Carnarvon to Perth ~ 31st October - 12th November

Leaving the beauty of Coral Bay was hard, but the drive down the coast was lovely.

We had planned the trip out and knew what we wanted to see and do as we made our way into Perth. There were many stops along the way.

Carnarvon - so lovely to see all the fresh produce growing as we drove into the town. Many along the way spoke poorly of the town, so we only booked in for one night. On further exploration, the town and its surrounds really were much more than we had expected. After a much needed shop (where prices were much more appropriate), a high pressure wash of the car and setting up the van, we headed off to see Quobba - where rustic and harsh cliff faces meet the Indian Ocean. The blowholes were fascinating to watch and we could have spent hours sitting and watching each explosion through the variety of holes where the water blows through. Further up the coast we stopped to have a look at the monument marking the location of HMAS Sydney, our Navy boat and the 645 people who lost their lives fighting in WW2 when their boat was sunk by the Japanese.

Monkey Mia - the drive into Monkey Mia was the most picturesque and divine view we had seen so close to the main road. WA certainly has its fair share of magnificent water colour!! Monkey Mia did not live up to my expectation, but Peter was thrilled with the place. I thought the 'resort' was very run down and for the price they charge it certainly wasn't value for money. Peter's time was much more memorable (I didn't even get in the water), but he enjoyed his opportunity (or rather Zali's, who screamed and wouldn't participate) when asked to feed the wild dolphins. That afternoon while he was out swimming with some other people, he also loved the wild dolphin who came and swam with them and the fact the dolphin was not at all worried about humans being in the water. An afternoon trip to Denham was great. Zali made friends with some kids from Avalon, while Pete and I sat with their parents enjoying the show a dugong was putting on for us about 5m from the shoreline. On the way out of Monkey Mia, we stopped in the extreme heat for a walk to see the oldest stromatolites on earth. Stromatolites are bacteria which live on rocks and provide a large amount of oxygen for the Earth. It was amazing to see their 'breathing' bubbles in the water. It was a pity that you could not swim in the whole area as it was soooo hot!! The walk to and from the car in the heat saw an upset child and two very frustrated parents!!

Kalbarri - and more visits to see gorges and rock formations in the national park. To be honest, it gets a bit like castles and abbeys in the UK and Europe after a while!! Exploring the coast line was great and an afternoon trip saw lots of whales and their calves happily playing in their pool below us. The noise they make when they flop back into the ocean after a jump out of the water was so loud. The weather was not as warm as we were used to (only a mild 27 - 28 deg each day) and I really did find this quite cool. A jumper was required outside and a doona at night - a LONG time since any of these items had been used!! The sites to see in the National Park were pretty spectacular, but the flies were a killer. Zali was most taken by 'Nature's Window' and 'Z Bend'.

Geraldton - we stayed in a little caravan park just out of the 'city'. Here we saw our first set of traffic lights in nearly 90 days!! Geraldton is a very pretty town. A beautiful walking path right along the foreshore and one of the biggest kids' playground and water park I have ever seen. Zali was in heaven!! The highlight of our stay in Geraldton was the time we spent at the memorial to HMAS Sydney. The memorial was built before the boat was found in 2008, but is in memory of the 645 people on board who perished when the boat sank. It is a dome made of 645 metal doves and looks right out over the ocean. Truly spectacular. The information surrounding the monument was so well put together and we were so glad we got to explore such an important part of our war history.

Jurien Bay and Cervantes - two tiny coastal, fishing towns with magnificent water views. We stayed in Jurien Bay for the 3 nights (especially after Zali made friends with Thalia, a beautiful little girl from Port Macquarie). Again, a great park area for the kids and a 6km walking track along the beach front so Pete and I could keep up the exercise. Our day trip to the Pinnacles was the highlight of our time in this area. Trying to figure out what they reminded us of was tricky - space (as we imagine it) or a cemetery with thousands of headstones!! Rock formations, as far as the eye can see, of all different sizes and shapes. There certainly were some interesting ones, I assure you!!

From here it was onto Perth. 12 days to see as much as we can of this beautiful city - so well designed and set out compared to Sydney!! Also, time for a much needed renal check up (been shaking for weeks) and time to hit the shops and boutiques of Perth.

Hope everyone is well and until the Perth update.... good bye from us!!

