Perth - Home

(Photo: With William and Merran in Perth)

Pippa – Well we zoomed back home and stopped at a rest stop. Then we stopped at the head of the bight. We stopped at port Germein. We went down to Adelaide. Then we to Handorf an old German town but didn‘t stay the night we stayed at Nhill near Horsham. Then zoomed home. We have been home for about 10 days.

Campbell – We saw whales right up at the Great Australian Bight. We went 800km a day. We got home. We packed up. Going on our trip was beautiful. I liked Gambanan at Cape Leveque the best.

(Photo: at the Superpit, Kalgoolie)

Kathy – Pippa is right. We zoomed home! From Perth we made it home in four days and managed to squeeze in visits to Kalgoolie and Hahndorf on the way. For places we basically just passed

through to get home we went through some interesting places. One of the highlights was a great spot on the cliffs of the Great Australian Bight. At night the stars were amazing. The Milky Way looked three dimensional there were that many stars. In the morning we were privileged to see a mother and calf hump back whale make their way along the coast right under the cliffs we were camping at. Another lovely spot was Port Germein near Port Augusta. This was a lovely little fishing village with beautiful SA sandstone buildings and a very, very long jetty. We then traveled through SA before staying the night at Nhill and next morning we hot footed it home. The kids were super excited to be nearing home. They were nearly beside themselves as we were going down the drive. We got home on Wednesday 1 October and it is great to be home – even though it is way cold! The trip was so memorable. You cannot replicate actually experiencing places up close and personal. TV shows or books are really a very poor second. We have seen so many amazing places and met some great people. The kids have had a trip of a lifetime and have learnt so much about Australian history, geography and demographics. My favourite places? Hmmm… there were so many. In no particular order they would be: Gumlon Falls at Kakadu, Exmouth, Cape Leveque and El Questro Station Gorges. We’re looking forward to catching up with you all asap. Thanks for tuning into our blog and sharing our journey with us.

Lachlan – we hurried back home. We zoomed across the nulabor. I thought it would be a lot longer. On the way we stopped at pt geman and at the head of the bight. I collected fossilsed shells. The next morning we saw some whales. This was the best expereance that I could ever had I did not think Australia was like this I liked cape levque and litchfeild.

(Photo: Coast along the Great Australian Bight)

Rhys – this is about the first time I’ve actually read the above comments before I write my comments, so in order to keep this brief I wont comment on the time from Perth to home only to say that we stayed at very nice places. I’ll just try and sum up some of my thoughts on the trip. Firstly would like to say that even if you are not an outdoors type person it is an amazing experience to go away from the big cities and towns and just gaze up at the stars and see how many their really are, millions. Secondly there are so many amazing places to visit and people to meet, why not plan to make the time to go and see this wonderful country, not just by staying in a nice resort on the sunshine or gold coast. Get out and see the real country, even camping at night in the middle of a desert or a lonely creek someplace is an experience that everybody should do at least once in a lifetime.

(Photo: Mother and Calf Humpback Whales of the coast of the Great Australian Bight)

The whole experience has been well worth it the challenges from the children at each others throat to open air “ala carte” meals under the stars by the seaside prepared by a beautiful wife to playing hide and seek in the pinnacles of oration gorge are all experiences to learn from. What a memorable experience and a lifetime dream come true. Sorry better go, need to prepare for the next trip!

(Photo: Rhys and Campbell on the Jetty at Port Germein, SA)

Kalbarri - Perth

(Photo: The Pinnacles)

Kathy - It is amazing how quickly our sojourn in Kalbarri ended. We had a great time with the Dickins. We toured gorges, visited beaches and cafes, sought out the wildflowers and visited a parrot "zoo" - Campbell was very taken with the Macaws until their beaks got too close!

We left Kalbarri on the warmest day we'd had there and spent the day in the car travelling to Perth via The Pinnacles which were much more interesting than we anticipated. Rhys and the kids played 40-40 and in the process Campbell managed to go missing for 15 minutes (he thought he'd hide a really, really long way away) and then lost his sand coloured crocs which apparently he left them behind a small pinnacle. Do you know how many small pinnacles there are?!

We're now in Perth. When we first drove in we couldn't get over all the traffic, houses etc. By the next morning Rhys and Campbell had hit the shops and checking out JB HiFi, Anaconda etc. Its good to see they've adapted back to urban life so quickly!





(Photo: Kings Park)

Today we went to Kings Park which was great - lots more wildflowers and some very interesting garden designs and sculptures which we plan to shamelessly plagerize in our garden (Julie Bishop move over!). We happened to bump into a family from Woolongong at the Park who we seem to be stalking and had coffee while the kids played. Hi guys. Maybe we'll see you in Kalgoolie. We then went on to Freemantle for a nice urban foodie lunch - v. nice.


Tomorrow it is meant to rain in Perth - the only capital city in Australia expecting rain! We're not sure what we'll do as we're so unused to rain. Then we're going to stay with our friends, William and Merran, for a couple of days before heading off to Kalgoolie and then home. Hopefully we have a chance to send another blog before we get home but otherwise we'll catch up some time after 3 October.

(Photo: Lunch in Freemantle)

Quobba - Kalbarri

(Photo: Blowhole, Quobba Station)

Pippa-We went to Shark Bay after spending 1week in Exmouth. When we got to Denham we set up next to a Campbell friend Andrew. We went out for tea with Andrews Family. At the Old Pealer Café Restaurant. The next morning we went to Monkey Mia to see the dolphins but it was a bit commercialized for me we didn’t get to pat them. At sea world the dolphins are much better there. We went all the way to Neren Neren stop for the night. We went to Kalbarri the next day. We meet the dickens there. We have been doing lots of stuff.

(Photos: 1. Shell Beach, Shark Bay 2.Stomatolites, Hamlin Pool, Shark Bay )

Campbell - we went to monkeymia and saw the dolphins. We drove to Kalbarri met the dickins. We did 8 km on a gorge walk. There were lots of things to see. I saw a snake. We went fishing off a jetty. We caught lots of undersized fish. I was the first one to catch fish. Lucas caught the second fish in his lifetime that was very big but it snapped the line. We are staying in a unit.

(Photo: Nature's Window, Kalbarri)

Lachlan- we went to shark bay after Exmouth. We went to the visitor center it had lots of artifacts and information. For tea went to an old pearling shop made out of shell rock for tea. The next morning we went to see the dolphins. It wasn’t as good as it sounded. Then we went to eagle bluff. We saw sharks, stingrays and a black blob, which we think was a dugong. Then we went to shell beach. It was fully shells no sand to be seen. Then went to see some stromatolites. We bought some shell rock. That we stayed at a rest stop. We ate marshmallows with the best before date 5/8/08! Then we went to Kalbarri and met the dickens. We have done lots of stuff like go on a fishing charter and go on an 8km gorge walk.

(Photo: At Murchison River Gorge, Kalbarri)

Rhys – After Exmouth onto Quobba (aboriginal word for hitting someone). Amazing history of Europeans (mainly Dutch) crashing ships into a very rugged coastline, not a good habit! After a reasonable days drive we arrived at Quobba Station a “farm” that has 80km of coastline and is about 185,000 acres of land! Unfortunately the land is very low lying sand dunes covered by stumpy saltbush with an annual rainfall of about 350mm, very harsh country. Found a campsite behind a saltbush that offered a bit of shelter from the SE winds, which we have been battling since leaving cape leveque. In the morning I took the kid along the beach that was about 100m from our camp site, at the beach we found mountains of giant clam shells, each about 200mm long piled up as much as 1000mm deep in places. There must be millions of these things in the ocean. Walking up on top of the cliffs with an 8 –10m swell rolling in and crashing into the cliffs sending spray billowing into the air was very impressive. We spotted a pod of dolphins just offshore and witness them catch a large fish and toss it about. Then they proceeded to surf the waves in, which after a short ride would turn around and jump off the back of the wave, with such a large swell they jump left them 5-6m above the water, amazing sight! On leaving we visited the HMAS Sydney II memorial (my mums cousin was a crewman) then to the Quobba blowholes, another wondrous sight.

