Half-lap Day 110: Camperdown -> Home

There was heavy rain overnight and once again we were very grateful to be inside a house. We got up and had breakfast and chatted to our hosts, Millie had a shower and Caitlin made more videos on her iPad. Tony and his uncle had stayed up quite late the night before so Tone had a bit of a sleep in. It didn’t take us long to pack up as we’d brought even less inside this time than the night before – the only time consuming thing was the extremely steep driveway that we needed to walk down and up to get to the car and back (we’d left the car and trailer down on the street, there was no way we could go up the drive with the trailer on).

LiAM in particular was very keen to just get in the car and head home. We were on our way just after 10am, very excited to be on the very last leg of our trip. We drove through the beautiful and familiar countryside around Camperdown, with the stone walls and windmills and cattle and sheep. Driving through the little towns between there and Geelong we saw lots of tractor and harvester equipment. Mainly we noticed how often we came across a town – we’d become used to driving all day to get to the next town, and here they came up every 20 minutes or so.

We stopped near Geelong to get petrol and some hot chips from Red Rooster. The roadhouse was a bit a of a culture shock – the service station, McDonalds, Red Rooster and several other food outlets all shared the same building, and there were SO many people. We got our chips and were happy to be back in the car.

It was raining pretty hard for a lot of the way into and around Melbourne. There was more traffic than we had seen – well, since we’d left. One thing that stood out to us was the low number of caravans – we were used to seeing almost nothing but trucks and caravans, and here it was mainly cars and utes, we only saw 3 caravans between Geelong and the ring road.

Traffic was slow on the ring road, first because of lane merges, and then because of a very nasty looking accident near Sydney Rd. Eventually the traffic cleared and the last 45 minutes flowed easily. On our way we drove nearby several friend’s houses and gave them a wave as we went past.

One by one the kids recognised roads we were driving on and realised how close to home we were. Coming through Christmas Hills it was very exciting to see Yarra Glen spread out on the plain below – really felt like coming home. As we drove through Yarra Glen we noticed lots of houses had been built in the estate they were just starting when we left. It’s cool to live in such a beautiful place too – driving along the road to our house we could appreciate the beauty and not feel so much like we’d left all these fantastic places and now we were just at home – home is fantastic as well.

We arrived home just after 2pm and everyone felt happy and bit of disbelief – we’d made it! We were going to back the trailer in to the carport first so it was in position to unpack – then we saw Buckley and everyone tumbled out of the car to go and pat him. He was excited to see us and we were all so thrilled to see him. We let him come inside with us to check out the house – it looked so neat and familiar and strange and felt much bigger than I’d remembered. We hadn’t been home long when Winky came out to see us. The kids were so excited that she ran straight back in under my bed in fright – but did come out and gave us all a cuddle then hung around with us all afternoon, I think she was pleased to see us too. Later in the afternoon we saw our 3 remaining chickens and the kids reallocated ownership and names (they’ve grown since we left and we weren’t sure which chickens these were – they’ve got new identities now so it doesn’t matter). The mountains that are normally our view were obscured by cloud at first, then the clouds lifted through the afternoon and we could see Mt St Leonards and really felt at home.

We lit the fire, went through our mail, slowly brought things in out of the car and moved things around the house to make it habitable for the 5 of us (I’d put a lot of stuff in the kids’ room so that our house sitter had more space, so I moved some of that back out so that the kids could get to their beds). LiAM and Millie put the PlayStation on and played with their new Skylanders, Caitlin rang her friends to tell them she was home.

It was a lovely, relaxing afternoon and I resisted the urge to rush around trying to get everything unpacked and in place – there’s plenty of time for that and I am going to try very hard to stay relaxed as I have been on the trip. Tony went to get pizza for our Friday night dinner – a great way to celebrate arriving home. While he was out he visited some friends and met their new baby – the kids and I are keen to see her soon too (born while we were away).

Caitlin started working on a photo slideshow of the trip to take to Girl Guides this week, then on tidying up her room – we’ve all got a new perspective on space and belongings I think after living in the tent for so long. Tony watched the football and the others watched some TV, I pottered around and we all felt very happy and comfortable (even though it felt a little weird as well).

Half-lap Day 93: Shark Bay -> Kalbarri

We’re feeling more confident and efficient with our packups now, so there isn’t such a feeling of rushing and urgency on the mornings when we are leaving, even when we are supposed to be out by 10. Tony and I started packing up and then got breakfast for the kids, and started packing in earnest around 8.30. The kids talked to our neighbour and played with the dog.

