life under the surface (no wonder diving is so popular!).

As we came out of the observatory Mum bumped into one of her favourite chefs, Rick Stein, who was in town for the Gourmet Escape weekend. Most of the internationally renowned chefs were spending the weekend at Leeuwin Estate as well as hosting dinners or special functions (Rick Steins was at the end of the Busselton Jetty) and the whole region was bustling with “foodies.” Catching the train back from the Bussleton Jetty we got to check in on the seagull baby who seemed to be doing fine as well as see dolphins in the beautiful water surrounding the jetty. A late lunch of fish and chips at the end of the Jetty, followed by an ice cream at Simmo’s and then a swim at Meelup beach completed a wonderful day!

The next day Hayley and I were looking forward to heading to Leeuwin Estate for the second day of the Gourmet Escape, but Hayley woke up feeling unwell and didn’t fancy a day out in the sun with rich foods and wine, so Nana stepped in (as soon as she heard the word wine!) and Hayley bravely volunteered to stay at home with the kids. It was a warm day for a change in “Margs” but we had a great time meeting up with Leanne and watching demonstrations and discussions with celebrities such as Matt Preston, Rick Stein and Marco Pierre-White along with many more up and coming chefs involved in the weekend. Our favourite demonstration was a hilarious show with Rick Stein and his son Jack, who now runs the Stein “empire”, regaling stories of growing up, cooking and living with a famous father. Beautiful wines, a multitude of craft beers and wonderful food plates combined to produce a great day out, even if the heat and flies were also out in force. Fortunately the venue is beautiful and well shaded and being on the west coast enjoys an afternoon breeze which flows in and cools things off a bit!  

After a lazy day with a bit of R&R, Mum offered to have the kids so Hayley and I could enjoy a wine tour of the region (as Hayley had missed out on the Gourmet Escape). Jumping at the chance we booked it in and the next morning we were picked up at 9:30am to set off on our tasting day. The way the vineyards are laid out we started with our first wine tasting before 10am (it’s not that easy to get enthusiastic that early!) and by lunchtime we were certainly feeling like some food. Fortunately, after visits to Watershed and Leeuwin Estate for morning tastings, we found ourselves at Voyager Estate for what was a delicious lunch at their award winning restaurant.

 

After lunch we enjoyed visits and samples at the Margaret River Chocolate Company, Bettenays, Ollio Bello as well as the cheese factory. It was great for Hayley and I to have some quality time together and the tour was a great way of sampling the region, although we did suggest maybe they could mix the wine tastings with the food rather than the bulk of tastings first (although maybe that’s the way they have found works best to increase sales!).

With a most enjoyable week under our belts I drove Mum back to Perth to do a spot of Christmas shopping for the kids as well as catch her flight home and Hayley took the opportunity to spend some more time with Leanne at some of the beautiful local beaches. On my return we had a great evening out at the Colonial Brewing company, enjoying some beer while the kids played in the massive outdoor playground.

It was an enjoyable visit to “Margs” and we had a great time on the farm and looking around at all of the local attractions. In keeping with the farm experience we were heading to Jerdacuttup and Uncle Tim’s farm next, for some real farming and plenty more animals! We had even bought extra carrots in preparation!

In preparing and writing this blog I now know how a puppy feels when it’s spinning around and around in circles chasing its illusive tail. It takes a week or two to finalise each update and during that time we see and experience new things that get added to the list of what to write about next… With each update we get closer to being current, but during the same time we get more out of date! Still, like the puppy, we have big smiles on our faces and are loving the lifestyle, experiences and friends we are making along the way.

The second part of the Great Update has us leaving Derby for Broome. For the first time we had a “friend of a friend” who had offered us some space to stay in the notoriously busy and expensive tourist mecca. Another contact from Hayley’s productive solo Darwin days and a friend of Ferns (who we would stay with in Perth) ran a factory and often accommodated travelling friends in a town where the tourist season can often result in extensive no vacancy signs. I’m not sure quite what we were expecting but driving towards the “industrial area” of any town is never a great sign for tourists and when we pulled into the commercial yard we were faced with nothing but piles of rubble, lumber and dirt. It took us around 5 seconds to pass on the kind offer and head back towards Cable Beach, where we could be closer to attractions as well as have things to entertain the kids (not that piles of dirt and rubble wouldn’t entertain the kids but a few more playmates around would be beneficial!). As one of our trip sayings goes – “happy kids, happy wife, happy life!” – and we have come to the conclusion that, while a more expensive way to travel, the caravan parks provide a safe and fun environment for the kids to make new friends and enjoy themselves. In the end we selected (we like to look around and choose nowadays) a very nice and secluded spot with greenery on both sides of us, which gave us a great outlook as well as some privacy in this large park.

We had a few things planned for Broome: one of Hayley’s cousins, that she hadn’t seen since she was a small girl, lived in town (I was secretly hoping that he had something to do with the brewery Matso’s but in the end it turned out not to be!); we had Kylie Barker coming to visit with us again (after meeting last time in Tasmania); and Hayley was returning to Sydney to surprise her brother Ryan at his 40^th birthday (I can let the cat out of the bag now, given this was a good few months ago!)…

On our first morning in Broome we visited the Courthouse Markets where the kids ended up with a frozen fruit smoothie (the best ever!), Hayley ended up with a coffee (the best ever!) and I ended up with a Vegetti (one of those turn vegetables into pasta that looks so easy when demonstrated and then when you bring it home works nothing like it should, definitely not the best ever!).

We also ended up with a beautiful picture of a Boab tree, just in case our own photos didn’t do them justice. After getting some tourist information and planning out the various stages of our stay we hit Cable Beach for the first time, taking a look at one of the iconic attractions of the area, which was only a short walk away from our campsite. Before long we were building sandcastles, catching waves and generally enjoying ourselves on this beautiful beach which has some spectacular tidal variations but always offers crystal clear water, plenty of sand and very safe swimming (well there was a croc towards the end of our stay, ill adjust that to “generally very safe swimming”) due to the very shallow transition out to sea.

The kids were catching wave after wave on their body boards and getting more and more adventurous! Both proclaimed they love catching big waves and when Hayley joined us after writing the Darwin blog update we all spent the first of many days lazing around in the water, playing in the sand and generally having a great time.

Cape Leveque, which is at the tip of the Dampier Peninsula, was an area we really wanted to explore. Loaded with advice from the tourist office we rang and managed to book a single night (it’s normally a 2 night minimum) in one of the amazing Safari Tents that they have at the Aboriginal owned “Kooljaman wilderness camp”. The trip up to Cape Leveque is part of the adventure, with the dirt part of the road offering up some very rough corrugations! We saw a number of vehicles with broken bits abandoned along the way, but thankfully we travelled both ways with nothing more than a few “woopty do’s!” (which just in case this is not the technical term means some large ups and downs that almost have all 4 wheels off the ground before coming back down for the dip and repeating over and over again!).

Stopping along the way at Beagle Bay, to visit the amazing church with its Pearl Shell Altar, helped to break up the trip and it was well worth the detour as it’s a pretty spectacular site and a good introduction to the pearling history of the area.

To further our knowledge of pearls we visited the Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm, which is the oldest pearl farm in Australia and one of the only working pearl farms you can visit. Set in the absolutely spectacular Cygnet Bay this Pearl Farm is testimony to the incredible hard work and vision of its founder who came to this beautiful setting in the 1940’s and decided to set up a “mother of pearl” collection operation in the crocodile infested waters (as you would!). Recognising that the area had some unique conditions to assist in the cultivation of Oyster pearls (rich and sheltered waters) he imported cultivation techniques and knowledge from Japan and after a couple of years at sea pulled in his first pearl “harvest”. From these humble beginnings the operation is now very professionally run and can even claim the largest “Pink Round Pearl” in the world, which is over 22mm round and worth millions of dollars!

Hoping that when we opened “our” Oyster shell we would see something rivalling this amazing find, we were immediately given a dose of pearl farming reality as our shell contained no pearl at all! Given this shell had been cultivated and cared for at sea for over 2 years before being opened, you can quickly see how important the process is to making sure you get something of value at the end. The insertion of the bead into the Oyster is the key – but you can’t tell if you have it right until 2 years later when you pull it from the sea and open it. As with ours, sometimes you get nothing, sometimes you get a non-round pearl and sometimes you get perfection (or pearl-fection as I’m sure its known!). All in all, the process is a fascinating one and had all of us enthralled for the duration of the tour!

After checking in at Kooljaman and being given a map to our “Luxury Safari Tent” we were very excited as we rounded the corner and came upon a magnificent tent with a phenomenal view! This tent was one of the more spectacular locations we have ever stayed in and we didn’t waste a minute of it, enjoying the beach, the view from the balcony and having a great time, despite the fact that we were still all in the same “room!”

After an exhausting day we all crashed early (I think we were all asleep by 8pm, maybe even 7:30!) but were up with the sun for a beautiful sunrise and breakfast on the balcony before heading back to the beach for another swim and then reluctantly checking out!

If we were disappointed to leave Cape Leveque that disappointment was quickly offset by the excitement of meeting Hayley’s cousin, Luke, and his family. Luke and Nic have three kids, twins Riley and Caleb and a younger daughter, Edie, and have been in Broome for 15 years or so. With all the kids around the same age they bonded quickly and had a great afternoon around the pool. Hayley loved catching up on all the years that had passed since she had seen Luke and it was great for the kids and I to meet part of the extended Wade / Hughes family. Growing up within a small family (I only have one uncle and aunt and three cousins in total), it’s amazing to see the other side, a family where relatives are spread far and wide around this country of ours… It’s a bit daunting to try to put all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together (second cousins twice removed and all that!), but it’s great to have friendly and welcoming family dotted around the place!

Kylie’s arrival signalled the beginning of our tourist fix for the area. Not wanting to do too much before she arrived we started with dinner at Cable beach (watching the camels as they paraded down the sand), visited Willey Creek Pearl Farm (what girl doesn’t love pearls!) and before long we were exploring some of the more historically significant parts of Broome – Dinosaur footprints!

It’s pretty amazing that you can see some clear evidence of Dinosaurs existence anywhere in the world – sure there are bones and fossils and re-creations of what they would look like and eat (not forgetting the Jurassic Park movies), but in some ways footprints, showing that these amazing creatures actually walked on the same land that we walk on today, seem so much more real and engaging. The entire Dampier Peninsula is home to a host of footprint sites, but one of the most accessible is at Gantheaume Point, where at low tide, after a short scramble down the rocks to the flats, you find yourself walking with the dinosaurs, albeit 130 million years apart!

When we first arrived we joined a few other explorers, all peering at and around the rocks, trying to work out what we were looking for. Part of the beauty of this site is that it’s very accessible, but not at all “touristy.” Because of the low key nature of the area, you are pretty thankful when a local (or someone who has seen them before) comes along and shows everyone where the various tracks are! Once you have seen the unmistakable three-toed prints made by a Theropod (a Tyrannosaurus type dinosaur), they become a lot more obvious, but without any signs or pointers it would be easy to miss them!

Struck by the mystery and romance of these Dinosaur discoveries we embarked on a slightly more commercial tour, by hovercraft, out to some more Dinosaur footprints… Half the fun of this tour is the hovercraft and despite it being a little cramped (and the driver being worried that Kylie looked a little green around the gills) it’s a pretty cool way to travel!

Although the driver wouldn’t entertain any of my requests for a few spins on the way back it was still a unique and enjoyable experience and got us even closer to more of these amazing reminders of the world long ago… Although hard to picture the completely different landscape that would have existed 130 million years ago, for some reason it’s not hard to picture the 20 different species of Dinosaurs that have been identified in this area, towering above us as they ventured along these shores in search of food, water and shelter. What an amazing time that would have been, no wonder John Hammond wanted to bring them back to life (warning – movie reference!)

The rest of Kylie’s visit involved the more social side of things. A lovely afternoon and dinner overlooking Roebuck Bay at the Mangrove hotel with Luke and family, a couple of nights of pampering for Kylie and Hayley at the Kimberly Sands resort (probably a touch more comfortable than the annex although that was handy for “naps”!) and finishing it all off with a visit to Matso’s for a couple of tasting paddles before the flight home. We all had a great time and a lovely catch-up with one of Hayley’s oldest friends, thanks for coming to visit Kyles!

The next day we were back to the airport to drop Hayley off. Headed back to Sydney for Ryan’s 40^th birthday (a surprise visit for his “Rock and Roll” party which looked amazing!) we had booked a return flight into Port Headland where we would meet up in a couple of weeks. The kids and I decided to stay in Broome until we could see the “Staircase to the Moon,” which happens over the mudflats in Broome a dozen or so times a year, so we extended our stay and spent our days hanging out with the cousins or down at the beach, either catching waves and playing in the sand, or exploring along the beach in the Jeep.

At one of our catch-ups with the cousins Luke casually mentioned taking the boat out crabbing and we all jumped at the chance. Having never been crabbing before I had no idea what was involved, but any day out on the water is a good day as far as I am concerned! Getting a relatively early start we loaded up the 5 kids and took off into the mud flats of Roebuck Bay with our pots. Luke’s version of crabbing is pretty high energy and we basically dropped half our pots down one estuary before heading out and around to another to drop the other half. By the time you had checked one set it was time to head back to check the others, so you were always on the go and enjoying being on the water without getting too hot!

There was a fair amount of excitement when we pulled in our first crab and by the end of the morning we had our catch of 2 crabs (well below the catch limits but fine for our purposes!) and we headed back to town to cook them up with some garlic and chili.

With the crabs on ice they slow down a bit so by the time we were home the kids were feeling brave enough to hold them out – I took a few photos to send to Hayley and she was pretty amazed at how large they were and how courageous the kids were being! April and Edie were the only kids adventurous enough to actually try some of the cooked crab when it was ready and they were rewarded with spicy crab that was fresh and delicious (if a little fiddly!)..

As the kids enjoyed being together so much we met up the next day also for the Staircase to the Moon markets down at Town Beach, which was enjoyable and a pretty spectacular site, even if the kids were more interested in playing than watching… Sometimes you want to explain to them that they are seeing and experiencing things that they may never see again in their lifetimes, but it’s hard to get them to appreciate how unique and amazing some of these experiences are. Still, it is all about enjoying life and they do constantly surprise us with references to things they have seen and done, so maybe more of it is sinking in than we think!

 

A final catchup the following night to show the cousins the van and around the caravan park (which we saw plenty of as April took off on her bike and promptly got lost in the darkness) and we departed Broome to head south and get a bit closer to the airport that Hayley was flying into.

