Hello world!

The Curry`s

We are the Curry`s

We have made the decision to fulfill a long time dream and pack up our house, buy a caravan and travel around Australia.

We invite you to follow our journey (start at the bottom of this page) from our initial idea, to pre trip planning and preparations and then join us on the ultimate journey ’round our big beautiful country as we keep you updated on the good, bad and ugly of a ’round Oz journey with 2 kids and a caravan.

The Curry`s consist of;

Dad- Anthony,Mum-Belinda,6yr old Jack,and 3yr old Isabella.

Keep in touch with the Curry`s

Want to come along for the ride ???

Just click on the link below and every time a new post is submitted you`ll be one of the first to read it.

Subscribe to Two kids,A Caravan & One Mighty Big Country. by Email

We`d love for you to follow our journey with us.

The Curry`s

Opal Fever in Coober Pedy !!!

Last time I blogged we had just visited the spectacular Kings Canyon …I had just made myself very proud by completing the rim walk (6.5 km) in just over 2hrs (2hrs15min…to be precise)…..Now it’s time to grab your cuppa and join us ….. as we’re off to Coober Pedy ……….

After I had completed my rim walk we started our journey south…..AND

We finally crossed the border into South Australia…

Then after a stop over out the back of a roadhouse …..we woke up and showered “Daddy Boy” (a.k.a Anthony) in gifts……yes it was his 39^th birthday….. some of his gifts included a game the Oakey`s introduced us to back in Mareeba ….Jenga…he also got a new watch and a book he has been wanting called ….The last Nomad….so after breakfast we made our way south toward Coober Pedy.

Coober Pedy has over 70 opal fields and is the largest opal mining area in the world.

Anthony and I got chatting about our next destination and I told him how completely clueless I was to what lay ahead of me…I could not for the life of me figure out how people could live underground……So do the houses look like normal houses and then extend underground or do they have a hatch at the top ??? (like in tornado country in the states…well you know…… like Dorothy’s family went into in The Wizard of Oz) Yes that sounds funny now that I have been there but at the time I really had no clue as to what this place would be like.

On our drive into town we were amazed at the piles of dirt out in the land to the left and right of the road followed by warning signs about falling into the old mine shafts…

“Why haven’t they filled in the old mines that’s rather dangerous, isn’t it” ?? I asked A.C

…..we would find out the reason for this during our stay.

We were all amazed as we pulled into town…… this place was bizarre to say the least….to say you feel like  you really are out in the middle of nowhere is a huge understatement…that’s for sure.

We pulled into the tourist information centre and spoke to a really friendly fella .We asked if he had any suggestions for places to free camp he made some suggestions but proceeded to tell us that the caravans parks would be a much safer option for here…..I asked him about the houses and how people live here in town and he then suggested we park our van at his home….”We have a large yard and your more than welcome to pull in there …that would be much safer than free camping and you can have a look at our home. It’s up to you….. if you want to, meet me out the front of here in an hour and  you can follow me `round.

To bide time we went to an art gallery in town which also doubled as the local wildlife rehabilitation centre the lady here would take in little joeys and become their mother…..she let the kids have a cuddle.

We met john and made our way around to his house and met his lovely wife Deanna and little girl Annika.

John took Anthony with him to the pub that afternoon for a couple of beers (which was nice for him on his birthday) he met some of Coober Pedy`s local characters and arrived home later that afternoon and we all had a BBQ together. Staying with locals was fantastic…we got a chance to find out so much about this amazing town.

One afternoon I was in the caravan and Jack almost ripped the door of it’s hinges to get in ….he was so extremely excited ….”Mum, Mum he squealed …..LOOK …LOOK….I found opal….It’s not potch it’s got colour in it !!! John had been showing Anthony his washing area where he washes his findings and Jack found it in the throw away rubble.

Our van at John and Deanna`s.

John explained about the piles out in the fields and answered why it is they don’t fill in the old shafts…he told us that to fill them in would be extremely dangerous as it would create cave ins for fellow miners in neighbouring shafts if they happened to dig though to your filled in mine.

This town will stay in my memory more than any other town in Australia…it is the strangest of places and when you go up to the lookout you would swear that you were in a remote middle eastern country… not Australia.

Underground living is truly amazing out here….I not sure what I imagined, but these homes are incredible…John and Deanna’s home is massive ….it’s hard to imagine a home so lovely and so large could be built underground.

We visited the Umoona Opal Mine & Museum while in town and it was terrific, it gave us all the insight into how the Opals were formed and also the history surrounding this bizarre town….and also a chance for people (who are not as lucky as us to have been invited to stay with locals) to see the way people live underground….Bella of course fell asleep right at the beginning of the tour though the mine.

We then took a drive out to the breakaways it`s about 33km west of Coober Pedy and is really amazing…hard to believe that over 70 million years ago, a vast inland sea covered the area. We stood at a look out and got a great appreciation for aboriginal painting and how they depict the land ….looking down you could see the dots (Spinifex clumps) and see how they made artwork maps of the land around them.

The last night we were in town John took us black lighting……. an amazing experience indeed…we had a black light which we scanned the dirt with and it amazed us at how the opal glows brilliant white ….Jack was so excited we considered sedating him….Bella didn’t know what all the fuss was about and was more interested in Johns lolly stash…and I thought about buying real estate and making Coober Pedy home while I found my fortune in opal…

Black lighting fun with John !!

We learnt that opal mining is entirely about luck…there are so many stories out here……Stories… about miners who sell up there mine after many years of working it only for the new owner to strike it rich within months……stories…..like the one about the former owner of a mine who if had of dug one metre more to the left they would have found the opal he had spent decades looking for…stories…. about people who go missing out here…stories…. about people who have made huge fortunes only to lose it all in one night of poker……This place is rich with not only Opal but with the amazing characters of Australia’s outback and many stories that you will never forget….A HUGE thankyou to John,Deanna and Annika for making us so welcome…A must see place for every Aussie….Coober Pedy was a special place for us…. it was strange and bizarre and we will never…ever forget it.

So that`s it for now…..join us next time for more of our South Australian journey.

The King of Canyons !!!

Last time I blogged we were at Uluru in the heart of this amazing country we all live in. …..So now join us while we all journey from Uluru to Kings Canyon.

So it’s time again to put the kettle on… and catch up with the Curry’s……

We left Uluru and headed 300km northeast to Kings Canyon a very impressive 270m High Canyon….

You know….

It really is amazing how much a journey like this teaches you about yourself…..At the risk of sounding unappreciative of natures beauty …….after our visits to the East and West MacDonnell ranges and seeing the gorges ect there…… then onto Uluru and then the Olgas ect…….I have to admit I was feeling a little ‘national parked` out…..Well you all know by now……. I’m not a bushwalker/climber/trekker ect and I have been known to joke with people that I’m allergic to sweat!!!…. Now ….That would have to be the complete opposite to my darling husband who finds every opportunity to climb a mountain and do things like ride his mountain bike at death defying speeds down the steepest mountains (and at times in the dark with helmet lights)……. I find it all a bit overwhelming and way too energetic at times.