The caravan park had been interesting, fairly basic although quite comfortable. The ground was covered in tiny shells, no sand or dirt which was a nice change. The view from the top of the stairs near our tent was pretty cool – our tent at the bottom and then the units on the other side of the fence, and then the beach. We couldn’t quite see the water from our campsite, but could see the water and our tent at the same time from the top of the stairs. One thing that we hadn’t realised was that there is no fresh water source out on the peninsula – the artesian bore water is very saline so not suitable for drinking. There is desalinated water available and is probably one reason why the caravan parks are so expensive. It was a surprise that the place we’ve been that was most water conservative was on the coast, not in the dry centre as we’d expected.

We were ready to go by 10.30 and headed back down the peninsula. We stopped at Hamelin Pool to see the stromatolites – they look like little columns of rock in the water, but are actually piles of microbial mats – groups of bacteria that join together and then attract more bacteria and microbes, eventually growing into these stromatolites. It’s a life form that has been around for over 3 billion years and has survived almost everything, so is very interesting from an evolutionary viewpoint, as well being really cool to look at.

The bay from there looked amazing too, flat and calm and clear, such a beautiful place. We walked around a little bit and read all the information signs. I could smell an ammonia type smell and kept checking everyone’s clothes – eventually I figured out it was one of the bushes there that was letting off quite a strong aroma. The girls and I wanted to go to the toilet and the sign at the carpark said there were toilets at the telegraph station, where the caravan park was. We walked over there while Tony got lunch and cuppas ready. We saw some cool birds, and heard the same type of bird that we’d heard at Edagee Rest Area, repeating the same do-do-do-doo-do over and over again. At the caravan park there were (better) explanatory signs about the stromatolites, but we couldn’t find a toilet. We asked in the shop and the girl said there were some out the back, but really only for guests. I said the sign had directed us here, and she asked us to make a donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service in order to use them. I hadn’t brought my wallet and it all got a bit awkward – then I found Millie’s wallet in my camera bag and scrounged 30c so that helped the situation a little. It took us a while to find the (single) toilet even then, and longer for all of us to use it – we were all hot and tired and hungry by the time we got back to the car.

The stromatolites

Sandwiches for everyone and a hot drink for Tony and I and we were back on the road. We coasted in to the Overlander roadhouse with our petrol gauge way below Empty. We’d thought we might catch up with our Kings Canyon friends today as they were heading in to Shark Bay – I got a text as we approached the roadhouse and then looked up to see them driving past us the other way. We all waved excitedly then felt a bit sad that we’d just missed them. While we were filling up with petrol there was a knock on our window – Millie’s friend was jumping up and down outside – they’d turned and come back to see us.

We stood in the carpark at the roadhouse and chatted for half an hour or so – great to catch up one more time before we head home. The girls played in the car and the rest of us caught up on news. The sun was hot by now and I felt like I was getting sunburnt – we were so careful with sunscreen when it was hot and sunny all the time, I feel like we’re getting a bit more relaxed about it now which increases our chance of getting burnt on a day when we’re not paying attention.

Eventually we said goodbye again and headed our separate ways. We drove south, through more sparse looking vegetation, which slowly turned into taller trees, the tallest we’ve seen for a while. Not thick bush, but lower bushes interspersed with taller trees. We finished listening to the 6^th Harry Potter book (always emotionally draining) and moved on to the 7^th book. Its wildflower season in WA at the moment, we didn’t deliberately plan to be here at this time, and it’s great to see all the flowers that I’ve heard so much about. Areas full of yellow, white or purple flowers are dotted about everywhere, very cool. As we drove we came over a hill and suddenly saw green fields and hills everywhere – it was such a shock after so many months of dirt and dust and grey or yellow fields. Lots of crops – something green in some, and yellow canola in others. I can’t remember the last time we saw crops growing, probably not since Port Augusta. The scenery was so different to what we’re used to, it just blew us away. I have found driving down the West Australian Coast (since we left Fitzroy Crossing) quite uninteresting, I’ve been getting bored in the car, which hadn’t happened up until then. Once the scenery started getting greener and more changeable today I stopped being bored, I feel like I’ve got something interesting to look at again, it was an interesting change.