The Coral Coast - Ningaloo Reef - 17th October ~ 31st October

We based ourselves in Exmouth for 3 nights to spend time exploring places close to the town - Bundegi Beach, HMS Mildura shipwreck and the Lighthouse. These day trips saw us in and out during the day and cooling off in the refreshing clear waters around Exmouth - divine!

I also celebrated my birthday while in Exmouth and had one of my best birthdays yet...... home cooked pancakes for breakfast, a day of snorkelling in beautiful Turquoise Bay and then a dinner with my loving family at Whalers Seafood Restaurant (the food was so good, we later went back for a lunch!!). It was also lovely to be in a phone service area so that I could speak to my family and friends during the day. It also came with the realisation that 35 now rounds to 40 and this isn't so good!!!!

Our third night was an early one, as Pete had to get up at 5.45 the next morning to line up for a camp site in The Cape Range National Park. It is a matter of first in, first served and we didn't want to miss this opportunity to be camped by the Ningaloo Reef for a few nights and to have such close access to so many wonderful places.

Our plan worked and after his early morning set off, Pete arrived back with the news that we had been allocated a spot in Ned's Camp ground. A site that has 6 generated spots and the rest no modern technology at all. Many, including myself, are very surprised that I survived (and loved) our 6 nights without power or running water!! We also barely used our generator (except for boiling the kettle to wash up and warm the water for our 'bath') and loved the atmosphere of where we were. We were surrounded by amazing families and couples, who all gelled and loved each others' company.

Some of our highlights during this week were:

* Turquoise Bay - snorkelling with a huge array of fish (colours and sizes), swimming with turtles and reef sharks the same sizer as me.

* Oyster Stacks - difficult to get in and out of, but well worth it with the magnificent colour of the coral and marine life.

* Sandy Bay - the clearest and longest stretch of turquoise water you will ever see. An added bonus to be able to see the kite surfers set up and take off.

* The wildlife.....

~ Kangaroos abundant and drinking our grey water bucket each night (including a territorial battle one night between two kangaroos who wanted the lot for themselves. So noisy, that it woke us fro our sleep!!

~ Emus roaming everywhere and trying to drink the bore water when we were stocking up our 'bath' water supply.

~ An echidna walking along the beach with us as we explored the waters off Lakeside and the goanna on the way into Lakeside.

* Happy Hour - a gathering of all at the camp site each night for a drink and a chat. So many families doing what we are and lots of retired (but not old) couples just taking their time exploring this great country of ours. A highlight of one social gathering was meeting a Dutch family who were friends and colleagues of Stef and Anna - such a small world!!

From Exmouth it was onto Coral Bay. We had planned to stay here 3 nights, but with the relaxed small town atmosphere we extended our stay to 6 nights (with drama at the caravan park....). After our problem was sorted, and we had unhappily moved from our ocean front site (bed ends out, roof out and hooked up to the car for the 20m move), we settled down and got back into enjoying the beauty of the area. It truly is an untouched area and we were not prepared for the size (and the expense of the place). Had we known 1L of milk would cost $3.45 and a 2L bottle of soft drink would come in at $6.10 we would have made the effort to restock the fridge and cupboard in Exmouth on the way out. These matters became trivial as we met up and spent time with the great people we had seen on our previous travels. That said, we depart in the morning with milk, cheese and marg in the fridge and weetbix and the odd bit of canned food in the cupboard.

Some highlights around Coral Bay include:

* Zali finally being brave enough to take on a snorkel in the bay and the joy on her face seeing the colourful fish. Bribery of a t-shirt stating "I had the best snorkel in Coral Bay' was incentive enough for this to happen.

* Pete and Marty snorkelling at the wharf with a 2m groper. I would have loved to have joined them, but with blister on blister between my toes, from trying to be 'fit', has caused havoc with my walking. Was even advised to stay out of the water as the bacteria from the reef is not good for open skin wounds.

* Taking the 1 1/2 hour walk to the reef shark sanctuary/breeding ground to see the sharks hunting for their food.

* 3.30 fish feeding in the bay every afternoon. Zali was not at all a fan of 1m fish swimming between her legs and nipping at her ankles. The view from dad's shoulder was more enjoyable for all trying to take in the experience!!

