Uluru and The Olgas ~ 27th July - 31st July 2010

We have spent the last few days enjoying and exploring the natural wonders of the world - Uluru and The Olgas. Truly magnificent sites and worth the time we have spent at each location.

At each place, we have taken a picnic lunch and sat by the famous landmark and enjoyed our lunch by such beauty.

ULURU - every time you look at Uluru, you see something different or a different light or shade of the rock. The last time Pete and I were here (July 2004) we were on such a short time frame that we really only did see small snippets. This time we have enjoyed taking all the time in the world to look at so many small parts of the rock's formation and the surrounds. The watering hole was a lovely time to cool off (our feet, anyway) and to marvel in just how such a large creation was formed so many years ago. We felt the base walk at 10.4km was a bit long for the kids, but Peter did make an early start one morning and drove out and did his morning run around the rock. We will head back before we go to have some more of a look and explore the cultural centre of the Anangu people and their culture.

THE OLGAS - an unplanned walk of the 7.5km Valley of the Winds walk through The Olgas saw us all exhausted last night. The walk was described as difficult (perhaps for some age groups, including 3 year olds), so we planned to only walk into the first look out and back. Once we were at the first look out and had spoken to a few people, we decided to take on the full walk. Small problem - we had only packed 600ml of water between the 4 of us and in the heat of 29 deg we should have had about 8 litres!! This meant LOTS of breaks along the way and some complaining by the end of it. Luckily we had the bribery of chocolate in the car to get Ella and Zali through the last few kms of the walk. Pete and I had not walked this track before either and again, it was a truly magnificent view when we made it to the 'valley of the winds' and we all just sat and took it all in. Luckily, also, that there was a breeze to 'cool' us down along the way!!

Our caravan park has been great and once again the girls have been off making loots of friends. Just hope this continues when Ella goes home!!

Today is our last day before we head onto Alice Springs for a few days to explore The MacDonnnell Ranges and the town of Alice. Anothe eye opener, I am sure, for Ella and the way of life of some of her own. The cultural experience is beyond words for all of us!!

Missing everyone greatly, but loving the opportunity we have to see our great country!!

Love to all,

The Travelling Helsloots and Ella xxxx

Silverton and into South Australia (22nd July - 25th July)

After a great sleep we were all ready for the tour of Silverton and the surrounds of Broken Hill. The sun was shining brightly, but the wind had a real bite to it and made the weather very cold. After exploring the old buildings and the art museums around Silverton, we headed to the famous Silverton Hotel for a look. Too early for some for an alcoholic beverage, but Pete made the most of it. Of course, Zali opted for ice cream (her usual favourite) and Ella and I relaxed by the open fire. Silverton is a very small town and we would love to see it when the troops are in town for the filming of the famous movies which have been made here over the years. The Mad Max car was a real hit with the girls.

On the way back from Silverton, we headed off the main road to explore Daydream Mine. This saw us kit up in hard hats and torches and head 100 feet underground. Zali continues to amaze us with her keenness to try new things and survived this walk with no problems at all. Lucky for her she was short enough not have to keep bending as we made our way through the narrow tunnels. We even managed to run into our 'friends' again when Peter was out opening the gates on the way into the mine. We were ever so thankful they had done the underground tour before us. Otherwise, we may have ended up saying, "no thanks".

Back into town and after a quick bite to eat in the caravan we headed out to the Royal Flying Doctor Service base. An amazing experience to see how special and unique a job these brilliant people do. And it is all free!! The video at the start and then the tour of the base and the museum was so worthwhile. Really shows us how lucky we are to be so close to medical help and first class treatment in the city. Ella was a bit disappointed as she wanted to be off and on the planes seeing what they look like on the inside. Each plane costs about $12 million and this is all raised through donations and appeals.

Following on from here we made our way to Bell's Cafe in South Broken Hill. A traditional 1850's cafe with the bench seats, jukebox and thick shakes!! Delicious is an understatement!!!! This was the last of our sightseeing in the Broken Hill area.

Friday saw us head off about 10.00am for the trek to Port Augusta, South Australia. A picturesque journey through hills, red dirt and then the arrival of water with the Spencer Gulf. Truly a beautiful sight. Once we were set up in the caravan we headed off for a walk around the water. Across one bridge, into the playground for a well deserved session of time out for the girls and then back across the return bridge home. Pete and I managed to get in a boxing session while the girls continued to work on their school work. Much more to see in Port Augusta, but we will be returning here on our trip back across from WA to VIC.