Tonight we are staying at Murchison House station, just out of Kalbarri – it was recommended to me by someone we talked to at some stage, I saw an ad for it in one of the tourist magazines I was looking at, and Tony picked it as the best option when he was browsing WikiCamps. I’d rung and booked, and checked that the road in would be ok for our car. It was only 4km of dirt from the highway, and quite easy to drive. We arrived at the station and saw old military equipment around the place, and old shearing sheds and quarters. We checked in at the homestead then came down to the campground, and found a clear, flat and not too sandy site across the road from the river. Some of the sites are on the riverside, we can see sand banks and a bit of water from our site and it is a beautiful spot. As we set up we realised we were camped right in front of the goat enclosure, and there were kids (goat kids) in there – very excited. The kids had a quick look around the farm yard and found alpacas (including a baby one), ducks and chickens. The station musters and sells free range goats, and has a small herd of cattle. Their main income comes from the goats and the tourist industry. As well as the campground they offer quadbike tours and kayaking tours, and people with 4WDs can pay extra and go bush camping in the wilder area on the other side of the river. They also offer a self-guided tour of the station, with morning tea included – it would be interesting but I think we’ll skip it this time.

After the tent was set up I went for a walk along the river, which was beautiful in the setting sun. I chatted to some ladies from Victoria on the way, they left home less than 3 weeks ago, so it feels like we’ll still have plenty of time to get home (we’ve got about 2 ½ weeks). They also gave me some tips about things to see and places to stay along the way. The kids walked around and patted the goats through the fence, then Caitlin and LiAM went up to the communal area near the homestead and found a totem tennis pole. Two kids (human kids) came out of the homestead to play with them – they live at the station and the 4 kids played for ages and had a great time. They played totem tennis and Caitlin and the boy walked on top of a rolling barrel – Caitlin loves doing that and has only done it with small cylinders, it was exciting for her to do it with a big fuel drum.

Millie was tired and stayed at the tent with us. I played a game on the iPad with her and then we set up the beds. For dinner we had pasta and salami and a pasta sauce I’d made before we left home. There was a bit of wind and it was a clear night and very very cold, I ended up with beanie and scarf on and still felt cold. I went up to the camp kitchen to heat water for the hot water bottles, while the kids got into bed. I browsed a few more travel brochures that were up there and eventually the water was ready and I brought the bottles back down to warm everyone up. We read a couple of chapters of Inheritance and settled down to sleep.

Half-lap Day 51: Darwin -> Edith Falls

It was another cooler morning. Funny how we have adapted quite well to the hotter weather and our interpretation of cool/cold has moved up the scale quite a bit. No one had felt ready to leave yesterday, today we were all prepared and it felt like the right day to move on.

We got up and continued packing and organizing our stuff. When the kids woke Caitlin read them some stories from her iPad mini. After they’d had breakfast they went to say goodbye to the chickens, chicks, rabbit and guinea pig. We finished packing in the late morning, then went and chatted to our hosts before eventually saying goodbye to them and the dog and leaving Darwin after 8 nights.

We’d had no trouble at all with the car while we were in Darwin. On our way south the temperature briefly started to climb – when Tony increased his speed the temp dropped again. It seems that it really is just a matter of managing the load on the engine and not pushing it too hard at low revs.

We drove to Edith Falls, just north of Katherine, which we’d been keen to see when we were in Katherine and hadn’t made it. We hoped we’d be able to camp at the campground there, but it was full when we arrived. We changed into our swimmers and headed down to the falls. These falls were not spectacular in themselves like some of the others we’ve seen – instead there was a large pool of water surrounded on two sides by tall tall cliffs, with a small waterfall sneaking out between some rocks in the cliffs on the far side. The point where we entered the water had a shallow channel and then a rocky island, with the larger pool beyond the island. I could just stand up all the way across the channel – but I preferred to swim as the bottom was a mix of sand and rocks and was hard to walk on. The water was clear and fresh and the channel was edged on the shore side with very green trees which reflected in the water. Swimming there, with the cliffs rising up on our other side, felt so relaxing and refreshing and I was so glad we’d come.

Caitlin was nervous about crocodiles – there are freshwater crocs here, the signs say not to swim between 7pm and 7am, but when the pool is open it is safe the rest of the time. She was reluctant to spend much time in the water, so she and LiAM explored the rocky island. Tony spent some time skimming stones along the water of the channel. He and Millie stayed near the edge then while I joined the others on the island. I walked across to the other side and it was very hard to balance and walk on the rocks. There was a lovely view across the pool to the falls and cliffs. I decided to swim back rather than walk back. It wasn’t hard to swim to the end of the island and then back along the channel, and I enjoyed swimming out in the larger pool too. LiAM stayed on the island, sitting on sun-warmed rocks and looking at the cliffs and the insects around him. He's not so keen on swimming in waterfall plunge pools - he's done it a few times now and figures that's enough. He's not not that fussed on even seeing the waterfalls anymore - but he usually finds something to amuse him when we are there.