So as much as I really wanted to visit Kings Canyon in the past and as sad as it sounds…..I have to admit that if A.C (Anthony) had of said “Let’s give this one a miss huh” I would have been out of there like a shot. But of course as it is with A.C ….there is too much to see in this world and too little time to see it….we rolled our Big Bertha into the Kings Canyon Resort Caravan Park.

We set up our van and looked behind us for the most amazing view of the canyon ridge line…..A.C took the kids to the pool for a cool off and was approach by a lady who invited us all to a performance that night at the steakhouse restaurant within the resort……What a fun night …..now…. those that know our children personally, know that shyness is not one of their traits….and here are the Pictures to prove it…….I wonder who they get that from ?????

Later that night we had just jumped into bed when clatter…. bang ……right out side our van…I nearly had kittens after our Alice springs near robbery…Anthony jumped up and looked out the window to see this ugly looking creature…A.C had put our rubbish up on the fold down caravan table…it’s up pretty high…but clearly not high enough for this wild dog…. have a look at him “scary huh”??? I had to grab a bat and stand behind A.C while he was picking up the rubbish because it looked like this thing was going to attack him at any minute….so now noted…all rubbish in bin next time.

The next morning we all went exploring the Canyon…The kids moaned and groaned there way along the approx 1km walk ……”I’m thirsty”…wined Isabella “My legs are aching” groaned Jack…..”CUT IT OUT” shouted Daddy…..Now does anyone wonder why I dislike this ????…..But to be fair they are normally quite good but today they were painful…. to say the least.

I saw A.C`s eyes light up when he saw a sign that said ….Rim Walk 6km….(A moderately challenging six-kilometre walk takes in magnificent views of the Canyon rim ‘The Lost City’ and the ‘Garden of Eden’ – a sheltered valley with permanent waterholes and lush vegetation.)

“Oh no no no ….not me…not on your life”   I told him.

“Just take me back to the van and you can do that one all on your own” I said.

So that afternoon after a swim in the pool and a thunderstorm at 3pm A.C in his wisdom decided that now was the right time to walk around the rim of Kings Canyon…

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, that storm looks like it is coming back “I said….

“Nup it’s gone ….She’ll be right“

So off he went and within a hour and a half….. BANG …..Arrrrrrr….. screeched Bella as she ran over and jumped on my lap and buried her head into my chest….”I’m scared” !!!…… That thunderstorm rolled back into the canyon camp ground like a freight train …..and while I was trying to keep myself calm for the kids all I  kept hearing was….

“I’m worried about Daddy, Mummy…when will he be back”?….knowing full well that given the time, Daddy would be right smack bang in the middle of the canyon rim walk…..”Oh you know Daddy kids …he’ll be fine” !!!  I said, ever so calmly as my heart nearly pounded out of my chest.

Within about fifteen minutes our patrol pulled up and out jumped a very dry A.C (wow he must of changed his mind about walking it) In he walked…”Wow that was awesome“…Yep he’d walked it…. more like ran it….he said he was a third of the way around when the black clouds rolled in bringing with them the thunder and lightning ….so that is when he started to run like Forest Gump….. he knew he had the cameras and also that when all that rock started to get wet he would be in for a slippery time….As he was descending from the ridge the wind changed direction bringing in the large rain drops and just as he jumped in the car the rain really started.

He arrived back to the van just as the downpour stopped and was welcomed by the most spectacular sight….So there we stood….. beer in hand…. looking out at Kings Canyon and admiring the newly formed rainbow (with our camping neighbours) and wondering what the rest of the world were doing.

Anthony had told me what an amazing walk it was and he strongly suggested that I go and walk it the next morning…..now I know it is hard to believe….. but I knew that if he was suggesting I do it then it must have been exceptionally good. So I agreed to him having the kids while Mummy took on the challenge of walking around them rim of Kings Canyon. THEN I read the following about the walk …..The walk is suitable for fit, relatively experienced walkers and can be completed in about three to four hours…….What the ??? OMG what am I doing ??

So this was me (on your left)  at the “stairway to heaven” (in the background) that confronted me right at the beginning of the walk.

And then (your right) when I finally made it to the top of the stairs…now I just had 6km to go… Hmmm…

Just after 2 hours of walk/running I returned to the van feeling the most amazing shot of adrenalin coursing though my veins…..I felt so incredibly proud of myself ….considering Anthony often jokes about me being “Miss fitness 2000” I just completed a 6.5km (3-4 hr)  walk in just over 2 hrs …..I even did the extra side 500mtr lookout point and stopped quite often to take the 6 million photos that I just had to take…..It was awesome… !!!

SO……

….if you are visiting Kings Canyon you MUST,MUST,MUST do the rim walk…….it gives you a completely different view (the only view in my opinion) of this spectacular place…believe me when I say that even the very best of photo`s cannot do this beautiful place justice….everyone we have spoken to who have completed this walk say how amazing it is…… This was a first for me….. to come back after such a long walk and actually give A.C a hug and thank him for encouraging me to do it.

So that’s it for now…I hope you are all planning your own journey……it really is fantastic out here….So until we met again…..go and grab your shovels….to join us next time when we all cross the border into South Australia and get opal fever in Australia’s most bizarre town……Coober Pedy.

Uluru-(Ayers Rock) & Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) !!!

Hello again…. last time we blogged we were south bound out of Alice Springs to see the nations big rock …Uluru !!! And I also promised to revel that question…You know the one that A.C gave a big yes to and had me skipping around in excitement for days ?? …….SO …..here goes…. grab your cuppa…

It`s time to catch up with the Curry`s……

We bid a fond farewell to the Big 4 at Alice Springs (MacDonnell Range Holiday Park) and started our south bound journey to our nations most famous rock….Uluru (Ayers rock)

I have to say I was really excited!!! Another moment of revelation came for me when I learn that Uluru is not a few kms out of Alice Springs as I had thought, but a 6-½ hour drive south west of Alice Springs… Yes …I know I should have listened more in geography.

The landscape was really beautiful…. the red dirt, small green desert shrubs on the way out made for a rugged but beautiful journey.

We had been told that there is a false Uluru (lots of people mistake it ) on the way out …Yep Mt Connor …it was quite impressive.

We all kept our eyes peeled for our very first sighting of that majestic rock and when we got our first glimpse I would have to say my heart started beating a little faster…Wow… here we were…. another of those iconic Australian landmarks that each and every Aussie should visit during their lifetime.

In the past I have spoken to people who had said that they felt Uluru did not live up to their expectations and you know I now think that those people did me a huge favour….I had decided that I would rid my head of any preconceived expectations and just take it as it comes.

We had intensions of making our way to a rest stop found in our Camps 5 to stop there the night in a free rest stop and head into the rock the next morning to do our sightseeing as a day trip. We had all talked about what we wanted to do while there and it was decided that we would see a sunset, sunrise and explore around both the rock and the Olga’s.

