Johnsonsaroundoz Weblog

So finally we have a chance to write our next update. The last couple of weeks have been a blur and have seen us in one place for only short periods of time. Since we left Coober Pedy we have been, seen and done some fantastic things. The trip to Alice Springs was uneventful and with a short stop at Kulgera Roadhouse and then across the border into the Northern Territory. We spent the night at Desert Oaks, which is a free road side camp spot that was well populated with other “nomads” by the time we arrived. The push from here to Alice was short and uneventful.

We arrived at the G’Day Mate Caravan Park and made our camp for the following week, or so we thought. In the period we were here, Trinity developed a case of Roseola. This presented as a series of high temperatures for about 4 nights in a row and finally broke and came out in a rash.

One of the highlights of Alice Springs is the Desert Park. The park, from my understanding, is run by the NT Parks and Wildlife Commission. It provides examples of different types of desert habitat and the various wildlife that inhabit them. Talks are run on local bushtucker, hunting and gathering tools, weapons, family and tribal relationships and interactions and tribal law. Another workshop is also run teaching people how to pronounce the local dialect of the Arrente people (Alice Springs traditional owners). With more than 300 different languages and up to 8 dialects in each language, making paper records of these languages is a huge task. There are multiple bird displays where you can enter the aviary and get close to the birds inside. The abundance of bird life around here is spectacular. The nocturnal house (which also incorporates a reptile display) is excellent. Nocturnal animals such as Quoll, Bilby and other endagered species are able to be seen close up. Normally you wouldn’t get to see many of these animals in the wild unless you were with an expert guide. The highlight of the Desert Park for me was the Birds Of Prey show. Handlers bring a Falcon, Kite, Nightjar (Tawny Frog Mouth), Buzzard and Eagle into the viewing area and they demonstrate various hunting abilities in free flight. All these different types of bird utilise different methods of hunting with the most fascinating being the Black-breasted Buzzard. This bird uses a rock to smash open Emu eggs and get a feed. The trainers have a plaster cast replica of an Emu egg and the Buzzard displays it’s rock throwing technique. It is not taught this behaviour, it is inate to this species of bird.  The creation of the West Macdonnell Ranges, which frame the park, is presented as an audio-visual presentation with the screen of the cinema folding away to reveal the West Macs in the background.

 Desert Park                                                                                                         

Egg breaking Buzzard

Spinifex Pigeon                                            

We were joined a few days later by Dave, Kim, Lucas and Zoe who stayed in the G’Day Mate with us. For them it was a hit and run episode of shop, clean, reload and depart again. The day after they arrived we headed out to Ormiston Gorge which is part of the West Macdonnell Ranges. Here we walked, drank, watched the stars, had Dave’s birthday and generally had a good time. Some of the day trips while there included Tenorra Bluff which is a remant of a meteorite that hit about 145 million years ago. After 3 days we said our good-byes to Dave and Kim and headed around the Mereenie Loop for Kings Canyon. The road was heavily corrugated and slowed our progress in places. We also damaged a pipe underneath the van that connected to the sink. On arrival at Kings Canyon we were told to be aware of the Dingoes that proliferate the camp ground at night (Not to mention noisy busloads of high school kids!). The main reason for King’s Canyon’s existance is for the Rim Walk situated in Watarrka National Park. The walk is pituresque, though challenging at the start. Jodi walked 3/4 of it with an 10kg baby strapped into the backpack.

Kings Canyon

From Kings Canyon we make our way to the “Heart of Australia”, Uluru. Staying at the Yulara Camp ground, once again surrounded by noisy teenage school children, we are offered tantalising views of the rock in the distance allowing for some great sunrise/sunset photo opportunities.. The camp area is about a 20 minute drive from the Uluru-KataTjuta National Park. We spend the first day setting camp and taking it easy followed by the base walk the next day. The base walk takes us past many sacred site where photos are prohibited. We have walked almost twenty kilometers in the last four days. Kata-Tjuta is another sacred site of even greater signifigance to the Aboriginal people. It could be said that while Uluru is grand, Kata-Tjuta may be even more impressive due to it’s construction and vistas. It is some 50 km’s from Yulara to Kata-Tjuta and this may be the reason for it’s poor second cousin status. The following morning Zaac, Jay and I leave Jodi and Trinity behind in the dark and head for the sunrise viewing area within the National Park. I have taken a time lapse sequnce which is rather fascinating but I am unable to share it here as it consists of about 30 photos.