80 mile beach had been recommended as a great place to fish as well as collect shells and so, as we pulled in, we sauntered out of the park and over the dunes to see an amazing beach, full of shells as far as the eye could see! With our bag at the ready we strolled up and down the beach, collecting shells, each of which seemed more amazing than the last.

On our return from the beach the wind had picked up and before long the awning looked as though it would need an additional support rope (I would normally put two on each side which I think is a bit of overkill, but in the harder ground and with no breeze to speak of on our arrival I had only supported one end!). As I stood there, ready to add additional ropes, I watched in horror and amazement as the wind picked up the non-supported side and flipped it up over and onto the roof! With dexterity I didn’t know I possessed I was up on the roof (one step onto the top of the bike rack and another onto the roof) and was supporting the weight trying to avoid any further damage! With the help of our neighbouring camper we brought the arm back down and assessed the damage, which was relatively minor all things considered! In the end we would need to replace the support arm, where the metal rivet had torn through the mount, but it was a relatively easy exercise and could have been so much worse!!!). Lesson learnt, back to the overkill for me!

With a box full of amazing shells (but no fish!) we headed to Point Samson, past Port Headland where Hayley was flying into, because I hadn’t heard anything about Port Headland that was overly positive or made us want to stay in town! In the end Hayley probably could have flown back into another town, but with the traffic coming through the fly-in / fly-out trade around this area the flights were the most reasonably priced for the budget conscious traveller! Point Samson proved a good base to explore the region from Karratha to Port Hedland and it isn’t hard to see why this is a favourite holiday destination as some beautiful beaches and coastline combine with a pretty decent pub in this small coastal village. After the non-stop action of Broome the kids were keen for some downtime, so they filled their days until Hayley arrived playing with the other kids in the playroom or out in one of the three inflatable water slides (only 2 motors were working but they were on a rotation basis!)… The Cove Caravan Park also had an adults only cinema room (meaning no kids allowed, not the other adult only!) where I was able to watch both the AFL and NRL grand finals with some like-minded individuals!

Knowing it takes a couple of days to re-acclimatise to the caravan environment after being away, we were booked in for three nights after Hayley arrived, to put a bit of a plan together and also celebrate Aprils 5^th birthday! We had a great morning opening and playing with presents but unfortunately Denver was not feeling well (at least until the chocolate cake arrived) so I took April out to a holiday workshop in Karratha, where she could do some art and craft, including making a birthday frog! We had a fun day, including visiting Dampier and the Red Dog statue that honours this wandering kelpie/cattle dog, but it’s not quite the same without your partner in crime!

After a few relaxed days of R&R (or because I have already used “relaxed” is that just now “R”?), enjoying the local area, including the beautiful (and wonderfully named) Honeymoon Cove, we were sufficiently rested for the next leg of our journey, to Exmouth, a town on the tip of the North West Cape. This drive was nearly 600k’s in a day and through a part of the country where you can travel for hours without seeing any signs of civilisation or people. Every few hundred kilometres you come across one of the outback “one-stop shop” roadhouses, ready to provide fuel, food and if needed, accommodation, to weary travellers. We stuck to the main roads and barely saw anyone for the entire trip, imagine how long you could go without seeing a sole if you got off the beaten track a little!

Exmouth is famous for being on the doorstep to the Ningaloo Reef which extends for 260km along the North West Cape and provides one of the world’s best reef experiences. Ningaloo Reef is Australia’s largest fringing coral reef (fringing means it grows from the shore so you can just walk straight from the beach to the reef) and it’s also very well known as an area you can dive with Whale Sharks. We were too late in the season for the Whale Shark experiences (that’s April to July if you are interested!), but we did see some Humpbacks from a distance as they started their annual migration. Even without close encounters with the whales this area was one of the most amazing aquatic experiences of our trip!

An early morning start at Yardie Creek (one of those places I had heard of but had no idea where from!) commenced an adventurous morning. After I had taken the Paddleboard down the creek for a look at the gorge walls, Denver wanted to have a go. Knowing he had managed it before, we let him jump on board and venture out onto the water. What we hadn’t counted on was the impact of the tidal flow and as Denver struggled to turn the board around to bring it back, he started to get swept further and further down the creek. After quickly assessing all the options, Hayley decided that the only alternative was for me to dive in and swim as fast as I could down the creek until I had caught up with him…  I wasn’t that keen to jump into the creek water (it doesn’t resemble the crystal clear water of the beach side) but faced with a choice of that or losing Denver into the distance I jumped in and probably broke my 400m swimming record in getting to him (albeit tide assisted so it probably doesn’t count!).

With the kids both a bit traumatised by the experience I loaded them both on board and took them for a soothing paddle back towards the river mouth. As we got towards the entrance the waves picked up and after a few wobbles we promptly tipped over and everyone got wet! At least we were able to have a laugh about that and everyone was in a much better mood as we headed back towards an area called Oyster Stacks, where some pristine snorkelling awaited!

Armed with our newly acquired snorkelling equipment we stepped carefully over the rough rocks and proceeded to snorkel around the coral “bombies”. More than 500 species of tropical fish and 220 species of coral make-up the marine park at Ningaloo Reef and it makes a spectacular sight as you float, swim and interact with these colourful and inquisitive fish in the beautiful turquoise water surrounded by the delicate and colourful coral.

April wasn’t too sure about the snorkelling side of things, but Denver took to it instantly and loved being immersed in this underwater world! Oyster Stacks is only accessible during high tides, so as the tide went out we reluctantly exited the water and made our way back down the road to the exquisitely named “Turquoise Bay.”

Turquoise Bay is a crystal clear lagoon with coral reefs teeming with fish and it quickly became one of our favourite places to paddleboard, swim and play over the coming days. Turquoise Bay has a “drift” current that allows you to enter the water at one end and then drift down over the coral or sand if you’re closer to shore. This drift also works for paddle boarding, so Denver was able to get his confidence back, even if I had to come and paddle the board back to his starting point against the strong current! A couple of times he got pulled out in a seawards direction he didn’t like, but was quickly able to master the instructions and work his way back to the safety of shallower waters!

Headed back to town after an exciting day we got our first glimpse of the resident Emu family with its cute baby Emu’s. We’d never seen baby Emu’s before and everyone loved them, they are just too cute for words! After that we saw them all over town, causing traffic chaos as everyone stopped to watch them and make sure they were safe!

Following a recommendation from a fellow traveller, we booked a glass bottomed boat trip out into the Tantabidi Sanctuary Zone, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the area. Combining a general area tour (shipwrecks, lighthouses and turtle sanctuary) with a glass bottom boat ride and snorkelling “combo” we enjoyed watching the coral and sea creatures appearing below us before getting into the water with the massive 1000 year old corals as well as turtles, huge gropers and school after school of colourful fish! Hayley and I took turns with Denver and then, when he went back to the boat to rest, we managed to see an Octopus swimming along before securing itself into its coral home. It’s not hard to see why diving is so popular, as this magical world really opens itself up as you head below the surface. The snorkelling around this area is one of the highlights of the trip (I was going to say top 5, but I’m not sure we haven’t already made that proclamation on more than 5 things!). Hayley really enjoyed the spectacular underwater world, so much so that I think we will be investing in an adult sized pair of flippers, to avoid the pain of her having to squeeze into Denver’s!

Exmouth is pretty unique in that on one side of town you have this magnificent coastline and beaches and yet just out of town in the other direction you can head into the mountains and see some surprisingly spectacular ranges. Driving up the escarpment in a single lane dirt road you get to see a host of beautiful gorges, which are as spectacular as they are unexpected. We didn’t really expect that much, but it turned out to be well worth the effort!

After enjoying one last swim in the “resort pool” and treating ourselves to a dinner at the on-site restaurant (I can still recall my amazing blue cheese pasta it was so tasty and decadent!) we had ourselves packed and ready to head off the next morning for the Carnarvon area. It would have been nice to spend some more time in this beautiful part of the world, including Coral Bay which is also spectacular, but we were limited on time as we had to be in Perth early in November to greet all our planned visitors!

Depending on your interests, Carnarvon has a few different things to keep you entertained! The area is a massive food bowl for Perth, providing a staggering 70% of all Perth’s winter vegetables, although our own efforts at sampling the local produce along the Gascoyne Food Trail were not terribly successful as most of the food loop was closed for the season! We did much better at 1 mile jetty where we got to ride the “Coffee Pot Train” for most of the jetty’s length, only walking at the very end due to safety concerns about the condition of some of the pylons. Jetty’s in the area needed to be so long because the transition into the water was so mild that big trading ships could not get that close to the shore. No longer used commercially they are now supported by historical societies and donations to help with their upkeep.

For historians and space enthusiasts the area is probably best known for its role in the NASA missions of the late 60s and its OTC dish, which towers over the town and provides a great reference point for navigation. The Space and Technology Museum celebrates the little known history of the role Carnarvon played in the manned space program and in the Australian communications industry (it facilitated the first live TV broadcast to the UK). The Carnarvon Tracking Station was located 10 kilometres south of Carnarvon and was commissioned to support NASAs Gemini, Apollo and Skylab programs. Commencing in 1964 and operating for 11 years, Carnarvon was the last station to communicate with the space capsules as they left the earth’s orbit as well as being the last to make contact before splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. During the Apollo missions, which most famously celebrated the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 21^st 1969, there were over 220 people based at Carnarvon to support these NASA missions.

The Space and Technology Museum was officially opened in 2012, fittingly by Buzz Aldrin, and it was a fascinating and hands-on insight into the amazing “space race” and this period of history during which seemingly impossible things were achieved! As amazing as it is to think of dinosaurs wandering the earth it’s seemingly as incomprehensible to think that humans were able to work out ways to fly to and land on the moon. Although it seems trivial these days can you imagine these pioneers as they first worked out how to propel units into this unknown area beyond our skies! They would not have known whether they could successfully get through the atmosphere, the impacts of gravity, what would happen out in space, or even what would happen on re-entry. To be able to put all of that together in a package that would form the foundations for space travel is nothing short of astonishing!

Stepping back into nature we spent hours at Point Quobba, where amazing natural blowholes can push water up to 20m into the air! It was a pretty stunning place and we had a decent swell that helped provide a reminder of the power of nature.

Heading north we passed Quobba Station (where they do balloon fishing and the Spanish Mackerel jump 8ft out of the water to grab your balloon suspended bait, although unfortunately not while we were passing!) and Red Bluff before settling into the pristine waters of Gnaraloo Bay for a play and a swim! When we arrived the beach, that I had expected to be empty (given the dirt tracks we had come in on), was filled with kite surfers out on a safari. Unfortunately they were just packing up so we missed them flying along on the water but at least it soon meant we had the beach to ourselves! We enjoyed a lunch, a swim and then a sand fight (naturally!) before heading back past the blowholes for a last look before heading to Shark Bay…

The Shark Bay World Heritage area is one of the few sites in the world that satisfies all four of the natural criteria to be listed as a world heritage area – natural beauty, evolutionary history, ecological processes and biological diversity. Shark Bay and Monkey Mia are well known for the abundance of marine life and we decided to base ourselves in Denham (as Australia’s westernmost town it’s very windy and great for the kite flying!) to explore the area.

Early the next morning we headed off to visit the Monkey Mia Reserve and watch the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose dolphins’ being fed (which also turns into a Pelican feeding if you’re not fast enough!). Heavily regulated now, after years of Dolphins becoming dependant on the human feeding, they have three feedings a morning at no set times so you are best to get in early and stick around! As it turned out on the second feeding of the day Denver and April were able to actually head into the water and “feed” a dolphin together. The dolphin, named Surprise, was a regular on that morning and we saw plenty of her as well as a couple of her family members, some turtles and Denver’s favourite, the “Blue-Spotted Ray,” during a few leisurely hours at yet another beautiful beach. While you can see how it would have been enjoyable for people to feed, touch and interact with the dolphins anyway they wished in the past, you can also see the other side, and it’s understandable that there is a protection program in place to avoid any long term damage to the dolphins of the area.

Seeing as the kids enjoyed interacting with the dolphins so much we visited the Ocean Park Aquarium that same afternoon. Thanks to having an absolutely fascinating and passionate marine scientist guiding us through the various underwater worlds we spent an absolutely wondrous few hours learning about and watching cuttlefish, stone fish, sea snakes, rays, turtles and sharks! The culmination of the tour was a feeding with the Tiger, Nurse and Whaler sharks which was a powerful display of these impressive animals, and brought the odd gasp from the crowd with their smart tactics to try to get the food on offer. Perhaps the most remarkable and fascinating display was that of the cuttlefish, who have the ability to change their skin colour at will. Their skin flashes a fast-changing pattern as communication to other cuttlefish as well as acting as camouflage from predators. Watching them change rapidly as they swam over different elements within the tank, even reflecting the pattern of their surroundings, was pretty otherworldly!

Continuing the marine theme we booked a trip out to see the Dugongs on the Aristocat II. Leaving from Monkey Mia we got to see the Dolphins again before heading out to the Dugong sanctuary via a black pearl farm where April and Hayley got little souvenirs. Throwing ourselves into the net at the front of the catamaran the trip itself was great fun and as soon as we found ourselves out near the sea-grass that the Dugongs love eating, the ocean came alive with turtles, rays and dolphins.

Before long we had spotted a Hammerhead shark underneath the bow (a pretty amazing sight!) and then the first Dugong making its way leisurely around the waters and sea-grass. It’s not hard to see why these creatures are known as “ocean cows” (and I would add “ugly ocean cows” at that!) but never having seen one in the flesh it was exciting to watch this fascinating creature making its way across the sea.

After the excitement of the animals it was time to cool off in the water itself, behind the boat in its boom net. Trying to encourage the kids into the chilly water Hayley jumped in first, but the look on her face gave it away and the kids wouldn’t go anywhere near the boom net after that! Still, inspired by Hayley’s enthusiasm, a few other blokes jumped in with beers and promptly got so drenched I have no idea how their beers didn’t fill with sea water! The video makes for great viewing, but you will have to make do with the description and a photo as its too large to share!

Two other attractions of the area that we took time out to visit were Shell Beach and the Stromatolites. Shell Beach (a very original name), is made up of trillions of tiny cockle shells, estimated to be up to 4,000 years old and 10 metres deep, which is impressive given the beach is over 100km long! In Denham there are a couple of buildings constructed from blocks of these shells, particularly the Old Pearlers Restaurant on the main street.