It was about 4pm when we realized that we had overshot the runway (so to speak) completely missing our rest stop and ended up within a few km of Uluru so the decision was made that we would go in and watch the sunset over the rock.

We decided to spend the money and stay in the Ayres Rock Resort Camp ground for a couple of nights as we realize how far away our free camp spot was by now. The lady behind the counter told us if we wanted to see the sunset we would have to leave the campground at 6pm to make our way into the National park in time……So it was a very quick set up (it was already 5pm) and we got busy peeling veggies so I could have them cooking in our Dream- pot while went in and they would be ready when we got home. We made our way into the park at 5.50pm. It costs $25 each adult and kids free … this gets you access to the park for 3 days. As we approached the car filled with a very excited buz…..the kids were so very excited and I sounded like a broken record….”Oh wow ….it’s amazing”

Now I have to say I was really surprised at how excited I was….YES….. I knew I was looking forward to seeing it but I was really shocked at how I felt when I finally did…..I think it would be fair to say that to date it would be the one site I truly felt speechless by it’s magnitude (yes… I know me speechless…. it’s hard to believe huh??)

We stopped at the Sunset viewing area and were mesmerized at the way the colours changed as the sun disappeared …We took more photo`s than a Japanese tourist on speed….before the sun finally set at 7pm the park closed at 8pm so we made the most of our last hour by driving a little further in and with every bend of the road the silence was broken with “oh wow’s”.

We made our way home to bed in anticipation of the next morning… Seeing the sunrise on a new day over Uluru.

“Huh …what’s going on” the little voice said as his body was lifted out of bed in the dark…”come on…Jacky Boy…. we’re going to see the sunrise over the rock this morning”…both little people climbed down from there bunks on auto pilot, got dressed and we all made our way back into the park.

WOW WOW WOW…..Awesome…(cold …but Awesome)..what more can I say…I`ll let the pictures do the talking !!!

Once the sun was well and truly up we filled our bowls with milk and cereal and ate our breakfast at the base of Uluru…never have I eaten breaky in a more spectacular location.

Once breakfast was completed and when 9am hit we joined a free ranger tour, which was extremely informative.

If the sight of this amazing landmark wasn’t enough to amaze me (and it was, believe me) then the history of this rock completely blew me away. I have struggled with the decision whether to try to put into words the history of  this ancient place or to leave it for you to discover and I have decided that because it was a highlight of my time at Uluru and how my time here just kept getting more and more interesting I would hate to spoil that for anyone.

The next day in the afternoon we went out to Kata Tjuta (the Olga`s) a name meaning “many heads” and consist of 36 steep-sided domes and lies about 32km(as the crow flies) west (50km by road) of Uluru. We completed the “Walpa gorge walk” (a 2.6km return walk…1hr) which felt a little like a Luna visit…..before watching the sunset over this (yet another) beautiful place.

You just HAVE to visit Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Park…there are so many cheap flights now with Tiger airlines ect ….If you can’t do the great Australian road trip like we have …then really try to make this your next flying holiday destination. You’ll be amazed at what beauty lies in your own backyard.

Ohhh Ohh I neally forgot……the question…..Yes….. the question…Well I planted a little seed a few months back by way of suggesting a side trip back to the family at Christmas…now that we are heading south and all it will only be a couple of days drive……we were born and breed in Maitland N.S.W and have always returned each year for Christmas (apart from the one when Bella was only 12days old) with the family …and (when we can make it) for my best friend Kellie and her husband Gavin’s  annual Christmas party…..  those that know me know what a huge sook I am for my family and friends and how special Christmas is for me …..The first time I mentioned it A.C nearly flipped his lid ….but being the amazing husband he is …..he softened to the idea of not only returning for Christmas but also for our Bella`s 4^th birthday in mid December…..Wooohooo !!! So that’s it …ha-ha-ha…. no babies like some thought (you know who you are …)

So after Kings Canyon, Coober Pedy, The Yorke Peninsula, Adelaide….and the trip across to the East coast and maybe Canberra…Phew !!!!… watch out Maitland here we come !!!!

Join us next time for our visit to Kings Canyon and the Brilliantly bizarre Coober Pedy…. and I’ll share with you what I did that had me so very proud of myself.

So until then ……

Alice Springs !!!

Hello…YES YES we are still alive !!!!

I  know it has been a couple of weeks since I last blogged …..we have been out of range for a while… So get ready for us to make up for lost time …new stuff  has been posted …When last we blogged  we had left the Devils marbles and were making our way south to Alice Springs…where we would have to make a decision that would leave us all in tears for days…. so we will pick up where we left off ……so quick grab your cupppa …it’s time to catch up with the Curry’s…

We left our most central pub at Ti-Tree…coffin and all (see our last post) and made our way into Alice…..This is one of those iconic Australian places that most Aussies want to visit sometime in their lifetime…we were no different and were really looking forward to getting there.

We arrived late in the afternoon and were blown away immediately ……I don’t know what comes to mind for you when you think of Alice Springs …but I immediately imagined a flat, dust bowl kind of place with 6 billion flies for every man, woman and child !!! Well to say I was pleasantly surprised was an understatement….Alice Springs…..is set between the spectacular MacDonnell ranges….it really had us amazed .

Within minutes of arriving in Alice Springs and were invited to a BBQ at Anthony’s cousins house that night. Anthony’s Aunty and Uncle were in town visiting their son and were leaving the next day so they were all having a BBQ to say goodbye we had a wonderful night and thank them for such a fantastic welcome to Alice Springs.

The very next day we got a phone call from Mum and Dad…..They had to inform us that our darling old beagle Lucy (who you’ll famously remember from our maiden voyage post) was far from well….they had called us when we were in Mount Isa and told us she was favoring one of her legs and that they had taken her to the vet to be told she had torn her crucial ligament….she was given some steroids then told she would start to come good once they worked…..we then received a call while we were at the most central pub at Ti-Tree (see last post) and they told us that she was no better (even after a second visit to the vet) and that now she wasn’t walking at all….We asked if they could get us a second opinion and they said they would….So this was our very sad phone call…… Dad told us that the new vet had told them that it was not good…she had torn both crucial ligaments and that to fix them she would have to undergo a major operation…We needed to talk to the vet…..Dad was quite upset and we needed to ask some questions ect …we spoke to the vet and he went onto explain that due to her age (nearly 13) and a heart condition that it would be a very big call for our old girl…he said that she would need to undergo a series of tests before he would even think about operating and that even if he did the op he couldn’t guarantee that it would work long term. Reading between the lines he was telling us news we really did not want to hear. We also knew from the blood test we had done prior to us taking her to Mum and Dads that her kidney function was not the best…so we had to make a gut wrenching decision. We had to say goodbye to our Lucy girl…… we cried for days and days and still now I’m blubbering writing this. She is now at rest on my brother property under a newly planted tree “The Lucy Tree”….boy do we miss her !!!