Sunrise                                                                                                                                      

Sunset

 Kata-Tjuta

Zebra Finches at Kata-Tjuta

From here we make a dash back to Alice. We had expected it to take 2 days but Trinity decided it would be a good day for sleeping. She slept, I drove and drove and drove. By the time she finally woke, we were only 1/2 and hour from Alice. We arrived at the Big 4 to find we could not get a normal powered site but they could get us on to an ensuite site (with a bath!!!). We were sold on that idea very easily. We all soaked in the bath until we looked like prunes.

It was now our turn to hit and run, as we had arranged with Dave and Kim to depart to the north in 2 days time. This gave us 1 day to prepare ourselves for the trip up the centre. There is little between Alice and Darwin as far as shops go. Ranked 1 to 4 in size of towns the NT has Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine and then Tennant Creek. Tennant has a foodbarn and not much else, although we were able to purchase fireworks from the local equivalent of Crazy Clarks. Territory Night is the only day/night the public can possess and use fireworks. Being a QLDer, we have not know that opportunity for many years. Dave and I went nuts, or so we thought and spent $40 on rockets, missiles and other things that made loud noises and pretty colours. As we were leaving the shop, orders went out the door for over $200 worth of magnesium and gunpowder. It was great fun and the kids really enjoyed it as well.

After TC we moved on to Mataranka which have some fantastic thermal pools nestled in splendid seclusion. Early morning dips and long daytime soaks were the go. We felt very relaxed and chilled out after 2 hrs in 34 degree water. We also made the trek to Mataranka Falls, an 8 km return trip through some patches of deep, soft sand, to arrive at what can only be described as greatly uninspiring!!! The fall was a great 1.5 m and flowed quite slowly. Perhaps we are being spoilt by the wealth of wonders we have in Australia, it was however, an excellent excuse for some exercise in the tropical north.

Bitter Springs

We are now relaxing in Katherine Gorge or Nitmiluk National Park as it is known. We have walked the Gorge to the Southern Rockhole and Pat’s Lookout, and paddled the croc infested waters.

Katherine Gorge

Fortunately the salties are only known to be around here in the wet season!!! Dave and Kim saw a couple of freshwater crocs when they did the paddle up the gorge via canoe. Tomorrow we push on to Douglas Daly and more hot springs, if they are anything like Mataranka we are in for some fun times!!

The trip North now begins.  We head to the Flinders Ranges where we stayed in the National Park Campground.  Numerous bushwalks, with varying degrees of difficulty, originate from the campground or a short drive away. The first one was a very easy 6.4km return trip into Wilpena Pound.  This is a large area surrounded by mountainous rock which made an ideal natural confinement for livestock in pioneering times.  The walk concluded at the Hill’s Homestead with a short biography of the Hill’s family struggle to survive the isolation of the pound and make a living off the land.  They farmed sheep and grew wheat through drought and flood, with no infrastructure.  The brothers built roads and bridges by hand to move their produce to market - only to have their years of toil washed away by floods following the drought.

We were fortunate to spend a few more days with the Cantwell’s who arrived shortly after us.  The kids had a ball playing together.  We did the Mt Ohlssen Bagge climb altogether which made for a very pleasant walk - and very good excercise with a 9kg baby on your back!

Kids climb Mt Ohlssen Bagge!!

  The top of the climb offers a spectacular view of the Pound and surrounding ranges and also the solar station which powers the campground.  There is plenty of wildlife and birdlife to see on each walk.  We also made some new friends - Dave and Kim, travelling ex-Sydney with their kids, Zoe and Lucas.  You will see they are featured in future entry’s as they are now stalking us up through the centre! They insist that everywhere they go it rains and that they should be being paid by the government.  They haven’t mentioned aliens at this point.  Interestingly it did, indeed, rain while they were at the Ranges.

Through this time Trinity has been very whingy (for her) and clingy.  Her top gums swollen with moving teeth.  She is waking 8-12 times per night.  She has just started playing ‘peek-a-boo’ by pulling a sheet or curtain around her face.  She giggles hysterically each time, which has us all in peels of laughter too.