Caitlin had swum back to shore and was sitting on the steps, I stood in the water and chatted to her and little fish nibbled at the dry skin on our feet and legs. The first couple of times it happened I yelped and jumped a bit, but I soon got used to it and it was cool watching them swim around our legs and come up for a little nibble.

Once we were all out of the water we walked along the path a little further to get different views of the falls, cliffs and pool. There was a bridge across a creek that left the pool, with some archer fish swimming underneath, and we watched them for a while. We went and got changed and looked at some photos of what the place looks like in the wet season – very different!, then headed back to the car.

I’d found a free campsite back on the highway a little south of the turn off. It looked good although there were no toilets – we decided to try our first toilet-free camping and see how it went – if it’s ok it opens up a lot more of the free camps to us.

The site was basically lots of cleared areas in amongst the (sparse) bush. We found a flat-enough spot a bit back from the road – not in the area closest to the road, but at the front of a larger area further back. The ground was too hard for pegs, so we used the car and Tony’s bike to attach the guy ropes to, and the beds hold down the end of the tent so we can manage without pegging the floor in. The kids explored the campsite and Tony and I sat and relaxed for a while. We’d set up just before sunset and it was a lovely clear night – with hardly any mosquitoes. It was really relaxing sitting and looking at the trees and stars and feeling excited about camping and exploring more places. The moon rose a bit later – one night past full, so it was really bright and we could almost manage without lanterns. The temperature was really pleasant - it was probably around 28 degrees, much cooler than the evenings had been in Darwin and we all enjoyed it and laughed that we thought 28 was cool. We had noodles for tea, Caitlin kept reading stories to the others and we made a few phone calls to friends. We braved the bush to go to the toilet (everyone was fine) and made sure we put away all our food (not sure what animals might be around here) and headed in to bed to read a couple of chapters of Brisingr.

Day 39: Batchelor and Millie's Birthday

Millie’s 7^th birthday!!!!!

Millie woke quite early and came up to our bed, we chatted and giggled about it being her birthday until the others woke up, then we got up to do presents. She had already received her back pack and the crocodile from us, we gave them to her again, and also a ‘camel crossing’ sign to hang on her window, and a jeweled gecko. Caitlin gave her a bubble wand and a Barbie fairy, LiAM gave her a pack of Frozen snap cards, and there was a card with money in it from Grandma and Grandad. She was thrilled with all her presents and had a lot of fun opening them, then playing with them. The kids played Go Fish with the cards for a while, then we went to the reception area for the 7.30am bird feeding.

The owner put out bird food in several places, and over time birds started to appear to feed (they were easily spooked though and kept flying away then slowly coming back). We saw cockatiels, galahs, lorikeets and blue-faced honey eaters. I enjoyed watching them for ages, the kids wandered off after a while and went to play mini-golf. Tony headed back to the tent to make pancakes as a birthday breakfast.

We hung around the tent eating and playing with Millie’s presents for most of the morning, and Caitlin rode into town to buy a birthday cake and some candles for Millie. She wanted to eat the cake after dinner, but really wanted to used the candles now – so I put a candle in a chocolate bar for her and we sang ‘There’s a cat licking your birthday cake’ and she blew the candle out and ate the chocolate.

When we were ready we went down the road to a butterfly farm. Our friends from Katherine were there when we arrived but we only got to wave hello, they’d left before we had a chance to talk to them. We saw butterflies in all their various stages of development, then spent ages in a large enclosure with the fully grown butterflies – including a huge green one that Millie named Emerald, who flapped and hovered more like a bird than any butterfly I’ve ever seen.  From there we went into a little farm area where we could feed carrots to rabbits, and pat ducklings and chicks. There were several rabbit enclosures and the kids got lots of cuddles. The last section of the farm had pigs and goats, 3 or 4 pigs and maybe 8 goats – these ones were much friendlier than the ones in Katherine, and they were mainly nannies or kids. The pigs and goats enthusiastically ate the rest of our carrots, and kept looking for more. It was fun to be right in there with them.  After we’d finished with the animals we were allowed to have a swim in their pool – the water was cool and so amazing to swim in on such a hot day. More than half of the pool was only knee deep, with a deeper channel around 2 sides of it, so it was easy for all of us to swim in and feel comfortable. There was a man-made waterfall running into the shelf next to the pool, so Millie stood under that and was excited at having a shower under a waterfall – one of her birthday wishes! She’d also wanted to swim in a pool, play with puppies (she was happy enough with ducklings, rabbits and kids), see a real waterful and be able to talk to relatives on the phone.

