Bituman, the river and the Garden of Eden!!!!

Wednesday 1st August to Sunday 5th: Wednesday: Once we'd decided to just blow through Alice Springs (after re-kitting the kids, restocking our pantries, some general repairs etc) we headed north toward Tennant Creek and the "Three-Ways" turn off (where you can continue north to Darwin or turn east onto the Barkley Highway toward Queensland)......it a big country and we're being reminded all the time of this fact because it was a good 2 days drive to TC! We found a spot to camp off the highway, got a roaring fire going, but the lesson here is that 'someone's always watching' because we had a couple of old guys come to where we were and hassle us about fire safety and to make sure we put it out completely before we left.......a bit frustrating to be honest as we are really conscious about the campfires that we have but I guess they were just being cautious.....still, it was odd that these guys turned up when we were in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!!!!! How's that happen???? Thursday 2nd: a quick pack up (after pancakes for the kids!!!) and we were rolling again.....this time headed for TC for lunch. Just above TC is the Three Ways junction where we finally had the afternoon sun at our back as turned east for the first time since we'd left Kiama. We made a quick pit stop at the Three Ways Roadhouse where we chatted to a young Army Corporal who was driving a massive truck with a 65t Abrahams Assault Tank on the back, headed for Darwin. Seems that most of the servicing for the military is done in Brisbane but the majority of the gear goes there via sea transport however his tank (which had just returned from service for Desert Storm) needed to be moved via road.....he was a great young guy who was really proud to be serving his country and it made me feel proud also that we have people in our armed forces like him who are prepared to fight for us and for those who are unable to fight for themselves....... Anyway......I digress.....so we're heading east, passing road trains with 4 or more trailers, making our way to the Barkley Homestead where we all needed a shower and a dust off. Dinner in the pub was delicious and we caught up on some of the Olympics action too which was great. Wednesday 3rd; back on the road (we were really clocking up the kms over the last few days) and we made our way to Camowhel which is a tiny little highway town just over the Qld/NT border. Theres lots of these odd little towns out here but they're all full of gorgeous UK and European backpackers working so that they can extend their visa for a further 12months.....still it's odd to be served by an English/Irish/Scottish/Swedish/German/French/etc model in a town with nothing around it for 100's of kms......or maybe that's just me??? Anyway.....Camowhel has a lovely little river that meanders through the area which was a magnet for all the grey nomads and even though the water wasn't running while we were there, we found a very relaxing spot next to a wide open section of water and put our feet up for a couple of days. The kids swam, ran around and made a beautiful mud pool which they delighted in laying in and rolling around in while Pete and I kicked back and read a book for the first time on the trip....it was fantastic. The nomads stretched along the river (the Georgina River) for about 10km and the whole area was free for camping.......both Pete and I commented that if the council charged $10 per van that they would make a killing!! Saturday 4th: the Eastie kids were pretty keen to show us one of their favorite spots from their last trip, a place called Gregory Downs, which was further north, so we jumped back onto the dirt roads once more and headed 220km further north to this fabulous spot on a spring fed creek that delivers a minimum of 10,000ltr per minute of pure, crystal clear fresh water to the area. You jump in from directly in front of your camp and just float all the way down the creek which is bordered by paperback trees, cabbage tree palms & pandanus palms! The water is cool but seeing as the temp is now into the 30's during the day, it's perfect!!!  