After 5 days, we leave the Ranges and hit the dry dusty roads on the way to Coober Pedy, via Leigh Creek and the Oodnadatta Track.  The arid landscape is depressing - kilometer after kilometer of red, dusty sand with an occasional dry desert shrub.  The red dust from the dirt road gets into the caravan so everything is covered in red grime each stop.  With water scarce, it is very hard to feel clean.  We get by on about 50 litres of water per day between towns, making me feel very irritated and highlighting my ‘clean’ obsessiveness.  The nights and early mornings are freezing with no power.  We were all very thankful when one of the roadside stops turned out to be an oasis! 

Our camp site at Coward Springs                           

The spa at Coward Springs

Coward Springs, on the Oodnadatta track , preserves some of the history of the old Ghan train line and provided a relaxing retreat from the road.  Thousands of litres of water bubble up in the area allowing huge sweeping trees (and even some Palms) to grow happily in the sand.  The caretakers have built a tub (from old railway sleepers) around one of the bores providing a natural spa.  The water bubbles out with such force it pushes you away.  The water then overflows into a wetland of reeds and trees which provide a habitat for abundant birdlife including Brolgas!  The water is constantly tepid (about 29*C).  What bliss to clean off ….. by submersion especially!  A camel safari runs from this camp spot, and the caretakers have used the old railroad sleepers to build showers and toilet huts.  The showers are heated by a woodfire and complete with recycled tin splashbacks and ceramic hangers.  It is all aesthetically breathtaking in a rustic, almost tuscan, way.  We hung up the hammock and Trinity’s ‘nanny-and-poppy-made’ swing under the trees outside our caravan and decided to stay an extra night.

Trinity happy in her swing

This is a place we would love to go back to - an oasis in the middle of nowhere …. despite an evening visit from a dingo.

Trinity has cut two top teeth, since we left the Ranges, with one more busting at the seams. Zaac and Jay have taken to sketching with the variety of landscapes we see, and turning out some amazing drawings. Their instruments are sounding beautiful.  They are in a good rhythm for setting up and packing up, so our moves go very smoothly all things considered.  They are both still very in love with their sister and are generally good mates.  Jaycob is missing his friends a great deal and writes to them and draws for them constantly. 

The last days’ trip to Coober Pedy is long but uneventful.  Coober Pedy marks the end of the horrid dirt road (for now).  However, that does not mean we can get all cleaned up, because Coober Pedy doesn’t offer easy access to water.  Water costs 20c for 30litres from the Council.  There are no onsite taps.  Showers cost 20c for a couple of minutes. 

Underground Art Gallery                                                                                   

Underground church at Coober Pedy

CP is situated on beds of sand and silt stone 100 feet thick topped with stony desert that is nearly treeless.  Very little plant life exists due to low rainfall.  [Fortunately for Coober Pedy, Kim and Dave arrived the day after us, and so it rained for two days!]  The information centre displays two photos for a ’spot-the-difference’ . One is of the CP terrain, and the other is the surface of Mars …… very difficult to tell apart.  This harsh terrain has provided the perfect stage for movies such as ‘Mad Max’ and ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’ . The population is a vast mixture of cultures that are primarily dependant on opal mining.  Due to the extremes in temperatures, it was not long before miners decided to camp underground in their mines.  The town has now developed to the point where luxurious underground homes, underground churches, shops, cafes and a bar, have been planned and built.  Although CP itself is completely unattractive, these buildings are spectacular.  In particular we loved the church.  It is a unique and interesting place to visit.

We arrived at my (Jodi’s) sisters house and were reminded of the size of suburbia.  We squeezed the caravan into their driveway.  Mandy and Christian then lavished the children with gifts and treats including Go-Karting and Warhammer figurines.  After hours and hours of concentrated painting of the figurines, the boys were taken to a Warhammer game by ‘future-uncle-Christian’.  Adelaide is a tired, pretty city.  Not so busy.   In map grid terms, the state is a perfect square, being 12 degrees longitude wide and 12 degrees longitude deep.  this is unique to any sovereign state on earth.  ….Adelaide is not only a square city, but it is constructed with its streets on a near perfect right-angle grid.  (Australias 12 Sacred Places, Alan Whithead.)  Ian had the opportunity to go gliding with one of Mandy’s workmates.  A birdseye view of Adelaide.

We also got Jay a couple of violin lessons with a Suzuki teacher.  Lisa was great with him and he learned a new (hard) song in two lessons.