While in Alice we headed out for a day trip to the East MacDonnell ranges…and for a couple of days into the West MacDonnell ranges,seeing places such as Ellery Big hole and Ormiston gorge…we spent our 14^th wedding anniversary at Ellery big hole complete with champagne and strawberries…the kids thought it very exciting to have their very own special drink of lemonade and strawberries.

Anthony also climbed the 2^nd highest mountain in the Northern Territory Mount Sonda have a look on his page HERE….. We had a wonderful time in the MacDonnell Ranges the landscape is amazing.

Jack finds a "tiger rock".

Ellery Big Hole-West MacDonnell Ranges.

We also had a great day at the famous Desert Park….We love these places and enjoy seeing the kids learn so much…We have been amazed at how much Jack gets out of it he gets totally engrossed, asks questions (quite good ones, …I might add) He has really matured during this trip it’s been the best thing for him….learning in such a hands on way.

At desert park you learn so much about the desert that you will never look at the desert in the same way again from the diffenent birds and plants unique to the desert to the customs,art,and survival skills of our Aboriginal people.

The school of the air was visited also one morning and it was great to see the teaching of students as far away as 1,000 km…they now learn over the internet so they can not only hear their teacher but now see them also. It was really good for Jack to see how these children do their schoolwork. We are home schooling Jack and it is in itself an amazing learning experience for not only him but for us as parents as you get to really know how they are handling things academically by seeing their strengths and weaknesses first hand …we have set up a new page dedicated to “Home Schooling” as there are so many families out here on the road who are dealing with the same issues of educating their kids while travelling.

We stayed at the most talked about Caravan Park in Alice springs the MacDonnell Range Holiday Park …one of our beloved BIG 4 `s. What a great place, in peak season they have so much on offer for their guests from talks given on star formations….it’s now mostly over but we did get to experience their famous Sunday morning pancake feast….Mmmmm.

To find out what happened at our previous Alice accommodation site that had us running for the Big 4 and about our stay here at MacDonnell Range see our “Our favorite places to stay” page.

So we bid a fond farewell to Alice Springs and make our way south.

Also if you are one of our followers of the Home Schooling Page I have posted some more information this time about an amazing program that was recommended to me and of which we have just started using for Jacks Maths lessons….It is brilliant !!! CLICK HERE to find out about Math-U-See…..the program I wish I had of had access to when at school.

Teaching Japanese- School of the air

Catch up with us next time when I share with you the answer to a question I asked Anthony some months back….he finally made his decision and the answer had me skipping and dancing around for days……. And we’re all off to visit Australia’s most iconic rock.. ..Uluru, then a visit to Kings Canyon

School of the Air- Alice Springs.

before we drop in on the amazing Coober Pedy.

So until then …..

Mt Isa to Alice (well almost)

Last time I blogged we were in the Isa …We had to make a big decision while staying here but little did we know that a much bigger and sadder decision awaited us at our next destination…SO grab that cuppa and join us for our next leg of the journey we’re off to Alice.

While staying in Mount Isa we needed to make a decision that we had been putting off for quite some time…. from Tenant creek are we heading North (to Darwin) or South (to Alice and S.A) ???

We always had intensions to travel north after maybe a side trip down to Alice, but we had been a little worried that we may have left things a little late as the build up to the wet season was (by fellow travelers accounts) getting a little stifling so after much deliberation we finally decided that rather than be speeding our way through places we would head onto Alice and from Alice we would continue south to South Australia.

We left the Isa with the excitement that before long we would finally be leaving our home state of Qld for the first time in the 4 months we had been on the road.

So we left our Big 4 Mount Isa home and started to make our way west…..and before we knew it we had reached the boarder…….Woohoo !!! So here we were finally in the Northern Territory.

We got back into our Patrol and were amazed to see the 130 km speed limit signs…..Anthony (A.C) told me that it wasn’t that long ago that the N.T had no limit on these roads….. now….. Yes this would be fun if you had a Ferrari but when you are towing a 24ft big bertha caravan with a 4×4 …it’s not like your gunna be able to test the limit huh ??

We drove and drove until I thought I was going to go a little insane……I kept trying to talk A.C into stopping for the day and he kept sneaking an extra 100km here and there…..he did make a point though…… that being…. we may as well be in the car traveling then on the side of the road in the red dust…… as we had decided to have a free camp that night after finding quite a few in our Camps 5 book.

Finally I got my way ( I think he too had, had enough just quietly) so 41 mile Bore was our new home for the night 70 km east of the three ways (near Tenant Creek) And once I got out of the Patrol I understood his earlier point…..Red powdery dust…ha ha now we were in the outback !!!

When you pull over in a place like this after a long day on the road with your kids you really have an overwhelming appreciation for the luxuries of your van…I can remember when we were looking for our van and we were tossing up to Shower/Toilet or not to Shower/Toilet we would change our mind about a dozen times to-ing and fro-ing about the need and the added cost (it costs around an extra 10k to the vans price we found) BUT let me tell you from 1^st hand experience….NOTHING beats sitting back after a journey like this one with a cold beer and watching all the other people mixing up hot water ect to use in their make shift outside portable shower or coming out of the pit toilets gagging, then knowing that you have just turned on your gas hot water service and in 5min once you have finished your beer or glass of Chardy you can have a lovely hot shower in the comfort of your own van……Ahhhh……YES…. I know… I know …I am a bit of a princess…and yes….. if we were just on the road for a couple of months I could survive without it but we are on the road for 12months and as they say….. Happy wife happy life  !!!

The next morning though Tennant Creek we drove and then stopped just south of the town to get refueled and were blown away by the size of this van …..Boy we thought ours was big….this little baby was an impressive 34ft.

Stopping at an old Telegraph station to have a quick look we marvelled at the amazing determination of our pioneers and then proceeded to our next stop and our new home for that evening… “The Devils Marbles” ……Now isn’t it amazing when you get those pre-conceived ideas in your head about places…I don’t know why… But I had envisaged 6 to 8 large round rocks in the middle of no-where …thought we’d get out take a couple of happy snaps, set up the van…. go to bed and that would be that…Well holy crap!!!! This place is awesome…Jacks excitement level went through the roof…”Wow Mum, look at that one…oh dad that one…it looks like it’s gunna fall down” and so on and so forth.

We had arrived at about 1.30pm and it was quite hot…we had a sandwich and I went about some home schooling with Jack. Anthony went about filling out the camping fee envelope and adding the required family rate of $7.50 and then went for a little exploration.

That afternoon once things had cooled off we had our dinner early and we went exploring on our bikes (yes I know !!! me on a bike ???) Now I have to admit I had an absolutely brilliant afternoon/Early Evening…we stopped to read the information board which explained how these amazing spheres were formed…and the basic aboriginal story (the full story is only told to a handful of elders) this told of the Devils marbles as the fossilized eggs of the Rainbow serpent. For those interested I`ve I found a good site that explains the formations ect … you can find out more here.

The next morning we hopped up and went exploring again…this time climbing to the top of one to get a birds eye view…it was truly spectacular.

