We managed to get to Katherine in enough time to drop the van at our site, plug the power in and head to Toyota. We’d been told good things about Katherine Toyota and I mentioned the recommendation to the service guy – somehow I don’t think Toyota do ‘mates rates’ but with any luck they make an extra special coffee for Tracey next time she’s here.
Our first full day in Katherine and we’d already booked some things to do at the Information Centre yesterday, including a visit to the local Saturday morning markets. Miss6 had some spending money she’d got from Nanna and managed to find a gorgeous amethyst necklace to buy with it – a fitting way to spend money from Nanna I thought. It even came with a free crystal that the stall lady let her choose. It seems Katherine is getting set for ‘winter’ and most of the stalls were selling beanies and other such items – we’re officially in winter denial so decided to skip these stalls. 

We’d booked in an Aboriginal cultural experience out at Top Didj so headed there in the afternoon. I’d met these guys at the Melbourne Caravan and Camping show and they were very friendly (the NT had the best stalls at the show I thought). Manuel shared his culture and some music with us before teaching us some traditional painting techniques (with lines instead of dots), how to light a fire (or at least how to attempt to light a fire for most of us), and spear throwing. Most of the other participants didn’t want to try their hand at spear throwing but we loved it. 

After the workshop we hung around the art gallery and grounds feeding all of the baby wallaby that had been orphaned and now looked after by the park. Miss6 was in her element and got very excited when they showed her a tiny baby that they’d got only two days before.

Master14 had sent his biological father a text to find out if he still lived near Katherine – turns out he lives around the corner from our caravan park and wanted to see him. He came to pick up a pretty nervous 14 year old from a very nervous mother after work for dinner and a movie – it’s been nine years since he last saw Master14 though they’d spent some time texting each other over the past year. From all reports they had a good night and my mind was put at ease (it was eased earlier in the night when Miss6 and I had a girls night at the Big Fig restaurant on site and Mummy enjoyed a mango dacquiri!).

The next morning we were off to the Katherine Gorge for a four hour boat cruise. We got chatting to a lovely family with a little girl in the queue before boarding the boat with a very friendly and informative guide (and very easy on the eye). The cruise took us through the first three gorges where we took in some breathtaking views including Jedda rock (note to self: watch the movie even though the final scene in the movie was re-shot in the Blue Mountains in NSW after the film was damaged returning from the NT!), a freshwater croc casually swimming past our boat and finally a lovely little watering hole that we all got to swim in (no crocs here) with a waterfall and the little girl from the queue in a matching floaty jacket to Miss6 – instant bonding! 

Apparently the NT have cottoned on to a thing called OHS – some folk thought it was the name of a royal ship or something like that, while others thought it might’ve meant not risking the lives of backpackers and grey nomads. Needless to say, the tours no longer include cruises of the fourth and fifth gorges so it was back to base for us. 
We did have to wait on the boat for a while for a missing passenger who apparently ‘took a wrong turn’ walking back from the watering hole (there was only one track – the rather large camera and equipment bag over his shoulder gave me the idling suspicion it may have been deliberate…).

We followed up the gorge tour with a helicopter flight over the rest of the gorges, including a landing atop of the gorge for a quick photo and look around before boarding the helicopter for the return trip. On the flight to the gorge landing Miss6 was very excited, on the way back she got a fright at the angle they took off and her face told a different story! 

Once back at the caravan park I was sitting outside and watched a motorhome reversing into a site only a few spots down from us – it was the family we’d met in the queue. Turns out they’re from Victoria too and we ended up having a drink together while the kids played. 

The girls had discovered some weird looking tree with pretty foliage and berries on it – soon there were screams from Miss6 as her hands and legs were burning and bright red. I applied some ice to her legs and antihisthemine cream before putting an antihisthemine tablet on a spoonful of yoghurt for her to swallow. Not sure what those berries were but they left Miss6 with legs that looked like she was covered in purple freckles. We spent the evening with our new family friends and plan to go camping with them once we’re back to Victoria.

The next day we headed to Edith Falls for a swim and explore and our new family friends turned up later to swim with us. It was too hot for us to walk up to the top pool so we stayed at the larger bottom pool and swam all the way out to the water fall and played near the entrance with the archer fish and others that enjoyed nibbling on your feet. The swim out to the water fall was a pretty big one and I was proud of the kids efforts getting there and back. 

Master14 got a message from his biological father asking if he could have a sleepover and spend the day together the following day – we both agreed to this and off he went at the end of the day.

Miss6 and I decided to have a girls day out at the hot springs after dropping the car for its actual repair with Toyota (the first visit was to check what was needed). The springs were within walking distance of the caravan park so we headed there with our noodle and towels. The water was crystal clear and there were a number of pools to swim in so we walked around to check them all out first. People were filling up some of the lower pools so we thought we’d try there first as the current wasn’t too strong. 

As we were about to get in we noticed a ‘Caution: croc sighted here’ with yesterday’s date on it! The sign included a phone number on it so I gave them a call to find out more – there was a large agressive saltwater croc in the nearby river that the springs fed into but he doubted the croc would swim up too far into the warm spring water. 

We took our chances after thoroughly inspecting the crystal clear water and hopped in as far up as we could. Funnily enough after we hopped in, all the other swimmers began asking what I’d been told on the phone – none of them had bothered asking before they started swimming!

I got another message from Master14 – he was going to have a second sleepover with his father so Miss6 and I had a quiet dinner together at the camp kitchen where we sat with another woman and her kids and shared dessert. Miss6 did the dishes for me and we headed off to bed before Master14 returned in time for pack up in the morning.