We took a trip down to Port Elliot/Victor Harbour where we walked across to Granite Island to watch the penguins come in from their daily fishing.  It was breeding season, so (in the filtered , red torch-light)  the boys had some different visual experiences.  We planned to eat dinner on the island after the tour (which went from 6-7), but the bistro closed at 6pm.  The management kindly said they would feed us after the tour, which was fortunate as breastfeeding makes me go from not hungry to starving in an instant.  The meal and the service were exceptional. We had the restaurant to ourselves on the penisnsula of an island …. devine.

On advice we camped at Port elliot in the Big 4.  AAhhhhh!  remarkable!  a place to remember for us. The park was on the beach.  Hills, sand, boulders, seals, and seagrass for landscape. Jay did his spelling in the sand and the boys had amazing adventures and  imaginations around the rockeries.  In fact, they both decided they were going to become architects (because every house they saw they could think of something to change) .  They fantasised of the house they would build when they were 16 - design, build and decorate with lots of remote control things in it - and bounced around the point as they excitedly discussed it.  It was relaxing and magical for all of us.  The most amazing thing was that farmland ran right down to the ocean.  Acres and acres of undevoloped ocean-front land.  Very lucky sheep!

Port Elliot

A couple more days in my sister’s yard saw the end of Adelaide.  The confinement of suburbia stark after the freedom of the ocean.  I must say the company made it Ok, though. 

Our final weekend we spent in the Barossa Valley.  Mandy and Christian got the weekend off and we did a tour of the wineries together.  Fun, fun, fun.  We were treated like royalty at Rockfords as we had mail-ordered from them, which made us ‘Stonewallers’.  That was pretty special.  Of the 5000 wineries in the Barossa, we managed to bump into some friends from Samford in one of them!  We are now camping with them in the Flinders …….. [see next entry].  The stone buildings and autumn landscape are a sight to behold.  Years ago, my cousin bought a winery …. now I can understand why.  Atomosphere.  Whew. 

One of the old winery trucks

Jodi, Mandy, Ian and Christian

Sculpture at St Halletts winery

Please sir can I have some more…………

The wine press used at Rockfords

Apple tree in the orchard at Rockford winery

After our short stay in Dubbo, we moved on to Max and Marg’s place outside Gillgandra. The property is now primarily a sheep station, though Max and Marg have run cattle and crop farmed in the past. The boys had the opportunity to ride quad bikes, look for opals from opal dirt, hold a lamb, shear a sheep skin and play some pool.

Zaac and Jay holding lambs

From Max and Marg’s, we head for the mining town of Broken Hill. We are surprised at the  town services and cleanliness. For a small outback mining town, it provides all the services needed and many more. The RFDS has a base and the School Of The Air also service the outback regions of NSW. We visit DayDream Mine just outside Broken Hill which was in operation before Broken Hill’s resources were uncovered. The visit takes us underground and back in time. Operating in the late 1800’s, the mine still has the remains of the original township which had a population of over 500. Much of the labour used on the mines were boys as young as 8, they sorted the rock after it was removed from the mine and then sent for further processing.

Ian, Zaac and Jay go mining

The mine was barely large enough for me to walk through and the miners of old would have lead a very hard life.

We also toured the School of the Air and the Royal Flying Doctor Service bases. Both of these were well worth the visits. The SOTA now uses satellite communication and video conferencing rather than HF radio and the RFDS gives a full history on where the service has come from. After our time in Broken Hill it is time to push on to Adelaide.

The two day trip had us stopped at some road side rest areas and we were glad to arrive in civilization and hot showers and running water. We are now staying at Jodi’s sisters place and doing the sights of Adelaide which we will update down the track.

Well we have had a very relaxing week and a bit since last writing. We moved from Tamworth to the Warrambungle National Park Monday week ago and stayed there for nearly a whole week. Some of the highlights of the Warrambungles (WB from here) are the views, the wildlife and the serenity. We found a koala in the campground, emus wandering the pathways, grass parrots and a funny little group of birds called Choughs (PRON CHUFF). The NPWS run Discovery Tours during school holidays which have some fantastic guided tours. We did three of them.