From Quobba we headed off towards Kalbarri arriving after we spent a night at a roadside stop. Kalbarri has it all Ocean, river, wildflowers, gorges and nice foodie places. We spent a marvelous week with Steve, Wendy Dickens and family, which was very good to see them and spend time together, it went so quickly. It was good enjoying the products Kalbarri has to offer with friends. We had only been catching little fish off the pier, and wanting bigger ones on the Saturday Steve, Lachlan and I went out on a charter boat the “”Kalbarri Explorer” to catch some big fish. Steve and Lachie catch some unfortunately I got seasick before I could get a rod in the water. As the trip was for 5-6 hours I spent it in contemplation assessing my life, hoping for time travel fast and maintaining to consistently vomiting into a bucket. I was able to get additional contemplation of life by alternating between having the shakes, hot sweat, freezing cold, visiting the toilet and vomiting, I believe I did it all well as next day on the pier fishing a fellow fisherman recognized me and commented on how “committed I was to the bucket “. Also was advised by the skipper of the boat that he had never in his “30 years at sea seen any body as sick”, comforting words. Guess it was not at all helped by already feeling a bit bilious from the chronic fatigue that I still have.

Tomorrow we are off to Perth then home, how quick has the last 3.5 months gone!

(Photo: Lachlan with his big catch!)

Kathy – Well, we’ve gone from camping in the outback trailer to living it up in an apartment in a resort since we last blogged.

After Exmouth we went to Quobba Station which is up from Carnarvon and guess what? It was windy! Fortunately it was just windy, windy and not gale force. The Quobba coastline reminded me very much of Victoria. Instead of turquoise blue sea and white sands we had big cliffs and a roaring sea. The waves were enormous and it seemed most of the coral reef on the coast – particularly the clams – was washed up on the beach.

From Quobba we headed to Shark Bay and Monkey Mia. At Shark Bay we actually had to put a jumper on – it was getting colder! Denham was a nice little town and we met our friends, the Dunfords and also Will and Tim, the bike riders we had met previously. We ended up having a meal with the Dunfords at a lovely little restaurant made out of shell rock. We took the kids to Monkey Mia while there to see the dolphins and were all suitably unimpressed! Much more interesting was the stromatolites at Hamlin Pool and Shell Beach which instead of sand the beach is very small shells. Very different.

From there we went to Kalbarri via an overnight stay at Neren Neren Rest Stop which was actually quite good and surrounded in wildflowers. Talking of wildflowers, we’ve been very fortunate to see lots of flowers and every 50 kms or so the wildflowers change. If you have the time I can bore you with thousands of photos of wildflowers from around Australia! There were lots of wildflowers along the road to Kalbarri which was fantastic.

At Kalbarri we met up with Steve, Wendy, Lucas and Lauren Dickins. We’ve had a great time with them this week. It has been great doing things with them. We’ve done, yet another, gorge walk which was great. We’ve hit the cafes and the beaches. Rhys and Lachlan went deep sea fishing with Steve although Rhys had serious sea sickness and didn’t even get to put a rod in. Kalbarri is a great place which had a great mixture of the outback with the gorges, nice beaches and a lovely little village with all you need. Very nice. But this has now come to an end and tomorrow we head off to Perth for a couple of days and then it is basically “Home James”. We plan to be back in Melbourne on or about 3 October. We are having those mixed feelings of looking forward to going home to our own house and seeing friends and family again but at the same time realizing that our great adventure is almost over. It has been such a fantastic time but it will be great to get home.

Ningaloo Station - Exmouth

(Photo: Turquoise Bay)

Lachlan – We went to Ningaloo Station. It was windy. We had lots of sand fights and lots of walks collecting shells. We found some nice ones. One day we went snorkeling and saw heaps of fish and coral and just as it started to get good a big grey nurse shark came over purple coral! So we changed our snorkel quickly to a shell collecting walk along the beach. Then we went to Exmouth. On the second day we went snorkeling at turquoise bay. It was really good snorkeling. Any type of fish was there. The current was strong. We saw parrot fish any colours. Then had a jellyfish fight.

(Photo: Lighthouse at sunset, Exmouth)

Pippa - Well we have been having fun going to the beach, snorcling, getting shells, patting a goat yes a baby goat! Lachie and dad saw a Grey nurse shark it can eat you. I like to go for a swim. I made pancakes on father’s day. We have been missing the gorges all ready. We prefer gorges than the beach. We are in Exmouth now. We went snorcling at Turquise bay the current was very strong. There where many different types of fish. There where Red, Blue, White, Yellow, Sliver, Purple, Spanish dancer, Black, Brown and Orange.

Campbell - I caught my first fish. It was windy. I we to get a reall.I went fishing. We caught nothing.

(Photo: Lachlan and Pippa at Turquoise Bay)

Kathy – Not more raves about turquoise water, warm sun and white sand you may say! Well, sorry. If you don’t want to read more about the above don’t read on. Ningaloo Station had all this and more and, even better, we were able to camp on the beach. There was only a small sand dune between us and the beach. The kids could play on the beach and we could supervise them from the comfort of the annex. There are many campsites at Ningaloo Station and apparently they get about 40,000 people through a year. We stayed at South LeFroy Bay which had the best snorkeling. When we got there it was pretty windy. The next day it was very windy and that night it was blowing a gale! People were saying the weather was “unusual”. Hmmm. Somehow we have managed to strike a lot of “unusal weather” (euphemism for extremely windy to the point of gale force) in WA. On the third day the wind died down and Lachlan, Rhys and I went snorkeling while Campbell fished off the beach. The snorkeling was sensational. Great coral, an amazing array of fish and….a 2.5 metre grey nurse shark! Lachlan spotted the shark and Rhys very quickly assessed it was of the humans are food not friends variety so we hot footed it back to shore with the shark following us at least half the way in. Don’t worry. Rhys had a pocket knife with him (as you do) so he was armed and dangerous if anything untoward was going to happen. We’ve since been assured by locals that the sharks up here are so well fed on the abundant sea life that they seldom take on humans. Well, I for one was not going to check to see if he was hungry. Talking of abundant sea life by the time we had returned Campbell had caught his first fish. It was an undersized perch but he was as proud as punch and was already talking up the bigger fish he had hooked which had got away. Apparently this now makes him a seasoned fisherman and he now feels qualified to wade into any conversation where fishing is mentioned!

After being sandblasted for three days we decided to forgo the beachside camp grounds at Cape Range National Park and opted for a sheltered caravan park in Exmouth. We met some friends of Campbell’s (and now ours) in the Exmouth Visitors Centre and found where they were staying and checked in there. We discovered that there were three other families we had met along the way there so the kids have had great fun playing spotlight at night with them. The park is right beside the local lighthouse which is a great whale spotting venue. We’ve gone up a couple of times and seen the whales and also viewed the great sunset from there.
I think the highlight has been snorkeling at Turquoise Bay (that is, apart from me getting a long-overdue hair cut and colour!). Although the coral and sea life were probably not quite as good as Ningaloo Station the only shark spotted was a reef shark which is apparently a shy creature and not likely to attack. Again it was the usual scenario - amazingly blue water and white, white sand. Rhys and Lachlan snorkeled for a long time and got some great underwater shots while the others did a bit of snorkeling and then enjoyed making sandcastles and jelly fish “farms” with other kids on the beach. We are hoping to go on a tour of the reef in a glass bottomed boat on Saturday but we are having “unusual weather” yes, you guessed it, very windy so we’ll have to see if conditions are suitable. After the tour we are planning to travel down to Quobba to see the blowholes then visit the dolphins at Monkey Mia before spending a week with Steve and Wendy Dickins at Kalbarri.