We stopped for fuel at Kings Creek again on the way out of Kings Canyon, though this time we didn’t blow our budget on food. It wasn’t long before we hit the Ernest Giles turnoff and I pulled over to let some air our of the tyres for the 100km dirt road. We set off along the dust red road and after the first 25km I was cursing our bus tour mate and wondering what he’d got me into. The road had sections that were washed away and others that were flooded, a reminder of the recent rains they’d had. I managed to manoeuvre around the wet and sandy section of the road and the next 50kms weren’t too bad.

It was after this that we found ourselves following another 4WD and had a few moments where the bright red brake lights up ahead gave us plenty of warning of some of the hairy driving I had in store. I think the worst was a dry river crossing with a very deep rut right across the road that we had to cross – after some pretty rough corrugations and this tricky section I was almost ready for a Tena lady (a comedic reference lost on the kids).

Towards the end of the road we saw the turnoff to the meteorite site and decided this would be a great place to stop for some lunch and a walk around. We boiled the kettle for some cuppa soups (it was after this extra long lunch stop that I decided to buy a thermos for these such occasions) and walked around the rim of the meteorite before we hit the road again, stopping when we got to the bituman to pump up the tyres again. It was at this point that I realised that the air hose was a bit short to reach from the bonnet of the car to the wheels of the camper – luckily our Ark Pak has the right terminals on it to attach the air compressor to pump up the camper tyres.

Not long later and we finally hit Alice and the Big 4 Caravan Park where I was easily convinced to book 7 nights with a 10% discount (I’m a salespersons dream when I’m tired). The caravan park had a great pool and waterslide area plus playgrounds and jumping pillow so I figured we’d get some R&R time in while we were here.

After we set up it was quite late and I couldn’t be bothered cooking so we took our bus tour friends’ offer up on a night out of pizza and some night-time sight seeing around Alice. It was good to get the guided tour for the practical things like supermarket, laundromat and hairdresser for the next day.

The next day was a lazy day where we slept in before hitting the shops for some laundry washing and grocery shopping. Miss6 also wanted to get her hair cut so after being quoted $35 for a haircut and told that ‘this is normal and what I’d pay if I were back in Melbourne’, I found another hairdresser to cut it for $18. Back to the caravan park for some swimming and relaxing and I’m feeling more energised for the rest of our week here.

I’d booked us onto a tour to Palm Valley as the recent rains had flooded the Finke River only a week or so ago and the drive in was for more serious 4WD than our little Rav4. It turned out that our bus tour friend was co-driving the bus we were booked on and he’d told us we’d get picked up at 7am. I got a text at 6.25am to say “we’ll be there in 5 minutes to pick you up” – the kids were still fast asleep! Me and my kids are not morning people at the best of times but we managed to get out of bed, get dressed and run to the front gate in the 5 minutes it took for the bus to arrive.

The drive to Palm Valley included a stop at Hermannsberg first – while the history of this place is interesting, as a morning stop off it was a little bland and took time away from being at Palm Valley. The drive into Palm Valley was pretty hectic in some parts and I was glad that I hadn’t taken my car into this area. We arrived at Palm Valley and it was like a tropical oasis among a rugged mountain range with bright colours, huge green cycads and crystal clear waters. The pathway was still being repaired after the recent rain but the workmen assured us that we could do the 2km trek around if we wanted.

Unfortunately, I was the youngest adult on the bus by a few decades and our other passengers seemed more keen to get back to the bus to eat their packed lunch than to take a walk around the very destination they’d paid to see. Our main bus driver seemed pretty happy to herd us back onto the bus for lunch too so we were left pretty disappointed at being so rushed – it seems to be the norm for some of these bus tours and I’m glad we’re taking ourselves around most of our destinations.

The next day we’d booked in to do a sunrise hot air balloon ride so it was early to bed for an even earlier morning – two early starts in a row – what were we thinking?

The mini bus picked us up at 5.45am and we happened to be on the bus with a couple who live in the next suburb back home in Melbourne. I wasn’t sure how to describe what we were going to be doing to Miss6 as I’d never been in a hot air balloon before and wasn’t really sure what to expect. We clamoured into the basket in the dark of the morning and our pilot let off a burst of gas which frightened the life out of Miss6 who then clamoured out of the basket so fast crying I couldn’t stop her.

I thought I was going to have to get out too and stay with her but our bus driver told me to relax and he’d look after her. She went and sat in the front seat of the bus and I could see her crying. Just as the basket started to move I could see she’d changed her mind and put her hands up for me to get her – by now she was crying hysterically and it broke my heart.

I started sobbing and the other couple in the basket told me to look away and enjoy the ride, she’d be fine. I felt like the Wizard of Oz taking off without Dorothy – the bus driver reminded me a little of the scarecrow and it wasn’t long before the two of them were on the radio to the balloon being silly and laughing and I knew she was fine.

We landed safely and Miss6 met us for some champagne and OJ to celebrate. It was at this moment that the pilot asked for my credit card to pay and I remembered that I had to pay for Miss6 anyway! If I’d remembered earlier I would’ve held onto her tighter in the bloody basket.

With such an early start to the day, we were back to the caravan early enough for lunch and a swim at the pool. I managed to sit by the pool after having a swim and actually read my book. I’d brought my reclining camp chair and a few novels on this trip with visions of me just kicking back reading and relaxing the whole way when in reality, this was the first moment I’d actually sat and read.

The kids eventually convinced me to go on the water slide so my R&R finished off with some juvenile fun with the kids – that’s what this trip is really about, the book can wait. I managed to get in for a last minute remedial massage so after our swim I left Caleb in charge and had my first hour alone since we started the trip. It wasn’t the best massage but it did the job and the lady giving me the massage had spent two years travelling Australia so she talked the whole time about her travels and tips for good places to check out on the rest of our trip.