We bid the devils marbles a fond farewell and made our way further down the road to a place called Wycliffe Wells which had me intrigued…

their claim to fame is that they have a huge amount of U.F.O sightings here…we stopped at the Wycliffe wells UFO museum (a.ka the local servo/big 4 office/bar) and had a wander around inside I have always had a fascination with all things “unexplainable” and so I had a ball reading all the newspaper clippings ect about reported sightings….this was one of those quaint little quirky places that I just love !!!! I think we might plan to stay here on our next journey through here  (after we leave Darwin).

Back in the patrol and further up the road Anthony spotted a cyclist ….the kids were fast asleep in the back seat and we decided to pull over to give this poor bugger a cold drink and a biscuit or two…..He was a very polite Korean fellow in his early twenties …very grateful for the cold water refill and can of lemonade for later he took photo’s of us with him before getting back on his bike and continuing his hard slog around Oz on his push bike….Man that’s keen…. I said as we got back in our vehicle ….I knew that Anthony was in awe and at the same time wishing it was him out there…. The dangers these guys face are enormous…..the road trains out here would have you as a hood ornament in a heart beat and wouldn’t even know it……It never ceases to amaze me the things some people find enjoyable…A.C reckons it would be fantastic….I reckon it’s a suicide mission. So we begged to differ over that one and pushed on to a small place called Ti Tree…

…..Ti Trees claim to fame is that it has Australia’s most central pub…attached to the roadhouse (as you do)……well you know what that means ….so with kids still asleep in the car I told Anthony that regardless of whether he felt like it he had to go in and have a beer….(See I am good to him !!!)…he has a little mission of completing a kind of Aussie far flung Pub Crawl…he has been to the most Northern …on Thursday Island…Now this is the most central….we now just have to find the most Eastern (no doubt Byron will have that one) and the most Western and the most Southern !!! Well you know it’s a hard job but someone has to do it !!! If you know where they are PLEASE use the comment box at the bottom and let us know……..This bar in Ti Tree was amazing…it is made from recycled sleepers from the Ghan railway line and the footrest an old ghan track…very impressive !!!And as all outback characters the owner has had his last resting place turned into the “sprit” cabinet until he needs it …..Yep his coffin has also been made from the recycled ghan sleepers and it too was very nice (as far as coffins go).

Well I`ll leave it there for now …catch up with us next time when we finally arrive in Alice !!!

For those of you interested in the Home Schooling page stay tuned I`m currently working on some new editions….I`ll keep you posted.

Mount Isa !!!

Last time we all caught up we were in Gregory Downs and listening to a Jerry Springer style domestic just out side our van…..So grab your cuppa….We are all off to the Isa….Mount Isa !!!

We left Gregory downs on Monday the 7^th September and made our way back out to the Burke and Wills roadhouse….we used 100 litres of fuel out to Gregory downs and back…A.C worked out that the Burke and Wills road house is the place to re-fuel because at Gregory downs the diesel was $1.90 opposed to $1.42…and with 2  tanks totaling 120lts… it soon adds up. By this time we had no bread ….or much else for that matter we had used most of our food and what was left had spoilt in our mongrel of a fridge…yes we are still having drama’s with it (see maiden voyage post).

I wanted to buy a loaf of bread for lunch and some milk….so I naturally thought I would be able to buy it at the road house….Nope !!! Now I know that it’s remote and fresh bread would be out of the question but I couldn’t believe that they didn’t even offer frozen bread…like most other remote places we’ve been to …(the cape ect) it is a really busy roadhouse and it’s bread for peat’s sake…..it’s not like I was asking for a Louis Vuitton Handbag.

Anyway I raked out some flavoured corn thins from the bowels of the cupboard in the van to stop the kids eating each other and we rationed them out between us all.

Lunchtime saw us stop at a really quaint little pub called the ….Quamby Hotel (the pub in the scrub)… This place had character.

We decided that due to the fact we had no food we would shout ourselves lunch and a cold drink here…We all jumped out of the van excited about being able to have a nice meal and I was taking photo’s of the pub when I heard A.C say “what’s that”? All while looking at the door of the caravan…for a split second he thought it was the remnants of some road kill but when we took a closer look we realized that……. what food we did have left in our fridge had come out of the now unlocked fridge and proceeded to creep it’s way out the door….and of course…. of all things it was beetroot…”Hang on” I said while lifting the camera (thinking this will make a good shot for the blog)…so here are the results …now that was a fun clean up !!!

By this time we were really ready for our lunch ….…So we walked in and two blonde backpackers look at us from behind the bar….after looking at the black board I tried to place our order….”We’ll have 2 chicken burgers, one works and a kids cheeseburger” …I said …mouth watering. A very blank face looked back at me….”One moment”  was the reply as she went out the back….I looked at the other backpacker and asked what was up and she replied with a Irish accent so thick I could barely understand her…”The cooks gone into town and she’s just checking if we have any food”…..OH NO …my very hungry stomach growled. She came back out and said “ sorry but the cooks in town and we don’t know how to cook”….Can you believe that ??? we would have spent about $40-$50 on lunch and drinks in that pub….AND how bloody hard is it to cook a meat patty !!! Bloody hell ..Anthony wanted to ask if he could cook the burgers himself. Anyway we took some photos of the inside…….

and then…..

Walked out shaking our heads in disbelief and went to the van …..A.C scratched around and found some left over wraps and proceeded to spread some peanut butter and honey on them and then rolled them into cigars ……the kids thought he was a legend and so did my stomach.

We arrived at our new home the Big 4 in our new destination Mount Isa (a.k.a Arygilly Caravan Park) at about 3pm we became “real Aussies”….as the signage told us on the way into town that your only a real Aussie if you’ve visited mount Isa….are you a real Aussie  ?????…hehehe.

Once set up, our first job was to get into the local supermarket and restock our food supply. After we bought our groceries and I got over my amazement of the mine right smack bang in the middle of the town, we decided to treat the kids to some Macca’s and we took it to the top of the lookout that we had heard was quite impressive…as it overlooks the mine. It was amazing and looked like a massive cruise ship docked….Well you know???  with the lights, stacks and all ….It`s really not that hard to imagine…..is it ??.

That night we were contacted by my Dad who told me one of his best mates Trevor and his wife Barbara were in town …wow small world….. so I called them and we arranged to met up tomorrow morning at 10.30.

We had a lovely morning with the Harrisons…enjoying a cuppa in the café attached to the tourist information centre….the tourist info centre in the Isa is quite impressive and also offers the weary traveller a hot shower for $2.

And we also found the latest Caravanning Australia magazine ….the third one featuring our trip !!!! I grabbed a copy to read up on what we`ve been up to (huh ???) ….well really…… I enjoyed the recipes…….. and interesting information on those places we are yet to go to !!! the lady at the desk at the tourist info centre said the mags have been walking out the door as soon as they get put on the shelf……AHahaha I told her it was the brillient story of the Curry`s that people found hard to resist……she looked at me over her glasses and then back to what she was doing…(To find out more about caravanning Oz mag see their site).