(Photo: walking along the beach at Ningaloo Station)

Rhys – for the first time I have read Kathy’s Blog, she does writ a lot better then me. As Kathy has so eloquently written about our diving experience at Ningaloo Station so I wont add more on that point other than I did not want to become shark food. We then took note of the school fish mentality and headed up to the top of North West cape where you could snorkel as a “school”of humans, less probability of getting eaten, particularly if you swim in the center of the “school”. Ningaloo Station would be a sensational place if you had a small boat. At North West cape there is more antennas than you can imagine, the military are quite active. Our two day stop over turned out to last about a week! Many things to see and do, I bet Exmouth will be a dramatically different place in 5 years time, so much development. Took the children fishing, don’t think I will live that one down. In the past when we have been fishing we have not caught much, it all changes when you catch a heap of fish. As soon as we packed up our fishing gear the boys were “angling” at going to our next fishing spot as soon as possible. The wind blows incessantly on the west coast, looking forward to get away from it. Tomorrow we are meant to be going in a glass bottom boat and go snorkeling (if the wind drops enough). After the boat tour we are hopefully going to travel Quobba where there is meant to be good scenery, fishing and camping. From there we a going to meet Steve, Wendy & Co for a week in Kalbarri which we are looking forward

(Photo: Pippa and Campbell at our Ningaloo Station campsite)

Port Hedland - Point Samson

(Photo: We couldn't resist this shot: Pippa at Port Hedland)

Pippa – We are going to go to Karijini N.P. We are going to go back to Gorges and walks. I got sick of beaches I like Gorges. We stopped at Ausi Road house. When we got to camp for the next 2 or 3 nights. We went to fern pool which is nice but still we have seen better. Campbell met some friends surprise, surprise. The next day we went to Circular pool which I found the best so far but it might change tomorrow. We played with Cam’s friends. We are going to go to some Gorges the walks are hard but it is well worth it. We went to Weano Gorge. Then we went to Hancock Gorge and did the spider walk. In the end that was my favorite gorge.

(This is a rock formation we came across at Karajini. We call it God's footpath)

Lachlan-We went to pt. headland. We saw a 5km long train. That night we went to a nice Chinese restaurant. The next day we went to a national park. We saw lots wildflowers. The stay at the national park we went to lot of gorges most of them colds. Today we went on a walk down a gorge which we could jump into the water.

(Photo: Fern Pool at Dale Gorge, Karajini National Park)

Rhys – from the picturesque industrial town Pt Headland to the Karijini National park we traveled into the wind, as did a large group of motorbike riders. Our economy was the worst have had so far 15.8l/100km. They guys on the bikes had the same problem most of them running out fuel and parked beside the road. We got ripped off for a 3.7kg LP gas bottle refill we paid $38 or about $10/kg, the best thing is that the biggest gas plant in Australia is only about 300km away and they sell it for about 0.03cents/kg.

Once we had set up we visited Dale gorge and swam in Fortescue fall and the Fern Pool, its amazing once you travel a bit south how much the water temp drops. Once again Kathy cooked a wonderful meal in our kitchen “under the stars”. With the moon not out the stars are amazing to sit and gaze up at, can you see the Emu in the sky? Ask me when I get home and can show you.

Next day when to all the gorges in the Weeno gorge area, very spectacular and a lot of fun squirming through the narrows, wading across pools unseen by the sun (very cold) then climbing through narrows supporting yourself off both sides then opening out on amazing pools that had vertical rock banks all around that were perfect to jump off into the water. The width in one area was about 600mm wide the bottom was solid rock worn very smooth by the water, it made a perfect slide, looks of fun.

From karijini to Tom price was one of our shortest lengths of travel in a day only 100km! Counted an iron ore train the had only 232carages! Was hoping to take the kids on a tour of the Hamersley Iron ore mine unfortunately the “bus” had broken down so we will do that tomorrow. We drove the Triton up to the top of mount Nameless the tallest mountain, hill rise in Western Australia. The altimeter in the car showed it at 1100m, the surrounding land is mainly at about 750m, which is quite high. Tomorrow we are going to travel down the track that runs beside the iron ore rail line to Karratha for which a Permit is required. I believe this line has the world record for the longest train at 6,700m long, we would love to see one of these.

(Photo: Lachlan at Hancock Gorge, Karajini)

Campbell – We went to Karajini National Park. I did a project for a Junior Park Rangers badge. We went to some gorges. My favourite gorge was Hancock Gorge. I liked the spider walk and Kermit Pool. You slid down small waterfalls into the pool. Most gorges were nice. We went to Tom Price. We drove up the biggest mountain in WA. We went on a mine tour. We saw big dump trucks. We saw lots of big diggers.

(Photo: Lachlan amongst the wildflowers)

Kathy – well I’m the last to write the blog which has been done over a few days so mine is the most up to date info! We’re now at Point Samson up from Karatha. We’ve made the diversion up here so Rhys can visit some clients. Point Samson is actually only about 300 km from Port Hedland but we came via Karajini National Park and Tom Price…and about 1,000 kms!

Karajini was such a contrast to the white beaches and blue water of the coast. Instead we had red dust, deep gorges, beautiful wild flowers, fresh water and no midgies! The gorges were some of the best we’ve seen. The landscape almost didn’t appear real. It was as though God decided to do some landscaping the plants and rocky outcrops are so nicely placed. Adrian and Sue, if you ever get the chance you should come up here you’d get heaps of great ideas!

The first day at Karajini we sent Campbell off on the bike to make sure we had the right track and then come and tell us. Well, he mustn’t have heard the bit about coming back and we finally caught up with him on some very gnarly tracks. I’m not sure they were really made for bikes!

(Photo: Campbell on his gnarly track)

I think our favourite gorge was Hancock. The circular pool, the Amphitheatre. Spider Walk and Kermit Pool were beautiful. The walks in were steep and quite challenging but you should see our toned legs! It beats a workout in a gym anyday.

From Karajini we headed to Tom Price. Tom Price is a surprisingly clean and neat town. We drove up Mt Nameless, WA’s highest “mountain”. From the top I was amazed at how hilly the surrounding area was. It appears quite flat when you are traveling on it. The mountain was also covered in some of the best wildflowers we’d seen yet.

The next day we went on a tour of the main mine at Tom Price. Rhys got to see some of his fans and Campbell got to see some big diggers and dump trucks. It is incredible to see first hand iron ore being mined, one of the main contributors to Australia’s economy remaining afloat!

After the tour we jumped in the car and headed down the track next to the rail line. It was a very interesting trip and we saw about 12 trains. The trains have about 230 carriages containing the iron ore. We probably saw some of the best wild flower fields along this track but not too many opportunities to stop and admire them as there was a bit of traffic on the track – mainly company four wheel drives and trucks.

We are now in Point Samson in a small resort which has really seen better days but at least keeps us away from the midgies!
We are heading down to Nigaloo reef next but are not sure whether we will break our trip somewhere along the way as Rhys has to see a client tomorrow.

Broome - Port Hedland

(Photo: Eighty Mile Beach)

Kathy - Well in the past few days we have been slowly heading down the coast. We stopped a couple of days at Eighty Mile Beach. We managed to find some fantastic shells which are now being shipped back to Melbourne so we have room in our camper trailer again! Campbell found his obligatory new friend, this time James from Sydney, and he played lego with him and the kids all played water pistol fights and badminton (thank you once again Derek and Irene for the rackets).


(Cape Kereudren at Sunset)

Next we moved on to Cape Kereudren. We managed to get a campsite right on the beach which we shared with scorpions, midgies and mosquitos! It was very picturesque though! We also had a little bit of difficulty getting out. Luckily there were some other campers nearby and one was able to tow us out. Hmm, the sand looks so nice but...

We are in Port Hedland tonight and are then heading over to Karijini National Park for three or four days which should be great.