* Having our caravan full of girls enjoying each others' company. The squeals and noise they made would not have been a hit with the 'grey nomads' around us.

So now its back to packing up again as we make our way south for more fun in the sun.

Missing everyone and hope you are all well,

Ange, Pete and Zali

xxx

The Pilbara Region ~ 3rd October - 16th October 2010

After leaving Broome we headed south to Eighty Mile beach for the night. The weather was hot and when we stopped for a fuel refill we were in the hottest temperature we have encountered so far - 46 degrees.... thank go we were moving on!!!

Eightly Mile Beach was very pretty. No swimming as there are too many sea snakes and reef sharks too close to the shoreline. Zali loved collecting shells as we walked along the beach and we had a great time back at the van polishing them up so they don't lose their shine. This was a tip from Colleen, a grandma from Tasmania, who took a sudden liking to Zali as she was the same age as her own grandchildren back at home.

From Eighty Mile Beach we headed further south to Port Hedland. After being turned away from our first choice of the Big 4, we ended up in a park in South Hedland for the first of our two night stay. Luckily for Zali, we were camped for the night next to Colleen, who shared with Zali many of the thousands of shells she has collected on her travels over the past 20 months and Zali came away with an even bigger stash of shells to store in our van.... great!! It was lovely to see the interaction Zali had with Colleen and the amazement and belief in her eyes in everything she was told about the types of shells she was looking at and where they came from. Who would have thought shells could be so interesting!!! While in Port Hedland, we took a tour of BHP's Iron Ore processing facility. The facility is in the town centre and is massive. After overcoming the shock we had to be completely covered up for the tour in the extreme heat (in case we got left at the plant during the tour, they didn't want us to get sunburnt, but don't worry about heat stroke!!). Everything is on such a grand scale...... trains that range from 3.66km to 7.353km (world record), they fill boats (mainly from Asia) with 200 tonnes of iron ore in less than 12 hours before they send them on their way and they export 178 million tonnes out of the port per year. We all found the tour fascinating!! We also found the cost of housing in the area extreme - $2500 per week for your average 3 bedroom house..... and we thought Sydney was expensive!!

Karratha was the next stop on our tour. After a look around Dampier and Point Samson, we settled for an afternoon of snorkelling and relaxing at Honeymoon Cove before a late lunch and some refreshments at the local tavern. We were disappointed not be to get close enough to the port, as it is a restricted access area.

The next day of our trip saw us head back towards Port Hedland as we joined the road to Newman. To break up the 600km trip we stayed half way at Auski Road House. This saw us arrive in Newman at lunchtime on the Sunday. This inland mining town is home to BHP's Mt Whaleback - the biggest iron ore mine in the world and provides BHP's Port Hedland facility with all the iron ore. We had planned to complete a tour of the mine, but we were told at the Visitor's Centre that Zali was too young to join the tour, so Pete did the tour on his own the next morning. The size of the trucks, the mine, the workforce and the cost of the whole operation really is astronomical. Amongst other amazing facts, the cost of each tyre on the huge trucks (like Pete is sitting in during the slideshow) is $30000 and they only last 9-12 months!!

From Newman we headed to Karijini National Park. We spent two nights in Dales Gorge campground and visited the magnificent and refreshing Fortescue Falls and Fern Pool. Peter also took the more difficult walk down to the spectacular Circular Pool and then the next day we drove the 'smooth' dirt road 100 kilometre round trip into Weano Gorge to view where the gorges converge at the amazing Oxer and Junction Pool lookouts.

After that it was on to Tom Price the 'top town in WA' due to the highest peak - Mount Newman. The mountain is only accessible by 4WD so instead we drove again on a very 'smooth' dirt road to visit the superb winding gorge and swimming area at Hamersley Gorge. We loved Karijini NP and will definitely be back in the future.

From Tom Price we drove 350 km to a roadhouse at Nanutarra for an overnight rest only and then it was off for the final 280 km into Exmouth. This will be home for the next eight to ten nights as we relax and swim in the majestic turquoise waters of the soon to be World Heritage Listed Ningaloo Reef in the Cape Range National Park. If the snorkelling and pristine waters at the close to Exmouth Bundegi Beach are anything to go by it should be very tough to take! We just have to make sure that we evade hitting the native and wild emus that roam the streets of Exmouth and keep our eyes peeled for Western Brown snakes (one of the world's most venomous) that prevail in the area and we should have a great time... a 'whale of a time' so to speak as we have already spotted humpbacks moving along the coast and turtles wading close to the shoreline in our first two days........