So we got all set up, swam the afternoon away, cooked up another feast, hunted some cane toads and fell into bed ready to take it all on again tomorrow!! Sunday 5th: relaxation is the name of the game today, but I did manage a run this morning which was quite a challenge as I'd previously been running in single digit temperatures but found myself today running in 25 degree heat which just saps the spring out of your step when your not used to it!!  The kids haven't been out of the water all morning and as I write I can hear their squeals and laughter from down the creek.......might be time to go and join them!!!! Funny how it doesn't matter where kids are they always manage to make friends! Brits and Bridie found a couple of similar aged girls from Victoria who were traveling with their family for 12mths!! So they spent every possible moment hanging out with them.....I'm not to sure what they were talking about but there were plenty of squeals and giggles....pretty cute really!! So with everyone worn out once again we chased the few little furry friends away that were sniffing around camp and headed for bed.....but.....not before all the kids had made their maiden visit to what would become known as "Poo Palace" with the trusty shovel and loo paper in toe!!! They're all becoming quite relaxed with the whole "bushie" toilet experience now!! Monday 6th: We tried to make an early start but when pancakes are on the breakfast menu nothing moves very quickly!!! Eventually we all got our act together and headed out for the day to Lawn Hill National Park. This drop dead gorgeous part of the world was about an hour or so's drive from GD, again on the trusty dusty  dirt tracks.....but my goodness this area is a little patch of heaven on earth!!!  We whiled away the day on the waters of the Lawn Hill Gorge initially with the kids floating down the Gregory River in tyre tubes but eventually we managed to hire 3 canoes (Bys, Brits & I in one, Pete & Bridie in another and the 2 big boys Samo & Tails in he third) and paddled up through the gorge (trivia moment.....the deepest section of water through the gorge is 27m deep!!!!) up to the falls where we dragged the canoes around to the higher section and continued out paddle through his amazing and majestic place! We stopped off and all had a perfect swim in the beautiful limestone rich waters further up stream before making our way back but not before we saw a lazy 7ft fresh water croc hanging out in the sun, (the first croc the Teudtys have seen in the wild!) which was pretty cool. Brits made the comment that " if she was a croc then this would be the place she'd love to live" and I couldn't agree more, this area makes you shake your head in disbelief that such incredibly beautiful places exist!! Once we'd returned the canoes, it was time to feed the animals....ummm...I mean kids and squeeze in another quick swim (an unintended one for Pete as he dropped his sunnies in the water from the bridge and had to jump in to retrieve them!). The day had heated up quite nicely (about 34degrees!) so we stopped off at a little camp spot not 10min from LH for a Magnum break which turned into a Corona break because it too nice to leave!!  Eventually we needed to head back to camp so we made tracks and by the time the second song began to play on the car stereo my 3 little guys were sound asleep! All together now......"awwwwww!!" By the time we got back to camp though, everyone wanted to take on the rapids once more before dinner so we jumped in (to the delight and laughter of all the grey nomads who thought we were nuts) and freshened up. Then up to the pub for dinner where we had a great meal and I finally got to sample fresh wild caught Barramundi......."sensational" is all I have to say about that!!!!! Tomorrow it's time to pack up once more and make tracks, this time for Mount Isa......who knows what's in store for us down there but one thing's for sure, it'll continue to be a lot of fun I'm betting!!!!

A week in review.....