After a few days already in Alice we thought it was about time we headed to the Information Centre in case we’d missed anything from our personal tour guide. The only additional recommendation was to head to the Desert Park so we added that to our itinerary for the weekend and set off for the Women’s Pioneering Museum. Master14 and I found it very interesting and luckily for Miss6, there were activity sheets and audio displays to keep her amused and entertained. Next up, we went to the Reptile Centre which, for around $35 it only took us about an hour to get around it all (and that was reading every single placard for each display). Luckily the kids also got about half an hour of handling some of the reptiles including a large Olive Python which impressed Master14. Miss6 and I had already had a similar experience at a crocodile park in Darwin previously so we weren’t as enthusiastic about what they had to offer. We decided against fitting anything else in and to have an early night before our big day of gorge touring on Saturday.

We left early in the morning (though, as is the norm for us, never as early as we would hope) and headed straight to Glen Helen Gorge followed by a real coffee at Ormiston Gorge (by Melbourne standards I’m a coffee novice but I’ve realised since travelling that I am in fact now a coffee snob and that ‘mocha’ is much like a foreign language!) and some hot chocolates for the kids before our walk along the gorge. We hiked up to lonely tree hill and took in the spectacular views of the gorge before venturing down into the gorge for some possible wet feet and rock scrambling. On the way down we were fortunate enough to spot a rare black-footed rock wallaby playing on the other side of the water. Our descent into the water soon scared it off but faced with the prospect of taking of their shoes and scrambling through the water and over rocks, the kids disappointment soon faded. The gorge was an adventurous and pretty way to spend our mid-morning before we headed to the next sight on our trails.

The Ochre Pits were only a short walk to look at but also a nice spot to enjoy some lunch of fresh rolls, roast chicken and salad that I’d packed for us. From the Ochre Pits we headed to Serpentine Gorge and the sign said it was only a short walk so we thought we’d get it out of the way pretty quickly. As we headed along the track, a man casually said ‘it’s worth the walk’ – we chuckled quietly thinking ‘this is a pretty easy walk and we’re nearly half way already what’s this guy on about?’. It was just after the halfway point where we saw what he was talking about, the flat pathway suddenly became quite vertical and meandered up the rocky hillside. I was impressed with Miss6’s approach to the challenge, she channelled her inner ‘tour guide’ and provided running commentary on the rocks, wildlife and a promise of afternoon tea on the ‘bus’ once we’d finished the climb! Master 14 did his usual speed walk ahead where he could spot any potential dangers or tough spots for his little sister to get over (such a thoughtful prince he is). The man was right, the view from the top was worth the vertical walk and we stood there and enjoyed the meandering valley below with its cycads growing among the red rocks.

Back to the car (aka tour bus) to head to Ellery Creek Big Hole which we’d been told was a great swimming hole for the kids. The weather was a little cool the day we were there so swimming wasn’t really an option but we could just imagine this place on a hot day, with tourists and locals alike sprawled on towels all over the grass, taking to the beach entry water for some cooling refreshment. Today however, we settled for some volunteer tourists taking our photo (complete with blurry finger over the camera lens!) and a little walk around before we made our way back to the car.

Coming to the end and next up was Standley Chasm. Though we’d missed the midday sun photo opportunity, the walk in and chasm itself were still picturesque and as Miss6 had fallen asleep in the car on the way in, the bribe of some free biscuits from the lady at reception (this is the only gorge you need to pay an entry fee for) made the walk a very sweet treat as she woke up!

The day was fast coming to an end but we managed to make it to Simpson’s Gap just before sunset for some random phone service (the phone suddenly went off as I parked the car) and some late afternoon colours on the water and rocks as the sun slowly retired for the day.

We finished off the day with a quick stop at Flynn’s Grave before it was home for dinner and bed – I think we were all a little exhausted after a very long adventurous day.
The next morning we headed out to the Desert Park for what I thought would be a few hours so that I could head back to camp for some blog writing and early pack-up before we leave the next day. For a single adult family rate I paid around $50 and we ended up spending around six hours there! We started the day with a bird display where a large hawk flew so close to my head that I’m sure I felt it touch me! In the words of Master14, it was an amazing show and a great start to the day.

Next we headed to their reptile display which had more to look at than the reptile park we’d spent time at earlier in the week. I think the highlight for us all though was the 45 minute bush tucker survival workshop with Damien, a local Aboriginal guy that taught us how to find food and water in the bush. Miss6 got to volunteer out the front as a traditional Aboriginal woman with her imaginary baby under one arm, digging stick in the other and her basket on her head.

Our ‘few hours’ ended up being most of the day so cleaning and pre-packing was done mainly in the dark with a lovely visit from our personal tour guide to help entertain the kids while I packed up. When we left the next morning the rain had started and we thought we’d picked a good day to leave – it’s been a great week and we’ve enjoyed ourselves. We may even have to come back to visit!

We set off for Kings Canyon, leaving some the majesty of Uluru behind us. On the way, we got stuck behind some very slow nomads, even by our standards. My impatience got the better of me and when they stopped for a fuel stop, I kept going with the idea of getting fuel at the next stop. I’d forgotten though that we took an earlier turnoff to get to Kings Canyon and had to make use of our handy jerry cans! When I finally stopped for fuel we also stopped for lunch and I ended up paying more for lunch than I did to fill the car and jerry can with fuel!
The caravan park had a pool and playground so after setting up I took the kids there with some crazy notion that I might get to read some of my book. With a few other families with young children at the pool it was all playing and no reading for me. It’s great the way Miss6 can make friends with other young children so easily and how Master14 can talk to other adults with such confidence.

