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!!!!