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Life will be boring if you don't get out and live it!! |
Ok I get the hint!!!
Here are the last few days in visual review..
Kids having fun at devils marbles. Despite the heat they loved climbing and exploring.
Then off to Wycliffe which she’s had reported alien sightings… The petrol station has cashed in on this and run with the theme.
Today was a day of rest.
Having spent the last two days on the road, I think everyone was glad to just take it easy today. A late start with everyone sleeping in. In fact, the first one up was Tara, closely followed by me at 8:00am!!!! That would have to be the latest I have slept in all holiday!!!!!
Of course no prizes for guessing who the last person out of bed was, although Fiona did look very refreshed after her much needed sleep in… I must be such a sucky husband making her wake up in the AM so many times… Kate keep saying that I got my fat lip from waking Fiona, not from running into the caravan. “Dont poke the bear…” seems to be her new catch phrase!!
So as I said, a day of rest. We slowly cooked breakfast, had showers put a much need load or five of washing on before heading to Coles to restock. Would you believe that Liquorland in Alice Springs doesn’t open until 2pm!!!! Of course we had came out of Coles at 1:45pm and had to wait for the doors to open. Surprisingly, the 30 or so people that followed Mark and I through the doors were tourists!!! Guess the locals all know better!
Afternoon was spent with an early “cheese o’clock” as the kids ran around the park somehow managing to find the only mud puddle in Alice Springs and playing in it fully clothed! Not sure those clothes will live to see another day…
After dinner we sang a belated Happy Birthday to Mark, then it was straight to bed for the kids.
Tomorrow we are back on the road heading out to Uluru (AKA: Ayers Rock).
Will leave you with two nice photos I took from the caravan park looking at the hills of Alice Springs… first one was in the morning and second at dusk…
PS – seems Fiona and Mark didn’t get my hint hint from yesterday, so maybe I’ll try to be a little more blunt…. PUT SOME BLOODY PHOTOS UP YOU TWO!!!!!
Sorry about the lack of a post this morning but we stayed in the outback last night with no Internet!!! I know!!! Horrible, how did we survive????
Anyway, will begin where we left off in Bachelor. Woke to a messy pack up… how did we manage to spread ourselves so much??
Paused the packup just long enough to wish Mark a Happy Birthday and give him his presents.
Afterwards, I learnt an important lesson about being careful around the caravan. Mark and I had just moved the awning legs from vertical to 45 degrees, and I spun around straight into it!! Caught my nose and lip… man did it hurt!!! Split my lip and got a fat lip, but nothing a cold icy pole won’t fix!
While in Bachelor, Zac and Mattie had caught pet skinks. They weren’t too happy when I informed them that they are not coming in the car… Zac had grown very fond of his pet and was planning on taking him home until I said “How would you like it if a giant came along and took you away from your home and family?”
Reluctantly he returned the skink to the garden.
Anyway, left Bachelor and made it in good time to Katherine where we stopped at Red Rooster for lunch (Mark’s choice for his Birthday).
Was almost like coming home being in Katherine again, seems like we had only just left! After lunch, at Kate’s suggestion, I visited the coffee club across the road from Red Rooster and managed to get a really good coffee for the road. Hard to find a good coffee in the outback! Then we breezed by Coles Express for a refuel then hit the road.
Oh, coming into Katherine, we were having a really good run, but as we left Katherine to the south we encountered strong cross winds that pushed the car and caravan around the road. Strange how it can be so good on one side of town and crap on the other!!! I said to Mark on the CB “Who knows, with the temperature and the wind outside we might see a whirly whirly or two!”
…and didn’t we!!
We arrived in Mataranka around 2pm and were planning to stop for the day to spend some more time in the hot springs, but it was too early with so many kilometres in front of us, we decided to push on.
Pulled up in Larrimah for a pee across from the Pink Panther Pub by an abandoned petrol station. While waiting outside the vans for the kids to pee, I heard a sound in the bush. Suddenly I saw it… a massive whirly whirly coming our way. As it burst from the trees, I yelled at Fi for the camera (I had left my phone in the car) and said to Mark “It is either going to hit my caravan or yours!!!”