The next day Miss6 and I were lucky enough to have our bed facing the canyon so it was a matter of unzipping our window to watch the sunrise over the canyon. After watching the canyon at sunrise it was time to climb it and do the rim walk.

The walk was rocky and steep in parts and at the top of the steepest section at the start we were faced with a defrib machine – I thought this was quite funny until I saw the average age of the other climbers but luckily they were fit enough and saw the funny side of the machine. Miss6 stopped frequently to draw her travel adventures in the sand using the traditional Aboriginal symbols she’d learnt at Yulara. Despite the frequent stopping we kept catching up to the other larger group of older walkers and enjoyed their company for the walk. There were some interesting shaped rocks on the walk and some spectacular views when you braved the edges. For all the jokes of pushing partners over the edge I surprisingly had no urges to or daydream fantasies of pushing the kids over…yet!

Our older walking company encouraged us to do the additional off shoot walks with them however, halfway through the 1.2km trek we looked back to find that they’d given up! We caught up with them at the Garden of Eden and this was truly a beautiful site to behold. We spent some time here enjoying the greenery before making the final hike back to the car. In the final 2kms Master14 rolled his ankle coming down a hill so I asked Miss6 to take the backpack so I could support him. As he began walking properly again, Miss6 fell flat on her face and grazed her knees so I ended up with the backpack on the front of me, Miss6 on my back and Master14 limping slowly behind me as we descended down the steep hill back to the carpark. By the time we got to the car I had the beginnings of a migraine so when I got back to camp to find our Coober Pedy friends offering to help with the kids while I dealt with my migraine and Zoe the dog camped right next to us to keep Miss6 busy, I was grateful for the lovely travelling friends that we’d made.
After a few hours of sleeping and pain killers I was well enough to take the kids to the outback BBQ for dinner and some live music. Dinner was delicious and the live music to accompany it was also great with Miss6 taking her coins to the stage to put in the tips pot. Rod Dowsett had a very raw vocal and moving lyrics that we all enjoyed listening to, so much so that Miss6 wanted to use her pocket money to buy one of his CDs. After listening to the CD though I don’t think it does his vocal abilities the justice that a live performance does. While we were sitting at our table a gentlemen came over to say hi – at first I thought it was one of our fellow walkers from the Canyon Rim walk that I’d forgotten but it turned out to be a tour bus driver from Alice Springs just saying hello. We were heading to Alice next so it was great to hear about Alice from a friendly local – he even offered to show us around town when we got there and take us out for pizza one night – knowing how much Master14 could eat, how could I say no? Our bus tour friend also convinced us to take the Ernest Giles dirt road to Alice Springs tomorrow, it would save us around 150km and wasn’t too bad at the moment apparently, despite the recent rains. Armed with all of this information, ideas and a new friend for our next stop, we went to bed excited for the next leg of our great adventure.

We finally hit the NT and it felt familiar to see the landscape beside the road and the 130km/h speed signs from days gone by, visiting my sister in Darwin. It did feel pretty sad to have gone from doing 5-10km/h under the limit to over 30 under the limit though and even more so when we hit the ‘open speed’ sections of highway!
Before heading to Yulara we stopped overnight at Kulgera – I wasn’t going to get much further in daylight hours. It was a brief stopover but enough to refuel the car and recharge the batteries before the drive to the rock.

We’d heard enough about the trip to Yulara to not be fooled by Mount Connor on the way in – as big and impressive as it looked. It was surprising that the lookout didn’t include much information about the mountain or it’s Aboriginal heritage. 
It was here we not only stopped for a token selfie but also a quick loo break at the drop toilet. In the words of Kenny himself, the smell coming from those toilets would outlast religion itself. I think I could actually feel my eyeballs burning from the ammonia! 

After setting up our camp for our four night stay we headed to the information centre to book some of our ‘must do’ activities. Miss6 was nearly jumping out of her skin for a camel ride but we missed out on the sunset tour so instead booked sunrise – this will be a rare occasion where I can get her out of bed in the morning with any sort of enthusiasm! 
Up at 5am for our sunrise camel trek through the bush land of the camel farm, set between Uluru and Kata Tjuta. The colours of the environment, let alone the changing colours of the sky against the two formidable structures of nature, were just spectacular. Two hours later and we were enjoying some freshly baked beer bread, a tour around the farm and Miss6 even got to brush one of the camels to her delight (apparently I need to buy a farm when we get home so we can get a pet camel). We watched a few practice runs by a number of the resident camels in preparation for next weekend’s Uluru Camel Cup – if the practice run is anything to go by, the big day should be a lot of fun.

We managed to drag Miss6 away from the camels to go and do a traditional dot painting workshop with a local Anangu woman. The kids and I really enjoyed this and have a much better understanding of Aboriginal artwork made this way. We got to create our own story using dot painting and the kids did a great job of not only creating an artwork but also standing in front of other participants explaining the story behind their artwork too.
Master14 I think was looking forward to our evening astronomy workshop the most but all of us had a great night in the end. Our host and resident astronomer had a laser to trace the constellations out, which is more than any well-meaning nomad has been able to do and really brought the stars to life. It also helps to have a very powerful telescope to see things like stars, planets and even the full moon!

The next morning we headed to the national park to see Uluru. As we drove in, the rock loomed ahead and it was breathtaking. The sheer enormity of it and the patterns, water marks and large open spaces in the rock face brought an overwhelming sense of emotion and connectedness to the place.
We met a couple of the Rangers for the Mala walk which took us to a number of ancient places used by the Anangu people. We didn’t need to go to the cultural centre (though we did later on) to understand the significance of the rock and its water holes and other spaces, just being there we could sense a significance and tranquility of place.