Gambanan - Broome

(Photo: Dusk, Gambanan)

Rhys - Ganbanan was one of my highlights so far. We found a simple camping site (suits me) overlooking a beautiful coral bay that has a 10+m tidal range. First day of mud crabbing Gerard (fellow traveler), Lachlan and I walked miles over the tidal mud flats across the bay on an out flowing tide and up a mangrove creek. It was hard to find the holes of the crabs and knowing a croc lived on one of the pools makes you a bit cautious, as we don’t want to meet the croc. We caught one of a good size then walked back across the bay on low tide. On arriving back to our campsite found out the girls and Campbell had gone reef walking as a reef was exposed for the first time in two years. Lachlan and I chased them over another bay in the other direction only to find them leaving! On arriving back we then went mud crabbing again (with Campbell) on the shore side of mangroves that covers with water only on very high tides. Again walking waste several miles against an incoming tide then as the tide turned walking back against on outgoing tide. Very tiring but we did get 4 more large crabs, saw several undersize ones and met an inquisitive shark. Next day very, very sore, but it was all worth it.

Out in a tinny fishing with Gerard, Campbell and Mutch, we caught Bluebone, Long Tom, Bar Cheeked Coral Trout, Giant Trevally and Spanish mackerel, enough to feed a small campsite. While out in the boat we saw a turtles and two metre + bronze whaler shark jump clear of the water chasing a fish amazing sight. This shark was seen later in the day swimming across the fish trap at our campsite, no snorkeling on the reef around here!

Still sore from the crabbing after 3 days! This day we packed up and then the children made a traditional spear, which was a unique experience. Over our time at Ganbanan we had numerous sightings of Gouldian Finches.

Nearly two weeks roaming around the dusty bush, bad showers (if any) salt water swimming, hot and sweaty we arrived back in Broome. Kathy had found a place to stay that was more in keeping with what we had once been accustomed too. A near brand new, two story self-contained apartment complete with white towels, white sheets tiled floors. It was very hard to know where to stand or what to touch as we were all so grubby, all the same once we where all cleaned up it was much enjoyed.

Kathy – We have really gone from the sublime to the ridiculous in this last week – from bush camping to a brand new modern apartment with all the bells and whistles. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Gambanan campsite was very interesting. It was a great experience. Gambanan is run and owned by a local Bardi aboriginal family (Frank and Maureen Harvey and family). Frank is on the Kimberley Land Council and Maureen teaches Bardi and the local school so they are quite a family.

A family we met at Kooljaman, Gerard, Inga, Matthew and Jacob, arrived at Gambanan at the same time as us and we ended up camping, cooking and fishing together. Thanks for the great time guys. Campbell enjoyed competing with their boys as to who could get the dirtiest the quickest – fun!
On our second day we found there was a fishing, site seeing trip to the reef off Gambanan which had not been exposed for two years due to the tide. Apart from a bit of confusion as to the location it was an amazing experience. I was able to take numerous photos of the coral that the tide had exposed and Campbell was able to see a turtle being caught (you’ll be pleased to know it was let go) and he also got to hold a spear with skewered squid and fish. The tides here come in and out so quickly we ended up waist deep in water to get back to shore.

Also on this day Rhys and Lachlan went mud crabbing with Gerard and caught one mud crab. Rhys and Campbell then went mud crabbing with spears in the afternoon with one of the local bardi men and they caught four crabs – the wonders of local knowledge! Inga and I were sustained, however, by Lachlan and her son, Matthew, shucking oysters for us off the rocks where Inga was fishing. They would have to have been the freshest oysters I have ever had!

The sunsets at Gambanan were spectacular and the water changed colour depending on the light and the tide. It really is a piece of untouched tropical paradise (but with dust, midgies and strong winds!).

The next day Rhys, Campbell and Gerard went fishing on Gerard’s boat with Mutch, one of Frank’s sons. Meantime Inga and the rest of us went fishing off the coast. We only managed to catch one undersized coral cod. Rhys and co came home with numerous fish. Some were so beautifully coloured it almost seemed a shame to eat them but we did! For tea that night we had bouillabaisse with fresh fish and mud crab and more fish that we cooked on the coals of the campfire along with Rhys’ damper. Talk about a gourmet meal in the middle of nowhere!

The wind really picked up that night, as it had at Kooljaman and Middle Lagoon. The gusts were so strong that we could barely keep the pegs in our camper trailer. We decided to go back to Broome as we were a bit over the wind, dust and sand. In keeping with the timing of the locals up here (everything either happens hours late or earlier than scheduled) Campbell managed to drag Mutch out of bed to show us how to make traditional(ish) spears just as we were heading off to Broome. We made the kids spears in record speed and then rushed off to Broome.

I had managed to a newly opened apartment in Broome after negotiating on price. When we walked into the apartment we realized we had won big time. The apartment is beautifully furnished with a kitchen to rival ours, three toilets, two bedrooms and a study nook and a lovely large deck. There is also a beautiful pool area and fantastic artwork by a renowned Kimberley artist in the apartment. Yes!

We have really enjoyed doing very little here (apart from watching the Olympics, washing clothes, restocking and repairing and having lovely hot showers). We went to the local Anglican church this morning which is literally over the road. By coincidence Dad came to Broome about 10 years ago and visited the church and did a watercolour painting of it. We enjoyed the service and minister spoke on Philippians 3 which is my favourite chapter of my favourite book in the bible. Pippa has greatly enjoyed cooking us cupcakes and anzac bikkies. She has really missed baking and we have really missed her homemade treats so it is a win-win situation.

We are now heading for Eighty Mile Beach and then down to Karajini National Park then down the coast to Kalbari where we are spending a week in a resort with our friends Steve and Wendy.

Lachlan – The next day we went to Ganbanan. We built a cubby hut. We went mud crabbing. I had blisters on my blisters. Then we built a big wall of grass and hide in it because the adults attacked us. The next day we had mud crab and fish soup. When we were going we saw some people who made spears so we made 3 spears. Then we went to our apartment.

Campbell – Went to Gambanan. I made a spear. We went fishing. Went in my friend’s tinny. We caught lots of big fish. One of the fish we caught was called a Longtom. It had very long and sharp and sticky teeth. A shark jumped out of the water. I saw it.

We went on a walk on a coral reef. We caught two squid and one fish. We saw a turtle and I got to hold it.

We are in a big apartment that is nearly nicer than our house. It has lots of beautiful things and it has a big LG plasma. It is very cool. We can watch the Beijing Olympics and it is very big.

Pippa – We went to Gambanan. We have been having fun do stuff like fishing, playing with our friends, going to the beach, going mud crabbing and squidding. I made a spear.

My favorite place so fare is The Gibb River Rd, Wangi Falls and Gunlom Falls.

At the moment we are in Broome. We are staying in Very nice apartments. I go swimming every day. We watch the Beijing Olympics the closing ceremony was good. I like it in Broome. We went to a market for tea. We played tiggy.

Broome - Cape Leveque

(Photo: Beachfront accomodation @ Quondong Point)

Kathy - Well what fun we’ve had since our last blog only days ago. We’ve taken our Dutch friends, Derek and Irene, on lots of adventures. We set out for the Dampier Peninsula on Wednesday morning and headed to Quondong Point. After telling them that the four wheel driving would be fairly tame we ended up on some very sandy tracks and they almost got seriously bogged. We had a cliff top campsite overlooking the water which was very special, particularly since we were able to watch the whales and dolphins jumping in the water below us.

Next day we headed up to Middle Lagoon via. Beagle Bay. The influence of the Catholic missions is still very strong up here with churches being central to the communities up here. The aboriginal communities seem to have much more pride in themselves and purpose up here and, it seems, are not nearly as affected by alcohol abuse as other communities we have seen. We feel the centrality of the church in the communities contributes to this. At Beagle Bay we visited a lovely, active Catholic church. The altar was decorated in mother of pearl and was quite beautiful. Rhys decided to take a “short cut” from Beagle Bay to Middle Lagoon through the back tracks. This resulted in Derek and Irene getting bogged in the sand and Rhys getting bogged in trying to free them. I must say that Rhys enjoyed every moment of it as he was able to use all his recovery “accessories” to get us going again.

Middle Lagoon was beautiful. Lovely sandy beaches. Great shell. Nice snorkeling. What more could you ask for? We even had some early morning entertainment when at 6.00 am we were woken by calls of “is anyone in there? You need to get out quickly there is a bushfire coming through!” Well we did the quickest pack up yet and escaped to the beach to watch the fire go through for most of the day. Derek and Irene got an authentic Australian experience they weren’t counting on.

