Into beautiful Western Australia - 12th August - 20th August

We decided to split the 500km trip from Katherine to Kununurra into 2 days. Our first stop was still in NT at Timber Creek. Here we were very lucky to run into Judy and Dave - friends we had made in Alice Springs - and again the girls were fascinated by the 'tickle monster'. A truly beautiful couple living the dream of their son to travel around Australia. Sadly for them, their son was killed in a car accident 7 years ago, aged 23. Sadly for us, we will not see them on the rest of our trip as they are on a tighter time frame than us. A feature of where we stayed (and cheap as) was the free crocodile feeding at 5pm on the bridge of the river. All freshwater crocs, thank goodness, but still very hungry at that. Anyone could feed, but none of us were brave enough to take on the challenge. If you dropped the feeding stick, you had to retrieve it before the next feeding session.

After a good nights sleep, we were back on the road and ready for the beauty of WA. After a quarantine check on the border (lucky we were prepared and didn't have bin fulls of fresh food to throw out like the Europeans beside us!!!). We had booked into stay at Lake Argyle for 3 nights and enjoy this area near the Bungle Bungles before heading to Kununurra. The heat was stifling when we arrived and it didn't take long for us all to hit the pool. One look at the pool and I had Peter making his way back to reception to extend our stay to a week. A caravan park with an infinity pool sitting right on the edge of a cliff overlooking Lake Argyle. This was our big chance to relax, do nothing, make more friends and enjoy the views. As the days went by, Zali (who turned 4 while we were there and loves the DSi all her friends put in and gave her for her birthday!!) became a water baby. No more clinging to mum or dad, but out on her own in her float vest. Great for me as I can now sit back and continue with the reading!! The following video shows just how good my 'big' girl is getting!!

Not sure why the video sounds so windy, as it certainly wasn't at all!! Hope you enjoyed the view as much as we did!!

The first trip we did out on the lake was an afternoon sunset tour on a boat. This tour saw us venture into a very small section of the lake (which at its peak is 54 times the water capacity of Sydney Harbour). We got to see short eared rock wallabies, wallaroos, freshwater crocs (over 25 000 live in the lake), 7 of the 35 species of fish found in the lake, jabirus and pelicans. An abundance of wildlife to enjoy!! As we approached sunset, we anchored for a swim (not me, when crocs live here) and some nibblies and champagne. The sunset was just beautiful and worth the trip out on the lake.......

We also celebrated Peter's birthday while at Lake Argyle and to mark this occasion we booked sea plane flights out over the Bungle Bungles, Ord River, Lake Argyle, Argyle Diamond Mine and to see some of the remote, very remote, cattle stations which exist in outback WA. The trip started well - 15 minutes in, Zali burst into tears and needed to go to the toilet. 20 minutes in, I started vomiting. 25 minutes in, Zali joined in with the vomiting..... Peter wondered what the hell was going on!! The benefit of Zali needing an emergency toilet stop was we had to make an unscheduled landing in the Bungle Bungles. This saw the nine of us unload from the float plane with some very funny looks from the pilots of the fixed wing and helicopter aircraft. Simply, the view and the size of the Bungle Bungles is truly amazing. How nature can create such wonders is really beyond belief.

So between some sight seeing, reading, making friends (especially Mara and Steve from Kalgoorlie, who we will visit when we hit the south of the state) and enjoying each others company we loved our stay at Lake Argyle - no access to mobiles, internet and the rest of the world...... BLISS!!

North to Katherine (4th August - 12th August 2010)

We left the caravan park in Alice Springs fairly early as we had to have some minor caravan maintenance completed in town before we could head off for the day. This didn't take too long and we were on the road and ready for our first tourist stop - Telegraph Station (only about 20km north of town, so this got the girls excited - they thought we were there!!). We spent a little while figuring out how this early form of communication worked. How lucky we are to live today in this world of technology. A little too hard for the girls to fathom that communication was not instant!!