As an ancient monolith, the geology is almost as impressive as its cultural significance. With around 500 metres above ground and 5kms below ground, permanent water holes and rusty veneer, it really is a sight to behold.
After the walk we thought we’d continue to walk the remainder of the 10km base but Miss6 was too tired after our big day previously so we thought we’d hire bikes and ride around instead. The trailer bike for Miss6 and I was too wobbly and a tad scary for her so Master14 took a ride on his own while Miss6 and I drove to the other waterhole to meet him there. It was supposed to take him 20-30 minutes to arrive at that waterhole riding anticlockwise around the rock. After 40 minutes he finally arrived and had actually ridden clockwise nearly completing the full 10km in that time. Our bike hire was 3 hours so I told him to ride to the carpark and meet me so I could have a ride while he hung out with his sister. His honest subconscious must’ve got the better of him though as he ended up riding the bike back to the hire place instead!

We took one last walk to the waterhole together and enjoyed the serenity and Tjukurpa (traditional law and dream time story). Miss6 also took great delight in telling the story of this place and pointing out marks in the rock to the other tourists. 
Back to camp before we got to see the Field of Light by sunset. Pity the information centre gave us the wrong bus pick up time so we missed sunset and only got a second bus there in time for a very rushed walk through. It was a vast and beautiful installation and we were very disappointed to have been herded through it so quickly. 

Miss6 and I were in the showers later that night and a group of high school girls on school camp were also showering in the booths next to us when one of the girls broke out in song. I was impressed she’d chosen an old 80’s number though her singing wasn’t the best and her friends had a laugh at her expense. Not to be deterred she repeated her verse, only this time I helped her out by belting out the next verse. She seemed happy about someone else wanted to sing with her and Miss6 wanted to join in so she asked if we could sing her favourite song. Together we belted out ‘I wish I was a punk rocker’ as we finished up and got our pj’s on. The girls on camp thought it was great with one commenting we should be on The Voice – Miss6 was very happy with the whole experience!

The next day it was off to see Kata Tjuta for the Valley of the Winds 7km walk. Though the ancient rocks are strong and have stood the test of time I think our camping neighbours description of it as ethereal is still fitting. This rock formation seemed to keep Miss6 energised as she happily walked the rocky and sometimes steep walking tracks (with the exception of about 1km that I piggy-backed her!).

The toilets here were much like those at Mount Connor and even caused a couple of German backpackers to walk straight out without using them, eyes watering and lots of screwed up faces. We did bump into our friends from Coober Pedy on the hike and even made some new hiking friends enroute. One of the best parts of travelling is the people you meet and unofficially take the same journey with. 
We had managed to make a few new friends at camp, all of whom had dogs that Miss6 couldn’t resist patting. She even got to take Zoe the dog for a walk, wearing her little hand held UHF radio to stay in contact with me if she got lost. Those radios are one of the best investments I’ve made – allowing Miss6 some independence around caravan parks and helping me to be in two virtual places at once. They’re also handy while driving to communicate with other drivers.

Our last night at Yulara and I was hoping for a good nights sleep but some nearby late night loud talkers and another lot of distant party goers made it hard to get to sleep. At around 4.30am the van was bouncing around and it woke me up. I thought it was Master14 stomping around the van like an elephant (why do teenagers need to stomp everywhere?) so I yelled at him to cut it out. He woke up confused so I figured it was our drunk party goers and when one of them yelled “earthquake!” I’d had enough. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a morning person and loathe being woken early, especially by drunks, so I opened the window and yelled “shut up!” and the campground went quiet.
Next morning Zoe’s owner asked if I’d felt the earthquake last night?! Oops, turns out Master14 and an innocent drunk copped the wrath of my tired grumpiness when in fact it was a 6.4 tremor in Alice Springs that shook the van and woke me up! Quite the eventful end to our time at the rock.

We got to Coober Pedy at about 3pm and had to compete with the grey nomads ‘holding’ spots in the shade for their friends with tables and chairs. I’d found a spot that I thought would be good for us but an old lady told me she was holding it for her friends – I couldn’t be bothered arguing so I moved to another shady spot and set up camp.

I remembered as we were setting up that the front boot of the van was locked shut so I began unscrewing the frame to break into it. Before breaking the seal of glue around the edge I thought I’d give it one last crack by spraying some WD40 on the handle and using a towel to grip and some brute force I got it open! By the time I finished setting everything up I couldn’t be bothered putting all of the screws back in so I put it on the ‘to do later’ list and headed to the camp kitchen for some dinner and a bit of TV (we haven’t brought our TV with us so neither me nor the kids have seen much in the way of the news or any entertainment on screen).

Turns out it was a good thing we didn’t get that first camp spot – five camps got broken into overnight (with people in them) including the little old lady that wouldn’t let me camp next to her… Karma?? After hearing the news about the break-ins it was off to the information centre to figure out some sort of itinerary while we were here. It was here that we met an older couple from Griffith and helped them out booking accommodation at Uluru – they soon became valuable friends that we have continued to travel the same route with for many stops since.

The kids and I spent the day checking out the orphan kangaroos, old timers mine for some underground exploring and a go of sucking big rocks up an old blower. If I had one of these at home I reckon I could cut my vacuuming schedule down to an annual event! After lunch it was off to Faye’s house for some more underground adventures – it was a pretty impressive place considering it was all hand dug by three women! The kids and I tried our hand at noodling in the dirt mounds outside the house but alas, we couldn’t find a stone worthy of funding some extra time on the road – just some pieces of grey opal.