Next we traveled up to Kooljaman at Cape Leveque. The beaches here are beautiful. The Western Beach has white sand and amazing red cliffs. We have some sensational photos of the sunset from this beach. Again we enjoyed watching the whales. We hoped to do some snorkeling and fishing but we have had incredible winds up here. So much so that there have been wind warnings by the bureau of meteorology from the Queensland coast virtually all the way to Perth. Last night we met an aboriginal guy called Ashley whose family runs a private camp, Gambanan, about 10 kms from here. We went and visited the camp and found it would give us a much more authentic experience of this area. The boys can even make spears and then use them to catch fish so you can imagine they are very excited! Considering we weren’t going to come to Cape Leveque at all we are now finding it is one of the most interesting and beautiful parts of Australia we have seen.

(Photo: Beagle Bay Church)

Pippa - We have been having fun. It is so relaxing being on holidays it like 20 C and its cold. But its night so we can expect it. We have been to Quondong point it is nice there. We have been to Middle Lagoon we went snorkeling there. Also swimming. We experienced a fire but we didn’t get harmed. We had a fun day. We do lots of interesting things. I like to go on the beach. We have lots of shells and rocks we have so much that we have to send some home!

(Photo: Bushfire at Middle Lagoon)

Lachlan –at derby we went to a hollow boab tree used as a prison cell. In the tree were 2 green parrots. We went to the jetty and had some fresh barramundi. The water in the sea was brown and the tide was quick. Then we went to Broom and our Dutch friends booked us. We went into town and tried to find lunch. We ended up in Macers because all the stuff was so expensive. Then we went to the boat ramp. The sea was blue and the sand was white. At our caravan park I went and saw what people had caught. Then our Dutch friends have us badminton rackets so we played till tea. The next day we drove down the beach and collected shells. Then we went down the beach a second time and there were people with nothing on all down the beach! Then we headed up cape leviuec. We went down the wrong track and our Dutch friends got bogged. The one good thing about it was that I found some interesting stuff to send home. We ended up at Quogdon point. We collected shells and found crabs but they were under size to eat. In the afternoon we saw whales jumping and we also saw dolphins. We headed of to Middle lagoon. We went to a church at Beagle bay. Then we went down a supposed “ short cut” but our Dutch friend got bogged so we tried to help them but we got bogged. We ended up getting to Middle lagoon (Just). After we set up we went and had a snorkel we saw some fish and a stingray. Then we collected shells.” There a bushfire coming pack up quick” was the first thing we heard the next morning. So we packed up in 15min and went to the beach. Derek and I went to see the fire nearly burn reception down. We saw the fire jump the road and saw bird lizards and insects we wouldn’t normally see. Like tawny frogmouths, stick insect and frilled neck lizards. I also saw some campsite burn to the ground. Then I helped back burn. The fire was at least 10m high at points. After the fire I saw all of the devastation. Then we went snorkeling. We saw fish of all colors and lots of stingrays. They had blue days. I found a really good shell. Then I saw a big black shark. That’s when we got out. The next day we went to cape leviuec. On the way we went to Lombadena and tried to by some fresh bread from the nuns. But they didn’t have any. So we went to our campsite and played cards. 2 days later we went to 1 armed point. We went to an aquarium thing. It had coral and fish. We got filmed by channel 10. today we are going to an aboriginal community. We will make spears and hunt fish, crabs and squid.

(Photo: Sunset at Kooljaman Western Beach - note the colours reflected on the sand, beautiful)

Rhys – I was not so sad to be leaving Broome, nice beach but to busy EXPENSIVE and commercial. We headed off north up the Dampier peninsular with Derek & Irene in their hired Navara. First night had our own private beach at Qunondong Point, having a bit of fun collecting firewood, exploring rock pools and watching the countless whales offshore. We meet our mascot here, a certain Mr. Wilber McRude, he has no shame. We headed towards Middle lagoon via strict instructions to “stay left” on the tracks towards Beagle Bay. In the many meandering tracks we thought we had stayed left long enough. This was not the case in the soft deep sand. We had a little experience there that helped prove we had carried some of the correct recovery gear, so we used it. Bit of fun for all in the hot sun and good practice for Derek and Irene prior to them traveling from south to North Africa.

At middle lagoon we enjoyed snorkeling among the coral, walking around near deserted beaches. In the middle of the night we were “evacuated” due to one of the North’s ever-present bushfires. After packing up our camp and moving the boys enjoyed being among the insects and reptiles that the fire flushed out. They also enjoyed helping back burn and set up some firebreaks.

From Middle Lagoon to Kooljaman (Cape Leveque) we had hopes of more snorkeling and some boat fishing, these hopes did not eventuate as we had some very severe wind. We had to put up some beautiful sunsets on a full moon at the beach, playing cards and visiting local sights, very hard to handle.

Met a bloke called Ashley from Gambanan, which is a campsite that the local community is orginisining. To me it appears more appealing it is smaller and has some activities for the kids like spear makings, dancers, catching fish etc. I hope the wind drops so we can go out to see the waterfall reef! Will keep you posted if our hopes are met on this one.

Campbell – we went to quondong point. We saw whales. we went to middle lagoon. We went snorkeling and saw lots of fish and a couple of sea cucumbers and stingrays and coral. But only brown coral. I saw one of my friends. I went snorkeling with him. There was a bushfire at Middle Lagoon. We went to Kooljaman. There is a lighthouse on the hill and there is a beach curving around us but no sea to cross. I met a friends who is going to the same place as us. It is Gambanan, Gambanan is nice. We can make spears and boomerangs there for $25. There is an Aboriginal kid there. We met an Aboriginal man who told us about Gambanan.

Gibb River Road to Broome

(Photo: Campbell's Great Leap Forward at Cable Beach, Broome)

Campbell
We went to Elq. We went to Zebedee Springs. I found frogs. We went to El Questro Gorge. It was a beautiful walk. We went to Emma gorge. We found a hot spring.

We went to Mt Elizabeth Station. There was a waterfall, which you could walk behind down a four-wheel drive track. We went down Tunnel Creek. Now we are at Broome. We went to the beach and we built a big sandcastle.


(Photo: Zebedee Springs, El Questro Station)

Lachlan- the next day went over Lake Argil and the bungles. The next day we went to El Questro. We did a lot of clambering over rocks to bet in the gorges. Emma gorge was cold but we found a hot spring. El Questro gorge was deep.
The kids crushed up ochre each morning. There are lots of cattle stations out here. At Mt.Elizabath there was a waterfall with a cave under neither.
Dad and me went down further and saw a rock art site. There was mostly ceremonial art. The cave had leaches.
At Derby there was basically nothing. Broom is expensive. We went for a drive on cable beach.

(Photo: El Questro Gorge, El Questro Station)

Pippa – We went to El Questro George out the back of Kununarra. There are lots of Georges and 3 thermal pools but we only went to 2, which was Zebdee nice.

We went to lots of stations and stayed at some I like Mt Elizabeth the best because there was a nice George there with a cave under the water fall.

We got to Derby and went to the Jetty. We got Fish and chips. We went to the Caravan Park and watch Olympic games it was good then we went for a drive.

When we got to Broome our Dutch Friend booked us in. We went to the prize-winning pool. We are going to go up to Cape Laveque with our Dutch Friends.

(Photo: Wunumarra Gorge, Mt Elizabeth Station)

Rhys – seems such a long time ago since we last had a decent power supply that would allow enough time to have the kids write their Blog “stuff”. We are now in Broome after surviving the Gibb River Road, which is supposedly one of the last “frontier tracks”. I think they will have bitumen for the length of the road in 5-10 years. We found the “Gibb” good providing you drove to the conditions, i.e. watch the sand corners and Gibbers. One thing to note with Gibbers is that “you must Gibb a little and they take a little”. (A Gibber is a single or multitude of rocks found on roads.)