We have hit the half way mark of our trip. In this time, we have travelled over 15000km, have stayed under budget (though I am yet to hit the shops in Perth) and have only had one major disagreement. Not a bad effort!!!!

Love to all and hope everyone is well,

Ange, Pete and Zali

xxx

Touring the West Kimberleys with Jen ~ 16th September - 2nd October 2010

Jen arrived as the sun was setting over Cable Beach on the 16th September. As we were driving to the airport to meet her, the plane flew over us and the excitement of the girls was intense - squealing, dancing and cheering in the car!! I have never seen such excitement to see someone.... doesn't say much for the company of Pete or I does it!! Zali had even dressed herself in a "beautiful" outfit for the occasion. Ella was not impressed with Zali's embarrassing dress sense.....

Surprise, surprise Jen arrived with presents for us all and of course this felt like Christmas to the girls. They couldn't wait to show her anything and everything in the van and to 'yell' out the itinerary we had planned for the duration of Jen's visit (and the final weeks of Ella's time with us on our trip). Poor Jen must have felt so overwhelmed with all the attention, but she survived before hitting the bed for a late first night (and trying to adjust to the new time zone).

Our first 2 days were spent relaxing by the pool at Cable Beach Caravan Resort and looking around Broome. This before we hit the road to explore some of the wonders of the West Kimberleys. Some of these highlights include:

* driving back to Fitzroy Crossing to take a boat tour of Geike Gorge. A reef system from the Devonian era of 350 million years ago. Not only home to freshwater crocs and an abundance of wild life, but also reef sharks. We were amazed by this in the middle of nowhere....

* touring the first 160km of The Gibb River Road. A bumpy and dusty 4wd track to Tunnel Creek and Windjana Gorge. We were so pleased we made the effort (many hours of driving without being able to go too fast considering we don't have a 4wd).....

.......Tunnel Creek was dark and very scary in parts. Jen chickened out at the entry and decided to wait for us while we did the walk. The girls thought this gave them the option to stay behind, but this was a definite NO from me. This was an experience they both needed - walking through waist deep water in complete darkness with the only light provided by the torches we were carrying. Yes, there was the possibility of crocs in the water and there were hundreds of flying foxes above, but we were all very pleased we had managed the walk when we got back. The creation of the creek in the tunnel really was amazing!!

...... Windjana Gorge was the next stop of the day. This probably should have been our first stop as by the time we arrived the crocs were so hot they were all back in the water - except one, which we rushed to have photos taken with and then it slid away quickly after Jen posed for her photo. This meant Zali and I missed out with the photo opportunity, but we weren't complaining!! We have never seen so many crocodiles 'peacefully' in the water, floating with the tide and oblivious to the humans on the banks of the gorge stunned by their easy going nature.

* On arriving back into Broome, we had booked into Roebuck Bay Caravan Park. Although the amenities weren't great, the view from our ocean front spot was worth the stay. Us, the grass, sand and water of the bay. Huge tides in and out over the mud flats created the most beautiful views and as the moon became a full moon we were able to witness the wonderful natural occasion of the Staircase to the Moon - an illusion which we struggled to capture with our photography....

* Lots of shopping also happened when we were back in Broome - pearls (not for me....), clothes, swimmers, books..... this led to a girls only day - again more shopping - and then a night trip to Sun Cinemas outdoor theatre for our second viewing of Bran Nue Dae. This movie is a favourite of Zali and Ella's and with the sound track having played in the car since we first went to see the movie, the girls happily sang along second time around.

* a trip to Gantheaume Point to see the dinosaur print early one morning. Unfortunately, Zali was asleep for the early morning trip and someone had to stay with her. Ella was not overly impressed with her early morning wake up call, but enjoyed the opportunity when she got there. The dinosaur prints can only be seen at a very low tide and these are either early in the morning or during the night.

* the beauty of sunsets over Cable Beach continued to enthrall us and the girls loved nothing more than driving onto the beach and having the sun set behind them as they played happily on and in the sand. We LOVE the photos we have taken over the past few weeks - every sunset has been different.