Monday 23rd July to Tuesday 31st July  Tyres fitted and we were back on the road once more, hitting the blacktop for the small aboriginal settlement of Hermansburg which leads into the Finke Gorge National Park which holds the beautiful Palm Valley. It was with a bit of trepidation that we read the caution sign at the start of the dirt road that said to allow 3.5hrs to reach the Palm Valley campsite but underneath there was a little sign put up especially for the Teudys from our buddies that said it takens about 1/2 hr!!! The campsite was beautiful, the kids swam in the creek, hunted dingos and ate marshmallows while the big people walked the incredibly beautiful and almost out of place Palm Valley.....some of the Cabbage Tree Palm were 100's of years old and the valley is home to around 23,000 of them.....in an area of the country which is so dry and desolate, to see how this valley has adapted and created its own environment in such a beautiful way just blows your mind!!!  Tuesday 24th: Earlier in the trip we had received a tip that we shouldn't miss out on seeing a place called Ormiston Gorge, so the following day we packed up and headed for a lonely little campsite nearby called Redbank Gorge.....in Brons defense we witnessed an amazing sunrise here....but it didn't have much else going for it, however just down the road we found a little gem of a site (pity we'd already set up at Redbank) which we stopped off at on the way back from Ormiston. Ormiston Gorge was a surprise package which we all agreed has become one of the visual highlights of the trip. The colors of the rock, the shape of the lagoon, the River Red Gums, the cliff faces and the lone dingo walking along the waters edge made for the perfect outback scene, we all just needed to sit in the falling daylight and soak this place in....it was breathtaking! Once we'd forced ourselves up and decided we needed to make a move, a few of the boys thought it would be a good idea to have a swim.....it was good for a laugh because the water was Baltic!!!! However the promise of a 'Magnum' stop on the way home cheered the frozen few up and we stopped for a beer and an ice cream at a great little place called Glen Helen and sipped a frosty one while watching the sun fade and the colors change on the cliff faces.....pretty hard to take ! Wednesday 25th: The traveling caravan needed to get moving again as some of the team were rapidly running out of time so we headed for Kings Canyon. It was a bit of a drive along a dusty road  but always fun.....music cranked up, dust pumping from the tyres, red dirt and blue sky..... But it was nice to hit the Kings Canyon Resort (no fires allowed 😭😭😭) with clean hot showers, laundry, play area for the kids, pub, bistro and diesel at $2:33ltr so as you could imagine EVERYTHING was expensive here!! Funny afternoon with everyone braving a swim in the pool which couldn't have been more than about  8 degrees!!! We had a great first night as well. At the pub there was a fun country duo (The Roadies) playing that got very interactive with the kids and the crowd, the kids sang heaps of songs on stage, Mitch got up and did his thing with the guitar and blew everyone away (I get to say that I knew him before he hit the big time!!!) and we all got dragged up and dressed in wigs/crazy hats and played some bush band instruments....lots of fun and great for a laugh!! Was a shame we couldn't have a fire though as that night the temp hit about -3c.....brrrrrrrrr!!!!! Thursday 26th: was a cracker of a day, the weather was perfect so we packed up the supplies (essentials like Starburst and boxes of Arnotts Shapes) and headed for the canyon. The walk around the rim was about 6km so all the kids were in and it was spectacular to say the least, every angle was something brilliant in every direction and we all got pretty snap happy (even a bit "Arty Farty" with some shots!!) but by the time we were nearing the 2/3 mark a couple of the Teudty kids were struggling!!! With one last (tenacious) push we got the home with the promise of (another) Magnum break when we got back to camp.....I hope they all enjoyed them because ice creams for 10 people hit the $70 mark!!!! We had another fun night at the tavern with The Roadies, Mitch got to woo the crowd once again and we all got dragged on stage once more and don't forget that it was a Thursday so it was "cooks-night-off" and we all love CNO!!! Friday 27th: saw us scramble around the morning packing up and getting ready for the next leg which was Uluru or bust!!! We closed our eyes and filled up the fuel tanks, refueled the choccie supply and were off once more. It was about 250km to go of which 100ish was on dirt, we played 'spot the camel' and 'who's got the best mussie!".... The winner was the bird watcher with the 1920's villain style mustache who we saw in a rest area.....the Easties car almost blew apart with spontaneous laughter when he was spotted!! We all got fooled by what became known as Mt Nuttella which on first look seemed to be Uluru (we later had our resident book of knowledge inform us that it is Australia's most photographed 'red herring'!!) but was in fact Mt Conner! But it wasn't long before we got a look at the real thing and once again our minds were blown! Pictures and words will never do this part of the world justice, it is simply something that needs to been seen, felt and breathed to be believed!!  