In the arvo we took a drive out to Harry’s Nest – an old cave that once belonged to Harry the Crocodile Hunter and used in the filming of Mad Max III – it was a pretty cool place lined with paintings, hand written messages, old t-shirts and bras signed by past travellers and the remnants of an old bar. I could easily imagine myself sitting here enjoying a cold beer or bourbon back in its hey day. We left our own message on the wall then it was back to camp via the ‘greens’ of the golf course and some take away ‘Coat of Arms’ pizza from John’s famous pizza shop – the kids are really getting into eating native animals on this trip!

The following morning I checked with the office if the road to the Breakaways had opened yet (recent rain had closed the road) but it was going to remain closed for the next day or two while the Council decided whether or not to spend the money to grade it. We made a snap decision to head off, giving ourselves the physical challenge (aka Double Dare TV game show) of packing up camp in 30 minutes! Challenge accepted! Quick stop at the much talked about underground Serbian Church which I found a little underwhelming before heading to our next stop – Kulgera and Yulara. Must admit there’s a bit of Big Kev excitement in the air at the thought of hitting the NT tomorrow!

 After the blustery morning packing up from Wilpena Pound we got to Hawker to find a mechanic shop on the main road so I thought I’d try my luck and ask if they could help straighten these stabiliser legs for me. They offered to take a look and seemed impressed that I’d already removed them on my own.
It was a big relief to have them fix them for me and they were kind enough to let me drive into their workshop (out of the rain and wind) to reattach the legs once they’d fixed them. While I was under the van doing up the screws to the stabiliser legs the ratchet spanner fell off in my haste and landed smack bang on my eyebrow bone – I swore as quietly as I could and could feel the instant lump on my head. I can now add black eye to my list of mishaps I think! For a little thing it can hurt a lot.

After spending a few hours in Hawker we abandoned the Port Augusta plans and headed north to Beltana, a sheep and cattle station with potential for a camel ride and the chance for Miss6 to feed animals. It would also buy us a few days to see if the Oodnadatta Track would open up to small 4WD while we were there. On the way out I had a little sob in the car – quiet enough so the kids wouldn’t hear as I’d done the night before in the camper after they’d gone to bed. It’s only a few little things that had gone wrong so far but sometimes these things get to you and it’s times like this I often think about how different it would be if I wasn’t doing all this on my own. The sobbing didn’t last long, after a few unrequited waves to passing caravanners, I got an enthusiastic wave back and that was enough to slap a big smile on my face.

When we arrived at Beltana another family had not long arrived and they had a little girl – Miss6 was stoked! We enjoyed a home cooked roast in the Woolshed restaurant with some other travellers and workers on the farm and a great night sleep with no alarm the next morning. After we got up we went for a walk with the husband and three kids from this other family and it was so great to see the kids enjoying some new friends. I met Miss6 new BFF’s mum later in the day and for the few days we stayed at Beltana she was just what I needed – a down to earth real mum who understood those moments you love your kids but just want to leave them behind or remind them that they’re not the grown ups (Sometimes parenthood is a dictatorship not a democracy).Sharing stories and meals by the fire and watching the kids have fun with their new friends was enough to pep me up again for the next leg of our trip (that, and the fact that we had a successful touch down and take off with the stabiliser legs!).

We’d hoped to follow our new friends across the Oodnadatta track but it remained closed to everything but heavy vehicles so we said farewell and headed south again to Port Augusta via the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna. We stopped in at the hotel after our Beltana family friends had mentioned their feral antipasto platter (Emu, Kangaroo, Goat, Camel). Even our wannabe vegan tried everything on the platter (I told her they’d all died of old age or natural causes) and we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch.

For the rest of the drive we had no radio (regular occurrence) so once again I listened to the Taylor Swift CD that workmates had packed for me. I find driving days are my time to think about a lot of the things I left behind – surprisingly, I’m appreciating some of Tay Tay’s words of wisdom and can even sing along to a few of her songs. Music and singing has always been my therapy – it’s another little thing but it means a lot.

Port Augusta was about as I expected – though our dining out experience served up a pretty impressive parma to Master14 – it looked like it came off a camel it was that huge. Portugutta didn’t fail to disappoint though when, while packing up the next day to leave we realised that I had no lights to the trailer – again! Found an auto electrician who figured out the problem, fixed it up for me and even checked my other battery and lights on the van before we got out of there just in time before it meant a second night stay.

We’re heading to Coober Pedy next but stopped for one night along the way at Woomera. It’s a little caravan park with a little bar in an old shipping container but with a friendly barman and $4 Corona (even with a wedge of lime) I was pretty happy with this small town. We even walked down to the footy club for dinner – three meals, another Corona and water for the kids $23 – got to be happy with that!

The last few stops have reminded me that the little things can be the most significant – they can bring you down for a little while but it’s also the little things that make you realise what life’s all about and that it’s all worth while.

We swapped the grey nomads for the Flinders Ranges and ended up camping next to a family of four kids at Wilpena Pound. They were doing a similar trip to us except they only survived with the camper fridge for all six of them and home schooling was something they did in real life too. Me? I’ve packed enough food in the fridge and second freezer to go AWOL for months and the idea of permanent home schooling makes going AWOL (solo) very tempting!

We decided to have a crack at a mountain hike, the weather was a cooler 22 degrees with a few spits here and there – how hard could a 7km hike be? I read the promo brochure and decided we’d go straight to the ‘difficult’ hike and follow the advice of packing some supplies into a backpack and giving Pa a quick call to let him know we should be back in four hours. He was on his way to the footy so I figured he’d remember us once the game was over and he’d gone home, if anything went wrong he’d figure something out.