We were lucky as it drifted to the side of us breaking up through the remains of the abandoned petrol station (I wonder if a big one was the reason it was abandoned??) before dissipating and re-appearing on the the side of the road making its way through the Pink Panther caravan park. Looked awesome, and Fi managed to get a short video.
With visions of the movie twister we continued down the road… luckily there were no flying cows crossing our path!
Anyway, as the day was getting on, we decided to try to make it to Elliot, pulling in about 5pm. Unfortunately Elliot turned out to be a run down town and the only caravan park a plot of land behind the BP. The entire town was filled with Aboriginals, and did not look like a place we wanted to stay. After a quick family meeting we decided to push on an hour further south to Renner Springs and stay the night. Unfortunately as I said before, there was no Internet in Renner Springs… in fact there was nothing in Renner Springs but the Roadhouse, the Pub and the caravan park… everything we needed to celebrate Mark’s Birthday!!
Had a good birthday feed for Mark at the roadhouse before putting the kids to bed and sitting outside enjoying a lovely warm evening with the temperature staying about 30 degrees, but was wonderful without the humidity of the north (Just had to get that in for all the people suffering the cold miserable weather in Melbourne at the moment).
As the girls retired for the night, Mark and I wandered over to the pub for a nightcap where we met the chef, an interesting bloke who had only been the chef there for 2 days! He was ex-army and was telling us about being a chef in Afghanistan, Iraq, Timor etc. Very interesting, especially the bits about how in the Middle East he was able to make steak for the troops out of just about anything… what they didn’t know was they were eating camel, dog, cat, horse etc!
So, that was day one. Today, woke bright and early to see the outback sunrise.
As I had pulled into the caravan park the night before, a guy walked over and pointed out that one of my bash plates was hanging down 🙁 Haven’t had a lot of luck with these bash plates! About 50km before Renner Springs, Fi and I heard a tink tink under the car… as it turned out it was one of the bolts holding the bash plates in place falling off… grr!
So at 6am, I moved the car onto some grass, climbed under and using a strap, tied it back up so it will make it back to Melbourne. As I did, I managed to put my arm in some poop on the grass left by one of the local birds…
I washed off just as Jess woke, so we went for a walk around the park to keep the noise down for the others.
Anyway, wasn’t long before everyone else was up, and we were packed and on the road by 8:49am!! I think that might almost be a record!! Heading south again, we soon passed a town called Banka Banka. Having a Banker in the convoy, we had to stop for a quick photo before pushing on.
Next major stop was The Devils Marbles. Huge round rocks that had been cut from a massive piece of granite over thousands of years by the wind and rain. Took a few photos and did a few wee’s before hitting the road again… was simply too hot outside being 38 degrees!! (Yes that was another dig at Melbourne!)
The boys were in their element here clambering and climbing over the rocks. We liked it so much we loaded one onto the roof rack of the car….
Unfortunately it must have fallen off cause it is no longer there??
After the Devil’s Marbles, we stopped in Wyecliff Well, the Alien sighting capital of Australia, for lunch. I didn’t take any photos on my phone, so hopefully Mark or Fiona upload some (Hint Hint).
After lunch, we hit the road again and had a pretty uneventful trip the rest of the way into Alice Springs where we are staying at the Big 4. A lot cooler here tonight being only 29 degrees by the time we arrived!! Might have to break out the jumpers tonight….hehe…
We will stay here for two nights before pushing on to Uluru.
So that is it, you are now up to date on our busy couple of days as we left the tropics and headed south. Was a good couple of days drive covering about 1400kms, but will be good to rest for a day now. Hopefully the miserable weather down south passes before we get back into it. People behind me in the caravan park, fellow Victorian’s, mentioned that South Australia is expecting Hurricane Winds!! not something to look forward too!!!
Today we set out to see some waterfalls and have a swim in Litchfield. After driving down a 4wd track, a river crossing with potentially crocs and lunch with loud cicadas, we still had not seen any falls or swum.