We got our breath back and headed for the campground which is part of the resort/village and got set up once again for the next 3 nights! It's always nice to put your feet down for a few days and know that you don't need to pack up the following morning so we relaxed the afternoon away and headed out into the national park that evening to witness the sunset behind this special place. I've always heard people talk about the change in colors and moods of 'the rock' throughout the day but I didn't expect the emotion that came with actually witnessing it first hand, the whole area casts a spell over you and the vista is completely captivating for the mind, body and soul......to be honest, I found it to be a complete full body experience that I'll never forget and will want to experience again for sure. We whiled away a lot of time at the sunset so it was put to the vote as to whether we should dine out (again!!) and oddly enough everyone thought that that was a great idea so we headed for the bar (again......hmmmm, is there a pattern forming here!??), filled everyone up and listened to some great live music until the little people were just about asleep! Back to to sub zero campers we go, negotiate all of the killer attack bunnies that swarm the area at night (Brits was held to ransom by a tribe of them on her way back from the toilets!!) & into bed before we became snap frozen!! Saturday 28th: was officially "Olga's Day" and we headed toward the other amazing rock formation of the area which lay about 50km from camp. We spent a beautiful day wandering through the Valley of the Winds and exploring this superb show of natures brilliance, we took time out to lay back on the rocks and watch the clouds move over the peaks, see the colors shift and move......it's not hard to see why these areas have such massive impact on Aboriginal law, mythology and belief because there is such a spiritual beauty to the area that it could be nothing but sacred!! We headed back for an early dinner before heading back to watch sunset again but with a light cloud cover the actual sunset to the west stole the show from Uluru that night and I wondered if it felt a little neglected??? We spent the reminded of the night around a tightly monitored camp fire where there were stories told and marshmallows eaten before, exhausted, we all flopped into bed once more. Sunday 29th: the Eastie boys all got up bright and early and headed off to climb the rock while the rest of us dozed the morning away, when they returned (after sneaking a full buffet breakfast in without the rest of us!!) we again packed up and headed for Uluru with the intention of walking around the 11km base walk. As a contingency though we parked a car at the half way point for those that felt the need to bail on the walk. We spent the next 4 or so hours just meandering around the perimeter of this massive Australian icon, getting snap happy (where appropriate, as there were many areas where for cultural reasons we weren't permitted to take photos), some of the team opted for the contingency plan and hitched a ride back to the starting point but Bron, Giorgie, Tails and I finished the lap with a lot of laughter.  We spent another hour or so at the Aboriginal Cultural Centre soaking in the heritage, legend and history of this amazing race of people in their spiritual heartland. Well...because it was the last night for some of our nomads we (again) opted for a meal out which was a fantastic way to farewell our buddies that were going to leave us the following day.....today was a truly awesome day, an absolute gem of the trip for sure!! Monday 30th: what better way to start the day than to run the perimeter of Uluru as the sun rises and places its first rays upon its face?? Bron and I braved the freezing cold and hit the track just before the sun came up and ran the 11km during a spectacular show of natures beauty!! There were a couple of bus loads of international tourists on the track at this time as well and I think they thought we were nuts but I'll keep that run in my memory as one of the most amazing places to pound a couple of kms ever! I could have run it a second time because the buzz of the morning was so awesome but we had a buffet breakfast calling!!! A quick tub and we headed out for breakie after sending Mitch to the airport! The crew managed to eat considerably more than would have been expected and we waddled out some time later only to have to head back to camp, pack up and say goodbye to Bron and Giorgie. We'd had such a fantastic time with those three guys that it was such a bummer to see them have to leave, so quick goodbyes were the order of the day!!! We were glad to hear that they all arrived home safe and sound (and had settled back into Phat Tuesday with ease today) Those of us that we're left caravanned out of Uluru on Monday afternoon vowing that we would return for sure!!!  We headed back toward Alice Springs and found another little gem of a campsite at Rainbow Gorge but arrived late and left early the following day (Tuesday) Tuesday 31st: we blew into Alice Springs again, raced around and got all the chores done and made a beeline for Tennant Creek......we're not there yet but should find our way there tomorrow!!!........stay tuned people!!!1

Dust, dirt and dramas!!!!