Our time in Mount Isa was filled with lots of very un- interesting, non touristy things…not that they had nothing to offer….don`t get me wrong… just that we needed to catch up on some things in town. And just enjoying our stay at the Big 4….to see more about the Big 4 click HERE.

Anthony did take the kids into the Isa`s family fun park though…they and a ball…Anthony was telling me that it was really good and that the toilets were extremely high tech…. every bathroom process was activated by the wave of the hand…from opening the door to dispensing the toilet paper, flushing the toilet, dispensing the hand wash and so on, not what you expect from Mount Isa really.

And on Friday the 11^th of September we started our journey out of town and the state of Queensland and into the Northern territory.

Oh for those who have signed up to know about the Home Schooling page updates…I have added some info there…….so just click here to go there now….Don`t forget it`s a work in progress so each time I`ve added something new I`ll let you know at the bottom of a new post.

So that’s it for now ……thanks for joining us and we we`ll see you next time when we cross that boarder (finally)…for our trip to see Alice……………..Alice who the @#$* is Alice ?????

Gregory Downs and Lawn Hill National Park !!!

Last time we blogged we were in Karumba, fishing and enjoying magical Sunsets ….grab your cuppa and join us while we all head to Gregory Downs and Lawn Hill National Park.

We left Kurumba on Friday the 4^th of September and made our across to a couple of places that we had heard quite a bit about  since starting the trip….. they are Gregory Downs and Lawn Hill National Park.

So we left the Karumba Point Sunset Caravan Park and had to make our way back into Normanton where we stopped to take the kids photo in front of the ‘Big Barramundi’ by the time we got there Bella was fast asleep so it was Jack who had the honours …we are having a bit of fun taking the kids pictures in front of all the ‘Big things’ on our journey around Oz and I will start a new page shortly with the results.

We stopped at the famous Burke and Wills roadhouse to get some fuel and when you are out in these parts you kinda expect that behind the counter you’d find some big burly bloke who would great you with “Yeah G`day Mate, which pump”?? Not some little blonde English pack packer. I suppose it keeps the Truckies happier to see miss UK instead of Burly Bob huh??

We made our way into Gregory Downs and arrived about 3.30pm ..this is a really pretty spot and so nice to be able to free camp here…we made a good choice when it came to the side of the bridge to camp on …we choose the left ….on the right the local indigenous community sets up for a party most nights we only found this out after we had set up and were heading into the river for a swim.

The water is beautiful…. you start upstream and the current pulls you downstream…at times the rocks get a little close to the bum ..Ouch !!!! The kids had a ball here …Anthony had stopped at a tyre centre in Karumba before we left and grabbed a couple of tubes for them to use.

There were a couple of fellas here that had been camping here for a week when we had arrived………Funny characters who would float down the river…walk back to the van grab a beer to enjoy while drying off and then once dry and the beer was empty they would jump back in and do it all again.

We asked them about Lawn Hill and one of them screwed up his nose and said…”I dunno why you’d bother it’s nicer here” !!!!… Well we thought…because we had heard so much about it we really needed to experience it for ourselves. They told us it was quite fine to leave our van there, that everyone does it…and that they would keep an eye on it for us.

That night I was woken at 1.30am by two aboriginals having a domestic dispute …..they had driven their un- registered magna with no back windscreen and major C.V joint issues down behind our van and proceeded to vent their marital frustrations Jerry Springer style for the next hour and a half ….Fan-bloody-tastic !!!

Leaving Gregory Downs at 9am the next moring we arrived at Lawn Hill at about 10-10.30 and then decided that we would hire a canoe and paddle our way down though the gorge. WOW it was fantastic…we loved it.

We took loads of photo’s and stopped at some small waterfalls to have a swim before our return journey…We paddled for 2 hours, it was really beautiful…the kids loved it and we got to see lots of birdlife and a couple of very cute turtles.

We had been told by the man who hired us the canoe  not to miss Adele’s grove which was on our  way back to Gregory Downs…..So we sopped there and the kids had a couple of swims before making our way back to Gregory Downs.

Anthony took them out to a pontoon with some other swimmers while I stayed dry this time.

Lawn hill gorge was spectacular and we were so very glad we decided to make the journey out despite Bert and Ernie’s advise to the contrary.Bert and Ernie was the nickname given to our two characters by another traveling family we met at Gregory Downs…”The Smiths”…..The kids had a great time playing with their children.

The next morning was Fathers day and so our day started with bacon, eggs, baked beans, toast ect…..Yumm !!!

You know I don’t know why but since being on this trip all my cloths seem to have shrink …..go figure !!!

The kids big and small had fun swimming and then later in the afternoon Anthony and Scott walked along the river to find a little spot to throw a line in……the results were not bad…Scott ended up with a mystery fish (it could not be found in the fish book) and they both ended up catching about 5 each …but they were too small……… although the main excitement for Anthony was that he caught his very first BARRA !!! albeit too small ……and we didn`t even get a photo …never mind.

So on the

Monday morning it was time to say good-bye to Gregory Downs……next stop Mt Isa.

So that`s it for now…. catch up with us next time for our journey to Mount Isa and find out what had our head in our hands upon opening the van for lunch at an outback pub.

And  hey !!!!  Thanks for following our journey !!!!

Karumba !!!

Last time we caught up we had just completed our Cape trip and had settled in with the Oakey`s at Mareeba for a week…So we said good-bye to the Oakey`s and  left Mareeba…next stop Karumba…so grab your cuppa and catch up with the Curry`s…..

Well what can I say about Karumba ???

Well not only is it the fisherman’s Mecca !!!

It also provides the most spectacular sunsets Australia has to offer.

We had been told by many other travelers along the way not to miss Karumba…. BUT… They also said make sure we booked in…. one couple in Mareeba said they couldn’t get a site for months because it is the home to many a southern grey nomad (GN) who decide to make Karumba home for half the year.

While the southern states are freezing the GN`S come to Karumba with their boats and vans then go about filling their freezers with fish before returning south for a milder summer and a seafood Christmas complements of winter in Karumba… Aahhh it really is a hard life..huh ???

And that there is also much uncertainty about the road in….The floods that occurred  in the Gulf region early in the year still have some travelers unnecessarily concerned about the roads … A few people also warned of dirt road and bull dust.

So we started our journey with quite a bit of trepidation only to discover that there was nothing to be concerned about, The roads are great the only thing is that every now and then the road narrows down to one lane and you need to pull off onto the gravel and let the occasional road train pass.

We had also been told the place to stay in Karumba was the Sunset Caravan Park….but as I said earlier we had been told getting in is a bit of a challenge ….I contacted Michelle and Rick the day prior and there was no problem at all.

On our way out we stopped for some sandwiches in Normanton and to visit the quite famous purple pub….we asked the girl behind the bar  why the pub had been painted purple…my thoughts being that it was a way to make an otherwise ordinary pub a reason to stop and go in…she said that there is a local story that when the owner at the time went to buy paint that purple was the cheapest…..Now I’m not sure about you but I think maybe I was closer to the mark….lets just say that it’s colour really is all the pub has to offer.