We decided to head back to a “tourist waterfall” as Craig called it. Coming back through the river, Craig pulled after he was through. Over the CB was “i have lost a bash plate”. We reverse back, park and get out. Kate is unsure if we are far enough away from any crocs based on repeated questions. I assure her that 40m will be fine.
An hour later, 35 degree heat, Craig’s towel, but shifter and bottle jack and shovel later and the offending plates are off.
Here are some pics
Now i know this is bad, but i might have been thinking thank christ its not my car again!
Maybe he should have let Matt drive??
Made it to Wangi Falls and they were awesome. Craig will have pics but essentially a large lake with massive waterfalls. Quite impressive. The kids though so two asthe boys climbed up the sides and explored like monkeys!
Heading south tomorrow for the run home, time has flown!
Well today is our last day in the North before we turn south and begin our journey home. Was a slow start with at least three of the parents making the most of nowhere to be by enjoying a sleep in. Won’t say who, but I was up before 7am as always (why can’t I do that when I have to go to work???)
Just after our bacon and eggs breakfast we were discussing when we could facetime Shaun to wish him a Happy Birthday. I looked up the World clock to see what the time was in the UK… 2:20am…. perfect. Jess and I made a facetime call and waited to see what would happen… ring ring….ring ring…then all of a sudden connecting….. and there was Uncle Shaun – “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” was the greeting from all the kids.
They each took time to have a chat with Uncle Shaun telling them their favourite parts of the holiday. Got to love modern technology where we can be in a remote caravan park in the Outback and make a video call to my brother in London!! Lucky uncle Shaun got an early happy birthday before he had even been to bed!!!!
Anyway, birthday wishes and breakfast done, we had a shower, packed some lunch and set out to explore Litchfield National Park. I said to Mark we should head to the furthest waterfall then slowly make our way back up to any others we want to see. Of course we really only wanted the ones that didn’t need a massive trek in the heat to get to them, so the one I picked was a good one… you could 4WD all the way to the falls 🙂
Was as we left the dirt that our less adventurous explorers started to change their minds… 100m in and we had to cross a croc infested river!!! Excitedly (with a nervous wife beside me) I checked the depth, set the camera and plunged on in…
Mark waited until I was through to ensure it wasn’t too deep for his snorkeless car before following.
Without incident, we passed the river and continued on down the track. We passed the first turn off to a set of waterfalls, and that was where all the plans fell apart. The sign said “Snorkel recommended” along the next part of the track as there were some deeper rivers that needed to be crossed. I said let’s get to the river then we can decide, given it is the dry season and the rivers are certainly not at peak.
We stopped at a small water hole crossing to check the map, and this is where the less adventurous in the group made it clear they were not interested in continuing. I stopped a 4wd coming the other way to ask how deep the river was, “…about 750mm” he said “Shouldn’t be a problem I’ve already done it twice today, but the water was lapping the bonnet…” I noted that he didn’t have a snorkel!!
He indicated that he hadn’t attempted the second river crossing, so he wasn’t sure hoe deep it was. Mark, not willing to risk a drowned motor made the decision to return to the last waterfall we passed and stop for lunch. Ok I agreed, but not before I drove across the water hole and back. Unfortunately I set the camera to film the crossing, but had it on photo not video, so I missed the whole thing. Mark got a video from the bak though, so hopefully he will upload it.
Back down the road, we stopped at this waterfall which may have been spectacular, but we won’t know, as it was a 1.7km walk and no one was up for it in the heat. We had bite to eat, then agreed to head back onto the main road and visit the less adventurous Wangi falls that didn’t require a 4WD to get to.
Of course this required backtracking through the croc infested river. Mark took the lead this time, and i followed close behind. We were halfway through when we heard a big thump under the car. A submerged rock had appeared in the middle of the crossing. “…well that is what bash plates are for…” I said, but as we pulled up on the other bank, there was a loud scraping noise coming from under the car.
I quickly pulled up and jumped out for a look and to my dismay found one of my bash plates bent down and dragging on the road.
Crap! what do I do now???