To see these trillions of tiny shells as far as the eye could see was certainly impressive (although nowhere near as comfy as sand!). The Stromatolites (which we had never heard of) were only discovered 50 years ago in Shark Bay and prior to that were thought to be extinct. Hamelin Pool is a beautiful spot and it is here that you can view what life on earth looked like 350 billion years ago (just a bit before the dinosaurs!). The Stromatolites are the beginning of life on our planet, as the original generators of oxygen, they created our oxygen atmosphere.

They also began the evolution of life from the water to the land, but to be honest are more impressive on paper than they are in the flesh, it’s no wonder they went undiscovered for so long! Still it is a beautiful setting and although not as impressive as dinosaur footprints they certainly were more important in terms of creating life on this planet of ours (and at once I can see a segue from all the main topics – dinosaurs, stromatolites and space exploration – and you thought I was just babbling on!).

Kalbarri was the next stop on our way down the west coast and we enjoyed exploring the National Parks of the area, including walks out to Z-bend and Natures Window (a natural rock formation that allows you to look through, like a window, to the gorge walls) as well as a quick look at “Pink Lake.”

I’m not sure who is in charge of naming things in Western Australia, but they certainly like their literal versions! The pink hue to the lake is created by algae and it certainly gives off a wide range of pinks depending on the time of day.

The next morning we fed Pelicans at the local feeding spot before heading to the bird park, where the kids were enthralled by Bessie the parrot. Rainbow Jungle Parrot Centre had been recommended to us by bird lovers in Alice Springs and it didn’t disappoint as we saw and interacted with a wide range of birds, from the kids favourite the King Parrots to the adults favourite, the Macau’s! Bessie provided all the entertainment, nibbling on the kids’ fingers and ears as she moved from hand to hand and even into Denver’s hood!

 

With our deadline to get to Perth drawing nearer there was just one other place we wanted to visit on the way (well two when Hayley saw the sign for the “Lobster Shack” in Cervantes!). Jurien Bay is a nice seaside town with a beautiful promenade that we spent each morning walking or riding along. Close to the Pinnacles it’s a great base to use to look at these incredible limestone formations. Rising mysteriously from the dune sands are thousands of pillars, some up to 4m tall, and they create an eerie alien-like landscape, especially if you visit for sunset! The Pinnacles date back millions of years to an epoch when the sand was beneath the sea. Each year the winds blow the sand to different regions, covering and uncovering new pinnacles in a micro version of the evolution which brought them out into the open many decades ago. Definitely one for the top five list!

 

Thanks for staying with us through the Great Update Part II. Reflecting on the puppy, chasing, tail scenario above I now have about a months’ worth of updates still to write about next time, but I’d like to catch up before Christmas so I don’t have to make it a new years resolution, I’m sure we will already have enough of those!

 

 

Well we have travelled over 5,000km since the last update. That’s over 700 litres of Diesel, over 50 hours on the road and that doesn’t even include all of the side trips and detours that we have explored along the way! During that time we have had 1 sprained ankle, 4 boat trips, 2 plane rides, 79 games of Uno, 40 bike rides, 1200 bounces on jumping pillows, made 60 new Lego creations, visited some long lost cousins, had two friends come and stay and Hayley has returned home for Ryan’s 40^th birthday. I could go on but I’m sure you have the picture by now – it’s been a while!

For those of you who have faithfully logged on, wondering whether you would even hear from us again, I’m glad we can finally reward your patience with an update. If you think it’s daunting to read such an update, spare a thought for how it is to have to start writing it! To try to make it manageable for both of us I will break the 5,000km into two sections – from Darwin to Broome and then Broome to Perth (and unless specifically requested I will leave out details like who actually won each of the 79 Uno games!).

Hayley did an amazing job writing about our time in Darwin, it’s certainly been one of our favourite places to date! Leaving was difficult and we extended a few times, in part because we adults enjoyed it so much but also because the kids were having so much fun (and let’s face it this is their trip also!). When discussing our plans and leaving dates we gave them (some) input into the decisions and they always opted for “just a couple more days!” When we eventually departed we headed back down to Katherine as we really wanted to kayak down Katherine Gorge, something we missed out on the first time around.

Staying at the same caravan park as last time allowed us to meet up with our chef / hairdresser friend Di, which was handy as our own attempts to cut Denver’s hair had resulted in some less than desirable results! Even though April has had some experience cutting her own fringe a while ago and I cut my hair every couple of weeks it’s a bit different when it’s not a #1 all over and you want it to look stylish! Despite having all the right tools the end results of our efforts was stubbornly uneven and getting shorter by the attempt, although Denver didn’t seem to mind. I guess he knows you have to start somewhere! Di quickly showed us how to layer the hair and cut from side to side and back to front with some texture so that it looks and sits naturally. Anyway Denver hasn’t had a major haircut since but my bet is that Hayley will soon master it, with my #1 all over as backup, just in case!

Kayaking through Katherine Gorge gave this magnificent area another perspective. Dad and April teamed up in one kayak and Mum and Denver took the other kayak as we strived to balance weights and capacity for paddling! We opted for a half day (morning) rather than a full day and in the end this was definitely the right decision! After paddling up the river and having a quick swim in the next gorge we turned for home but hadn’t made it far before the heat of the day had knocked much of the enthusiasm out of certain team members (you know who you are!)…

Although not designed for “towing” at a few points along the river we had the lead kayak hooked up to the trailing one and only one person paddling (no prizes for guessing who!) while the other team members provided useful commentary on the sights as well as posing for the odd amused tourist photo with paddle rested, legs up and hands behind the head in a relaxed pose…

Needless to say progress was slower on the way back, but in the end nothing could detract from the beauty of the area or the enjoyment that comes from being out on the water doing something out of the norm!

Staying an extra day at Katherine to help finish off some of Denver’s school work as well as enjoy the great pool at the caravan park we then headed across the Northern Territory / Western Australia border to Lake Argyle, where the 35m infinity pool perched on the edge of the escarpment has to take out the mantle of most impressive pool for the trip (even though we still have a long way to go!!). Watching the sun rise, but in particular watching it set, over Lake Argyle from this amazing outlook will be one of the favourite and enduring memories of the trip.

Lake Argyle is an amazing freshwater lake created by the Ord River Dam project which started with the Kununurra Diversion Dam (which established the town of Kununurra) early in the 1960’s and culminated with the completion of the Ord River Dam in the early 70’s.

Lake Argyle, commonly holding 18 times Sydney Harbour in volume (with the capacity in flood to reach up to 70 times!) was conceived by local homestead owners who noticed just how much water ran through the area in the wet season and identified that by blocking off a narrow channel of the Carr Boyd Ranges would create an amazing opportunity to secure fresh water for the region. Since the early 1990’s, when a hydro-electric plant was added, the project supplies the local areas with hydro-electricity as well as water for irrigation. The volumes of water are so large they are hard to comprehend. Prior to the dam the Ord River released over 2500 gigilitres of water into the ocean each day during the wet season storms (enough water to supply Perth for 10 years!).

It’s an impressive area to view from the dam walls and lookouts above, but it’s when you get out onto the Lake that you really start to appreciate the beautiful landscapes and natural inhabitants (wonderful fish, birds and over 35,000 freshwater crocs!). The sunset cruise out and around the Lake is one of the must do attractions of the area. After visiting the dam wall up close, exploring the Bay of Islands, feeding the fish and looking at the island inhabitants, including some of those crocodiles on the banks, it’s when the sun begins to set that one of the more entertaining parts of the experience begins.

Armed with floatation noodles and inflatable donuts that house nibbles and wine, most of the passengers dive into a small (and hopefully uninhabited) part of the huge Lake for some refreshment(s). For those who prefer, beers are expertly tossed off the rear of the boat into eagerly awaiting hands by the experienced crew!

For the more adventurous you can jump off the top of the boat and I, wanting to inspire Denver, climbed up and proceeded to miss the beer as it was thrown out for me to catch! Jumping in to make sure it didn’t sink too far (that day I learned that a full can of beer will actually float, maybe because it was only mid-strength?) we managed to convince Denver to climb up and give it a go… It looked a long way from the bottom and even further when you were looking down, so it was hardly surprising there were a few wobbles when Denver stood on the edge ready to jump. After ignoring a few countdowns (“in my own time people!”) Denver let go with an almighty jump, to the rapturous applause of the crowd, all of whom were willing him on with his supreme act of bravery! We were so proud of him for making such a gutsy jump, especially as it would have been much easier to turn around and climb down. It was a good couple of body lengths for me, so for Denver it would have seemed like jumping off a six story building!

As the evening continued the wine kept flowing (or floating) and before long Hayley was up the back, discussing tactics with a couple of like-minded individuals, determined to continue after last drinks were called… A secret stash later and the trip back to the jetty became an entertaining affair with mixed drinks flowing for all and the party becoming decidedly more and more rowdy. It didn’t detract from the beautiful surroundings with the setting sun, or the helpfulness of the kids, who earned an ice-cream from the Captain (desperately trying to ignore the rowdy group at the back)… By the time we had got off the boat Hayley was swaying gently and only partly from the sea legs!

The trip aboard the Kimberly Durack catamaran in these beautiful surroundings was really one of the highlights of the trip so far, it was just incredibly well organised and hosted with a wonderful group of people and within an amazingly beautiful environment… We didn’t even have to go near the (Lake) Argyle Diamond mine with its incredible Pink Diamonds for this to be an incredibly memorable place for all of us!

A last dip in the infinity pool the next morning, helping to shake off the cobwebs from the sunset cruise, and we were making our shortest trip to date, down the road to the relatively new town of Kununurra, some 70km away… A flight over the Purnululu National Park (better known as the Bungle Bungles) had been highly recommended and upon chatting to our hosts at check-in we were offered a discounted flight to fill the seats that very afternoon. Despite everyone being a bit tired from our sunset cruise the night before we decided that this would be an opportunity too good to ignore and so not long after arriving at our lakeside site we found ourselves aboard an airfield transfer out to the small single prop plane that was going to take us over the infamous “beehive” formations of the Bungle Bungles.

With Denver sitting beside the pilot we took off on a flight which took us over Lake Argyle, the Bungle Bungles and then the Argyle Diamond mine (thankfully so high up that not too much damage could be done to the credit card!). I had forgotten how much I dislike small planes (or I probably should say, not being in control!) as we bumped and weaved our way across the landscape, passing over huge stations in the midst of nowhere before the rises in the distance signalled the approach of the famous Bungle Bungle ranges.

Most of the time we try to capture photos that show the true beauty or expansiveness of the area we are visiting, but this is one of those occasions when the memory of what you have seen serves you best, it is too hard to capture a photo that does the scale of the area justice. Given we had a mix of feelings in the plane – I was feeling afraid but putting on a big smile so my fear didn’t spread to the other family members, Hayley was feeling a bit green from the festivities the night before and needing snacks to keep her stomach from churning, April was shattered and fell asleep despite the constant bumps and dips and Denver was just excited to be co-pilot – it was certainly a memorable flight, particularly as we landed in the middle of nowhere to pick up some additional transfers who were coming back to Kununurra!

April settled into the co-pilot seat for the return flight and everyone seemed a bit more settled as we headed back on a circuitous path that would take us over some of the gorges and crevices that the area is also known for. The entire region was an amazing sight to behold, but with the benefit of hindsight, it probably would have been better to have waited a couple of days and gone up first flight, when the sky and our tummies would have been a bit calmer!

Given we had allowed a couple of days to co-ordinate a flight we were well ahead of schedule and able to enjoy a number of other experiences around town. Some of the highlights were walking through the “mini-bungles”, learning about the production of oils at the Sandalwood factory, visiting a local, traditional (“American hill-billy style”) rum producer at The Hoochery (never too early for some shots of pure alcohol!), as well as some great local artists shops and the best Mango smoothie to date!

 

Back at the camp-site we had one of the best spots in the park, right next to the water where not only the local “friendly” crocodile, George, could often be seen beside the boat ramp, but where birds, fish and other wildlife were in abundance! At 5:30pm each day the sky filled with hundreds if not thousands of bats making their daily migration across the sky. We have no idea where they were going, or where they were coming from, but it sure was an impressive sight (one best viewed from the protection of the trees!). Late one evening, the kids and I witnessed a crocodile catching a fish and then proceeding to eat it right in front of us, which was a pretty amazing experience and one that made you realise that freshwater crocodiles are certainly not harmless if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!

It was in Kununurra where we celebrated Father’s Day and I was very spoilt with some lovely cards, presents and an hour of foot tickling from the kids (my own personal utopia!). I also received some winning scratchie tickets which unfortunately can only be claimed in the Northern Territory if anyone is willing to take them up there for us! (it’s only a few dollars so not really worth a separate trip!)… It was a great day and simply a lovely spot to spend that sort of quality time with the family.

From Kununurra we did a day trip out to El Questro station, which is a huge (4,000sq. km) station with an amazing homestead and some wonderful walks and gorges. As Hayley eagerly eyed off the luxury accommodations and beautiful breakfasts being consumed by the guests, we purchased our pass, filled our water bottles and set off for the hike to Emma Gorge, one of the more scenic walks with a beautiful waterhole at the end.

After the long walk in, over difficult terrain, we were very happy to cool off in the waterhole with beautiful crystal clear water and a cascading waterfall raining down from above, despite the rains having stopped many months before! After a cooling swim and a picnic lunch on the banks of the waterhole we set off on the return journey as the temperature rose to over 30 degrees in the gorge with the sun now directly overhead… A couple of kilometres down the path, as Hayley went around a corner and out of sight, came the sound of rocks falling and then a blood-curdling scream that sent a shiver down my spine! As we rushed forward we found Hayley at the bottom of a small decline, holding her ankle and whimpering in a way that instantly made us worry and had the kids in tears!

As I crouched beside Hayley wondering which panic button to press, our guardian angels found their way to us in the form of Lyn and John, the couple walking behind us at the time… As it turned out Lyn was a volunteer Ambulance officer and, after quickly calming the situation with her take charge attitude, soon had us all doing jobs to assist in the rescue mission.

Denver and April got to scout out the track ahead and test for loose / slippery rocks on the undulating path and John was in charge of water supply (refilling from the river) as well as wetting towels etc to try to keep the swelling under control. I was given the prime task of “carrier” and though we tried a few different methods the most effective by far (furthest distance for effort return) was the piggyback method! In my thongs (I had inadvertently left my proper shoes behind thinking we were going for a simple walk!) I piggybacked Hayley over the rough track, stopping increasingly as my momentum and strength waned. Hayley kept apologising and saying how much she loves me, which was lovely to hear, but I was still very happy when we finally reached the end of the track and we could all collapse onto the grass and assess the damage!