Kununarra is a delightful town of about 6000 people with more water than Victoria has ever had. It was a good feeling having no guilt towards our shortsighted Mr. Brumby / Bracks, staying in the shower as long as one felt to stay in. Even less shame as the water was solar heated! We ended up staying in / around town for one week, could have easily spent some more time as it has modern facilities, nice caravan park, plenty of water and natural beauty. One of the highlights was our flight over Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungles.

One of our mottos had been, “pack up, drive, setup walk and swim” around town we felt a bit insecure due to the Salties, pining a nice water hole we heard an announcement over local radio identifying suitable rock holes / water falls (our preferred swimming locations), we preceded to these to find they had not been used for at least a month or so. The water was not as “fresh” as one would like but the view over the escarpment was spectacular. Campbell standing on a “pair of hands” which turned out to be a Merton’s Water Monitor highlighted the experience further!

Off down the Gibb river road we visited el Questro station, initially we felt a big let down as they had once offered to fly me there in a jet! Once settled in we found Zebedee hot springs, very had to handle crystal clear water running through the rain forest at 34’C, they were so good we went back to them for a second go. Other enjoyable things here were the talking cockatoos, walking in gorges, great feed at the stations “township” (Lachlan consumed the best parts of a gigantic steer) swimming river crossings and walking. Unless you are going fishing suggest that the “Pigeon Hole” is avoided.

From El Questro to Ellenbrae where Campbell was delighted to find a “dump” which contained old car, trucks and machines. Not sure how if found it in the middle of the bush, after his repeated requests visit it I relented and went there with him and “found” on old Southern Cross stationary engine. Often wondered a bout restoring one of these as a project. Ellenbrae had facilities that had great character, especially the wood heated hot water system.

Ellenbrae to Mt Elizabeth. Went for a knarly 4WD track that lead to one of the most scenic gorges we have visited. Walking in the cave behind the waterfall, rumbling with the children on the sandbar, Lachlan and I swinging Pippy in the water by her arms and legs, Indigenous rock art, swimming etc.. At night we shared a fire under the stars with a couple from Somers. It was a good meeting them and noting their experiences with children older than ours, and now awaiting the “maturing” process!

Mt Elizabeth to Windjana gorge via Mt Barnett, Silent grove, Immaji General store and Tunnel creek. All fantastic places and met interesting people including a couple of brothers from Newcastle who are riding pushies around Australia. They had traveled 10,000km (same front tyre) what an experience this would be.


(Tunnel Creek Gorge)

Kathy
Well here we are in Broome. It seems so long since we were in Kununurra but it is not even two weeks ago. After a great flight over the Bungle Bungles and Lake Argyle (my there is a lot of water in that lake) and Rhys buying me a beautiful burnt orange and white argyle diamond ring we headed off down the Gibb River Road.

Our first stop was El Questro. Initially we weren’t all that impressed but our misgivings soon gave way to awe at the beautiful gorges and sights. We greatly enjoyed Zebedee Springs which are thermal and flow through a beautiful gully surrounded by red cliffs and overhung by palm trees. We whiled away many an hour relaxing there. Perhaps the highlight was El Questro Gorge. It was a long, hard walk through the gorge but it was absolutely beautiful and we were rewarded at the end by a lovely deep pool with a waterfall at one end. The gorge was shaded and wound through high cliffs that were covered in ferns.

We also enjoyed Emma Gorge which was another long, hot walk ending in a big pool with cascading waterfalls. The water was very cold but we managed to find a thermal spring up in the rocks on the side of the pool which flowed down like a shower into a small “bath” in between some rocks. We stayed in there for ages and clambered down the rocks so we didn’t have to venture into the cold water again. We had a lovely lunch at Emma Gorge Resort which was a nice touch in the middle of the Kimberley. I even had a cappuccino as good as I make at home which was a real bonus.

From El Questro we continued on the Gibb River Road, stopping at Elenbrae and Mt Elizabeth Stations. Reno Grollo of all people apparently owns Elenbrae Station. At Mt Elizabeth we went on an incredibly rough track to Wunnumarra Gorge which was probably one of the best we have come across. It was on the Barnett River and included a waterfall you could stand behind, a lovely sandy beach and some amazing Aboriginal rock art. The best part about it was we had it all to ourselves for an afternoon. Lovely.

We then continued to Bell Gorge which was another long walk rewarded by a great waterhole. While we were there a family exclaimed “There’s Campbell!”. It turned out that they had met Campbell at Mungo National Park at the beginning of our trip and he had made such an impression on them with his tall stories (apparently declined joining in a soccer game because he is too good as he is a ping pong champion because he had beaten his Dad. What the?). In fact wherever we go we have people saying “Hi Campbell”. He cruises around the campsites on Lachlan’s bike making all these friends which we then meet somewhere else along the way. It’s so out of character for Campbell I know!

From Bell Gorge we went to Windjana Gorge and picked up some great fossilized wood and coral. We also went through Tunnel Gorge which was very interesting.

We are now in Broome which is such a contrast from the remoteness and rugged unspoilt beauty of the landscape surrounding the Gibb River Road. It is very commercial and expensive. All the caravan parks are fully booked and even the overflow areas are full. We were lucky to get a site because a Dutch couple we met in Darwin, Irene and Dereck were at the park and managed to secure us a site first thing in the morning. We are right in front of the toilets which while convenient it isn’t exactly quiet or private!

However we spent a very pleasant afternoon today on Cable Beach which goes for miles and miles. We collected some fantastic shells and loved walking on the beautiful soft white sand next to the azure blue sea which is a pleasant 22C. The sky was blue, it was 30C with a gentle breeze blowing. For all you Melburnians freezing away in the depths of winter I do apologise. By the way I have the best tan since I was a teenager and I haven’t even been sunburnt.

While touring Broome we came across an old Anglican Church. Dad had done a watercolour painting of the church when he was up this way and gave it to the church. Dad, you’ll be pleased to know that when I peered through the church windows I could see a watercolour of the church hanging on the walls which I presume is yours.

Tomorrow we are heading off to Cape Laveque with Dereck and Irene for a few days. The beaches are meant to be beautiful and apparently there is good fishing and snorkeling. Campbell is desperate to do some fishing so hopefully we can fit some in. It is remotish so hopefully it is a bit more unspoilt than Broome.

Kakadu - Kununurra

Lachlan – We went to Twin Falls. We could not swim because there were crocs but I found one of their teeth. Then we went through a river to go to Jim Jim Falls. We had to walk through a monsoon forest full of butterflies. At the plunge pool we saw big fish. I caught a small fish with my bear hands. On the way to Darwin we went to an aboriginal rock art site. We saw the sunset over the flood plain. The night we got to Darwin we went to we went to the Mindel market. We went to an oil pipeline and a beach that there was lots of coral and shells. The beach looked like it was moving because there were so many hermit crabs. We went to the state museum and an airplane museum. We visited and bought a painting from a gallery. Then we went to wangi fall and dived. I saw lots of fish. The next day we went along the Renelds track. We went to the lost city. It was a rock formation that looked like city ruins. We went to Blyth homestead. It was a very small house and at the back was a tin mine. I got some tin. Then we went to sandy creek falls and had a swim. The others saw a snake. Then we went to surprise creek. We jumped off the ledge into the water. We saw our first wild cow and pig (the pig was dead). At Katherine we went on a croc-spotting thing. I spotted lots of crocs. We saw catfish and snapper turtles. We got 1m close to a croc. At Kununarra we went to a Christian radio place. Today we are flying over the bungle bungles and lake argile.

(Photo: Thylacine Rock Art at Ubirr Rock, )

Campbell – we went to the Mindl market. I had garlic prawns for tea. We went to the aviation museum. It had lots of planes. The main one was a B-52 G model bommer. We went to a beach that had lots of hermit crabs. I held some. My brother and sister went to the movies. I had a swim. We went to litchfeild and went to lots of water falls. we went through lots of river crossings. The water falls was very nice. We went to Katherine. We went on a crocodile cruise. We saw at least 5 or 10 crocodiles. We are now at Kununurra. We went out for tea.