Next, we were off to Coober Pedy - an interesting town to say the least. Trouble again parking the van (they obviously didn't know our lack of skill when they gave us the corner site), so we had to get some major help. Everyone else makes it look so easy..... The weather was warming up and we enjoyed the time we had here to explore the underground buildings - church, home, shops - and most importantly, the world's only underground pub and gaming room. We spent Sunday afternoon at the pub getting to know some of the locals and fellow tourists. Ella's disbelief at the way some of her own live was hard to take (but so too, was the fact that at 10.00am in the morning there were a group of men so drunk that they couldn't even stand up). It is great for her to see just how privileged her life is!! The girls had a special moment when they visited Ss Peter and Paul's church and lit candles for Uncle Mick. Special memories for us all.........

After leaving the dust and drunks in Coober Pedy, we headed further north and into the Northern Territory - yes, we are cruising along, considering we only left 2 weeks ago!! We had decided to break up the long journey to Uluru and stayed in a small road house caravan park for the night. No running water (and bore water stinks!!), but at least we had power. Pete and I even managed to get our small bbq working and Pete cooked us some scrumptious lamb racks for dinner. No phone reception or tv, so an early night with everyone asleep by 9.30pm!!

A bit of a sleep in and we were back on the road and headed towards Uluru. 10 minutes into the trip, Zali decided she really should have gone to the toilet before we left, but there was no stopping until we hit Erldunda. She is getting good at hanging on!! On the way out to Uluru we paid an astronomical $1.88 per litre for opal fuel - the highest yet!! Unfortunately, it is not a cost you can avoid!! However, we certainly did have a car load of excited people, especially Miss Ella!!

Bathurst - Broken Hill (via Forbes, Dubbo and Cobar) ~ 18th July - 23rd July 2010

The day of the wedding was beautiful and we loved celebrating with John and Kate. All Saints Chapel was quaint and romantic and Tonic Restaurant for the reception was superb!! Great food, wine and company - great to catch up with Macca and Nicole......

The next morning saw a chilly pack up and another farewell to the family - for the long term now!! 6 months without seeing them really is a long time!! We headed off for lunch in Forbes. Zali, Ella and I had been there last year with Nan and Pop, but Peter had never been. A quick lunch by Lake Forbes and then an attempted visit of some old friends (they had popped out for some lunch) took us back to the town where I was born nearly 35 years ago. The farm where mum and dad worked back then is now an orange juice farm (on the banks of the Lachlan River). There was no time for a trip out towards West Wyalong to show Pete this part of my early life, as we needed to be in Dubbo before sunset.

As we left Forbes, we pointed out the 'dish' to the kids in the distance, but the call of the DVD screen has much more pull than us (and is also our saving grace on long legs of the trip). We arrived in Dubbo at about 4.00pm for set up and a play on the jumping pillow, swings and a feel of the pool. So glad the heated pool was not a goer, as it was far too cold for me!!

Monday, 19th July saw us head to the zoo for the afternoon. No bike riding this time (took far too long to recover certain parts last time), so we hired a golf cart and headed off to explore the open air zoo. So lovely to be at the zoo when it wasn't busy as we could explore at our own pace and desire. Zali and Ella are also a great age to take in all the information around the exhibits and are still talking about the cheetah being the fastest 4 legged animal on land and that an elephant has 40 000 muscles in their trunk. A highlight of the day was watching the Galapagos tortoises being fed their fruit and veg meal of the week. Amazing how quickly they eat considering they don't have any teeth!!

Following on from Dubbo, we headed out to Cobar for the night. As we left town we saw the saddest of sights as a family stood outside and watched their house burning down as the fire brigade tried their hardest to save it. The reality of winter, I suppose..... Much debate in the car about which DVD to watch (Ella is not into Dora, Diego and Barbie and Zali just can't understand why not!!). Eventually a decision was made to share the time and this brought some happiness to the back seat. The fields on the way out west are magnificent - so green and full of feed for the animals on the farms. We arrived in Cobar just after lunch and again did the caravan set up - we are getting quicker!! As we were only staying one night, we only did a basic inside setup and the kids sat and completed their school work. We were all guns blazing until a little boy, Lachlan, hunted out the only other kids in the caravan park and was our nemesis (along with his little sister) for the next few hours. Some parents are obviously more adept to let their kids wander and sit in caravans of people they do not know!! An afternoon drive around the town - much more pleasant than I had expected - saw us finish up at the lookout on the east side of the town. An amazing view of the open cut mine below was worth the drive. The old buildings are also beautiful to see. No TV for the night, so we got out the dominoes and had some games. It wasn't too long before we realised Zali is a dominoes queen - and very proud of her efforts!! Ella was a little speechless that we were all getting beaten by a 3 year old..... revenge is on its' way over the next few months!!