In the end it turned out to be a rolled ankle rather than a break and, because we had managed to keep it cold (and you could argue elevated although I’m not sure piggyback is quite what they mean!), the swelling and pain was minimised. By the end of the following day the swelling and discomfort had subsided sufficiently for Hayley to be back on her feet and hobbling around.

With Hayley feeling better we planned a day out on Lake Kununurra, taking in the Ord River and doing a spot of fishing, using a tinnie with a decent outboard which required a license to operate! Happily handing over the boat license that I completed with my brother for my 40^th birthday we were able to take a boat out for a full day of exploring, fishing and fun times on the water! In the end, after tossing in a few lines along the way with little success, the day was primarily a great way for us to view some of the beautiful scenery along the river and just enjoy our last day in the area exploring up and down the river on which the area so heavily depends.

Fitzroy Crossing was another town on the “don’t want to stick around here too long!” list, but we did want to see Geike Gorge, and so we pulled into a nice caravan park just out of town with friendly wallabies to make us feel welcome. Early the next morning, we were out at Geike Gorge for a morning cruise down the river between the impressive gorge walls. With a Bull Shark sighted in the river just a few days before, we were happy to be in a boat as we cruised down this beautiful area with our guide pointing out interesting rock formations, local flora and fauna, as well as active wildlife. This was one of Hayley’s Granddad’s favourite places in Australia and it’s not hard to see why as it’s truly spectacular no matter what time of year you visit.

We considered heading to Tunnel Creek from Fitzroy Crossing, but in the end decided to get out of town and base ourselves out of Derby for a trip back along the infamous Gibb River Road to Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge. As we pulled into our thankfully shady spot we were soon joined by a wonderful German couple with their puppy “Blackie” that the kids immediately fell in love with! There is not a week that goes by that the kids don’t talk about us getting a dog “when we settle back into a house,” so they were in heaven being next to a dog that can be patted, walked and generally fussed over! They even received $2 each for their dog walking exploits!

Heading off early the next morning for Tunnel Creek we wanted to get out there before the searing temperatures of the day (over 40 degrees!) made exploring uncomfortable. Christening our Keen sandals and new torch (definitely needed along with head torches for everyone!) along this subterranean trail, we walked / waded and climbed through this tunnel system which is WA’s oldest cave system, part of the same ancient Devonian Reef system which created Geike Gorge.

It’s only 750m long, but during that time you see some wonderful formations of stalactites and stalagmites as well as a host of bats and the kids favourite, the glowing red eyes of infant freshwater crocodiles that reside in the ever present water. Surrounded by the darkness, with animals overhead and lurking in the water you are forced to wade through, it’s not hard to let your imagination get carried away and freak yourself out if your not careful!

That’s one of the wonderful things about having kids, as the Dad you always feel like you need to lead the way with a smile and relaxed approach, there’s no time to allow that imagination to get too carried away (such as wondering where the infant crocodiles went when they got bigger or what that thing was wriggling along in the water!). Tunnel Creek is one of our favourite experiences to date and a popular story whenever the kids are asked about crocodiles or caves (or water or fun or unique or free things – yep, it comes up all the time!). It’s another area where the photos taken cannot do the experience justice, but at least they remind us of this wonderful morning of exploring one of the country’s most unique and interesting areas.

By the time we reached Windjana Gorge, with its 300m high walls, carved through the Napier Range, the sun was beating down and it took quite an effort to convince the kids to get out of the car and come exploring. Once we had seen the first crocodile sunning itself by a pool they were hooked and ran along counting the numerous crocodiles on the banks of the river. Without doubt this was the highest concentration of crocs we have seen on the trip, they were everywhere! We counted seventy two in total in a space of less than 500m and I’m sure we missed heaps that were lurking in the shadows or in the water, away from pesky visitors. At mid-morning they were pretty lackadaisical on the banks of both sides of the water, so much so that you are tempted to creep closer and closer to see just how near you can get. I’m clearly not the only one who has thought this, as warning signs abound about visitors who have got too close and lost fingers and limbs to these seemingly “harmless” creatures! I guess because their saltwater cousin is so vicious and aggressive these smaller and more timid creatures are viewed as almost friendly, but they still have strong jaws and lots of teeth!

On the way back along the Gibb River Road our car seemed to be a beacon for some loose cattle, who ran up to us like we were going to feed them or give them presents! After meandering their way around, and in front of us for a while, they finally decided to move on and disappeared the way they had come (maybe to wait in ambush for the next victim that came along!).

Ever since entering the Kimberly Region of Western Australia we had seen the beautiful Boab trees, alongside the road, in the scrub and as centrepieces for tourist attractions and caravan parks. When “adult” sized this iconic symbol of the Kimberly has huge, bulbous, bottle-like trunks along with strange, twisted branches. When they drop their leaves over the dry season they take on that stark, poignant look which graces the pages and covers of many magazines and brochures on the region. Apart from their beautiful appearance, they are also useful for bush tucker and as a source of water and shelter. Perhaps one of the most alluring trees you will ever see, the unique and mysterious Boab creates a wonderful backdrop for this part of the country.

Located 7km south of Derby is a large Boab tree around 14m in circumference that in the 1890s was used as a lock-up for Aboriginal prisoners on their way to Derby for sentencing. Known as the “Prison Tree” it is estimated to be 1500 years old. I was expecting confinement within the tree, like a cell, and I was somewhat underwhelmed by the reality (don’t you hate that!), but nonetheless the story and history provides an interesting insight into prisoner transportation and conditions all those decades ago. It’s amazing to think just how quickly widespread settlement of Australia happened, especially considering the vastness of the land and the lack of transportation, machinery and technology to assist the settlers…

We had come to Derby to explore Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge, look at the huge and famous Prison Tree, watch the famous tidal changes at Derby Jetty as well as explore the possibility of visiting the Horizontal Falls. Derby is the cheapest point from which you can reach the Horizontal Falls and ever since entering WA we had heard stories of this natural phenomenon, mostly by people claiming it was either on, or now crossed off, their bucket lists! I was incredibly eager to see this amazing sight, but wasn’t sure that the kids would get enough out of it to justify the (not insignificant) cost. In the end the problem was solved for us as they only had one spot available during the days we had planned to be in town, as they were just coming off a neap tide so bookings were banked up. Hayley graciously volunteered to look after the kids so I could visit what David Attenborough described as “one of the greatest natural wonders of the world.”

The Horizontal Falls are without doubt one of the most amazing natural features of the Kimberley region.  The tidal waterfalls located deep within Talbot Bay in the Buccaneer Archipelago are unlike any other waterfall in the world, in that (as you may guess from the name), the water passes horizontally. Although they are called waterfalls, this natural phenomenon is actually created by intense tidal currents hurtling through two narrow coastal gorges.

Starting the day with a Seaplane flight out to the Archipelago (yes another small plane but somehow the extra buffeting caused by the floats on the bottom of the plane was more than offset by their seemingly life-saving presence), which includes some very tight turns as the pilot tried to get everyone a great view of the falls from above, we landed in the secluded “Cyclone Bay” (named for its protection from them I’m sure!) and moored at a floating hotel / base / shark attraction. Before long I was in a powerful speedboat, rushing towards the twin gaps in the McLarty Ranges, which are around 300 metres from each other and around 20 and 10 metres wide.

Massive tidal movements create a waterfall effect as water banks up against one side of the narrow passages and then releases outward with amazing force into the other side. The water is literally tearing itself apart as it tries to fill out in all directions to level the gap, and the power of nature is once again evident as the boat rides through and around the swirling water, getting pulled, pushed and generally bullied by the flow. Despite the enormous motors on board you still get the feeling that you are putting your life in the hands of the captain, as enormous whirlpools open up in front of you and the boat tips from one side to the other riding them out.

Despite it not being a king tide, where the tidal flow can reach up to 10m!, we were fortunate in many ways as too high a difference makes it unsafe for the boats to pass through. Going through the gaps, feeling the power of the water and seeing the waterfalls develop in front of you as you drive through them was one of the more incredible experiences I’ve had.

Returning to the floating pontoons for a swim (in a cage!) with some large fish, as well as some of the Lemon sharks that were prowling around the structure earlier that day, was fun before wrapping up the experience with a spectacular Barramundi lunch, a return visit to the falls and a sightseeing cruise (not to forget the return flight of course!)…

I tried to play it down, so Hayley wouldn’t be too disappointed about missing out, but it truly was an incredible and memorable experience that I will never forget! One day we will have to return with the entire family so everyone can enjoy it!

The same tides that make the Horizontal Falls so spectacular also make the tides around Derby some of the largest in the world. Normal tides are caused by a bulge in the water covering the surface of the earth and (although we never knew this before) high tides occur on both sides of the earth at the same time! The water on the side closest to the moon bulges out because it is being sucked by the moons gravitational force, while the water on the side furthest away from the moon bulges out because it is being pushed by forces including the centrifugal force of the earth. At Derby, the shape of the coast amplifies this effect, which is why the tides around this area are so huge, at 11.8m they are the highest tides in Australia and only bettered by 5 other tides worldwide (lead by the 15m tide at the Bay of Fundy in Canada if you’re interested!).

Not only are the tides spectacular in their changeover, but the jetty is beautiful and the sunsets across the bay are amazing. It was a beautiful way to finish off our trip to what is a spectacular part of the world…

Thanks for staying with us on our journey to date. This is part one of the long overdue update, part two will cover Broome and our trip down the coast to Perth… Thank heavens for Hayley’s Facebook updates, without which I am sure a few people would have wondered if we had disappeared forever!

Surprise! It’s Hayley and it’s my turn to write one of our travel blogs! I feel quite honoured to be writing this, but I must first say a big thank you to Dan for capturing our amazing travel adventures around Oz so eloquently to date. In true Dan style his blogs have humour and personal insight and will forever enable us to relive the awesome holiday moments we’ve enjoyed as a family. I must warn you that my blog will probably fall short of his creative writing quality however since I spent the most time in Darwin with the kids we felt it would be a bit of fun to get my perspective.

I must apologise for the delay in getting this blog out. Darwin seems months ago (actually it was) however we’ve been enjoying the road too much it’s been hard to stop, ponder and actually write our adventures down.

Here goes…

Darwin stated mid-July, plans were in place for my folks to arrive so we knew it was important to find a park that would suit everyone’s needs. Howard Springs was that such place. From the jumping pillow, “oasis” pool, and nearby cabins, this was the first place in 6 months where I joined the caravan site “stalker club”. When we arrived, on first inspection I thought it would be a good idea to cram into a site opposite the cabins where Mum and Dad were, however being in the “permanent’s” section proved a little unpleasant (early worker start times), and since I knew we would be staying for a while, I thought it best to find another site that would be “our own.”

Being in the school holiday period (for a month!) I acted fast, up early, scouring the place. I quickly saw a couple (through my mad stalker glasses) who looked like they were packing up. In my most casual voice I said good morning (knowing full well that this was THE site – near jumping pillow, pool, facilities and with a cement slab which is good to set up annex for visitors to stay). Anyway I casually rushed (sprinted) back to our site and told Dan the “good” news. Now poor Dan, bless his sweat beaded brow, had spent quite a while the previous day, backing our van into a very tiny crowded spot not to mention erecting the full annex, so I knew this may have been a hard sell. Anyway after a few sighs and bumbles under the breath, and viewing the site, he was on-board. I knew I’d have to snag the spot (without looking too desperate) so we agreed I would take a stool and sit on the site while awaiting Dan to take down the annex and pack up the van…so easy…not! Every time I started to feel like a goose I had to take my mind back to Dan who would be sweating (and probably cursing) having to disassemble everything… on his own…I soon embraced my predicament sitting in my pj’s at 8am in the morning, sitting on a backless stool trying to appear casual….I soon discovered the next morning that I was not alone and that all the other desperadoes were seeking the same perfection (pat on the back thank you).

On a side note, I am writing this from a shaded table and chair overlooking the turquoise coloured water of Cable beach. I’ve already had a few people say “nice office” and I’m happy to report this writing experience has been most pleasant!

Anyway, I digress…

My folks arrived safe and sound and it was very exciting to see them. It had been 50 years since Mum had been back after meeting Dad all those years ago. There were a lot of nostalgic moments realised by Mum and Dad of which I felt very privileged to bear witness too. Locations of where the Qantas staff apartments were, Qantas hanger used to be, the watering holes, and how life was back then. It just so happened that we were here a few days before their 48th wedding anniversary.

The week together was very special. My brother Nick and his beautiful 4 kids were able to visit also, and stay with their friend Kate. Luckily for them, their abode for the week was an apartment on the top floor overlooking the Waterfront, including the lagoon and wave pool.

Kate became our impromptu tour guide and eventual live-in host of which we are forever grateful for. She gathered us all up and took us on many adventures starting with a day at the races! Derby Day in Darwin is loads of fun. For starters you can dress up or dress down. It’s not crowded (but enough of a crowd to give it a good atmosphere), so you can go right up to the barricade to cheer on a winner. Kids can run free and we grown-ups can enjoy a quite one while placing a bet. Man, for once I can place a bet with a bookie.  Did I say that right? Dad and I had watched a race from the members area and even though we didn’t win, I was warmed to have some alone time with my Dad.

A barbie at Kate’s the next day – who cooked the best Barra I’ve ever had. Wild caught Barra of course…not the farmed stuff…

Dan was lucky enough to attend the Davis Cup where he saw the final day of action between Australia and Kazakhstan, with Sam Groth and Leyton Hewitt bringing home both of the final day matches to win the tie 3-2 after being down 2-0 on the first day!. Dan says that the atmosphere was amazing which it would have been given that now sees Australia into the Semi-finals for the first time in a long while!

Plans were soon made for a day at Litchfield. This was a day that I will never forget. A combination of family, the great outdoors, the most picturesque water holes, kids laughing, rock jumping, making sailing boats from leaves and twigs, and cold chicken rolls. Total bliss. It started at the Magnetic and Cathedral termite mounds followed by my favourite Bluey Rock pools. Florence Falls was followed by Wangi Falls where we clambered up to a waterhole in the side of the cliff for a relax!. The kids can swim forever. April I think can now swim 50 metres by herself… I needed the noodle more than she did!

Crocosauros Cove was our first experience with seeing captive Salties up close. Home of the “Cage of Death”, Croc Cove was fascinating albeit unnatural. Many reptiles are housed here and the kids witnessed the shear jaw strength of a croc by a demonstration of a clock of ice being crushed by a “croc jaw” machine. Left us a strong impression and made me thankful we were on the other side of the glass (tapping on it saying “here crocy crocy”). We did get to feed the babies crocs (off a small fishing rod), who apparently can also leave a bit of damage if one was to find one’s fingers in its grasp. The highlight was probably the reptile show. We were shown a blue tongue lizard and a snake which put on a great show by devouring a mouse, while the human host made us all feel a bit queezy by chewing on a few cockroaches. Don’t know which made me squirm more. The kids held the snake…April and Denver couldn’t hold it enough. The funniest was probably watching the snake curl itself around Dad’s ear into his mouth. Poor Dad was a little terrified!