16 to 18th July, Wilpena Sound to Oondnadatta Once we'd all decided to carry on together we departed the Wilpena Pound campground and set of don a breathtaking and truly beautiful drive through the gorges Dlinders Ranges. Our travels took us through small towns like Leigh Springs and Marree which has one of the 100yr+ pubs  so we thought it would be rude not to stop for a cold refreshment and soak u the atmosphere... as you do. So many of these towns consist of nothing but the pub and Marree is certainly no different, it's deserted but there's ruminants of the old Detention Centre that was going to be used to process illegal immigrants some time ago. Our destination for that day was a small campground called Coward Springs, so from Marree we joined the dirty, dusty and rough Oodnadatta Track. Red dirt, blue sky and low shrubby landscape makes for speculation scenery through this area. As we approached a view of Lake Eyre South we pulled over to take in the amazing sunset but we inadvertently stopped beside an old aboriginal guy with guitar and his dog who was set up in the absolute middle of nowhere playing beautiful music and singing. He has lived his whole life in Maree and was born west of where we had stopped in the desert, he comes out to play to the landscape every morning and every night and his voice bough tears to our eyes....we couldn't have scripted it better....here we were in the middle of nowhere, with amazing live music, watching an incredible sunset......we all needed to pinch ourselves! The trade off for stopping for the show was that we still had quite a ways to got to get to Coward Springs that night so we pushed on into the dusk and early evening and set up camp by spotlight that night. It was another frozen night so we don't tend to stay up late as its much cozier in our trusty sleeping bags. Wednesday 18th July: Bron and I have been trying to keep up (some) running while we're away so the next morning we hit the dust and clocked up a leisurely 12km back along the track, it's funny running out there with the dust, dingos and camels...pretty surreal actually. Once back we needed to pack up, jump in the springs (which is a sandy little hole thats not very warm but kids had a wash just the same) and then hunt down William Creek by 1:30 for our flights over Lake Eyre then on to Oodnadatta for the night. Our flights over the lake were amazing......small 8seater planes, skittish take offs and landings but the view over the lake was incredible. The basin at its lowest point is 15m below sea level (the lowest point in Oz) and when full it holds 8 times the volume of Sydney Harbour!!! It was only 20% full at this time (it was 80% full in March 2012) so there wasn't much bird life however the water that was there had a beautiful pink tinge that's created by algal blooms. It's an incredible natural formation and a must see for sure. So...after landing safely (a little sideways but safely) we headed for the odd little town of Oodnadatta which has just about everything painted pink!! Not much happening around there and a dodgy little campground to say the least, Pa and Ray went soft and booked into a cabin but I must admit hat it was nice to cook and clean up under fluro lights and he kids got a small shot of TV too??? Thursday 19th July: Oodnadatta to Mt Dare The following morning we picked up the Easties new tyre, fill up the tanks at $2:21ltr (it's better if you just cover the bowser and hand over your card without asking any questions!!), checked and rechecked that everyone's tyres had been let down to the recommended pressures and we were headed north toward Mt Dare which was the last stop for fuel and (limited) supplies before we were to head into the Simpson Desert. The track between Oodnadatta and Mt Dare was terrible, rough, corrugated, rocky and just unpleasant but we arrived at Mt Dare Station for lunch, a beer (or soft drink), fuel and our desert passes. Once everything was ready we were off into the desert with our aim to reach Dalhousie Springs campground by late afternoon. However fate through up another hurdle and the initial road into Dalhousie was like a moonscape, it was rocky and rutted terribly.....unfortunately I took my eyes off he track for a second, hit a rock, totaled one new tyre and ruptured the wall of another so that's where our Simpson Desert crossing ended among some cursing, frustrated jumping up & down and a lot of head shaking. The only option the Teudtys had was to turn around and limp back to Mt Dare where we could reassess the situation and make some hard decisions. The Easties decided they would head back with us while we all convinced Pa and Ray (aka Putz and Moron from the movie 'Grumpy Old Men') to keep heading through the desert. We said our goodbyes, wished them luck, put our tail between our legs and putted back to relative civilization. The Mt Dare pub welcomed us back, cooked us a meal, we had a hot shower and some sleep before thinking about what to do next..... Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd July: Mt Dare to (almost the Simpson Desert) Alice Springs A massive flock of those crazy birds (Galahs) made sure there was no sleep-in that morning so we all got up and decided that we were best off heading fro Alice Springs where I could get tyres and we could still get to see Uluru, Kings Canyon, Palm Valley and the Olga's while Bron and Giorgia still had time with us before they fly home on the 30th July. So we headed up into the Northern Territory through the small aboriginal community of Finke, across through Kulgera , back onto the bitumen (for the first time in ages) and made a bee-line for Alice. It was our time to be soft now as we checked into a couple of cabins for a few nights while we got all the chores done and organized our repairs. The kids had a ball here, made some new friends, Mitch took on the pancake eating contest at the Big 4 van park but fell just short, the jumping pillow will never be the same again after tribes of kids took on each other in a fight to the death of 'Force-Em-Backs' and I found some tyres but they couldn't be fitted until Monday morning. The Easties decided that they'd move on on Sunday and headed out to Palm Valley where we will meet up on Monday (tomorrow). I've now spent the day doing trailer maintenance, dust proofing, washing and repacking ready to hit the road again tomorrow. Kids being kids though.....they convinced me to take them out for dinner and a movie like we were on a date so we hit the Outback Steakhouse (great choice for Pete the Vego!) and a showing of Ice Age 4.....now that we are all recivilised I think we're ready to get back out there again so stay tuned........

Port Augusta to Wilpena Sound (7th July to 16th July)

....so we roll into Pt Augusta (PA), cars are filthy, kids are feral AND filthy, adults are a little testy and everything is wet so we make for a car wash, maccas (for the kids) and a shower in that order and we get set up for a few days. Everything and everyone is clean, fed and happy and we await the arrival of the remainder of the Eastie clan (Bron, Giorgia and Mitch) and luckily they bought some smiles with them. On the flip side we unfortunately had to say goodbye to Karen who was leaving us and heading to Adelaide 😢😢. We'll miss her riddles and her cool outlook on life. We spent the next few days exploring the southern end of the Flinders Ranges, places like Quorn, Hawker, some amazing vistas, fun mud tracks (apart from wreaking in brand new tyre on the V-dub on a sneaky sharp rock). We met some funny horses/ponies which the kids all tried to ride (check out FB for all the footage!!). As we had to lay over in PA while we waited for a new tyre to come in from Adelaide we just kept up the exploring of the area, places like Alligator Gorge & Mt Remarkable were highlights and should be on anyone's agenda for this area.  It was then time to say goodbye to another of our transient passengers, our "Bro with the Mo" Mr Steven Caines had a date with his wife and family that we couldn't talk him out of....we miss his fun and enthusiasm and look forward to catching up when we get back home. Time to get out of PA so we hit the road again and traveled along the blacktop north through Hawker into Wilpena Sound National Park....and more rain!! If you get the chance, google Wilpena Sound and have a look at this incredible natural formation. It looks as though a massive meteor has impacted in the area but it's a natural area that has a wall of mountains enclosing areas of swampland, cypress & eucalypt bushland, with a small pass to enter the area. The views are amazing, colours spectactular and we've spent hours exploring the area as we've been here for a few days now. We even managed an early morning run up to the lookout to see the morning sun on the surrounding rock formations. Oh....and I mustn't forget the hospitality of the Poddy Dodgers bar in the campground for their supply of Coopers Pale Ale, Tooheys 5 Seeds Cider and a roaring outdoor fire place where we've enjoyed Happy Hour for the past few night....and an honorable mention to Mitch and Giorgie for handling the kids while the parents seek off for a quiet sip!!! We owe you guys!!!