The first was to Tara Cave where aboriginal boys were taken for an initiation ceremony for their passage into manhood. This involved circumcision using a sharp rock to cut the stretched foreskin, no anaesthesia provided. As it was not a place women would usually go, those in the group had to carry a symbol of peace (a small group of leaves), this included Trinity.

Our guide, Patty Chatfield is a native of the local clan and he provided a great deal of indigenous knowledge, from customary lore to bush tucker. Some of the things he showed us included the Quinine tree, cough bush, bush band-aid trees, and a vine that contained Silacalic Acid (the active ingredient in Aspirin). After the walk concluded we went back to the car park to find a pair of emu wondering the area.

That afternoon we did a second Discovery Tour that involved a walk along Gould’s Circuit for a sunset photo opportunity across the Breadknife, Bress peak and Belougery Spire.

Our guide Anthony O’Halloran was well versed in the local fauna, providing in-depth information on the endemic species of the WB. We also came across a Red-Bellied Black Snake situated right next to the walking track. Although recognised as venomous, the bite inflicted by one of these snakes is not usually harmful as the fangs are well back in the mouth.

The views from the top of Febar Tor and Macha Tor across to the Breadknife and previously mentioned locations was nothing short of breath taking. Unfortunatelythe light was very dull from the overcast conditions (the sun rarely shines in NSW which is why they all want to live in QLD) limiting the photos we could take with our pocket digital cameras. The indigenous names of all the landmarks have been lost due to the Aboriginal people being incarcerated on missions in the 1950’s.

The other Discovery Tour was located in present day technology rather than in the Aboriginal Dream Time. The Siding Spring Observatory tour took in all the research facilties of universities from around the world culminating in a visit to the Anglo Australian Telescope. I cannot do justice to this facility so the website is probably best to have a look at.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siding_Spring_Observatory

Cutaway model of the Anglo Australian Telescope

Zaac holds up the telescope

We were fortunate to meet up with a family group from Gillgandra, the Zell’s, who invited us to their sheep property so the boys could take a look at how a farm works. we will head up there tomorrow and spend a night. Thanks in advance for having us Max and Marg. The boys played a few songs for them just before dinner and entertained the rest of the campground at the same time.

WB crew

We then said goodbye to WB and made our way into Dubbo. Our new hosts greeted us with the coolest April day in many years with snow a bit down the road in Orange. After checking the weather we dicided a day underground was the best way to go. So we headed for the caves at nearby Wellington and did a tour of the phosphate mine. The mine was in operation around the time of the first world war and was excavated entirely by hand. A good number of fossils have been unearthed from the mine site but no complete fossils asall the bones appear to have been washed in in flood events dating back tens of thousands of years. Leaving Wellington, we headed for the Old Dubbo Goal for the afternoon. This provided some respite from the chilly winds but did little to lift the spirits. The goal is an excellent reminder of years gone by, featuring a morose display of the 8 men hanged in the prison. The exhibits are excellent and the boys had the opportunity to try a solitary confinement cell which was pitch black even with the door open.

The next two days we ventured to the Western Plains Zoo. As you can see by the footage and pictures below, we truly live in a diverse environment. Unfortunately our lust for money has come at a far greater price to the environment. Many of the exhibits are either vulnerable or endangered species. Please enjoy the photos.

We headed straight for a normal, powered caravan park in Armidale.  It even had a laundry.  This gave us a chance to resource thermals and uggs for everyone and reorganise the fridge/freezer situation to accommodate unpowered cooking and body heat.  (Guess who’s writing this section of the blog??)

Armidale Caravan Park 

Armidale was cold, windy and dry.  Our “Lonely Planet” guide suggested that everyone in Armidale suffered from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and so, was a fairly morbid place to visit.  However the magnificent autumn trees and beautiful old buildings did a lot to improve the affect of the town.  There were very few evergreen trees and the deciduous colours included about 6 shades of crimson (dusty pink to dark red) and various shades of gold.  We have desperately tried to remember the words for the autumn song …..

autumn is here have the strength to persevere

as the days grow cold.

autumn scenes have shades of green, yellow, red and gold.

Have the courage to persevere - reminds me of Michael

blah blah blah blah and you shall do well ……

If anyone can email me the rest of the song, I reckon I could sleep better.  The town is full of heritage architecture.  Massive old schools which the boys thought looked like Hogwart’s!  Even the Coles shopping centre had the feel and layout of and old hotel - with a real warmth about it. 