To add to the croc excitement we took a drive down to the Adelaide River for a boat tour called Jumping Crocs. As the name suggests chunks of buffalo are dangled over the side where hungry crocs are tempted to jump up for a quick meal. The tour guide gave us some great insight into the day to day living of the crocs. They were awesome and frightening to watch.

Back in town the wave pool at the Foreshore Waterfront proved to be a lot of fun. I would have liked to have dragged Mum up onto the blow up ring and take her out to ride the waves, however the picture of Dad trying his best to stay on top of the ring was a spectacle enough for both of them. I was very impressed with Dad’s style :-). Hours of fun was had.

Another barbie, but this time back at ours, meant Nick could enjoy a kid free night (of Oysters and beer) and we got some quality with 6 kids! Mum and Dad enjoyed the dulcet tones of the camp ground resident singer, a real ”Neil Diamond” sound-a-like.

Finally, the Mindil Markets ended the fantastic week together. A fire show, stall food and a bucket load of memories set us up for our family fix and we bode farewell to my parents and brother.

This was coincidently the same time that Dan went back to Sydney for work related activities. So we took the opportunity to stay at the Darwin Sky City hotel for 3 nights (thanks Fuji). The booking was for a Deluxe Family Room. Boy was I excited! A bit of pampering not to mention SPACE! It’s going to be a room with an adjoining kid’s room. They would get their space (and TV) and I’d have my own….! Unfortunately I was, let’s say, a little surprised/disappointed to learn Family room meant one room with an extra single bed… I soon recovered when I looked outside to see a view of Mindil Beach. I figured we’d be out most of the time anyway.  The pool softened my disappointment even further and the kids enjoyed some quality alone time together. An open topped bus tour of Darwin, including a tour of the Museum and Art Gallery, put Darwin into perspective. With a population or 116,000, it’s smaller than you think. A combination of a laid-back country town with a growing, modern and popular city.

The next day was aqua duck, or rather aqua croc ride day. “Reggie” collected us and we were off on the bus/boat tour. April was convinced she earned her “license” to drive one of these things after “driving” this rig in the water. Another visit to the Wave pool topped off our whirlwind stay in “the big smoke” while waiting for the Patriarch to return. A great distraction in what was already a beautifully relaxing location.

Predictably for us the weather was a constant 32 degrees and sunny. Joy oh joy! Finally somewhere on our trip were we can don our thongs and togs morning, noon and night. I must admit it has been very freeing on this trip to cast away the make-up and hair straightener and embrace the simplicity of going au natural. I was very thankful the short hair cut in Alice meant I didn’t have to deal with a frizzy mane. Too much relaxing had to be done.

Kate invited us to stay with her for a few days which we were more than excited to do. Apart from being in a prime location, Kate was a super hospitable host. A visit to the Parap Markets soon saw April donning a new pretty yellow dress (thank you Belinda) and a bag of caramel popcorn the size of Denver. …not to mention the Banana and Nutella pancakes! More amazing meals on the deck, and vegging out in front of Lion King made the week!

A walk along the Esplanade one morning on the way to fish feeding was beautiful. April spotted a Bee Eater Bird (quite the bird watcher!), and the view of the ocean was breathtaking. The highlight though was definitely the Fish feeding at Doctors Gully that happens every day depending on the high tide where the hundreds and hundreds of fish come up for the daily fix of bread. What was once a free activity is now a popular tourist attraction. Nevertheless, the kids and I enjoyed it (with plenty of squeals). We got very friendly with the mixture of Milkfish, Mullet, Catfish, Bream and Barramundi (who, cleverly, swim slightly sideways to capture the most fish that swim in schools vertically). Hovering right on the shoreline were many rays too!

We ended up staying in Darwin for a lot longer than planned because it was so easy to access everything we needed and entertain the kids, not to mention the weather! There were lots of things to do around Darwin at that time, including the Races, the Davis Cup, and The Darwin Festival. Dan managed to squeeze some time at the Ski Club to see Jebidiah, while we all enjoyed seeing the ever playful and entertaining performance of Justine Clarke in her calico “musical” dress down on the Foreshore.

We also met a family of whom we all got along with very well. I’d met them at the pool where Michelle (the mum) and I soon chatted easily, and even did handstands in the pool. Brought back childhood memories, not to mention bonding Michelle and I forever :-). A girl after my own heart, we even thought it was a good idea to create a whirlpool in the large spa…it didn’t matter than in some parts we couldn’t hardly stand!

Denver quickly became friendly with their eldest Brodie, who, being the same age as Denver bonded like long lost friends. One morning the two of them sat down to do school work together. Denver remembered he’d forgotten to brush his teeth, so of he went to brush them. After being gone quite a while, he eventually came out with his hair wet and slicked back, and smelling of my perfume. I realised quickly he’d wanted to spruce himself up a bit, so I acted very cool and didn’t say a word. Love him. Together with the younger siblings all four of them became the BMX bandits around the park. I love that in an instant strong friendships can be born by the simple action of being together.

Hard to top Darwin, but I can safely say the trip is getting better and better.

Stay tuned for further adventures.

Yours Hayley xx

If your family is anything like ours then being on holidays means plenty of ice-creams, treats, relaxing and generally living it up!

Being on holiday you feel like you can have that extra dessert, that extra beer or glass of wine (just being sociable you understand!) and generally the only exercise you do is unstructured play with the kids! When your holiday is a year (or possibly even longer now we passed “halfway” far too quickly!) you realise somewhere along that way that you probably need to change normal “holiday” behaviour to something a little less likely to impact on your girth and your budget! Not that we will be missing out on that ice-cream any time soon, more that we will try to balance the eating, drinking and moving so that neither area becomes too much of an issue. You would think that being on permanent holiday meant you have time to do all the things you want and need to do, but it’s funny how even with a pretty flexible agenda we still often find ourselves wondering where all the hours went!

Along with Port Augusta, Tennant Creek wasn’t a place high on our must see list, in fact most of the planning discussions we had involved us driving straight through. But by virtue of the Devils Marbles being such an accessible stop we were ahead of our original plan but not quite far enough ahead to make it much further (we were also planning on overnighting at the Daly Waters pub, but if you don’t get there by 2pm then you won’t get a site!). So it was we found ourselves in Tennant Creek, on Territory Day (this is the day when fireworks are freely available to the general public and you get a great insight into why they are banned in all other states!), on a spot of concrete and without any beer (the “holiday balance” thinking came later in the piece!). While the broken windows and generally run down main street didn’t inspire much confidence we set off on foot to locate the town reserve where the entertainment was happening. As it turns out the food, singers and ultimately fireworks did make for an enjoyable night of fun, even if we adults did have to mask the occasional moment with a false smile and a “what a great (insert positive slant on activity here!).”

They say that the hospital admissions for burns and injuries on Territory Day are greater than the rest of the year put together, and if that’s not enough the common belief is that double this number are at home too embarrassed to seek medical attention until the wound becomes infected! From the number of incidents we heard – explosions in sheds, people running with “shooters” in their hands and generally dangerous drunken behaviour, it’s hardly surprising!

Despite being north of the Tropic of Capricorn (the official boundary between desert and tropics which is just North of Alice Springs) it’s not until you get near the deserted town of Newcastle Waters that you can start to see, smell and feel the impact of the “Tropics.” Pulling off the highway to visit Newcastle Waters its clear to see why this was town was so important when overland cattle drives were in full swing. It is located at the junction of three major overland stock routes and was an important source of provisions and a place to rest before drovers continued on their way. With the development of roads and trucks, overland cattle drives quickly became obsolete, and you can only imagine that with this sudden change the town struggled and failed to remain relevant. So quickly was the change that the life in the old town slipped away to become the ghost town that it remains today. It’s fascinating to wander through the old general store and hotel that would have been such a welcome sight to drovers on their long, dusty and hard treks. It’s hard to imagine what life would have been like for these guys, but looking around you can see you would have needed to be as tough as nails to survive in this hot, hard, dirty and generally inhospitable environment.

Longer drives, or when we need to be somewhere without too many delays, are “lunch in the car” days. Today was a lunch in the car day as we headed off to make sure we got to the Daly Waters Pub early enough to get a spot. Half the caravans we see being towed on the road are driven by early risers (who generally arrive at their next stop before we have even left our current one!) and so it turned out when we arrived just after lunchtime (which is pretty early for us!) we ended up with the third last spot on site..

With a free ice-cream for the kids (courtesy of it being the last helping on the truck) they were happy, we were happy as we had booked in our dinner spot for the “Beef and Barra special” and with happy hour and free “entertainment” there was a whole lot of happiness going around! The Daly Waters Pub certainly is a hoot of a night if you get into the swing of things! By 5pm we had taken advantage of the happy hour and were having a great time in this iconic Australian location, enjoying good company, great food (our first Barra on the trip!) and entertainment that made up for the lack of talent with an A+ for effort! I can see why this is such a well-known location and a must see for most people when visiting the Territory. I couldn’t picture us hanging around here for much longer than a night, but we met some people that loved the atmosphere so much they were planning on sticking around for weeks!

A quick stop at the amusing Larrimah (population 11) Wayside Inn brought some smiles as we looked around the on-site “zoo” and amusing anecdotes scattered around the property. Leaving with an apparently “famous” meat pie (or 3) we were headed up to the hot springs at Mataranka.

Having been cold (in varying degrees) for the last little while the idea of a hot spring had a great deal of appeal and many people had recommended Mataranka (also the setting for the famous book “We Of The Never Never”) before we set off as well as along the way. I think while we were cold we were thinking along the lines of “spa in the snowfields” kind of hot springs, warming us up and being a welcome break from the cold. Of course, Mataranka is only 400 odd kilometres from Darwin, so in fact the weather isn’t cold at all – it’s more of a “spa on a hot summer’s day” than in a snowfield, but it’s still very enjoyable!

There are a couple of different caravan parks around Mataranka, but it turns out the homestead was a good choice when it came to catching up with people we knew! Not only were Barbara and Tony at the same location but as we walked back from our first swim (where we also saw our first “wild” crocodile basking on the other side of the river) we also bumped into a family from Newport school! George had been in Denver’s class for Kindergarten last year and he and his family had left Sydney around June and were on a whirlwind mission to get up the centre, around the west and then back to the east before the end of the year. With the siblings, April and Jack, the four kids bombed around the campground for a couple of days and nights, playing lego, cricket, water bomb fights, swimming and generally having a good time! It was great to catch up with a couple of familiar faces and hear of some stories of their adventures so far!

At campsites there is often some form of entertainment at night time, generally put on by skilled travellers as they look to subsidise their way around the country. Most often musicians, they play for their keep, the entertainment put on nightly or weekly in exchange for a campsite at no cost to them. At Mataranka, during the peak “dry” season, Nathan “Whippy” Griggs, a self-taught whip cracker who currently holds the world records for the number of whip cracks in a minute (530!), had taken up residency. “Whippy” put on quite an entertaining show (he is a pretty down to earth Aussie bloke) who enjoys cracking jokes as well as whips! After the finale with fire cracking we headed back to our site with the sound of cracking ringing in our ears (although that could have just been the kids who bought a whip practising their skills!).

Visiting both the Mataranka and Bitter Springs Thermal pools (where you drift down the river with the flow of the current and the water is crystal clear) we got plenty of time in the water. Despite the smell of sulphur from the springs getting too much after a while, it was a nice way to spend the days (and nights if you were brave enough to venture in after dark!)… It is a very beautiful setting and the water is great, it was just a bit too full of oldies sitting around on their “noodles” for my liking (give me the beach and some waves any day!), but after a long period without much outdoor swimming at all it was nice just to get back into the water!

Arriving in Katherine we booked ourselves on a three Gorge cruise and promptly set off to check out the town! Somewhat amazingly we had made it to that point without having to visit any fast food restaurants, so our visit to Red Rooster got the taste buds tingling even if the ordering process was a little foreign! With the cruise booked for later that week we took off early the next morning for a walk at Edith Falls. As the temperatures were rising during the days (finally!) we wanted to get out there early and get up to the top pools for a swim before the heat made the trek too difficult. Deciding on the Leliyn trail, which takes you up the escarpment and across the top pools, we set off at a cracking pace with the lure of the swim at the top egging us on. Along the way we were treated to some spectacular views of the water as it flows down the escarpment (sorry I know its twice in two sentences, but I just love that word!) and when we finally reached the top pools their temperature was best described as “refreshing!”

It took quite some encouragement for April to summon up the courage to get in, it’s definitely one of those times where you just have to take the plunge and get wet as quickly as possible, trying to edge your way in slowly only seems to increase the suffering!

Katherine Gorge (or Nitmiluk Gorge now as its officially part of the Nitmiluk National Park) is the best known part of Katherine and it certainly lives up to the hype! We did the 3 Gorge cruise (there are 12 gorges in all but most are not easily accessible) and had a great afternoon on the boat(s), swimming in a waterfall lagoon and viewing some excellent aboriginal art sites along the way. The cruise is a great way to see the striking scenery and sheer walls of the Gorge itself. Seeing the crocodiles up close (only the easy going freshwater crocs here as they trap and remove the more dangerous saltwater ones), sunning themselves on the rocks, got us another step closer to these amazing animals. Having a local guide was also fascinating, with interesting insights into plants and hunting techniques, food gathering and seasonality links (where the flowering of one plant lets them know that turtle eggs, for example, are hatching). It was lovely being out on the water and this is a very beautiful area to spend some time…

On the way to Darwin to meet up with Ken and Charlotte (who were planning a reunion of sorts with the place where they had met some 50 years ago!) we wanted to spend some time exploring the world heritage listed Kakadu National Park. Staying at the centrally located Gagudju Lodge in Cooinda we had arrived towards the end of NAIDOC week (which celebrates the culture, history and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people), just in time for the last few days of celebrations. We made some reed bracelets, ate some traditional damper and enjoyed a “Hangi” style pig (buried in a ground oven for hours) as part of the celebrations!

The next morning we were up early for our Yellow River Sunrise tour. One of the reasons for staying at Cooinda is that this is where these tours depart from. Sunrise is a little earlier than us holidaymakers like to rise in the morning, so the idea of then having to travel to get to the departure point didn’t really appeal! This was a truly spectacular tour with a beautiful sunrise over the banks of the river with numerous birds (including Whistling Ducks, Sea Eagles, Azure Kingfishers, Jabirus and Brolgas) as well as the early rising crocs, headed to sunny spots on the banks to try to warm up!