Just after lunch Jack and Isabella also got up close with a large Croc in the main street of Normanton.

Within minutes of arriving in Karumba… Rick (the owner of the Sunset Caravan Park) had found out that Anthony was interested in fishing and had him booked on a fishing charter called the Kerry D. Anthony was really looking forward to going on his first ever fishing Charter.

At 6.45 am the following morning Anthony met the Kerry D and had a terrific morning fishing in the Gulf of Carpentaria….To read more about A.C`s morning on the Kerry D and find out how many fish get landed….. Visit our new page Anthony’s Awesome Adventures Adventures.

The next day after a big home schooling session with Jack A.C  took the kids for a swimming lesson in the parks pool, And  I decided to cook up a big hot fish lunch from the proceeded of A.C`s morning yesterday…scratching together the last of the fresh veggies we had… we all enjoyed our fish topped with a salsa styled mix of steamed diced red and green capsicum, onion and fresh pineapple….Mmmm….  with sides of carrot, mashed potato and steamed broccoli….Jack even buttered me up with a “you’re like a master chef Mum” comment …which went over quite nicely.

That afternoon we went for a drive around Karumba and we stopped to have a drink at the well-known local…. Animal Bar…Now I’m not sure if we missed the point but lets just say it wasn’t anything to write about. We then continued our drive around Karumba looking along the sandy banks for that allusive salt-water croc…. we are yet to see. Making our way back to our van we spotted the Sunset tavern.

The Tavern is right across the road from the Sunset caravan park where we then left the car and walked back to watch the Sunset, A.C had a cold beer, A glass of wine for me and a cold lemonade for the kids…

while we sat and watched one of Karumbas spectacular sunsets…. We took some great photos that night as the sun changed and got more stunning as it dropped below the horizon and we said goodbye to another day in paradise as we made our way back to our caravan.

On Thursday …Jack spent the morning with his head in his books before heading to the pool and meeting a beautiful family from Perth who are traveling with their 4 children…. they had come through the area we were to be heading.

We decided to get some fresh prawns for lunch from a local fish shop called Raptus run from a shipping container style cool room in Karumba ….we bought 2kg of fresh Gulf prawns for $12 p/kg and once peeled were as fat and just a little longer than your thumb…..we stopped at the local supermarket and bought some cocktail sauce and then at the hot bread shop for some beautiful fresh bread rolls…..we made some prawn rolls and sat in a park with a cold beer and wondered what the rest of the world was doing.

That afternoon I used more of the prawns, an avocado I had and fresh pineapple over shredded lettuce to make some prawn cocktails to die for and headed across the road to the park where the family from Perth we had met at the pool earlier that day joined us.

One of the highlights of our trip has been meeting some wonderful people many who have taught us more than just what roads to take and what to see……This couple has a very high dependant son …and not only does this not stop them traveling but they have an off road caravan that they use to explore many of Australia’s roads less traveled…and climb mountains with their 10 year old on their back so that he too can enjoy the same experiences as his siblings….We learnt an important lesson from these amazing parents…that no matter how tiresome we think our life gets at times traveling with kids …..We will always remember the dedication of this beautiful family.

The next Morning we said goodbye to Karumba taking with us lessons and memories that will last a lifetime.

So that`s it for now…..thanks for following our journey… catch up with us next time as we leave Karumba and visit the beautiful Gregory Downs and Lawn hill national park.

Cape York to Mareeba !!

Hi everyone it’s been a little while since I last posted but boy have we had some fun…. So grab your cuppa…it’s time to catch up with the Curry’s.

When I last posted we had completed our journey to the tip of the Cape (see post below this one) we were staying at Punsand bay camping ground… and the next morning Anthony decided to do some fishing when a snag claimed one of his very shiny new lures, he walked around a little miserable for the rest of the day until later that afternoon he went for a walk along the beach during a very low tide he returned with excitement, his lure and a new friend ….A.C`s new mate introduced himself as Daley and A.C quickly put a cold beer in his hand and followed it with “thanks mate” I wondered what was going on when I was told that A.C had been walking around looking for his shiny new lure when he started talking to Daley who was at the time pulling in a bit of fishing line and the conversation went something like this “G`Day Mate,haven`t come across a brand new, shiny lure have you”? Asked A.C

Daley was pulling in the piece of line when a look of disbelief hit Anthony….Just as Daley was pulling it up out of the sand he replied with “wouldn’t be this one would it”??

“Yep that’s it mate”

Anthony later said he couldn’t believe it…. And I’m sure Daley was thinking what rotten luck to find it with Anthony standing with him.

So in a show of appreciation A.C shouted Daley a beer and Daley asked if we would like him to show us the reef that surrounds Punsand Bay….so we took the kids down and Daley showed them star fish, coral and sea cucumbers and they didn’t even have to get wet….Jack enjoyed seeing first hand the things that he had learnt about at reef teach and we all had a great afternoon…

Thanks again Daley !!!

The next day we started our journey south again…A.C wanted to do some fishing in Seisia…, which was our next stop…that afternoon he took Jack fishing from the jetty…but no luck …no fish…. That night we had our dinner and he went back out to try again and no luck again.

The next day we took a boat across to Thursday Island. …or as the locals affectionately name  it …..T.I .

Our Taxi tour

We decided to get a local taxi driver to show us around town and found this a great way to see the small island.

He shared with us the customs of the Torres Strait Island people which was really interesting and it left me wondering why more of this and our aboriginal culture is not taught to kids in school ….I think that if we were to share this it would help to bridge the gap between us and our indigenous community.

The burial traditions were particularly interesting.

We had our driver drop us off at the “Top Pub” where we all enjoyed a fantastic lunch…I was beginning to think the old $10 counter lunch ceased to exists until we arrived here…and Boy was it popular…We all had the fish (coral trout) with chips and salad YUM!!! We had time to have a walk around town before catching our return boat.

Australia`s most northern pub !!

We had seen what we had wanted to in the Cape and our trip to T.I was our 10^th day…by now I had had enough of deflating (through the night) air mattresses…red dust…and setting up the tent …I had suggested trying to make it back to Lakeland in one day and surprisingly I didn’t hear any objections … So early the next morning we packed up the tent for the last time and had a very ….very long and bumpy day ….

Goodbye Cape York !!

We pulled into Lakeland Caravan Park at 7.30 pm  and had arrived safely back to our very much loved caravan.

We were so incredibly thankful to be back at the van with all the convenience it has to offer….Ahhhh.

We decided that we would travel down to Mareeba to met our mates ‘the Oakey’s’ who had been staying there the last few weeks while Chris did some work. We decided that we wouldn’t tell them we were coming we also thought it a good idea not to tell our two as we knew that that would mean non stop ‘are we there yet`s’ all the way.