Our first campsite of the night while making the trek to Katherine was our first (and only one so far) free camping night. We pulled in to a road side stop at Taylor Creek and set up for the night- along with about 15 other families. And what a beautiful night it was. Stars shining so clearly in the sky, birds singing in the trees and lights out early for everyone to get a good sleep. The girls made friends with Ella and Connor from Melbourne and loved sharing their travel stories with each other.

On from Taylor Creek, we headed to Banka Banka Station. The in between of a caravan park and a free camp spot. Again, a lovely little place to stop and enjoy the surrounds, especially the kangaroos. It was certainly a very busy place by dusk when the gate was shut, as it was full for the night. Unfortunately, we gained some old cranky neighbours in a little tent and their annoying sighs and looks at any noise just wound me to encourage the girls to make even more noise. Even more encouragement given when they packed up for the night at 6.30 and climbed into their bed. No surprise that they were up and off early the next morning - cranky old whingers!!

So, after packing up we were back in the car and headed up the road to Daly Waters. A pub Peter and I had visited before and one we really wanted to see again. A stop for a look at the Devil's Marbles on the way up the Stuart Highway and we could feel the weather getting warmer and warmer. By the time we arrived in Daly Waters mid afternoon, it was the quickest set up so far, change of clothes into our summer wardrobe and then to the pub for a cool drink. The girls also went swimming while I had an afternoon siesta (started as a read and ended up a great sleep). The night saw us head to the pub for dinner. Again the girls made friends with some kids from Tasmania and enjoyed socialising throughout dinner. A highlight of the night was the kids' performance on the stage singing a varied version of Waltzing Matilda. Ella loved being on the stage, while Zali sat with us and watched from the stands.

From Daly Waters we continued the trek north and arrived at Mataranka and the hot thermal springs. We decided to stay at the homestead at the springs so that we were right there. On arrival and while detaching the caravan from the car we noticed a major bend in the weight distribution bar of the caravan. A small panic before I calmly decided all we could do was to try and get it fixed and see how we go from there - amazing how relaxed I can be at times!! We had been told these bars never bend, but where Peter took it to get fixed the man had seen it many times before. Not sure how it happened, but thankful it wasn't too major a problem in the end.... Enough of the maintenance and onto the beautiful location we were in for the next 2 nights. Wildlife in their natural habitat surrounding us and the call of the hot springs in Mataranka and nearby Bitter Springs called for a swim. We headed off to Bitter Springs for the afternoon and spent our time floating in the warm water and meeting more people. So many wonderful and friendly people on the road. The two days were spent swimming at either springs and enjoying our surrounds.

After two days relaxing, we again hit the road for the 100km trip up to Katherine. If we thought it was hot at Mataranka we were certainly ill prepared for the heat of Katherine. A good tip on a caravan park from a family we met at Bitter Springs turned out to be spot on. A visit to the Information Centre for places to visit (besides the obvious ones) and then onto Knotts Crossing Resort, where we would set up home for the next 3 nights while we visited Nitmiluk NP. A perfect park by me and then off for some downtime in the pool. Our time in Katherine saw us join a 2 gorge cruise of Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge and a day of swimming and walking at Edith Falls. Both places were magical and well worth the time we spent in the area. From here, we were already to make our way to Western Australia!!

Alice Springs and The MacDonnell Ranges ~ 31st July - 3rd August 2010

We arrived in Alice Springs mid afternoon and spent the time setting up home for the next 4 nights. The kids were straight off and made friends in the playground. The highlight of our stay at this park was the free pancake breakfast on Sunday morning. Huge pancakes and loved by all. Poor Zali nearly missed out after having a big sleep in until 9.15am!! A few more of these needed now after some very busy days!!

Once we were all full of pancakes, we headed off to explore the East MacDonnell Ranges. Not as well toured as the west, but well worth it. Lots of Aboriginal culture, artwork and a clear relationship between the Aboriginal Dreamtime - the land and the people. The places of significances we saw were:

* Emily's Gap - the story of the 3 caterpillars with beautiful rock art....

* Jessie's Gap - the story continues with a view over the emu plain.....