About one third of Australia’s bird species are represented in Kakadu and in the early morning most of them are active so you get to see species after species – a must for any bird lover (and we had quite a few on board!). The operators offer you a second tour at a heavily discounted rate, so a couple of days later we did the same tour in the early afternoon and saw a different mix of birds and crocodiles up close (the local crocodile “Big George” was even showing off in a bit of a territorial battle!). Both trips were definitely very beautiful and interesting and it was great to get the two different perspectives as well as two different guides interpretations of the area and wildlife.

Following the early morning start (the good thing is you get a buffet breakfast back at the lodge once you return!) we travelled south through the park to Gunlom, which is a swimming hole and waterfall often referred to as “Natures Infinity Pool.” When you get to the top you can certainly see why it gets the reference with pool after pool flowing from the river and over the edge in a spectacular waterfall!

Down in the swimming hole we experienced the first hesitation around swimming in a potential crocodile area (the signs tend to put a small doubt in the back of your mind!)… Everyone was happy to stand around and look but there was a certain reluctance for anyone to lead the way into the water. Of course once someone had taken the plunge then everyone else piled in as well for what was a very refreshing swim! The probability of an Estuarine Crocodile (“Estuarine” is the preferred name to “Saltwater” as Saltwater Crocodiles are just as happy in fresh water) in the swimming hole is very small this long after the wet season, but when the first person doesn’t go in you wonder if they know something you don’t and by the time the next few people also stay on the banks you are almost certain that this is the Australian version of the movie “Lake Placid!”

Ubirr is one of the better known Aboriginal art sites in Kakadu. Not only does it have many significant art sites but from the top of Ubirr rock there is a panoramic view of the floodplains and escarpments that attracts many visitors at sunset. There are many guided tours of Ubirr by the local rangers and we joined up with one who shared stories and took us through some of the more impressive Aboriginal art sites in the country. We then joined in with one of the local NAIDOC activity mornings to try our hand at our own Aboriginal Art. As with the language, the art style changes throughout the different geographic regions, and the Kakadu artwork is very complex line work that is applied using a thin reed, stripped down to a single strand and then dipped into the paint. It was amazing to watch not only the construction of the “paintbrush” but also the accuracy, closeness and beauty of this painting style. When we got to give it a go there was no way that an unpractised hand could get anything close to the skill required to produce such an amazing artwork, still we came away with another fun experience and some artwork to boot!

We had decided that we would stick around to view the sunset over the escarpment so in the few hours we had we visited Cahills Crossing (which is the crossing into Arnhem Land) where we watched (and assisted) a few local fisherman casting lines into the river for the majestic barramundi. I’m not sure if many fisherman from this spot get taken by crocs, but you can see them on both sides of the crossing and they are certainly close enough to get the heart racing! Hayley and I had one eye on the kids reeling in the lines and one eye on any movement in the water that was too close for comfort! The kids just love fishing and were desperate to join in, but we may have to find a slightly safer place to fish before we let them try to hook one of the prize catches of the top end.

With an exceptionally nice Thai dinner at the only place anywhere near Ubirr (Border Store) we set off to view the sunset from the popular location atop Ubirr Rock. Watching the spectacular sunset you could easily believe you are in the wilds of Africa and we half expected to see Zebra and Giraffes making their way across the floodplains as the sun sets below the horizon.

Staying at the resort we had been making the most of the facilities, in particular the pool, which offered a very refreshing way to end a day of exploring. There are so many places to explore in Kakadu it’s hard to get to them all, but the following day we were up early again and out looking at the art sites around Nourlangie Rock.

We had the most knowledgeable and interesting guide we could have hoped for and he shared stories of the complex bloodline arrangements of Aboriginal families as well as the archaeological significance of certain discoveries in the area and what these meant in terms of the formation of the land and the history of the area. One fascinating story was of an archaeologist’s dig that had taken place within this area, which not only found evidences of the earliest earthly civilisations but also had been amazed by the ability of the local elders to explain to them just what it was they were finding (tools and weapons etc). Again you could see how stories and information passed through the generations by language had enabled an amazing level of current day understanding. When compared to the western method of recording by writing ongoing history, so easily lost, destroyed or changed (by the victors) you could again appreciate the Aboriginal culture for what it has achieved. You just hope that it can find some way to survive and prosper through the changes that the western world has brought to its shores!

 

Anyway, gotta run, my ice-creams melting!

The most common question we get asked by friends and family tends to be around the favourite places we have been to.

To pick an absolute favourite is difficult because so many factors are involved. While some locations are stunningly beautiful, others are filled with great experiences or great people. Often “your” assessment of a place is about your personal experience there and a variety of things influence this, starting from something as basic as where you are staying! Beautiful views from the caravan windows can enhance enjoyment of a place that a view of the amenities block simply can’t match! Sunshine and swimming weather changes your perspective on a place that’s may be rainy and cold at other times of the year (or sometimes within the same week – thanks Wilsons Prom!). Meeting great people and sharing some laughter and good times can make even a dodgy place great! The kids being excited to explore nature creates a different experience and memory from kids who have to be coaxed each step of the way.

There are highlights of course (read back over the last ten blogs if you need to know exactly what they are!) and lowlights (as I am a glass half full kind of person these are not really in the blogs but happy to share when the glass is “half full” of beer!). One thing is for certain for anyone who is wondering – this is a beautiful country we have here, and the highlights and positives heavily outweigh any negatives!

One of the highlights for the trip was always going to be the visit to Uluru. Denver had learnt about Uluru and Kata Tjunta already at school and in many ways his insistence on Uluru being the “Heart Of Australia” created an appropriate geographic and visual representation, especially at sunset and sunrise as the deep red colours of the rock pulse with every minute that passes.

On the way we pass the lookout for Mt Conner, also known as “Fool-uru”, as it’s fooled many a tourist into thinking it’s one of Australia’s most recognisable icons. Certainly from the highway, the way it rises from the level land around it, does make you pause and do a double take.

Seeing Mt Conner leaves me pondering one of the great questions I am yet to answer in life – what determines that fine line between success and failure, popularity or obscurity? Although shaped quite differently from Uluru and on private land, Mt Conner is impressive and beautiful and yet sits virtually unvisited and unheralded on its own, just 100 off kilometres down the road from its more illustrious “cousin”. It’s like visiting two pubs in the same street but where one is popular and filled with people on any given night the other can be virtually empty. Of course there are many factors determining this, but popularity then drives ongoing popularity. Go into any shop or restaurant that’s empty and watch as others come in behind you. There must be something in the sociable (or distrustful) nature of humans that makes your presence somehow more appealing to others – it’s one of the reasons why empty restaurants will always look to seat you in the windows, so others can see you and follow your lead.

Passing Mt Conner without even a photo (that’s how fine the line is!), we settled into the township of Yulara, which was created in the 80’s to be the base for all tourism in the Uluru and Kata Tjunta National Park. I remember my Mum telling me she had camped right at the base of Uluru when she first arrived in Australia, but there is no such open camping now, in fact you have to be out of the National Park by 7pm each night!

The following morning we took a Ranger tour on the Mala walk around the base of the rock, learning stories about the Anangu people and culture. Uluru plays a significant role in the creation stories of the Aboriginal people and through these stories (the lowest level ones that tourists are allowed to hear anyway) you can see the reverence that was placed on climbing the rock. Only certain elders and leaders were allowed to the top for ceremonies, which is why the Anangu people request that you do not climb. For our visit the climb had been closed anyway, as a Korean tourist very nearly added to the 36 people who have died falling off the rock. He had slipped from the climb the day before we visited, but a number of unsuccessful attempts to get him from the crevice had forced him into an overnight stay. In fact, it wasn’t until later that night that he was rescued, having been up there for nearly two days! You do get the feeling that they weren’t in any hurry to rescue him, no doubt closing the climb and having another example of the dangers involved assists with the parks goal of stopping the climb altogether!

Returning to Yulara we had arranged to take part in a “dot painting” workshop that the centre runs. With traditional women sharing stories and the significance and meaning of certain symbols we all created artworks that symbolised our journeys to date. As you immersed yourself in concentration, trying to construct a dot painting masterpiece, you really had to focus your thoughts and energy on what you were doing. As we painted, the lady on our table explained to us the concept of mindfulness, which has its roots in Buddhist meditation. Barbara explained to us that mindfulness is the focus of one’s attention on the emotions, thoughts and sensations occurring in the present moment rather than worrying about what has come before or what may come after. Barbara was in fact presenting seminars on mindfulness around the country as they travelled and had the next one in Alice Springs in just a few weeks’ time. At the end of the workshop when everyone had to explain what their paintings symbolised, Denver and April were the only children from the group who got up and explained what they had painted, so maybe that sociable desire to follow others starts at a later age!

The following day the Dalai Lama was in town to give a “community address.” There were a limited number of tickets and people had come from all over the country to see His Holiness in person in such a significant Australian location. We enjoyed amazing music by Tenzin Choegyal and some street performances by local artists before His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama spoke in his quiet and humorous way about acceptance and being kinder to one another. The Dalai Lama is a funny man, although his humour sometimes borders political incorrectness (which in many ways makes it even more amusing), his gentle tone and messages are inspirational and make you want to better yourself and contribute more to the world around you.

After connecting with our spirituality for a couple of days it was time to get back to the physical side and there was no better way to do that than a couple of hikes in and around Kata Tjunta. Kata Tjunta compromises of 36 steep sided domes of conglomerate rock (formed by lots of smaller rocks under intense pressure) and its name is Aboriginal for “many heads.” While many Australians refer to the area by the highest of the domes (Mt Olga or “The Olgas”) the area has officially had dual names since the 90’s when the Aboriginal name for the domes was adopted. Walking through the Valley of the Winds you get some appreciation for the size and beauty of this natural formation. Everywhere you are surrounded by beautiful rock that changes each time a cloud passes overhead and lends itself to beautiful sunsets. A walk into the Walpa Gorge was well worth the extra encouragement needed and allowed us some spectacular photos among the steep gorge walls and beautiful fauna that’s protected by the Gorge itself. Photos from in and amongst Kata Tjunta don’t really do it justice as you can’t really capture the scale of these enormous conglomerate structures until you get further away, but it’s a beautiful place with very enjoyable walks.

Sunrise and sunset viewings are highlights of the Uluru and Kata Tjunta National Park and we spent hours marvelling at the changing appearance of both Uluru and Kata Tjunta during these phases of the day. I know all photographers love both of these times as the “light” makes for some great images and although I don’t consider myself to be anything other than an amateur photographer it’s easy to see why these times of day are so revered.  Whilst not being the most kid friendly times the effort was well worth it! All we have to do now is select from the hundreds of images taken seemingly just moments apart as the colours of the rock ebbed and flowed into darkness and then into light again as the sun rose. Although we are in the age of digital I am sure many rolls of film would have been taken in the past from very similar positions, such is the beauty and constantly changing nature of the transition…

The next stop was Kings Canyon where we started our stay with another sunset, although this time a much more civilised one, with drinks and nibbles served by the caravan park from their on-site lookout. While nowhere near as spectacular as the Uluru or Kata Tjunta sunsets the hospitality was most welcome after another day on the road. On the way in we had seen our first “wild” dingo, roaming around one of the rest spots, hunting for scraps. By the end of our stay in Central Australia we had seen quite a few, but none more so than at Kings Canyon where I can even say “a dingo stole my…     shoe!” Fortunately he must have worked out that processed rubber is not all that nice and dropped it about 100m away from our caravan. Always on the lookout for an opportunity to grab food or other useful items, Dingo’s are generally not dangerous and it was interesting to see these wild dogs of Australia up close and personal.

Kings Canyon is famous for the spectacular canyon (the clue is really in the name!) and while you can walk into the canyon floor itself the more spectacular option is the rim walk, which is a 5.5km circuit around the upper rim of the canyon itself. It starts with a pretty serious uphill section, which took a lot of encouragement (in the shape of a lolly snake) to convince the kids it was going to be worth it! Once up the initial climb there is still plenty of scrambling and rock climbing needed to get around the top, but along the way you are rewarded with some amazing views and beautiful rock formations. The part I loved the most is that apart from the odd sign warning you that the edge is near, there isn’t a guide-rail / protective barrier or any other such measure designed to protect you from yourself along the way. No doubt it will change when the first person topples over the side, but for now this walk is a throwback to when common sense ruled and its all the more enjoyable for it!

A couple more walks into the floor of the gorge and around the surrounding areas were followed by some more “mindfulness” as we caught up again with Barbara and Tony. Barbara introduced the kids and Hayley to “mandalas” and the afternoon was spent creating some beautiful mandalas whilst relaxing and focusing on the task at hand. Not only are these concentric structures balanced and very visually appealing they are also individual and personal and the kids loved watching their circle creations coming to life on the page. So much did the kids enjoy making the mandalas and spending time with Barbara and Tony that we arranged to meet them again in Alice Springs a few days later.

In the end not only did we end up catching up with Barbara and Tony, but Hayley ended up attending Barbara’s two day workshop on mindfulness… While Hayley was on the workshop I took the kids to the Reptile Park, Rainbow Valley and the Alice Springs Desert Park. The Reptile Park was a particular favourite, despite being the smallest wildlife park I have ever visited (the advertising material states if you have a spare hour pop in to say hello!). Despite its size we got to see the amazing Thorny Devils up close, the incredibly large Perentie Goannas (the largest native Goanna in Australia), the weekly feeding for a juvenile saltwater croc named Terry (gruesome but fascinating!) and the highlight of it all was holding a 4m long Olive Python called Popeye!… As soon as April knew we could hold animals (generally Blue Tongue and Frilled Neck Lizards) she was in my ear telling me how much she wanted to hold a snake! In the end she was the first volunteer to have the python wrapped around her (all the other adults in the room looked very reluctant) with Denver and then myself following on from her act of bravery (it’s hard not to when a 4 year old is leading the way!)…

A visit to Rainbow Valley (sounds like a children’s story location!) for sunset was another spectacular memory card filler. The kids and I enjoyed a walk to Mushroom rock, a picnic dinner and then the sunset on the rocks before heading back to the caravan for the night. It’s a fair way out of town on some unsealed roads (which I’m sure the car is still rattling from), but worth a visit if you have the time. You can even camp out there (but with no such plan in place and no phone reception I didn’t think this would be appreciated much by Hayley!).