An earlyish pack up and departure saw us on the 460km drive to Broken Hill, via Wilcannia. We had been given so many warnings about being careful in this part of the world, but the local Aboriginal people were beautiful. Not sure if it was because we had Ella with us, but they went out of their way to make sure we could find what we were looking for and to make sure we got what we wanted. We paid the most yet for fuel - 159c/L - necessary to continue the dead straight roads we were driving along. 5km out of Broken Hill, we had to ditch all the fruit and veg we had on board (this surprised me as I thought we would only have to do this as we crossed state/territory borders). After setting up (and a blow up from me about parking the bloody van straight, so Peter took over and he did a good job - surprised me!!) our nemeses from Cobar - Lachlan and Charlize - managed to track the kids down again. This was our cue to go and start the site seeing straight away!! So off we went around town - first to the Information Bureau to get some hints. We trekked up the hill to the Miners' Rememberance Wall and Lookout (so sad that so many have died and some so young as 14). The view of the town was amazing. After some chilly time up at the centre, we started planning all we could fit in tomorrow - mainly Silverton and RFDS. I am very disappointed that the School of the Air is shut til next week, but not so disappointing is that BHP shares rallied 1% the day we entered town......

Mudgee to Bathurst - 15th July ~ 18th July 2010

We have planned this part of our trip around the wedding of Kate and John tomorrow. It is very cold and we will freeze at their wedding (but at least we will look nice in our new outfits.... hopefully!!) Looking forward, however, to catching up with Macca and Nicole for a few drinks. Once Sunday hits, we get into serious travel mode as we try and get to Uluru in the next 8 - 10 days.

The trip from Mudgee was very hilly and windy. It only took just over 1 1/2 hours and we could feel the cold as soon as we arrived. We are getting quicker with the caravan set up and were in town sorting out some repairs rather quickly - a small mishap by the kids on the TV antennae saw us without TV for 2 nights and this could have been disastrous!! Now all fixed and Pete could relax and watch the footy tonight while I worked with Ella on school work and checked the holiday journals were up to date for both kids.....

Today has been a busy one with a trip to Hill End to check out the old mining town famous in NSW. I found this fascinating as I have just finished teaching a unit of Gold to my Year 6 class in Term 2. We had discussed so much about the area and it was great to actually come here and see the buildings, mines and relics in the museums to appreciate how tough life on the gold fields was. Going into the mine shaft got the girls talking about the mine Uncle Mick worked in and how he must have been cold and wet each time he was at work - amazing how he just pops into their conversations so randomly...... I have posted the photos on Facebook of the day for those who are interested. The hardest part of the trip underground was climbing up the 7 ladders to get back to the surface of the land without walking all the way back through the mine. I had prepared myself that Pete and Ella would exit via the ladder and I would have the onerous task of trudging Zali back through the cold and wet mine shaft. Supringsingly, though, Zali came to the party and climbed all the ladders and safely exited the mine through the top - a milestone for our princess!!

Tomorrow is Ella's birthday and the Jamberoo family are coming up to look after the kids while we are at the wedding and to celebrate Miss Ella's 9th birthday. Looking forward to seeing them and know it will be a long time before it happens again!! I don't think there will be any surprise visits (besides Jen's visit to Broome) along the way.

Here's hoping tomorrow is a bit warmer than the top of 9 degrees of the last two days so we can enjoy the wedding!!

Jamberoo to Mudgee ~ 13th July - 15th July 2010

We left Jamberoo at 10.50am yesterday for the start of our adventure. Our first destination - Mudgee. It took about 5 hours to reach the Mudgee Valley Caravan Park where we had booked for the first 2 nights. We set up the caravan and got the kids in their pyjamas and ready for an early tea of pumpkin soup. Zali ended up sleeping with Ange as the heavy rain and very strong winds set in for the night and the winds were that strong that Ange and I were up at midnight to take the awning of the caravan down. At several stages during the night we were awoken by the torrential rain and thought that the van might be off like Dorothy and Toto in the Wizard of Oz. By morning of the 14th the rain had cleared but it was 12 degrees and after I took the kids into town for a quick look around whilst Ange slept in we had lunch and then went to a park in town where we all had a play except the boss who stayed in the car due to the temperature. After Ella was the recipient of some of Ange's great teaching skills we headed to my old favourite haunt of the Red Heifer for dinner .... and then home for bed.

The preparations begin....

Today I have picked up the caravan from Nowra and will start the packing tomorrow. The biggest challenge will be the restriction on the clothes we can take. Freezing weather to start and then to warm weather (we hope) for the remainder of the trip. A week to go and still lots to do....