Another interesting thing about Armidale was that, although we didn’t see a lot of people around and about (apparently all hibernating with SAD).  There was every fast food outlet imaginable.  At first I thought maybe it was maybe all the habitants ate, but No - there is actually a Coles and a Woolies there as well.  I found it hard to imagine this quiet town could support all of that business - I guess the UNE helps.

Ahhh!  But a rose among the thorns….. I found the most beautiful store called ‘Grass Roots EcoStore’.  If you combined Natureplay, The Steiner Caravan , the cosmetic section of Four Seasons plus more, you could get a picture of this beautiful store.  I have some photos for you, and they were about to go on-line the day after our visit, so see if you can find it.  We bought Trinity a gorgeous pair of moccasin-style uggs (organic wool).  Pixie beanies and a recycled paper photo album and organic cotton fisherman pants, my husband gently encouraged me to leave behind.  I am very happy we found the uggs though.  Trinity has discovered she can be separated from her shoes, socks and hats (she’s also discovered she can be separated from her mother - which holds much less appeal for her) so it’s great to have these little moccasins that she can’t get off!  She’s also discovered that if she grabs a fist full of Zaac’s hair, he puts her down - a handy little ejection strategy. 

Grass Roots Eco Store

GARA GORGE

Gara Gorge is a short drive out of Armidale and part of Oxley Wild Rivers National Park.  It was Australia’s first commercial hydoelectric scheme.  The scheme powered Georgetown and provided power to the mines.  An easy 5.9km walk showed us some lovely rocky-mountain bushland and the remains  of the concrete flume which dropped 140m and drove the Pelton Wheel with some phenomenal amount of water per minute.  Jaycob took lots of photos until he decided he ‘had enough pictures of rocks’.  Initially we went to see ‘The Stranded Whale’  a stone feature of the gorge, replicating its title.  We didn’t see it.  Upon enquiry we were told it was right at the very start of the walk - somehow we missed it.  Still a pleasant day was had by all. 

Looking down into Gara Gorge

THUNDERBOLT’S GRAVE - BY ZAAC

Thunderbolt (Fred Ward)  was a bushranger who had been put in gaol twice - escaping the second time with the help of his wife.  He met a boy aged around 14-15 who became his companion. (Will Monkton)  When he was about 36 he robbed an Italian Peddler (in the old township of Uralla) just after his wife had died.  The peddler went to the police and a young constable named Walker hunted Thunderbolt along Kentucky River.  Thunderbolt was known for his horsemanship, it was how he always eluded police.  This day he was on a ‘borrowed’ horse, instead of his faithful horse Combo.  The ‘borrowed’ horse was spooked at the river so Thunderbolt lost his mount.  Walker was close on his trail and cleverly shot Thunderbolt’s horse to prevent his escape.  They then battled in the river.  Walker shot Thunderbolt through the chest and bashed his head.  Walker was the hero and was promoted to Senr Constable.  Thunderbolt’s career lasted 13 years.

The Macrossin Grain Mill Museum, in Uralla, houses many memorabilia of thunderbolt including a series of paintings expressing Thunderbolt’s last actions.  And a wax dummy of the departed thunderbolt. We visited Thunderbolts grave and Thuderbolts Rock which marked the entrance to the 1800’s township of Uralla and was depicted in the painting series.  It now sits on the edge of the highway and is covered in graffiti.  Kind of sad after the mood and beauty of the paintings.

Thunderbolts demise

Thunderbolts Grave and Thunderbolts Rock

WOOLOMIN

30 mins outside of Tamworth we stayed in another bush camp beside the Peel river.  Although, much more temperate than Armidale, it was significantly less appealing to the eye, and was so full of bindies that we ended up with three bike punctures.  While there we took a 30 min drive into a small, pretty township called Nundle.  There we visited the Nundle Wool Mill.  We saw the machinery involved in the various stages of making yarn from fleece - right through to dying.  The boys then sat and did a little knitting with some 20ply wool and a couple of needles just a little thinner than logs!  It was a broad-weave scarf.  We stayed two nights at Woolomin before voting to spend a night (once again in a ‘normal’ caravan park) to sort out punctures and a ???leaking water tank.  Tamworth’s redeeming feature was a gentle bike ride through a pleasant botancial garden.  Otherwise I thought it was very ‘concrete’ .  Held none of the appeal of Armidale.  [authors note:  I realise am raving a bit about Armidale and acknowledge that once these magnificent deciduous trees drop their leaves - and in the absence of evergreens - the place will look decidedly skeletal.  Might be able to see some of the Armidilians then!]  Next to Coonabarabran, The Warrambungles, Dubbo and the Zoo!