The Nature Park was a chance to get up close to some of the amazing Kites, Falcons and Eagles that you often see in the sky or scavenging on the side of the road. All of them have adapted to the needs of the area in particular ways and it was fascinating to watch the behaviour of the birds, particularly when the Apex predator, the Wedge Tail Eagle, was out and about when he shouldn’t have been! We also spent time learning about the weapons and tools of the Aboriginal people – as they say these lands are the supermarket, hardware store, library and school for their generations. I loved hearing some of the stories about how they learned their “bushcraft.” My favourite was the process for testing an untried fruit or berry. As a new item was discovered (or a new way of cooking it developed) they would need someone to try the item to determine how it tasted and ultimately if it was poisonous or not. Step forward the elders of the tribe, the ones who had lived a good and full life and who would be sacrificed for the greater good if it turned out the new item was not fit for consumption. Simple, insightful and heroic this method obviously worked, but given the large number of plants and seeds that are not edible it would have taken a lot of sacrifice to get the knowledge levels to where they are today! When you hear about a nut that is poisonous until roasted in the fire and pealed you quickly realise that the passing down of information from generation to generation was an incredibly important part of survival.

Hayley’s mindfulness workshop was an amazing experience and Hayley emerged from it smiling and full of appreciation for life. In the next few days she shared some new practises, techniques and approaches that proved not only useful for relaxation, but also for having greater understanding, perspective and awareness of the present moment. I am sure that these will be useful not only through the trip, but for the rest of our lives…

While in Alice we had heard about a small area 70km north-east of town called Gemtree. This campsite ran fossicking tours of the local Garnet and Zircons fields which had come highly recommended for kids (and treasure seeking adults alike!). Our site had a huge fire pit and after chatting up the neighbours Des and Sharon (with their dog Charlotte), I headed off with the kids to do a spot of chopping and firewood collection. In exchange for borrowing Des’s axe I invited them over for marshmallows on the fire, but Sharon turned out to be an old hand at campfire cooking and in addition to our “desert” she whipped up a beautiful damper which we all quickly demolished as dinner! Sitting around the fire, sharing stories and eating fresh, warm bread with golden syrup and jam (not at the same time!) was a real treat!

Fossicking has so many of the kids favourite things combined into one – digging, exploring, getting dirty and finding things – that it was bound to be a winner! After an enjoyable few hours finding mostly small Garnets (I was determined to stay until we had the “motherstone” but eventually was persuaded this is not all about me!) we headed back to the campsite, to have our Garnets assessed and then compare this to what others found (again that may have just been me). It was an enjoyable morning followed by a very similar end to the day before – some more firewood collection (this time even more so we could have a bigger fire!) followed by another story and baking session around the fire!  The kids really enjoyed our time at Gemtree and I am glad that we made our way slightly off the beaten track to find it!

The next day we followed Des out of the campsite and up the highway for a few hundred kilometres (for an old boy he sure could motor!), eventually saying goodbye as they turned off for the night and we pushed on, headed north towards the Devils Marbles and onward. We had thought about staying in the UFO capital of Wycliffe Well but our early start (and good time thanks to Des) meant we arrived early enough for a trip out to the “marbles” before assessing where we would stay for the night. In the end we spent some time exploring the amazing marbles before deciding to continue heading north to spend the night.

The Devils Marbles are another one of those anomalies of popularity and circumstance. So easily reached from the main highway if you moved the road hundreds of kilometres away you would have a thriving tourist Mecca to rival Uluru and Kata Tjunta. As it is, a simple information hut and walking track guides you around the rock formations without so much as a ranger, camel tour or sunset dinner in sight! This is certainly not a bad thing but when you have some time on your hands (as we clearly do) it’s just another one of life’s little mysteries to ponder (although Hayley may make a case for it just being “me” rather than “we” that does the pondering!)…

There are some places that went on the “must see” list the moment that this trip was conceived. As we pieced our route together these “must see” places, located around the country, set the rough path and schedule for the trip. Most were places we had not visited before (or at least one of us had not visited before), some were places we had just heard about or that had been recommended and others were places from books or vague “I think I’ve heard of that” recollections. Some were logical paths to take and others were detours that would take us off the well known routes and into more remote areas. It also made sense that the places which were further away (from “home”) should garner more attention and time. After all, these were the places that were much more difficult to get to and therefore much less likely to be holiday destinations for a school holiday week at some stage in the future. So what started out as small sticky dots on a map of Australia gradually turned into our plan, well as much of a plan as we wanted to make anyway!

For both of us, Coober Pedy was one of those “must see” destinations. The self-proclaimed Opal capital of the World, where the majority of the residents live underground, seemed like a unique and fascinating place to view with your own eyes. Amazingly multicultural (there are over 45 nationalities in a town of only 3,500), incredibly harsh living conditions with searing heat and virtually no rain, as well as the romantic aura of prospectors dreaming of striking it rich around the next corner appealed to us on a number of levels. I really wanted to stay underground in one of the dugouts in the town and after a quick review of the options we booked in for two nights at the Desert View Underground Apartments (hoping that the name itself would be a good indicator as to the location of the rooms!).

With our water divining business still in full swing (meaning the rain still seemed to be our ever present companion) we were starting to wonder if we could turn our bad luck with the weather into a business opportunity in these drier parts of the country where water is the most precious of resources! I am sure that many an opportunistic “business” man had turned a profit from far less in the past! In terms of places to visit in the rain, a town where the majority of its attractions were underground seemed like quite a good option. Of course the rain also meant the roads turned to mud, many of the roads to local attractions like the Breakaways and the Painted Desert were closed to all traffic and some of the more outdoor attractions of town were closed.

When it does rain in Coober Pedy (and they only get around 175mm per year!) the locals all pretty much bunker down and stay indoors, there is not much that can be done in the rain and it makes sense just to wait it out as it normally doesn’t last too long!

Parking outside our underground home you can appreciate the benefits of living underground the moment you step inside. Being dug into the hillside the rooms remain a pretty constant temperature (23-25 degrees) day and night and all year around, so in the heat of summer or the cool of winter you can always be at a very pleasant temperature. It’s also pitch black, so although you are slightly concerned with the fact that there are very few windows and that at any point the roof could come falling in around you (less likely with the modern digging techniques but we spoke to people who had hand dug versions that perhaps weren’t so structurally sound!), it certainly makes for a great night’s sleep!

The Umoona Opal Mine and Museum offers a bit of everything – a history of the town and its settlement 100 years ago, a tour of its underground rooms, an Opal mine and a jewellery shop where you can purchase some of the local Opal. We were guided around the mine and accommodation by an old timer (Rudi) who had settled in Coober Pedy some 50 years before and was full of stories about how they hand dug the shafts looking for that tell-tale depth where the Opal lives.

These guys did it hard, 5 days to dig a shaft in the soaring heat (well before the machinery came in to shorten the process to 20 minutes), basic conditions and amenities and constantly hearing stories of others success while you yourself were barely making enough to survive! He also explained the process of how you dug out your home, navigating in the darkness underground using your compass and measuring tape to make sure you didn’t bore a hole into your neighbours bedroom! There are some “underground rules” to try to preserve the integrity of the digs, which set out how close you can be to the next dugout and when you can use explosives etc but it still seemed a bit haphazard to me!

For every story of Opal success there were many more stories of modest Opal finds and barely getting by on dreams. I can’t imagine what it would have been like at the peak of the mining boom, the buzz of excitement and anticipation of a big find just around the corner. It’s a bit infectious and you can imagine yourself getting caught up in the middle of the excitement, working just that bit harder, digging that bit longer, as that dream of success and riches seemed illusively just out of reach!

Taking our Opals back to our apartment (Hayley ended up with some earrings, April a necklace and Denver an Opal boomerang) we were happy to be back indoors and out of the rain! The kids passed the rest of the time between our apartment and that of the owners, Tony and Linda, whose kids Charlise and Lily had befriended the kids the moment we arrived! The kids form bonds so quickly it must be disappointing to always be leaving “friends” behind, but I am hoping that the joy of making friends and the enjoyable experiences they have with them will make them stronger and more adaptable in the long run. If nothing else they learn that you can make friends anywhere if your open to it…

Leaving Coober Pedy we continued up the Sturt Highway until an opportunity presented itself to go onto the famous Oodnadatta Track. Admittedly (this time) we were hardly making the 620km unsealed trek between Marree and Marla, I think we were on it for all of 500m in the end, but it’s enough to get the taste for it! Next trip (whenever that may be) I would like to gear up to explore the more rugged country and cross some of the stock routes, tracks and deserts that make up this wonderful land. This time was just a quick refuel, followed by an overnight stop at the Kulgera Roadhouse on our way to Alice Springs for another catch-up with Nana. We were passing the turn off to Uluru and Kings Canyon but we would be back that way after spending some time in Alice.

Setting up the Annex, complete with our “Welcome Back Nana” sign, we realised we had timed it well (and also that it was good we had booked!). The Finke Desert Race was on the weekend we were in Alice, so there was plenty of activity at the campsite, with cars, bikes, buggies and all sorts of spectators in town for the week. I had never heard of this event before, but it was celebrating its 40^th anniversary and as the stories grew around what was involved you started to get a real appreciation for the professionals and amateurs alike who flocked to take on the gruelling challenge. A return trip from Alice to Finke over two days covered what they eloquently describe as “multi terrain” but really is some of the harshest outback your ever likely to come across.

With a couple of days before Nana arrived there was time for us to do a few chores as well as finish off Denver’s schooling for the fortnight. Hayley had been talking for some time about cutting her hair short. Inspired by her sister in law Danielle on her visit home she had returned with renewed vigour and with my encouragement we had determined that Alice Springs would be as good as anywhere to find someone who Hayley would trust with the task. As it turns out she found a young Irish girl who inspired enough confidence to go through with it, even if there were some nervous moments as the hair fell all around her. In the end, despite the “cutting and cutting” it looked amazing and I loved it from the very beginning, even if it took Hayley herself a couple of days to get used to it!

When Nana arrived it was great to catch up again but we weren’t just relaxing. The day after Nana arrived we set off to explore the West MacDonnell Ranges (West Mac’s to those in the know!) – with walks around the top and bottom of Ormiston Gorge, through the Ochre Pits and then onto Serpentine Gorge. We weren’t quite up for the 223km Larapinta Trail that extends the length of the ranges, but at Serpentine Gorge Nana and I did tackle the steep climb to the lookout! This was only a couple of kilometres (admittedly almost straight up) and it certainly showed us we didn’t really have the conditioning for anything too much longer!

The second day we went to visit the “School of the Air” base (which is now one of 16 around the country) to explore the history of the service and see some live lessons taking place. We were also thinking that it may show Denver just how good he has it with this current schooling situation! It’s amazing to see the progress that technology has allowed over the past decade. While it may have lost some of the novelty and character of the older remote radio contact the current full digital interactive sessions with teachers and students certainly has made a vast change to how the children are taught and connect with each other over these vast distances.

That afternoon we headed off on a camel trek through part of the West Mac’s. These enigmatic (it’s hard to call them beautiful, especially with all the cud chewing) “ships of the desert” used to be the main transport for mail, supplies and expeditions through the middle of this vast country. Many posts, stops and townships have disappeared or had to reinvent themselves since this humble creature and the droving of cattle were replaced by “technology” once again (in this case a truck often in the form of a road train which can be upwards of 55m in length!). We all loved it, although Hayley had some reservations about the “wild” camel that seemed to enjoy chewing right next to her leg! The kids could have happily ridden around for hours and to get them off we had to convince them that this would not be the last camel ride of the trip!

That night (I told you we weren’t relaxing!) we saw a play at the local theatre which Denver had been dying to see since we left Sydney. The 26^th Storey Treehouse book had been adapted and was in town for one night only. These books are an enjoyable read about Andy and Terry who live in a tree house and have all sorts of adventures. As soon as we had seen it was on we had booked and managed to get front row tickets for the five of us! To avoid the rush and just check out the venue while everyone got ready, I ducked into the theatre and learnt not only where it was, but a valuable lesson about the car at the same time! As it turns out the Jeep will happily keep running if the key fob is removed from the vehicle (say in a backpack which your loving wife may remove to unpack) while the engine is still on. It’s not until you stop the car somewhere else (say in front of a theatre to pick up some tickets) that you realise you cannot start again!

Fortunately it was only me and despite all the activity in town everyone else was able to get a taxi to the venue (bringing the keys with them so we could actually drive our car away this time!)… Normally the car beeps and flashes all sorts of warnings about the key fob “leaving the vehicle” so I am not quite sure what happened this time, but it sure made for a more interesting evening!

On the Saturday we returned to the West MacDonnell ranges to visit Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm, both of which we had run out of time for on the previous visit (probably due to that extra hike I had encouraged Nana to come with me on!). I think the areas around Alice Springs often get overlooked (judging by the amount of campsites that have people come in one day and leave the next) but both the West and East Mac’s are certainly beautiful areas and well worth the time to explore!

The caravan park puts on an amazing array of entertainment and activities and Nana got to see the Didgeridoo show (starring our very own Denver and April!) as well as enjoy a free pancake breakfast on the Sunday morning before heading to the airport. As we waited for the plane we bumped into the cast from the 26 Storey Treehouse play and spent a while chatting to them as well as getting photos and insights into what touring this show really involves!

Finally it was time to say goodbye to Nana after another most enjoyable visit. As per the last visit in Tasmania we not only got to catch up and enjoy each other’s company, but we also filled our days with an amazing array of fun activities!

During the “playtime” of Nana’s visit the kids had managed to make some great friends with two boys from Melbourne, Julius and Oliver who were also spending just over a week in Alice Springs. After saying goodbye to Nana we headed back to the campsite to catch up with the Zelder family and arrange an afternoon in the East MacDonnell ranges, with a walk (and rock jump) at Emily’s Gap followed by a walk and BBQ dinner at Jessie Gap.

A trip out to see the cars and then bikes on the return leg from the Finke Desert Race was a good way to finish off our visit to Alice Springs. We saw the KTM of the 4 time winner Toby Price flash past us and then agreed to stick around until the first 5 bikes had come through, watching NSW take out the trifecta of podium positions.

The following day we were headed to Uluru and the “heart of Australia” as Denver calls it. It was time to cross another one of the “must see” places off our list!