Pippa – We went to Twin Falls and swam at Jim Jim Falls. We were staying at Jabiru in Kakadu lodge with Caravan Park. We went t Darwin the next day we went to the Mindel market. We got tea there. I got my hair cut at Cassurina I also saw a movie there. It was Prince Caspian. We went to a museum. We saw sweet heat a 5.1 m croc! We went for lots of swims in the pool and got free cordials. Then we headed of to Wangi Falls in Litchfield National Park we stayed there for a couple of nights. Then we went out throw the Reynolds and stop at some swimming spots. We stayed at Katherine at Springvale Homestead and went on a croc cruise that night it included witch was a BBQ. Now we are in Kununurra.

(Photo: Smoke from burning off at sunset, Ubirr Rock, Kakadu)

Rhys – bit long since our last post, it is a new experience to not be regularly in mobile phone range. In Kakadu we 4WD into Twin falls and Jim Jim falls they were both good but I preferred the river crossing on the way in that was about 600mm deep without driving on top of the Salt was crocs. Its good motivation to not get stuck part way across! There are so many waterfalls and gorges to visit. Gunlom is still my overall fav, good to look at, walk and swim. These two was worth a visit as they are quite tall. Lachlan and I cased fish at Jim Jim, he caught one about 120mm long! Visited Ubirr rocks the aboriginal art was interesting and so much of it. The sunset over the wetlands was a good experience. Traveled to Darwin, so much to do around town, went tot the markets (they are full of new age stuff but the food is good). More sunsets at meal time @ Mindal Market and Stokes Hill Wharf, recommend both. Kids enjoyed feeding the fish on the Wharf, big hungry fish. Visited the Aviation museum which had a B-52 bomber, what a big beast, would not like to be on the receiving end of one of these war machines. Darwin harbor is twice the size of Sydney harbor, but not a picturesque as you can’t see the other side! Went shell hunting at east Point Arm, the beach was alive with hermit crabs, could not bring myself to evicting the crabs though they were in very nice shells. Bought a painting of the Bungle Bungles at a nice galley in Darwin. Camped beside a couple of blokes (Mick & Hoges) that had rode up to Darwin from Melbourne on large touring bikes also met a couple from Holland, Derek and Irene, was great sitting around chatting and joking together. The Dutch couples had sold their house and are traveling around the world. The place they had enjoyed the most so far was Mongolia and Tibet. Its interesting as most Aussie big travel experiences are to the US or Europe, maybe we should visit our neighborhood in Asia. From Darwin traveled to Litchfield where we preceded to swim at any waterfall that did not have saltwater crocs. Found a good campsite at Wangi Falls, glad we arrive early, as the place is full by 10:30! At wangi the swimming was good plenty of fish, rocks to jump off, warm pools and nice scenery. Camped beside a couple from Bayside Melbourne (Luke & Kay), we live in a parallel universe to them, doing similar things to them and have common values, were a good experience. Just outside Litchfield on the western side we found a cafe for Kathy to have a nice coffee at. From Litchfield we traveled south on the Reynolds Track to Katherine, Kathy was not sure of this at the time as we had reports that the river crossings were many and deep (and crocodile infested). After visiting all the sites on the way through, like the water falls, historic homestead, beautiful scenery, etc she had quite enjoyed it. The best parts were that we did not fill up the camper trailer with water, did not get stuck in a river crossing and that there were not so many people as access was more difficult. Stayed in Katherine and went for a crocodile cruise and dinner at night then off to Kununarra. Passed over some huge rivers, makes the yarra look like a small creek.

(Photo: River Crossing, Jim Jim Falls, Kakadu)

Kathy – Sorry it’s been so long since we last put anything on the Blog – a combination of lack of Internet coverage and too many things to do and people to see.

After Kakadu we went back to civilization and got the last site at an overpriced caravan park in Darwin (it is amazing how many people are traveling up here at the moment). We really enjoyed Darwin. The markets were great – lots of yummy Asian food and interesting entertainment. We met some lovely people – hi Irene and Derek (from Holland) and Mick and Hogan (from Melbourne). We had some great evenings sitting and chatting with them. We did the usual tourist things – visited the museums, collected shells on the beach etc, etc.

From Darwin we went to Litchfield National Park. We stayed at Wangi Falls, which was a very nice waterhole. We think Campbell has found his inner Digemon. At the fall we couldn’t find Campbell. We discovered him up behind some rocks eating green ants! They taste very sour like the beginning of warhead lollies (I know, I got Pippa to kill one for me so I could try it).

There were lots of interesting sights to see at Litchfield including the magnetic termite mounds which the termites orientate north/south to protect them from the sun. On the second day there we met Luke and Kay from Cheltenham. We had lots in common, church life, family life, kids stuffing around instead of helping pack up etc, etc!

We went out of Litchfield via an Fwd track, which included numerous river crossings. Rhys was wrapped but I was very skeptical to begin with because they were deepish and I had visions of out stuff floating around in the trailer. It all ended fine. Rhys got his excitement and the trailer stayed dry. There were some interesting places along the track. The highlight was probably Surprise Creek Falls, which had the best rock pools we’ve seen yet.

(Photo: Magnetic Termite Mound, Litchfield National Park)

From Litchfield we spent a night at Katherine in the grounds of the historic Springvale Homestead. From there we went on a night cruise of the Katherine River, which was very interesting. We saw lots of freshwater crocodiles and Northern Snapping Turtles which can bite your finger off if you get too close to their mouths.

We are now in Kununarra. I expected it to be flat, dry and boring around here. Instead it is nestled amongst by rugged rocky outcrops and is surrounded by water. There are lots of amazing boab trees. The kids discovered if you drop the boab nuts them they explode on impact. Needless to say many boab nuts are now in small pieces! The weather is about 28C during the day and about 15C at night. Very pleasant.

Well, it really is a small world. We went to Kununarra Baptist Church yesterday which was a great experience. This time of year they get a lot of visitors passing through and their congregation of 30 can swell to up to 120 people! We were introduced to another Victorian couple. It turned out that they live in The Basin, their surname is Dobson and they used to own an apple orchard – which we used to buy apples from! What’s more, for all you CHBC people, they go to Kilsyth South Baptist and Graeme and Isabelle Neilson’s caravan is stored on their property. Whatsmore, in the afternoon we went on a tour of HCJB Radio’s facilities. We were shown a DVD about HCJB, which included footage of the Kickbush’s and Vicky Rottinger. Wow!

Today we are going on a flight over Lake Argyle and the Bungle Bungles which I am really looking forward to. We have extended our stay at Kununurra another couple of days so we can chill out a bit before we head off to the Bungle Bungles and then over the Gibb River road to Broome.

(Photo: Wangi Falls, Litchfield National Park)

Blog 14-7-2008

Katherine / Gunlom Falls / Jabiru

Pippa – We went to a cruise on the Katherine River. After that we went for a swim with blown up the tires and raft. The next day we packed up and headed off to Gunlom Falls. We swam in the bottom pool. It was about 30 to 34’C out of the water. The next day we went to the top of the water Falls. We did the same the next day. We went for a Cane Toad hunting that afternoon and night we caught over 150.We went to Jabiru and went for a swim. We were setting up in about 33’C. We went to the Bar for tea. After that we went to a slide show.

Lachlan – we went on a cruse down 2 gorges on the Katherine River. When we got on the boat bats sat above in the tree us and squawked. We saw 3 crocodiles. After that we went swimming. When we got to Gunlom falls we swam at the big pool the next day we swam in the top rock pools. The next day we did the same and we saw millions of rocket frog. That afternoon and night we went for a cane toad hunt pip whused of. We caught over 200. Now we are in Jabiru.

Campbell –We went to cruse on the Katherine River at Katherine Gorge.