After leaving the gang at Coffs we headed for Little Styx River campground. The journey took us via Bellingen and Dorrigo. Styx River is at the entry to the New England National Park. The campground is peaceful and close to some really scenic vistas. Point lookout at 1563m is awesome. 

It’s a long way down

Walking up to the viewing platform is a shock! The platform extends over the edge of the cliff which drops vertically below. If you have been on the giant drop at Dreamworld, multiply that by 1000 and you’ll know what I mean.

Point Lookout Drop 

The overnight temps got down to around zero and about 5 in the van. We were not prepared for temps this low in an unpowered camp ground but survived just the same. On the first day we rode to the trout hatchery, a joyful 16km round trip. Needless to say not everybody made it and I ended up going back for the car with Zaac to pick up Jodi, Jaycob and Trinity. Trout are an introduced species and do not compete with native fish as they survive in the streams that are to cold for native fish. 

Camel or Alien life form

We awoke on the second morning to camels in the paddock next door. Unusual but one of the many things likely to surprise us on the way round. We then went to Cathedral Rock National Park and did the Cathedral Rock walk. Once again some great views from up here.

Cathedral Rock views

Another view from Cathedral Rock

And so we left for Armidale. The pack up and set up times are about 25 mins to set and around 40 mins to pack. The boys are both being very helpful and trying. The music practice is fitting in well and the school work is just starting to kick in to gear. We will stay in Armidale for a few nights to regather and prepare for the lower temps awaiting us across cental and western NSW. I will try to get the updates a bit more regular as we now have broadband access and I am getting more familiar with the wordpress programme. Please feel free to post comments, send suggestions or just say hello. the boys would love to hear from you.

In our last post we were leaving home. We are now in Armidale and coming to the end of day 13. So much has happened already that I am glad I started a diary. As I look back over the past 13 days we have travelled far and learnt much. Please read on and share this with us.

We left about 12pm on the 3/4/08 and arrived in Woombah (on the way in to Iluka) at about 4.30pm. For a 288km trip it sure took a while. We stayed with Mark, Dom, Taylah, Mitchell and Kendall Horne who were our hosts for the next 2 days.

Ready to leave.

The Yamba Lighthouse

We had a great time looking around Yamba and Iluka. Ten Mile Beach was a great walk and we will go back and spend more time on the way back. Thanks to the Horne’s for having us.

Day 3 was a short drive to Darlington Beach Resort for a week with Greg, Anne Marie, Gabrielle, Thomas and Holly Badcock, Tony, Michelle, Tyler and Halle Graham. It was a week marked by Jodi’s birthday on the 10th (not telling which one) and plenty of inclement weather. However, plenty of fun was had by all with games of Canasta, Articulate and Cranium. We did plenty of walking on the beach, played golf, lawn bowls, swimming and sight seeing around Coffs.

Too cute.

The Jumping Pillow at Darlington Park

The Gang at Coffs

This was the final pic taken before we headed west and everyone else headed back to Brisbane.

Today is the time for good-byes. The van is packed and we are ready to go. As with all journeys, someone is always left behind. In our case it’s Holly. From the time when things started disappearing from the house, she knew something was going on. She has been a constant shadow perhaps hoping she wouldn’t get left behind. Sorry Holly we’ll miss you.

 So today, the first leg of our trip will see us at Yamba, where we will stay with a couple of friends, Mark and Dom until our push to Coffs on Saturday.

The countdown continues to our departure. With a little over a week to go before we head off everything is coming together - sort of. When planning a trip like this, the small things are often the hardest to manage. For example, the house has to be pretty well packed so that we can get away, the downside is that we are now living from suitcases, beds are on the floor and the can opener has gone missing! Never mind. Next Monday we plan to move into the van so that we can finish packing the house, fine tune what we need and start getting into the feel of our adventure.

The kids finish school this friday, so with any luck I’ll have a couple of extra helpers to load the van. The excitement is starting to grow and I can’t wait to get this show on the road!!!