With the arrival of the sunshine we also welcomed the arrival of Ang's dad (Pa) and his mate Ray. Its great to see them and we're looking forward to some travel time together. However, with the arrival of new comers also comes the need for compromise as we all have various commitments that we need to stick to, so today (Monday) is being spent meshing everyone's plans together to come up with a solution that will suit us all, enable us to see the things we all want to witness and spend some time together.....wish us luck!!!!

The past 7 days.....almost.....

Ok.....so we hit the dirt roads yet again and followed some seriously lonely paths, I think when people talk about "the middle of nowhere" that this road was what they were talking about. We finally touched down into South Australia into a beautiful little town called Wentworthville and after following the Darling river from its source in Bourke we found it's end where it joined the mighty Murray River. The waters from the two rivers were distinctly different in colour so we were able to watch as they came together to form the one single waterway.....it was pretty cool for sure! Our first night camping on the Murray River found us in a little tributary called Frenchmans Creek. This was the site of most of our first initiation of swimming in the river and we all found out the hard way just how COLD COLD COLD the water was!!! Steve & Pete were the first to go in and as the surfaced gasping for air we all knew it must be pretty cold but eventually (through tears, 500m Forest Gump sprints and an awful lot of psyching up) everyone had braved the waters and then spent the next hour huddled around a roaring fire talking up the whole experience!! The weather the following day had started to turn overcast so we packed up and headed further into SA stopping at Lake Victoria which had both a rich aboriginal history and some significant ties to the training of second world war aircraft pilots, two of which lost their lives by crashing into the lake in low visibility, their bodies and aircraft remain in the lake and a shrine to them takes pride of place from the viewing platform. We continued through the towns of Renmark and Waikerie (sampling the wears of the various bakeries along the way)& after a quick grocery restock and lunch down by the river at Waikerie where there were paddle-boats & 100's of houseboats, we caught the ferry across the river and set off to find a suitable campsite. After a lot of searching and having to cross back over the Murray once more we lucked upon a beautiful camp site in one of the state parks, got all set up and kicked back with a cold beer! The night was beautiful, stars out, moon shining so we thought everything was good to leave outside for the night......bad idea!!!! The weather changed overnight, the rain started and it poured, so we flew into action, packed everything and everyone up soaked through and hit out early. Food thing we did because the roads into the camp area had turned to mush, if we'd left it for much longer we'd have had a tough time getting out!! The Eastment/Teudt caravan continued to head south (once we'd dried out) through some very lonely but equally beautiful terrain. We travelled through the towns of Butra and Jamestown among many other little hamlets, stopped off at Banrock Station Winery to sample their wines (as you do when your wet, dirty and have a car full of wet/dirty/tired kids!!), needless to say we thought that we all deserved a couple of cases of red to help take the edge off the next few days!!! We now continued through the rolling hills, green pastoral lands & miles of vineyards down into the southern end of the Flinders Ranges where we wound our way down through some majestic passes and into Port Augusta......to be continued.......

Time for an update......

So......we spent another day (Wednesday 4th July) in Broken Hill more as a necessity rather than wanting to hang around because the Patrol had a turbo issue and my camper trailer needed a new cover which had to be ordered. Some spent the day at a park playing touch footy, eating bakery food and filling in time while Pete and Stevo worked on the Patrol. Once we were back inaction we headed for Menindee Lakes that afternoon where we camped beside the lake area for the next 2 nights in Kinchega National Park. As it was State of Origin night we headed for one of the 2 pubs in town to watch as poor old Samo became heart broken at NSW's 7th straight series loss......there were tears & cursing aplenty!!!
The next day (Thursday 5th July) the team spent the day exploring the National Park, making spears while I (Pete) made a dash for Broken Hill to pick up the trailer cover and do some other mundane bits and pieces. When I returned we set off to take a look at the historic Kinchega Woolshed for which the National Park was named (after the the original sheep station). This shed at it's peak would shear 72,000 sheep a year with only 62 stands (sharers stations). The sheds themselves are in great condition and were perfect for getting some fantastic photos. We then headed out to do a loop of the park with the thought to stop off and watch the sunset over the lakes. As it turned out there were only a few takers to watch the sunset but for those of us that made the effort what we witnessed was just incredible, the colours, sounds, wildlife etc was simply breathtaking. We returned to camp where a roast lamb dinner was waiting for all the carnivores and some vego sausages for the hippy!! We eat like royalty out here....certainly no bully beef and spam for the "glampers"!!!!!