* after watching the camels everyday on the beach, we were all more than happy when we finally booked our camel ride for 7.30 this morning. 40 minutes sitting up on the camel was more than enough - my bum is still hurting more than 12 hours later!! - we rode Rasheed, while Jen and Ella rode Lazy Dazy behind us. We strolled along the beach at a leisurely pace and this was painful enough. We would hate to be on it when it reaches maximum speed of 58km/h!! Camel Conner, behind Jen and Ella, took a special liking to Jen and Ella thought it was hilarious that it kept licking Jen on the back. I don't think Jen was so impressed!!!

* 6 nights of luxury...... Jen so kindly booked us in to 2 resorts for the final nights of her stay with us. We started with 4 nights at The Frangipani and we all thought this was pretty special. Adjoining rooms, our own gazebo of day beds, relaxing pool..... This was great until we checked into The Pearle of Cable Beach..... I will let the photos attached do the talking, but we were blown away with such luxury and space!!

Jen and Ella leave us on Saturday and we are sad to see them go. We are especially sad that Ella's 3 months with us is over already. We have LOVED having her with us on our trip and will miss her help, friendship, love, sense of humour and the ease in which she deals with Zali's quirks and frustrations (she has saved Zali on many occasions!!).

Who is going to help us set up the van with bed ends, roof, awning, stabilising legs, water bucket, power? She has been so obliging and more than happy to pull her weight during her time with us. Ella has also had to often make a mad dash from the showers back to the van if I had forgotten something vital for the showers!!

On top of this, I have had her working her butt off on the school front. Miss Ella heads back to school having completed the school work her teachers set, 3 terms of work in her Maths Mentals book and Maths textbook, a years worth of reading comprehension activities, a detailed written and pictorial journal of memories, her blog (which will be finished tomorrow) and a video presentation of the highlights of her trip (set to our road trip music) to share with her class on her return to school.

Yes, there have been some difficult times in getting all this done, but the look of happiness on her face with all she has learnt and experienced over the last 3 months of her life has been worth the effort. Thanks for sharing this experience with us Ella (and thanks to your mum and dad for letting you come with us!!). We will all miss you and love you lots and lots!!

Where to now for us...... on Monday (can't leave until we know the NRL winners, not like this AFL rubbish result) we head to Port Headland, Karijini National Park, Exmouth and Coral Bay. We are aiming to be in Perth by the second week of November, especially as I am due for some tests in Perth. We will then cruise around Perth and possibly Kalgoorlie before I fly home from Perth in early December to join my family for Michael's first anniversary.

Still so much to see and do in this GREAT country of ours. Missing everyone more than you can imagine and I hope you enjoy the link below to a selection of our most recent photos.

Love to everyone,

Ange, Pete and Zali

xxxx

These are the photos already published on Facebook. For those not on Facebook, click on the link to access the photos.......

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=272097&id=530087017&l=589c6c9cb8

Lake Argyle to the West Kimberleys - 20th August on........

We really only left Lake Argyle and made the trip to Kununurra as we had to vote in the federal election - what a farce it has turned out to be!!
We booked in for 3 nights at The Ivanhoe Big 4, which is in town. We had done all we really wanted to do in the East Kimberleys while we were at Lake Argyle, so it was really just a chance to relax, enjoy each others company and see little bits and pieces around the town.

After lining up for 1 1/2 hours to vote, we headed off for an afternoon exploring of Wyndham. We had been warned there were only two views of the area - the view looking out to where the 5 rivers join and the view in the rear view mirror as you drove out of town. This description could not have been more accurate...... The view of the 5 rivers - Ord, Forrest, King, Durack and Pentecost Rivers - may have been better had we been able to see through the smoke haze. The picnic lunch I had packed to have at the lookout was enjoyed on the trip back towards Kununurra in the car. The heat of 39 deg was also a killer!!