Time for some bush mechanics as I crawled under the car in the blistering heat, Fi and Mark stood guard for other cars and crocs. Kate told all the kids that I had hit a crocodile in the river and it was stuck under the car, so I was removing it so we can have crocodile steaks for dinner!!! Took about an hour before I had the bent plate off and up on the roof rack… will require a fair bit of panel beating to fix that one!!
Very dirty and dusty from lying in the sand, we continued onto the Wangi falls for a swim and wash. These falls were fantastic, two streams falling down the rock face to a large pool below. With only freshwater crocs to worry about here, we all plunged in for a swim.
There were plenty of people swimming, so we were not too worried about the crocs, and the water was very refreshing, washing away the days sweat, dirt and dust.
We swam to the other side of the pool near the falls, and the kids and I climbed up the rocks to a rock pool. This rock pool was barely visible from below but was sunk about 2m deep into the cliff face. Was only a small pool, about 1.5m wide, but the kids and I had a ball swimming around and exploring it. I even helped Clare climb up for a swim as she was feeling left out… sucks being the youngest!!
Spent a couple of hours swimming before heading to the information centre right on closing time for a much needed ice-cream. Then it was all back in the car for the trek back to the caravan.
I attempted to panel beat my bash plate but discovered one of the bolts was rounded, so it will have to stay on the roof rack until I get home and have some decent tools to work with 🙁
Pack up day tomorrow as we hit the road once again. Not sure where we end up, will just have to see how we go. I wonder what Mark will pick for his special birthday dinner… will it be KFC, Maccas, or something different all together???
I want waffle too much today as Craig has done a fine journalistic job! The jumping crocs were cool. It is amazing how far they can propel themselves out of the water. As we cruised up the river i could not help feeling stalked as you could see the crocs coming out and making a beeline for the boat.
More croc pics
We then stopped at the Humpty Doo Hotel for lunch. Craig and myself had the mixed grill. Up in the Territory a mixed grill ( well here anyway) was croc, buffalo, barra and ribs! Yummy and we got to try croc. Not bad and a bit like chicken but gamier.
The aircraft Heritage centre was cool. I had not heard of it but when Dad had rung the night before for Emma’s birthday he was telling me about it. The B-52 bomber (only 1 of 2) on display outside of the US, an f111 plus other planes. Dad also told me grandpa was stationed in that very location during WW2 in the 12th Aircraft Repair Depot ( i think that was what he said) which a google search says was moved to Darwin from Werribee.
After sitting behind Craig on the dirt road the Prado had dust everywhere. If you touched here you became red. The photo doesn’t show much but the next campside now has a nice red tinge from where we washed. Matt, Clare and Jess enjoyed helping wash the cars, or was it getting hosed down and buckets of water on them, not sure! Great way to cool off and hve fun like the good old days growing up.
No trip to the Territory would be complete unless you see the jumping crocodiles on the Adelaide River.
So I guess you can now say our Territory trip is complete!!
The day started with a trip down a corrugated dirt road, an alternative route recommended by the caravan park owner as a little more interesting if you have a 4wd.
Really it was just a dirt road, although we did have to cross some very deep rivers… I always love a good river crossing, and up here you need to be aware of crocs as you are crossing… at least that would have been the case if we were here during the wet season… all we had were dry dusty and rocky river beds that looked like they hadn’t seen any water in years!! At least we found a couple of puddles where we could make the red muddy water spray up on each side of the car! WOuld have made for a great picture if we had had time to stop.
Unfortunately though, no time for stopping on this trek, we had a boat to catch. Made it to the river (with actual water in it) just in time for the 11am cruise.
The crocs were amazing! Didn’t take long as we left the dock before the slow moving shapes appeared in the water ahead. They really are amazing the way they move through the water so fast barely making a ripple. As the first one came alongside, some pork chops were dangled from the top deck as the crocs leapt out of the water for a feed. They made each croc jump 3 times before rewarding them with their food.
Each of the crocodiles had names, and the skipper named each one as they were fed, telling us all about the salt water crocodiles, and a little about each one. My favourite was Lefty, the second biggest croc in the river so named because he was missing a leg (you will never guess which one!). At 6.2m he was an impressive beast. As Lefty approached the boat, I managed to manoeuvre into the best viewing position right next to the lady feeding with my iPhone ready to catch it on video… unfortunately Lefty was not playing nice today, and refused to take the bait 🙁 would have been impressive to see him jump!