I was pointed towards this interesting article last weekend about a family who had cashed in their “normal” life to go and live permanently in a caravan. They considered what they were doing a bit more than we did (and their version is a bit more permanent!), but many of the underlying thought processes and reasons are the same. Underpinning each respective decision is the belief that “time” is the most precious commodity we have in our lives – far more so than natural resources such as gold or silver, or man-made commodities such as money or housing. As Benjamin Franklin stated “lost time is never found again”. No matter who you are, or what you are doing, time is the great leveller – it stands still for no-one, its limited in its nature and far too often it’s too short to do all you dream of. This is especially true when the treadmill of life consumes you with careers, mortgages and other “necessary” commitments leaving you craving the weekend or the annual holiday entitlement!.

The Bank of Life gives you a finite and unknown budget of time to use, irrespective of wealth, job, salary or social status. You then choose just how you want to spend it – you can abuse it, fritter it away or waste it, or you can spend it wisely, with meaning and value, dedicated to things that are important to you. Maybe it’s a sign of getting older (how fast are the years passing by? – I used to think that was just something that older people said!) or perhaps it’s just what happens when you become a parent. I don’t know, but somewhere along the way its dawns on you that the commodity which is time becomes much more valuable with every moment that ticks away. For us, at this stage in our lives with two young children to raise through their formative years, what matters more than anything – more than working to buy a bigger house or fancier car – is spending time together as a family.

Now back together as a family we wanted to spend some time in Adelaide, just reconnecting with each other and enjoying each other’s company! The Marion Caravan Park had a gym, undercover tennis court, heated pool and bouncing pillow and while it was relatively quiet that suited us down to the ground. The kids enjoyed playing around the park, Hayley and I enjoyed catching up with each other and after three weeks as sole parent I enjoyed the type of things I couldn’t always get to with two kids in tow (visiting the Coopers beer factory, watching the finals of the A-league etc).

Catching up with Ken and Joy Grant, for an Italian feast in the heart of the Adelaide Central markets, enabled the kids and I to see some familiar faces in addition to all the news about “home” that Hayley had brought back with her! Ken and Joy had just been on a tour of the Barossa and Hahndorf which served as a good outline for our activities over the next few days.

With a tour of the wonderful Haighs’s chocolate factory (the kids disappointment over the lack of Willy Wonka was quickly offset by the free samples provided before the tour!) to start off the festivities we were armed with some packets of beautiful honeycomb chocolate as well as chocolate speckles (which is like a premium freckle!). We then added some German fare from Hahndorf, including a few authentic soft pretzels (top 5 in my favourite food list, I just love them!) as well as a huge strudel for us to feast on for a few nights!

Fortunately the rain cleared the following day, long enough for us to get out to Maggie Beers farm, where food, animals, cooking demonstrations and introductions to Verjuice combined to form a very memorable few hours! Hayley couldn’t resist getting dressed up and into the kitchen  and was absorbing as much as she could about how to enhance the flavours of food while the kids were drinking as much straight Verjuice as they could (thank goodness for samples)! I don’t think the bottle we purchased will last that long, but it sure does make things taste great and I am sure no matter how much the kids drink it won’t be our last! The farm is set in the middle of a natural wonderland with a fabulous garden, a beautiful lake with turtles, birds and fish as well as a resident peacock. It’s certainly worth the drive whether you love nature or just great food!

With the kids in tow we have kept the vineyard visits to a minimum, but we couldn’t pass though this special wine region of Australia without a couple of tastings. Heading home with the obligatory purchases from the Grant Burge and Penfolds estates completed a memorable day (at Penfolds the kids even managed to get an ice-cream which made up for the “boring” events taking place!).

Both Hayley and I had stints living and working in London (before we met although our times may well have crossed) and one of Hayley’s flat mates from this life has returned to Adelaide. Although working a large number of shifts during our visit we managed to catch up with Rhys and his friend Stephen on our final day for what turned out to be a glorious lunch at Coriole in the McLaren Vale. Arriving to find them already in the tasting room and making purchases it’s good to see that the locals also take advantage and enjoy the lifestyle that the proximity to these wonderful areas allows!

After lunch we headed to the most interesting and eclectic tasting to date, at Alpha Box and Dice. Filled with a wonderful mix of things old and new (the kids were memorised by the old “dial” style telephone handsets) we tend to forget how fast technology moves on. I still remember the day that my nephew Zach was amazed at the wind up windows on my old Commodore and I am equally as sure that one day I will be bamboozled by the technology that my kids will try to explain to me! Alpha Box and Dice was one of the more entertaining visits to date and the wines weren’t half bad either (although I must put my hand up and say that I’m pretty useless at a tasting – after a few sips they all taste pretty good to me!).

Rhys has had this long standing tradition of “Tuesday night dinner club” which he hosts every Tuesday night (funnily enough!) with a bunch of friends. I’m not sure if we invited ourselves or if it just naturally just came up in conversation but before we knew it we had extended our stay another night so that we could participate in this excellent tradition. We felt quite honoured to have been invited into the group (by whatever means) and with food like that served up by Macca and Rhys on the night, I will be subtlety making sure that our next trip through Adelaide co-insides with a Tuesday, two if we can arrange it! When talking about time as a precious commodity it’s great to see that these guys are spending their time wisely with great friends and great food. I’m inspired, so look out for a weekly dinner club coming to anywhere we may stop for a while!

Before we started what is often described as the best road-trip in Australia (Adelaide to Darwin although I am sure there are many contenders) we wanted to get out into the Flinders Ranges and explore this beautiful part of the world. Staying at the Rawnsley Park Station there were no end of amazing sights to see. From the Emu’s when we drove into the property (we will have to substitute a different emu photo in here – Hayley reached over to snap a quick shot but ended up with only thin air much to everyone’s amusement!) to the National Park itself and a wide range of 4WD tracks this area is a fantastic place to spend a few days exploring!

With the kids carrying their own water for a change (we got out the bladders which fit into their mini backpacks) we headed off for an 8km walk into the Wilpena Pound. Although the Hills Homestead Walk is very manageable we tacked on a steep hike up to the Wangara Lookout, where April was certainly the youngest at the top! Venturing off the beaten track to have lunch looking out over the “Pound” we found a great spot to enjoy our sandwiches, juices and fruit…

Personally, I am always keen to turn the kids “I’m hungry” declarations into “lunchtime!” it’s purely selfish – the earlier it’s in our tummies the sooner it’s out of my backpack!

April has a funny expression when she is feeling good about walking – she says she has her “walking legs on!” On this day she had her “extreme walking legs” on and most of the way she entertained us by doing her version of the Cliffy Young shuffle. This lead to her new nickname of “Cliffy!” and on subsequent walks, when her little legs are finding it hard to keep up, we encourage her by saying “C’mon Cliffy” until she is leading the way again!

The day after Wilpena Pound we checked out some old aboriginal rock carvings as we headed through the National Park to Blinman for a quick lunch (a tour group was also having lunch there and we eyed off their jam scones for dessert but all they left were crumbs!).

Taking the Jeep off road we followed some beaten tracks through the bush, finding yellow footed rock wallabies and wedge tail eagles on the Brachina Gorge Road before coming back on the Moralana Scenic Drive to round off the day. Stopping along the way the kids found some new toys – a couple of rocks shaped like gaming consoles that they then proceeded to draw “controls” on and “play”. Despite the games often reaching fever pitch in the car  (that’s code for April yelling in excitement!) it was so great to see their imaginations at work and these “game consoles” have helped pass the time on multiple trips since!

The Flinders Ranges are a beautiful spot to get back to nature – the walking is excellent, the fauna and scenery is breathtaking in its beauty and there is a great range of things to do. It’s fantastic to see the kids growing to love being out and about in nature and it’s in places like this where we can see a real change from their “city” persona’s!

Although we had been warned about Port Augusta we did stay for a couple of days on our way back from the Flinders. As the conduit between the Nullaboor (to Perth) and Stuart Highway (to Darwin) we stayed purely to get some school work done as well as catch the first State of Origin at the local pub (I felt like I had to prove I knew enough swear words to gain entry, and they weren’t your garden variety either!). In places like that I try to master the art of being inconspicuous, so the to-and-fro of an Origin game probably wasn’t the best thing to be watching, especially when the Blues lost by a point!

The thing the kids enjoyed most about Port Augusta was a visit to the local Royal Flying Doctors base (which really must be the highlight of the town). The thing the adults enjoyed most was leaving (sorry to anyone who loves Port Augusta but so far it’s at the very bottom of our must recommend list!), making our way up the Stuart Highway, onto Coober Pedy and then into the Northern Territory!

Without Hayley there were going to be numerous challenges, but from the first pack up there were also some clearly apparent benefits. Without wanting to challenge the notion that travelling with your wife and kids is completely harmonious, there are moments where seemingly divergent genetic make-ups prioritise things in different orders. When it comes to pack-up mornings, I’m not quite sure how, but I seem to have become one of those “let’s just get going” Dads (you know, the ones who want to leave for the airport hours before it is necessary “just in case”). We always try to leave minimal tasks for these mornings, but we still have to get everyone up and ready, pack away and stow all loose items (things like the showerhead, microwave plate and television), prepare and pack food in quantities relative to the length of the trip (what we think we need plus 50% seems a good rule of thumb!), pack away the external van connections like water and electrical hoses and finally connect and get everyone into the car!

Occasionally, on these mornings, I find my desire to get moving conflicts with the seemingly endless things that need to happen inside the van. Maybe it was one less shower, maybe it was the slightly more pre-packaged snacks or maybe it was just the additional motivation to get moving. Whatever it was, pack-ups with one less person seemed easier and quicker, I guess that’s always the case when the only person you can get frustrated with is yourself!

From Melbourne we headed to Ballarat. Although we had come through this way back to Melbourne I was keen to see the site of the Eureka Stockade as well as check out Sovereign Hill, which seemed as close to Old Sydney Town as these kids were going to get (just without people throwing up on the rough ferry ride around the heads!).

The kids loved panning for gold (not for me really, not sure the knees would take it for any great length of time!) and it was pretty exciting when the first real slivers of gold were discovered! You can see how easy it would be to catch “gold fever” – in fact I am not sure we didn’t! At first the kids were calling every pebble with a golden tinge to it “gold” but as soon as we had our first real trace it was clear just how much it stands out from the creek bed silt and golden coloured pebbles.

Denver adopted the role of resident expert, explaining to people how best to do it and letting them know that because the gold is heavier than the silt and rock it will sink to the bottom!

I just about managed to drag them away to see some other areas and I am glad I did, because they got to hold a real gold bar which had just been smelted (worth $160k!) as well as see soldiers on parade, dip a candle, watched boiled lollies being made, bowl in an old school 9 pin alley and have a ride on the horse and cart! It was a very entertaining and enjoyable day out and I didn’t really miss that ferry ride after all!

Crossing the border into South Australia (I feel like we should have a tradition of kicking a ball from one state to another or something, but it’s a bit late to start now!) we were headed for Robe where we had lined up a caravan park with a heated indoor pool, which seemed like a great idea given the inclement weather we started this trip with has never really lifted!

It was our biggest driving day to date, but the kids handled it well and driving without Hayley was made easier with the assistance of some pod-casts. I’ve got to say I have never really been “into” pod-casts. I know what they are and have lots of friends who love them and subscribe with regularity, but I have never found the motivation (or maybe just never seemed to have the time) to download and listen myself. That has all changed with this trip (particularly the time excuse!) and I have to say it was one of the best bits of advice we got before we left home (thanks Sandra!). Although we don’t normally listen to much ABC, we have pod-casts from Richard Fiedler, who has “conversations” with amazing people from all walks of life. These conversations cover and explore such a diverse range of people, topics, and opinions that it’s a fascinating way to pass an hour or so (it also takes away the “discussion” around whether we will listen to Justine Clarke, Ryan Adams or George Michael!). I really should start to look at what else is out there, I am sure Hayley would love to listen to a few hours of pod-casts on my beloved Fulham Football Club!

As though Hayley had taken the bad weather back to Sydney with her (indeed Sydney was having some of the worst storms in living memory) we had beautiful weather on our arrival in Robe and spent the time outside, at the beach, looking around town and removing Aprils training wheels so she could finally get the hang of this riding thing! When the poor weather finally caught up with us again we forged ahead with Denver’s school work (including modules on Anzac Day which coincided with the local 100 year celebrations and gave both kids insights into the history and significance of these events) and spent large chunks of time getting wrinkly fingers swimming and playing in the heated pool.

We had a great time with the only hiccup being that April accidentally dropped my phone (at least I like to think it was accidental!), smashing my screen and most of our communication methods with the outside world. I’d like to say I was stronger and could cope without a mobile phone for a while, but in truth it was difficult being limited to emails, especially as Hayley was away! The most frustrating thing was I could hear text messages and updates arriving, but had no way of seeing them!

By the end of our time in Robe, April was riding solo around the block (the caravan park block not the street block!), the kids had won 2 massive cuddly toys for their efforts on “disco night,’ school work was done so we were ahead when Mummy arrived back and we had that permanent chlorine smell you get when you spend too much time in a pool! The weekend was approaching so it was time to head closer to Adelaide, to catch up with some old family friends and be ready for when Hayley flew back in!

Staying at Aldinga Beach we visited Phil and Jo with their three kids Jonathan, Alexander and Rebecca, who had come out from the UK and settled in Adelaide as part of their visa requirements. “Jonno” and “Alex” are a bit older than Denver and April, but “Becky” is a similar age to Denver and together the kids had a ball playing with each other. Denver and April loved getting their hands on older kids toys (machine gun style NERF guns were particularly popular) as well as “gaming” and “Skyping” Hayley in the massive media room. The following morning we took everyone for a tour of the caravan and had great fun bouncing Phil around and off the jumping pillow at the caravan park, before agreeing to head over later in the day for another catch-up and play.

As usual the kids were energised by having other kids to play with and had a ball over the weekend with these friends who are one of those family relationships that seem as close as relatives even though there are no official ties.

With the weekend past and normal school and work commitments resuming for the Evan’s family, we packed the van and made the short trek (no pod-cast for this one!) to Marion Holiday park, which seemed more like a resort with covered tennis court, play area and heated pool, as well as a gym (I figured a few days in there may help with the extra beer I had been drinking to keep sane!). While the pool was nowhere near as warm as the one in Robe we still managed a few swims, got out the tennis gear for a hit (and miss) and stocked the van ready for the return of Mummy (including welcome home signage and a welcome home song!). For those interested (and I figure if you have read this far then you probably are at least somewhat) the lyrics went

“Mummy’s home,

to our caravan,

where we roam,

around Australia on holiday,

hooray hooray,

we are so happy she’s home!”

We had recorded it on Garage Band and sung it to the tune of one of the kids favourite shows “Tree Fu Tom”. It’s unlikely to win any ARIA’s, but we were happy it would convey just how excited we were to have Hayley back with us after what had turned out to be a long three weeks…