On the way back into Kununurra, we stopped for a look at The Grotto - a rock formation with a lovely waterhole at the bottom. In the wet season, the waterfall above cascades into the waterhole below. Lovely in the dry season, so no doubt spectacular in the wet. Zali, Peter and Ella went for a swim (a bit murky for me) and enjoyed the cool down and escape from the heat. Parry's Lagoon was also near by, as we are not really that into bird watching we gave it a miss. A highlight of our stay in Kununurra was the return to Pump House restaurant - this time for dinner. Sitting by the water of Lake Kununurra and enjoying the surrounds was so peaceful....... We also went for a swim at 'swim beach', which Ella couldn't quite understand how they could call it a beach as the only waves it had was when a boat sped past. Again, not quite clear enough water for me to submerge in (toes only), so I enjoyed reading my current mag under a tree on the rug. It was from this point that I could spot the crocodile trap set up for a catch about 6m from where the swimmers were. Hidden at the edge of the trees and just out of the view of anyone who went in for a dip. At this point, I casually suggested we head back for some lunch and perhaps a cool swim at the park. Once we were back in the car I explained my anxiousness to get them all out of the water so quickly!! Other swimmers either didn't see the trap or were prepared to take the risk, but not me!!!

So we packed up from Kununurra and we were making our way to Fitzroy Crossing for a few nights, via a few nights of free camping. A stop for tyre checks on the car and the van and then petrol on our way out of Kununurra saw my real first panic of car or van problems...... Pete filled the car with petrol, went to pay, I tried to start the car and NOTHING!!!! From a fully functioning car to one that now had a very flat battery (within 6 minutes of putting petrol in the car). The people in the next car were ever so helpful and came straight over to see what they could do to help. "Pop the bonnet" was their first request. In my panic that we had missed checking some level of fluid in the motor, I couldn't find the latch to pop the bonnet. To which they replied, "Is this a rental car?"....... my reply, "No, it is ours, we have had it nearly 3 years....." in a very quiet voice and a look of disbelief on the man's face. A further look below the front seat and I located the required button and we were in action - with a very red face from embarrassment!! By this stage, we had even further assistance and before we knew it the car had been jump started and we were on the way to Auto 1 for a new battery before leaving town. First shop - no go...... Second shop - thank goodness they had one and could spare a worker to fit it straight away. Apparently with the heat, car batteries in the north of this great country require replacement every two years. Ours had never been replaced and hence went dead so quickly.

So after what should have been an early departure from Kununurra was now after lunch. Luckily, we were on the road to Leyceter's Rest - 270 km west. This was a lovely little free camp spot on the banks of the empty Ord River. It was actually named after a little boy from Halls Creek who had been killed on the Ord River in a single car accident. Setup, dinner, bed and an early rise (after Zali fell out of bed in the middle of the night - no damage, thank goodness) saw us back on the road and off to Mary's Pool - another free camp on the banks of the Margaret River.

On the way to Mary's Pool, we stopped for a look around Hall's Creek. Upon visiting the Information Centre, we were recommended to take a trip out to Palm Springs. Pete explained we didn't have a 4wd, but the lady said we definitely didn't need one. She also recommended we unhitch at the local police station to keep the van safe and head out for a visit. On arrival at the Police Station, there were people everywhere. Peter went into check if unhitching in their car park was okay and of course, it was. We just couldn't park it right out the front as it was court day and there were many clients around. Hmmmm - was our van safe?? We had images of arriving back with the gas bottle gone, graffiti up the sides, jockey wheel unwound.... we just didn't know. So again, I got busy and made a picnic lunch for the 45km trip to Palm Springs.

We cruised through the first 3kms and then the dirt road started. Straight into corrugations, deep divots and soft red edges,. Not quite what we had in mind for the next 42kms. I had estimated that it would take 30 mins to travel the 45kms. Pete was stressing, the temperature hit 42 deg and we were in deep trouble if we got a flat or something happened to the car. We hadn't even put down our tyre pressure as it was not what we had expected!! Pete was driving and it took 1 3/4 hours to reach our destination. There was much discussion about what the hell we were doing, but on arrival we were so pleased we had persevered with the road conditions. We are not seasoned rough road drivers and we have no desire to ever be 4wd mad people - this is as bad as it could get for us!! A beautiful water hole surrounded by palm trees, the odd car driving past on the road and us with our picnic lunch. Just divine for the short time we could afford to be there (after the much longer than anticipated travel time). I offered to drive back into the town - more prepared for the road after growing up in the country) and managed to get us back to our caravan (which had been left in perfect condition and court was STILL on) in just over an hour. A quick re hitch and we were on the road again for Mary's Pool.