I made some sandwiches in the car then everyone got out of the pool and we ate on the way out to Litchfield National Park. We saw plenty of huge termite mounds, and drove through a few areas where they are burning off, so we turned the fan off – LiAM finds it so hard to breathe when there is smoke around. We went to Florence Falls – there’s a short walk from the carpark to a lookout where we could see 2 waterfalls falling down into a pool below. Then the walk continued down about 150 steps to the valley floor, where it was lovely and cool. It was only 400m and then we were at the pool at the base of the falls. It was so peaceful and green and an amazing place to be.

Caitlin arrived before me and came back to tell me there was a python in the rocks – a crevice not far from the pool had a large (about 7 feet long) olive python – he was lying there when Caitlin saw him, and moved from one side of the rocks to the other while I watched, coiling himself up and possibly going to sleep. He didn’t seem bothered by all the people standing around taking photos of him – it was so cool to watch.

We made our way into the plunge pool – the water was a great temperature and we’d taken our snorkels so could look under and see an incredible number of fish. There were rocks of various sizes on the bottom which meant there were lots of places that Millie could stand up and still be in the main pool. I hung out with her for ages, swimming around a bit and watching the waterfalls. Tony and LiAM and Caitlin went a bit deeper and came back and forth. A guy climbed up the rocks and jumped in from progressively higher points – he was a good climber and at one point everyone in the pool was watching him. Caitlin and Tony swam towards the falls but Caitlin found it hard going so they came back, then Tony went over by himself. He was able to go in behind one waterfall and be right at the base of the other. When he came back I went over – I had a couple of moments of feeling scared as the water got choppy close to the falls, but it was easy enough to keep going. Swimming in behind the water was pretty cool, it looked amazing and felt exciting. The other falls were more of a cascade, and looking straight up at them from the bottom was an incredible view.

After I swam back, Caitlin went over with Tony and was even able to sit up on one of the rocks right next to the falls. LiAM went over next, on Tony’s back, and everyone was glad they’d made the effort. Millie didn’t want to get that close, but was thrilled swimming in this pool with the waterfalls there, and said she was having the ‘most awesomest birthday ever’. I moved with her into a shallower part of the creek where she could sit in a tiny little waterfall, (just water flowing between two rocks, about a quarter of her height) which was pretty cool too.

Tony said it was the most amazing place he’d ever swum, and we all had a fantastic afternoon there. The kids tried to catch some fish, and we all spent ages watching the fish swim around under the water. There were a couple of rocks that were easy to climb on and jump into a deep part of the pool, and lots of rocks to just sit or lie on and watch the water. Eventually we headed out of the pool and back up the stairs – it was weird to feel the temperature get hotter as we climbed, down in the valley it felt impossible to believe it was a 36 degree day!

We drove back to the caravan park (with more Harry Potter) – the car was fine, no overheating, even with the air conditioner on. We think the trick is to wait until we get up to highway speed before we turn AC on and then it seems to be fine… We got changed into dry clothes, then went to the tavern for Millie’s birthday dinner. I had wild caught local Barramundi, which I’d been wanting ever since we got into Barra territory, Tony had a rack of lamb, Caitlin a schnitzel, LiAM had nuggets and chips and Millie steak and chips – the food was all delicious. We ordered a jug of lemonade, and played a few games of Keno (we didn’t win anything) and had a really lovely evening.

We got back to camp and I realised I’d left my handbag at the tavern – luckily it was still hanging on my chair when I got back there, everything still in it. And the driving back and forth didn’t cause the car to heat up either, so it was a car-trouble free day – just adding to the mystery really! Once I got back again we set up Millie’s cake – all they had was fruit cake, so we put red frogs and smarties on that to make it pretty, lit 7 candles and sang happy birthday, then ate fruit cake and lollies for dessert. She’d spoken to Grandma and Grandad while at the tavern, and had a few texts from friends and family, and felt like she’d gotten everything she wanted from her birthday.

Everyone was so tired that we didn’t read when we went to bed, Caitlin fell asleep immediately and everyone else was not far behind.