* Corroborre Rock - a meeting place for celebrations....

* Trephina Gorge (where we were very lucky to listen to apparently famous Morris Stewart conduct and record his choir (predominately Aboriginal woman) singing beautiful harmonies). - a very picturesque and serene place to visit.....

Peter was a little worried driving into Trephina Gorge as he felt we needed 4WD to cross the waterways and was worried the Subaru would end up with a flat tyre. No problems at all and excitement for the girls that we were travelling the 'rough' roads.

* Ross River Homestead - where we were greeted at the door and asked what we wanted. A few drinks at the bar seemed like a big effort for the staff, but bugger them, we did it anyway!!

We completed this tour in the afternoon and the kms, the in and out of the car and the walks to see these places left us with a carload of tired people. An earlyish night needed to prepare ourselves for the day trip the next day to the West MacDonnell Ranges.

The next morning saw us head off after breakfast to explore the West MacDonnell Ranges. Similar in feature to the East MacDonnell Ranges, just on a bigger scale. We keep running into the same people at different places and have met people from all over the world. So many are helpful and more than willing to take shots of us so that mum and dad can appear in a few random shots. Along the West MacDonnell Ranges, we visited:

* Simpson's Gap

* Standley Chasm - a pretty place, but disappointed we could not 'climb' as far into the chasm as we had when we visited in 2004. Still a lovely walk and worthwhile sight at the end, especially with the sun shining through the chasm. This landmark has also been reclaimed by the Aboriginal nation which occupies the land and is fully operated by this nation.

* Ellery Creek Big Hole - unfortunately far too cold for a swim in the very inviting body of water!!

*The Ochre Pits - a great time had making our own ochre and then painting the girls' faces. Photos on FB of how good they looked!!

* Glen Helen Gorge and Homestead - we gave the sight seeing a miss here and opted rather for some refreshments in the bar. Ran into Rose and Chris (from Vic and who we have seen nearly every day since Port Augusta) and traded stories of where to go and not to go and the proposed travel itinerary for the next few weeks. Unfortunately, they are travelling at a much faster pace than us.

* Ormiston Gorge and Pound - a supposed 'difficult' walk that would take 2 hours was well worth it and much easier and quicker than the prediction. The view from the lookout, tough and steep in parts for the kids, was over the large gorge and pound below. Probably the most water in any of the places we had seen over the past few days.

A big day out, again. and once again tired and worn out children!!

Our last day in Alice Springs to see all we could saw us head out to the Many Hands Art Centre where we gave Ella the opportunity to create her own Aboriginal artwork. When we organised this, we just thought it would be great to see professional artists at work and to see the techniques and meanings behind their works. We spent about 3 hours at the centre with Ella working the whole time - the biggest challenge - ideas!! Once she was started her artwork took shape very quickly. As we worked we started chatting to some of the women painting around us, totally oblivious to the fact we were in the company of Albert Namatjira's grandchildren and cousins. They were even providing Ella with feedback about her work and then we stayed and had lunch with them. Ella is still not totally aware of how special this was, but we were thrilled to meet and interact with such famous artists.

After lunch, we then headed to the Todd Mall to learn how to play a didgeridoo. Much harder than we would have thought and we were all hopeless!! Lucky escape for me when Zali needed to go to the bathroom. Unlucky that I didn't have the 50c needed to access the toilet and the poor chook had to hold on. Payment for the toilet - this is Australia, not Europe!!

Our final sightseeing destination in Alice Springs was the School of the Air. After the disappointment of it not being open in Broken Hill, I was so glad we had the opportunity to see it in action in Alice. A truly amazing and unique style of education. Unbelievable amounts of work requirements for the students and the role of the teacher is certainly different to our role in mainstream education!! It was certainly interesting to see a lesson in action, especially one on how to create and use databases. Got a few tips for myself, as it certainly not an application I am good at!

A 'big' shop ended our hectic day as we would be about a week making our way from Alice to Katherine. We have just over 6 months to explore this great country and we plan to take our time and..... relax!!