They weren’t lying when they said ‘difficult’ the terrain was very rocky and often times vertical – these bits were OK, it was more the yellow reflectors stuck to rocks as ‘guides’ to mark the ‘path’ that we had to think about! All in all, it took us nearly five hours as we added the long way back to the end of the hike.

I was incredibly proud of the kids – Master 14 looked out for his little sister and Miss6 channeled her Dora the Explorer experience and raced up the mountain, exploring and having a great time.

Back to camp after some yodelling down the mountain (Sound of Music style after we’d seen a mountain goat high on a hill… – my life story could be told in song lyrics and movie lines!). We were pretty impressed with our efforts and all a little knackered so decided not to pack up the following day to leave (it was Mother’s Day and I gave myself the day off) so booked an extra night, built a fire, enjoyed a cold beer, toasted some marshmallows and baked our first campfire scones just before it started to rain at bedtime.

Did I say rain? I’m no expert at religion but it bloody poured non stop for 24 hours – between rescuing our water logged awning and outdoor furniture, our campsite started to resemble my idea of Noah’s Ark! Minus the animals (much to Miss6’s disappointment- they’d had the sense to magically disappear when the rain came), if I could’ve got our stabiliser legs up we would’ve floated away. 

I was grateful the rain stopped in time for me to dry off and wipe down what I could with nappy wipes and a beach towel, before heading to a Mother’s Day dinner at the restaurant that included a complimentary wine. Boy did that go down well! Hopped into bed in our water logged Jayco Ark, electric blankets on, set for a toasty nights’ sleep. 

Bang!! I woke at 2am with a start – it seems the rain may have stopped but now we were on the tumble-dry cycle with the wind going gangbusters. I went outside, took the awning poles down and tied down the bed end fly’s then back to bed. I thought beds were supposed to be for sleeping – not this night – all I did was lie there trying to identify the noises and whether anything (else) was getting broken by the wind!

It’s a miracle! Nothing got broken by the wind (that wasn’t already broken anyway!). We packed up in pretty good time compared to our first few attempts… Until I got to those damned stabiliser legs – even though we’d sorted out where we were going wrong, they needed repairs and weren’t going to wind up. I got a free blow wave, wash and second tumble dry from Mother Nature while I took two of the legs off but eventually we got going and were only half an hour late for check out.

The rain had closed some of the roads we’d hoped to travel so I plan to head to Port Augusta to get some repairs before we head off and start our journey north. Hopefully without the rain, though Uluru has water and the NT is seeing its wettest April/May in 21 years – I could very well be the rain goddess here to break the drought! 

‘There was movement at the station, for the word had got around

That the Kickarse Mum had got away,

She’d fought ol’ Jack the cocky – his dance moves were renowned

So all the nomads had gathered to the fray.

We finally headed out of Broken Hill after a hot shower and grocery shop by around 11.30 (one day we’ll get this quick pack up thing right) and had a nice easy drive out to Peterborough. Stopping for some photos, fuel, lunch and the quarantine check-point (apparently it’s fruit AND vegetables so I had to give up a couple of veggies though I was allowed to keep the bag of potatoes I’d just bought).

We arrived around 3.30 and were set up by 4 (hard to believe but we stop quicker than we start in this family!). I called and booked us into the Sound and Light show at the local Steam town attraction and enjoyed a free taxi-ride there for the show.

By the time the show finished and we waited for the taxi home, I reckon nearly all the other guests knew of my dance with Jack the Cocky – Miss6 was off spinning a yarn to the nomads of our adventures so far and made a great story out of Jack and the nasty gash on my little finger. By the time we left there I had advice to visit the local hospital first thing as it would be the easiest way to get a Dr to check it out.

Waiting at the hospital the next day all I could hear was the chatter at the nurses station ‘yes a cockatoo’, ‘the cocky bit her finger’, ‘I’ll gave to check with the Dr about a cockatoo bite’ – finally a very handsome young Dr Tom strolled through the door to take a look at the now infamous cocky bite (it’s moments like these you miss the manicured acrylic nails). A quick clean, redress (of the wound – this is a G rated trip!) and a tetanus shot later and we were on our way.

We’d booked for the evening sound and light show plus the guided tour the following day so we headed back to Steam town. We joined the tour and Miss6 was again in her element with doting nanna’s and a lady who’d brought her two dogs on the tour.

It wasn’t long before I could hear the whispering again through the crowd ‘yes it was a cocky’, ‘a cockatoo bit her right on her finger’, ‘it was a nasty bite from what I’m told’ – eventually one of the lovely older ladies asked me if it was me that had been bitten and how was my finger.

When we returned to the caravan park I overheard two ladies talking about the cockatoo bite in the toilets – when I came out they asked me how my finger was and if I’d gone to the hospital to see the doctor. I’m considering renaming my blog now to the Cockatoo Kid!

We arrived at Penrose Park in Silverton after some great reviews from friends (thanks Tracey!), backed up by some Wikicamps users and the Camps 8 book. At only $25 per night for a powered site I’d planned to stay here for a few nights and trek into Broken Hill to look around or to Silverton.

We’d arrived around 4 o’clock and set up pretty quickly (we’ve got this part down pat for speed). While we were setting up we met KiwiBarb who set up next to us and started chatting – she was on her way from Perth to Brisbane to start a new life. Within five minutes of setting up a light rain started and before long it was absolutely pouring (I’m starting to wonder if the rain is following us?!).

There was a wedding being held that night in the Big Shed onsite and they raged all night with the music going until around 8am the next morning! Here I was thinking the Irish knew how to throw an all-night wedding, these guys left them for dead.