We arrived at Mary's Pool about 5pm and the free camp area - which is huge - was very full. We found ourselves a lovely spot on our own, set up and headed off for a walk across the near empty river. Ella was hot enough to feel the water, so Zali decided she needed too as well. This was all fine until Zali's shoe fell off in the little pond and Ella offered to go in and retrieve it. Of course, the rocks were slippery and next thing, Ella is in the water. She hit her back and elbow on the way down and was very bravely playing down the fact she was in pain as she was desperately trying to keep the tears in. Once we were out of view of anyone else, the flood gates started. She was filthy dirty after the fall, so this meant a 'camp bath' back at the van. The thought of this horrified Ella and I have promised to keep the photographic evidence to myself. All clean, in her pj's and pride back in check, Miss Ella was fine. To our astonishment, people were up at 5am the next morning and off on the next leg of their journey - what is with that??? Not us, Pete, bucket by bucket from the river and with the help of the girls, washed the car and van of all the red dirt we had been collecting, we slowly packed up and were ready to head off before 10am. By this time, the new lot of campers had arrived and set up and we were yet to see the main road.

It was now onto Fitzroy Crossing for a few nights. The Fitzroy River is the second largest outflow of water, to the Amazon River in the world. Although it is the dry season, there is still some fairly deep water in parts of it. Our aim here was to relax by the pool after 'roughing' it on our free camp nights. We stayed at Fitzroy Crossing Lodge and it was beautiful. Besides going to watch the local AFL grand final between 2 remote Aboriginal communities on the Saturday, we did nothing!!!!! We are headed back this way when Jen arrives to check out Geike Gorge so there was no point exerting energy, except to walk to the pool and laze around. Here the girls' befriended a beautiful little girl from Perth, Bianca. She is the same age as Zali, but got on incredibly well with both girls. Along with her parents, Tash and Paul, they have been travelling around Oz for 10 months and are now on the home stretch back to Perth. Our time with them (they were in the van behind us) saw family games of Celebrity Heads (but an educational version for the kids), beer drinking and sitting around the pool having great chats. Bianca was having so much fun with the girls they extended their stay and relaxed with us..... more from Fitzroy Crossing and what it has to offer come the end of September........

After 4 nights at Fitzroy Crossing, we made our way to Derby. This is an entry point to the Gibb River Road, which we will access to visit Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek when we have Jen with us. So many reports about how beautiful it is, so we are very excited about heading back this way in mid September. The caravan park at Derby was not the best place we have ever stayed at, but the local pool and water park kept the kids entertained for hours. This is where my improving swimmer, Miss Zali, decided she is now brave enough to jump off the diving blocks into the deep end with me waiting there to collect her. It didn't take long for her to realise that she didn't need me and she could 'swim' to the edge and get herself out and start again. By the next day, the swim vest was gone for swimming in the shallow end and she can 'swim' with her head above water and can safely get herself out at the ladder. We are thrilled with this, as she has always been so timid and lacking in confidence around water. The pool for our own backyard is now even higher on our priority list!! We did a few little odd bits around Derby during our short stay (including me driving the wrong way onto the jetty), but there really wasn't a lot to see. The Gibb River will definitely be worth the effort on our return there in a few weeks.......

From Derby we were off to Broome where we have now been for the past 5 nights and will be for a little longer. We will venture south to Barn Hill and Port Smith before Jen arrives and then the schedule picks back up again to fit in as much as we can before she returns to NSW with Ella (not sure how we are going to cope once Ella has gone, she is a blessing and treasure to have with us xxx). So during this time, we are relaxing by the pool (including laps by Pete and I to try and stave off too much weight gain), trips to the beach (though it was shut for 2 days at the end of last week due to a croc sighting), catching up with Tash, Paul and Bianca and driving around this quaint seaside village. We are loving being at Cable Beach. Ella even spotted Tim, Amber, Will, Angy and Kate (friends from home) at the same caravan park and the girls are enjoying hearing all the stories of the great places they have visited over the past few months.

Til Jen arrives on the 16th - stay safe, enjoy life and Happy Fathers' Day to all the dads reading.
Love
Ange, Pete, Zali and Ella
xxxxx

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!!