We moved on and I managed to get a few on video. Unfortunately from that point on all we saw were smaller males and the females which are much smaller, but still impressive. Watch for yourself.
Very impressive, and no way you want to go for a swim with any of them! Unfortunately, the king of the river Aggro, the largest croc in the region didn’t make a show today 🙁 He would have been impressive to see at 6.3m long! On the way back to the dock, we got to see a a Raptor feeding show. Small bits of meat were thrown from the side of the boat as the Kites swooped and snatched a meal from the water. They are a large and impressive bird.
All in all a great cruise and definitely worth seeing. After the cruise with our bellies rumbling, we headed to the Humpty Doo pub for a meal. Mark and I had the mixed grill which I didn’t realise until it arrived consisted of crocodile, buffalo, barramundi and ribs and chips! Was a huge meal, but I must have been hungry as I managed to get through the feast. It was delicious, although as we hit the road, boy was I feeling full! I think Mark got a photo of the feast which he can upload later.
We headed towards Darwin to visit Super Cheap Auto again, this time Mark needed another new CB Ariel as he had lost a second one on the dirt road this morning. This time a whole new more stable base was needed, then it was on to the Aviation Museum near the Darwin airport. One of the few places you can get up close to a B52 Bomber. Once again I found it very interesting with all the history of WWII as the Japanese bombed Darwin and the region.
While I loved learning about the local history, it wasn’t long before the kids got bored, and being so hot we stopped for an ice cream in the Museum shop before heading back to the caravan park.
Back at base after an icy cool drink, Mark and I changed into our bathers to wash all the red dust from our cars. The water certainly ran red and still being so hot, it wasn’t long before we were spraying more water on ourselves and the kids. I love up here that the water from the cold tap is like a lukewarm bath! You don’t really even need a hot water heater!!
After our water fun, Mark and I headed to the office to extend our stay one more night. While we are a long way from home with only 2 weeks to go, we really need the extra day to spend exploring Litchfield National Park and the many water falls and swimming holes it has to offer.
Tomorrow, we will once again pack up and hit the road, finally turning South, my least favourite part of the trip because that means we are heading towards home 🙁 and we are still having way too much fun to do that!!! Anyone got a spare couple of million dollars they can give us so we don’t have to go back to work?? Life on the road is simply way too much fun 😉
Oops, nearly forgot… the kids found a frog last night which Jess brought back to the camp to show us… Mattie said “I wasn’t sure if it was deadly, so I told Jess to pick it up!!!” Well Jess is still here this morning, so I guess it was ok. Wasn’t long though before we had to rescue the poor frog as the kids began to fight over it and they all got sent to bed for not listening to their parents. Also the poor frog was destined for the toilet as that is the only other place Clare has seen one!!!!
Don’t worry though, we made sure frog made it back to the garden safely… a little traumatised, but he will live to jump again!
Well yesterday we completed our Journey North, spending Emma’s Birthday in Darwin. Didn’t think we would make it there for awhile, but our trip north is finally complete.
The morning started as most Birthday’s do, new presents for the Birthday girl, and a lot of excitement. Emma wanted Pancakes for breakfast, so Mark and I each did a batch of pancakes on the BBQ while Fi and Kate showered. The Pancakes were vaccuumed up by the kids so fast that we had to put a couple aside for Fi and Kate or they would have missed out!!
Breakfast done, we loaded everyone in the car and headed north. First job for the day was to get Emma’s ears pierced for her Birthday. Mark found a place that would do them in the shopping centre in Casurina. As brave little Emma got her ears punctured, I under went a beauty treatment of my own, nipping into the mens hairdresser next door. Think Emma got the better beauty treatment, the hairdresser absolutely went to town on my hair, not the best cut I have had, but at least it was cooler, and the hair will grow back!.
Next stop was lunch, so we made our way to the food court. Emma wanted KFC for lunch, but being a food court, there was a little more choice, so Mark, Matthew and Zac had KFC while the younger girls all opted for Sushi (surprise surprise), and Kate, Fi and I had some Thai.