After a fairly sleepless night, KiwiBarb joined us for a drive into Silverton to check out the Mad Max Museum – a museum built by an Englishman and his wife so obsessed with the movie they moved here from England! There was a camera crew there filming a documentary, a deaf dog that liked cuddles and an owner obsessed with leopard print – Miss6 was in her element! She managed to flash a few smiles for the camera crew (signed a permission form with hopes of seeing the kids in the three-part doco sometime in November), cuddle the blue heeler and even scammed a new leopard print handbag and hair clip from the owner who fell for her charm.

After lunch we headed into Broken Hill to see the Silver City Mint (though I couldn’t justify paying $20 to see the world’s largest canvas painting – no matter how good it was!) and some milkshakes at the very retro Bells Milk Bar.

Back to Silverton to grab the camp chairs before driving out to Mundi Mundi lookout to watch the sunset. There were a group of older couples with the right idea – table, chairs, wine cheese and the most gorgeous sunset and views looking out over the outback. It seems to stretch for miles with nothing interrupting the views.

We farewelled KiwiBarb the next day before heading back into Broken Hill for a jam-packed day of sight-seeing taking in the highest view in town – Line of Lode Miners Memorial, Browne’s Mine lookout, ‘Bushy’s mining museum including his artworks made of minerals and his wife’s massive collection of dolls and teddy bears (impressive and disturbing all at the same time), the airport to check out the Royal Flying Doctor Service and museum, Pro Hart Gallery (only $5 to check out his artworks!) and then out to the Living Desert.

We decided to park the car at the bottom of the hill and take a 1.2km bushwalk up to the Living Desert and sculptures in time for sunset. I hope none of the other tourists up there were looking for some peace and quiet at sunset! Miss6 really loved the sculptures and kept yelling out ‘Mummy look at this one!’ while Master14 took the opportunity to add to his photography portfolio.

I can understand why there are so many artists inspired by this part of the world – the views and colours of the desert are just spectacular. It’s like getting that 72 pack of Derwents for Christmas looking at all those shades of gorgeous colours and not being able to wipe the smile off your face.

We were going to leave the next day but decided to stay a fourth night so we could look at Silverton a little more and take a tour of the Daydream Mine between where we were staying and Broken Hill.

The mine tour was great fun – the kids really enjoyed it and Miss6 surprised me, I thought she’d get clingy in the dark underground but instead she was tearing ahead asking if we could go further underground into the mine! No fear this kid – and so fashionable for the mine in her purple skirt and leopard print puffy vest!

I thought I’d do some washing before we left for our next destination so after hanging out the washing I wondered over to see what the kids had been up to while they waited for me. They were checking out the numerous animals at Penrose Park and were making Jack the cockatoo dance for them – I thought I’d be nice and donate some coins to help feed the animals. After putting money in the tin in his cage the kids encouraged me to give him a little pat – the sign clearly said ‘this bird bites’ but he looked at me with his little blue eyes and bowed his head encouragingly to get me to scratch the top of his head. I was sucked right in so I put my little finger in for a scratch and after a moment he shot his head up and latched that beak of his so fiercely into my little finger I think I gave him a few new choice words to add to his vocabulary!

The kids helped me loose and ran for some tissues to help hold the blood – as I’d driven with the laundry down from camp I had to drive us back to the van with blood pissing out of my finger trying to hold a tissue over the wound, hold my hand above my heart and drive manual – even I was impressed with my driving!

Caleb helped grab the first aid kit and go through it for some bandages (it was at this point I realised the kit didn’t include steri-strips or butterfly band aids (now on the ‘to buy’ list) and to grab the teatree oil to help clean the wound. Letting out a very loud “FARK!!” when I applied the tea tree Miss6 burst into tears thinking it was all her fault for encouraging me to pat the bird. She may be a bundle of attitude, humour and a bit of crazy but she sure has the sensitive empathetic soul that Master14 and I have.

Determined not to let a bit of blood, pain and swelling get in the way of our adventures I loaded the kids into the car and we headed into Silverton to check out the od Gaol Museum and then to the pub for an overpriced (delicious) lunch and a well-deserved pot of beer.

It was a pretty windy and warm afternoon so we decided to check out the old cemetery on the way back to camp and found the Silverton Photography Gallery by mistake on the way back. Helen Murray not only takes a beautiful photograph but she was an absolute delight showing us around her gardens and showing the kids her horses and dog ‘bandit’ who of course, took a liking to Miss6.

We ended up staying there for ages chatting, taking photos of Helen’s collection of old mining, farming and other memorabilia throughout the garden. By the time we got back to camp it was late afternoon and all I could think about was relaxing before making a start on dinner and some of the pack up before we left the following day.

In the tradition of packing up ‘kickarse mum style’ – we returned to camp to find that the wind had taken our little 3×3 marquee and blown it halfway across the sand completely destroying one of the legs and it had blown Master14’s bed so hard that the little plastic bracket holding the bar over his canvas had snapped off leaving his bed collapsed!

Some minor cursing and make-do repairs later, we managed to pack up the marquee (minus one leg) and I removed the bracket from Master14’s bed, made good use of the liquid nails and put all three of us into the other bed for the night while the glue dried.

As a fellow camping mum pointed out to me, at least with everything breaking on our trip so far, I’ve been able to fix or patch up most of it on my own with the aid of liquid nails, gaffa tape, ocky straps and some well-placed F-bombs. So much for Murphy being a home-body – here’s hoping he doesn’t make it past the quarantine line!

Another late set off the next day as our pack-up routine (who am I kidding – we’ve really only mastered the set up routine – packing up is nothing but a distant goal for us at the moment). Needless to say, during the pack up phase the cask of wine was moved in the cupboards so that now all I need to do is open the door and pour – no more pulling it out of the cupboard to put on the bench and pour!