Friday 6th July; Izzy and Em (2 of the girls from the sheep station 'Glenora') had joined us for a couple of nights and they had to head back today so after a very vocal goodbye we packed up and headed out from Kinchega NP (with a sexy new camper trailer cover) and made our way southwest toward the small village of Pooncarie. Today would have been (was/is) our beautiful Ang's 42nd birthday so we had a little celebration planned for her. We found a cracking spot beside the Darling River and set up for a cake, party hats etc. We also had a helium ballon kit which we used to inflate a heap of balloons which everyone wrote messages on to her. We let them go, sang happy birthday, talked about some of the things that we cherished most about her....there were some tears, some laughs and a lot of good memories......Ang was such an incredible person, we love her so much and we miss her every day, she would be so proud of our wonderful kids and I hope she's smiling downing us from somewhere up high, I feel her doing this every single day!!
We arrived into Pooncarie just a after lunch and had a look around this tiny but cute & very tidy little town. As we were ready to leave another traveller had broken down and our resident mechanic was volunteered (by who I wonder????) to give them a hand to get going, so the next couple of hours were spent working on a new V8 turbo diesel Troopy that had decided not to start, old magic fingers got it sorted out, received a couple of bottles of red as payment and we set off for a camp spot somewhere between Pooncarie and Wentworth on the western side of the river. Let it be known that we found yet another cracking spot, right on the river......and as I write this we've just finished another gourmet meal, there's a huge fire roaring, the water birds are settling around us, fish are jumping in the river and the sky has lit up an almost unbelievable show of stars for as far as the eye can see.....this country that we call ours is truly truly amazing and is something we should all be proud to be a part of! Once again there's still some people missing....wish you guys were here!!!

The last few days or "we're now in Broken Hill!!"....

So.....we travelled through the red dirt toward Tilpa, a tiny town (population Of 6!!) the kids were allowed to write their names on the walls for a small donation to the Royal Flying Doctors...what an awesome little dot on the map, plenty of history and a pub that is the essence of an outback pub, oddly enough the lady working behind the bar was from Culburra!! Back on the road we got diverted an extra 100km around a closed road to arrive at a 84,000acre sheep station with 16,000 sheep (& 99 cattle)! 2 nights out here to emerse ourselves in life on the land. There was horses, dirt bikes, 4x4's, yabbying, shooting (yep...shooting), riding around the property on the back of utes, lots of meat and beer, and lots of good old fashioned country hospitality...thank you Glenora, you guys were awesome! We arrived in Broken Hill yesterday to the high pitched squeals of Bridie screaming "there's a Maccas, there's a Maccas, there's a Maccas"....so Maccas was lunch followed by a quick look around. We set up at a small van park, showers and washing were a bit of a luxury so everyone indulged! A very average pub meal (the comment "that was crap on a stick.... Not worth digging a hole for" (don't ever go to the Theatre Royal Hotel)!!! Today (Tuesday) were spent the day exploring Silverton, a beautiful Old world country town full of art galleries, mad max memorabilia, amazing colours....the full outback picture! We made a detour off track down to a dry river bed to give sand driving a go so after lunch we hit it......& I got bogged (only because that bloody Patrol stopped in front of me), so we spent the next hour and a hfdigging the Amrok out followed by using the snatch strap! Good practice & lots of fun! . We then checked out the view from the top of the massive tailings heap across the middle of The town! ! Another pub meal (bit better this time)......check all the photos out on facebook and we'll aim to keep the blog updated a bit more regularly!! Stay tuned.....