Kathy – After having left our fantastic bush camp we headed off for Kakadu. Lachlan was surprised that Kakadu was not greener. He expected it to be more tropical and more like rainforest. Campbell, by contrast, expected more shops and cafes. He’s also hanging out for takeaway. For all his talk of wanting to be the outback king when he grows up in his fully optioned 4X4 we think he is actually a true urbanite more at home sipping his latte in Chapel Street! We even have to drag him out of souvenir shops. Our first stop was Gunlom Falls. The campsite was not a patch on where we had been staying so it seemed a bit of a let down until we went to the pool at the bottom of the falls. It is absolutely beautiful. The green/blue water contrasts with the black rocks of the cliffs and the waterfall is trickling down the rocks in the middle. The pool is surrounded by lush vegetation and lovely creamy sand. It really was like something straight out of a tourism brochure. Yes, those places really do exist! On the second day we were there the kids joined a couple of the older boys on a cane toad cull. I won’t go into the details but there are at a lot less toads in Gunlom at least for a little while.

The next day we climbed a steep hill in over 30’C heat to rock pools. Well, the climb was very much worth it. The rock pools were truly magnificent. God really did an amazing job with the landscaping of these pools – with the best eternity edge pool I’ve ever seen! The pools looked as though they were perched in the sky. They appeared to be carved into the rocks in a series of mini pools. It was what I would imagine open air pools on a cliff top on some Mediterranean island. The pools were a beautiful light blue with little waterfalls flowing from one to the other and were staggered up the hill. We spent hours there the second day we were there and liked it so much we stayed an extra day and did the same on the next.

We were surprised last night by a shower of rain at 4.30 am and got up to secure everything in case the rain set in to find most of the camp doing the same. Fortunately the shower soon passed. We were up early and had our quickest set up yet (by the end of the trip we think we will have worked out the best place for things and the best packing method!). We arrived in Jabiru about 11.30 am to the closest thing to civilization we have seen for days. Although it was interesting to get in touch with our feral side this last week it is also great to be able to wash the mounting pile of dirty clothes and not permanently smell like campfire.

Rhys – in the end we had to leave our bush camp near Katherine gorge, it was a sad time for all. From our bush camp we set off for Gunlom falls, magnificent, the best falls I’ve been to so far in Australia. Falls are probably 30-40 metres (maybe bigger) coming off the escarpment into a large pool at the bottom, which is a pleasant place to swim. I’m still nervous about some of the swimming spots up here, lots of signs about crocodiles. Parks NT does not guarantee or recommend swimming in any of the water holes but they do check the water holes everyday for croc’s. When you get to the waters edge and see 20 or so people swimming, it gives you confidence in statistics / probability that compared with being the only one swimming i.e. 1:1 chance, your chances of being eaten alive by a killing machine are now 1:20, which is very comforting!

The water holes at the top provided a serene setting to drift around in the water and sample different pools, small water falls, small gorges to swim up and cane toads to hunt. The variety of bird life up here is most interesting, also seems to be every bug and critter known to man all of which just want to have a bite or chew on you to see what a southerner tastes like. After our one night at Gunlom turned into three days the moved onto Jabiru in the Centre of Kakadu National Park to restock repair things and visit clients. Along the way we saw our first GIANT Cathedral Termite mounds huge structures for little bugs.

The weather in Jabiru is 34’C an about 60% humidity and this is the cooler time of the year! Last night went to a talk on aboriginal rock painting put on by Parks NT they regularly do different talks like this up here they a fascinating and FREE both of which appeal to me, as everything else seems to cost. Hoping to plan some visits to rock art sites and some more waterfalls around visits to customers over the next few days then off to Darwin.

Mataranka - Katherine & Beyond

Blog 10-7-2008

Pippa – We woke up early and packed up and went to Mc Donald’s for breaky. I got two hash browns, one egg and bacon muffin and one Blue berry juice. Then we hit the road. We are trying to get Katherine but we know we won’t get there. In the end we got to Materranka we traveled for 10 hours all up in that trip. We went to a show that night. Before that we went to the hot springs. We went to the hot springs the next day and played with some kids that we meet at Alice Springs. We traveled to Katherine and bush camped. We went shopping the next day. Today we are going on a cruse.

Lachlan- We woke-up and headed to Katherine. On the GPS it said 1176km to next turn of! Dad and mum swapped turns driving. One would drive and the other would sit in the back and watch a DVD. We went passed the Devils Marbles. It isn’t very spectacular. To be honest they look like any other rocks. So we took a few pictures and kept going. You could see it got a lot greener and the termite mounds got bigger. We pulled up that night at materanka , we went to a concert. An old man got up and sang and danced.. After we set up we had a swim. We saw turtles and archerfish. The next day we went fishing but caught nothing. The rest of the day we swam in the spring. On the way to Katherine we went into some caves. The place we are staying know is a dried up pond down a dirt track outside of Katherine. We are going on a cruse in Katherine gorge.

Rhys – Mataranka was a nice place so we stayed an extra night. Went fishing with the kids in the Roper river and caught 6 snags a few others got away, they weren’t much good as they took our hook and sinker each time. Hot springs where hard to take, floating around in a warm pool in a tropical forest, its tough. From there to about 30km from Katherine staying in a bush camp that were where advised about, heaven is already on earth. Beautiful rich colours in the trees, interesting birdlife, bight stars, F-18 jets overhead good company, what more can you want! Not to keen on camping near the river, I’m a bit scared of those saltys that live there. Last night we (well the kids and I) played indigenous people and continued the burning off process that all the locals enjoy, the recent arrivals also enjoyed it.

We packed up to leave yesterday as 4 fuses blew in the trailer, fortunately was able to work our what was causing it, once fixed we resetup our camp. Kathy is so impressed with this place she does not want to leave, serious, she is loving it. I’m still in shock with this, I have not had a shower since I don’t now when, the kids have been wearing charcoal face paint, combined with some food left overs, there is no latte machine within a thousand miles, and she continues to enjoy, I’m most impressed. It must be said though that the portaloo is a hit with the girls, not so much with the boys, as they just go for a prowl with the trowel!

Today we are going for a cruse through the Katherine Gorge, then a walk, and a swim, hope its not to hot as most days have been about 28’C.

Campbell – we went to Cutta Cutta caves you can see where the WW11 soldiers shot the stalactites. We went to Mataranka and swam in the hot springs. It was lots of fun. I made some friends. We are at Katherine. We are staying in the bush. I really like it. There are lots of nice trees.

Kathy – Well, it doesn’t get much better than this. Here I am an Nitmiluk National Park at Katherine Gorge writing my blog entry on a picnic table shaded by a large paper bark tree and lilypilly. We went on a cruise of the river. It was very beautiful, particularly the Canyon. While Rhys and the kids went swimming in the Gorge I read a book and watched a wallaby and her joey feeding only metres away – magical.

After Mataranka we made the short trip to Katherine via the Cutta Cutta caves which are quite interesting but certainly not worth the $50 odd dollars it cost to enter them. The termite mounds are getting bigger and more numerous now along the road. By the way, what to you call a collection of termite mounds? You’ve heard of a flock of geese what about a cemetery of termite mounds? (That was Campbell’s description and it is very apt because enmass they do look like lots of headstones).

On the advice of a friend’s sister who lives in the area we found this fantastic bush camp just out of Nitmiluk National Park. The site we found (after some pretty serious four wheel driving) is like paradise. It is, in fact, a dried up lagoon but it is flat, surrounded by beautiful trees and you have the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, even though only kms down the road are numerous tourists, park rangers etc. Perfect. I’m not sure if I really appreciate Rhys’ take on my liking for the place – even though he thinks he is paying me a compliment by his comments – but I really do enjoy the bush camping far more than going to the outback to spend every night cheek to jowl with hundreds of other campers. The problem is that there are very few opportunities to do bush camping because it is not encouraged after the usual few idiots gave all campers a bad name and now no one wants people camping anywhere other than caravan parks.

We are now off to Kakadu and we’re hoping to find another more remote campsite to base ourselves for three or four days. We’re hoping then to stay in a motel in Jabaru for a couple of days while Rhys does some work at Ranger Mine.

Sorry no pics this time as we dont have a good internet connection.