Our bellies full, we jumped back in the car to drive into the Darwin CBD to visit the Crocosaurus in the main street. Darwin looked pretty much the same as I remembered it, only dryer and less humid then when I was here last in February. Some of the streets we walked down were a little different without the ankle deep river to wade through. It can really rain up here in the wet season!!
Not today though, it was just hot. We made it into the Crocosaurus just in time for the afternoon feeding. First of all, Tara and Jess got selected activate the simulated crocodile jaws on a block of ice. Thump… made a mess of the ice, and the expression on Jess’s face says it all!
Then it was on to see some real crocodiles get fed. At 5.5 to 6 metres, these were impressive beasts! The hollow thump sound they made as they lept out of the water snapping their jaws around the the meat was enough to make you understand why you need to respect crocodiles! I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near them!! Hopefully the kids now have a better understanding of why we are so cautious around the rivers up here!
At the end of the feeding show, the kids all got a chance to go crocodile fishing. In an enclosure with 100 baby crocodiles, they got to dangle a piece of meat above the water as the babies lept out of the water to take the bait.
Zac and I caught the whole thing on video from above.
After the croc fishing, we stopped in the cafe for a quick cool drink. What we should have done was head straight down to where you were able to hold a baby crocodile. Jess was devastated that we missed it and there were tears for a long time as we left. She really loves animals that girl and was so disappointed.
Instead we wandered through the reptile enclosure where we got to see a number of the snakes and lizards that can be found in Australia. The boys were certainly enthralled by this.
Below are a few photos from the Crocosaurus. There are even some photos of a guy that was brave enough to get into the chamber of death which is lowered into the crocodile enclosure as they feed on of the largest crocs. Gives a real perspective of their size!
After the crocosaurus, we left Darwin heading south to Bachelor once more, stopping on the way for Maccas (Emma’s choice of B’day dinner). Hope you had a wonderful birthday Emma and enjoyed the day as much as we did.
So that is it, we made it to Darwin after all and finally got to see some crocs. Of course crocs in the wild are a different story, so today we are heading out to see the jumping crocs on the Adelaide river. I’m sure they will be even more impressive than the ones in captivity.
We found Darwin (makes Geelong look big!) and found the Darwin equivalent of Chadstone as google said they had a beauty shop that did ear piercing’s. Emma was so bubbly and excited on the way in but not rude over the top as can happen.
Picking ear rings was fun, but some trepidation appeared
Then in the room the reality started to set in, but Emma held her course
Then in a second, she had two holes! There were no tears and a brave face. How mature now she is 7
Emma requested KFC for lunch but had sushi rolls anyway. Matt was happy as we acquired 4 blue tongue lizards..
Then off to Crocosaurus Park in the centre of Darwin. While hot, everyone had a ball, we saw crocs, fished for crocs, saw lizard, snakes, frogs and turtles
Feeding/fishing for crocs was great, kids fascinated and scared. Only my kids could pat a croc
Matt loves reptiles
Maccas for the kids was dinner at Emma’s request, with Clare falling asleep keeping up with the big kids.
Emma chose a mudcake and a strawberry cheesecake slash sponge cake.
Vicky, Kate whipped these up in the van oven…….
Emma said the best bit today was getting her ears pierced after waiting a year!
Happy birthday again Em
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!
Em was up before 7am looking for presents. She told us the other day she saw presents in a cupboard after she went looking for them (this oddly sounds like genetic behavior passed down from Auntie Kim…………)
But this morning they were gone! Surprise! Soon Tara and Jess had joined us for present opening
One of the presents was a Baby Alive. It talks, gets fed special food and uses special nappies for it to wee in. Not sure Emma was excited…
Of my bad, she was immediately opening it and they were feeding it and changing it
This will be one loved baby with so many aunties. Great Uncle Craig had a nurse
Then she moved to her secret diary
The Mortons gave her fairy books which have not left her hands since she got them
We head into Darwin today as Emma wants her ears pierced, and Maccas for lunch. Lets see how the day pans out……..