We were pulling into the rodeo grounds when Nicole and the kids were walking to the toilets and she looked at us without recognition and then turned to her son Logan and said ‘Oh that looks like the Curry’s….Oh wow…. it is the Curry’s’ …next thing we knew we had 5 extremely excited children on our hands.

Isabella and Lexie (Oakey)

Curry/Oakey`s Biggest Kids !!!

We settled into Mareeba showground next to the Oakey’s for the next week while we went off exploring the tablelands, Cape tribulation and Port Douglas and enjoyed the company of our Oakey friends.

We loved Port Douglas it reminded us so much of our home town….Noosa.

On Monday the 31^st August we said Goodbye to the Oakey’s (again) and made our way West toward our next destination Karumba.

Thanks for joining us and we`ll see you next time for our adventures in Karumba….it won`t be long….so…. see ya then !!!

It`s a long way to the top !!!!! – Cape York..

In the last post we were having a ball in Cairns…And I was trying not to think about the next leg of our journey…The Cape!!!

Since the planning stage of our journey `round Oz.. Anthony has had this marked as one of his “must do`s”… I …on the other hand have been very unsure about the whole expedition and have tried not to think too much about it. …There were a number of thing playing on my mind about our journey to the very tip of this big land of ours.

The first was the fact that we would have to leave our beloved van and do the journey in our tent…. Blahh !!! Those that know me …know that I not a tenting/camping kinda gal…Then there is those nasty big bitey things called crocodiles to contend with……. not to mention the fact that while I don’t mind a little bit of 4×4 ing the thought of around 1600 km of bumping up and down over corrugations ect didn’t excite me too much.

So upon leaving Cairns we started to head north we had found out about a caravan park in a place called Lakeland who would store your van for you while you were off adventuring through the Cape….So off we went and settled in….we ventured out from here one day to visit Cooktown…..It is such a pretty place…we stopped at the Captain Cook centre just as you drive into town, the lady in there was lovely…so very helpful and full of information. Upon leaving she pointed out the mango tree out the back and told us how it was one of the first mango trees in the area to fruit she then showed us how to use the large stick to knock them out of the tree….you have to catch them before they hit the ground otherwise the inside turns to mush…we all had a go and ended up with about 5 mangoes.

We visited the lighthouse for some amazing views and did some shopping for supplies for our Cape journey.

After our journey to Cooktown the next few days were spent packing and organizing gear….. in between cornering anyone who had just returned to ask about the roads ect.

There are two ways to explore the Cape there is the development road which is a little bit longer but doesn’t have the river crossings ect that the Old telegraph line has.

After talking to lots of people we decided to go the Old Telegraph up and the development road back.

We started our…..” trip to the tip”….. on the 12^th August, We stopped just before the town of Laura to look at some Aboriginal painting …I pondered for quite some time at the age of these…we had read that some similar carvings and paintings found close by had been dated at a minimum of 13,000 years old. …That really hit me ….wow……. how awesome is this… It kinda felt surreal  ….that something so precious was just walking distance off the road for anyone to see… I had lots of thoughts running through my head that morning…one was remembering how many people lined up to view Stonehenge and other sites we have visited in the past and yet here we were…just us…having the privilege of being here…on our own …no guards or entry fees…. It was very special.

From there we made our way further north stopping at Musgrave station for lunch and finally ending our journey for the day at the Archer river roadhouse where we pitched our tent for the night while the kids had fun collecting firewood and swinging on a rope they found in the tree next to our campsite.

The next day we continued up our dusty track making our way toward our next stop Wiepa……..Anthony was looking forward to visiting Weipa …he used to work with some fellows who worked on fishing charters out of here so he was interested in seeing the place he had heard so much about ….and was looking forward to pulling in the big one.

We stayed at the only campground in Weipa…it was a lovely spot right on the beach…but the womens toilets and shower were always dirty…yuck !!!

We spent two nights here…and one of those nights we decided to have dinner early and make our way down to the jetty to do some fishing…we got down there at about 6.30pm the sun was just setting and as we walked onto the jetty we noticed how quite it was …the people there were fishing very quietly…aughhh the serenity … I worded up the kids to be quite and the fishing began…

Anthony gave me a lend of his new fishing rod and that is where the calm, quite, atmosphere was shattered with a squeal of excitement…and it wasn`t from the kids ….I had something BIG on my line…WAHOOO !!!!

The guy fishing beside me was a local who had introduced himself as Craig,he very kindly had put live bait on my hook and as soon as it hit the water something “took the bait”….I had just finished seeing A.C lose 2 big something’s that snapped his line before he could get them up out of the water…so to be honest I didn’t think I had a hope in hell of getting this thing up onto the Jetty ….Craig was giving me directions such as “quick go over my head…now quick go back…now reel it in as fast as you can …quick…go..go..”

So here I was inwardly praying to the big fish god to keep this thing on my line till I could land it. It felt (to me) like I had a crocodile on the other end…Now mind you … I’ve never caught anything over about 100gms in the past.

The gods must have been listening because this baby stayed on my line and made it all the way up to the jetty…..WAHOO !!!!  Craig told me it was a big eye trevally.

Now I am going to say that the picture does not do my spectacular catch the justice it deserves (isn’t that what all the fisherman say) so here it is my first BIG fish (well big for me). Craig…seeing my poor fishing ability…offered to fillet it for me…all while the kids sat, misty eyed saying…that`s sad Mum hey ??…and Jack offered his usual saying of “Mum, you know your killing nature don`t you”?? I think we`ve got two little conservationist on our hands.

Poor old A.C was a little disappointed that he didn’t land a big one that night but held hopes that there would be “more fish in the sea”.

From Weipa we made our way toward to the start of the OTL….and I have to say by now I was not as nervous as I was prior to the start of the trip…many people  had reassured us that it was fine. After quite a few kilometres of dusty corrugations we were kind of thinking…bring on the OTL.

We met some lovely people at the first creek crossing and we ended up camping with them and a large group of people who were also camping at our destination for the night….our first bush camp….. right on the river.

We had survived our trip without any damage…that was until now….upon opening the back of our 4×4 we were greeted by a huge sticky mess…we pulled out our draws in the back and found a full bottle of mix up cordial (you know the stuff our generation grew up on) had completely empty itself right though our food draw…YUCK !! Now…. I know this is not really too big a deal…but after travelling all day and then having to set up camp, blow up air beds, get dinner & somehow bath dusty kids and find somewhere, somehow to go to the toilet (see I told you I’m not a camper.) We then had to completely empty our food draw wash out the lining of the draw in the river while hoping to hell that croc`s don’t like Cottee`s cordial.

Anthony took Jack and Bell down to the river…to a safe…. no croc area….and they had a wash to rid themselves of all the dust and cordial.

The next morning we made our way to the most talked about part of  the OTL ….it`s a river crossing called…. Shotgun and is the most insane part of the track.

I have know idea why anyone in their right mind would even consider attempting the tracks to the left…unless you have the goal of causing mass destruction to your 4×4.

There are 4 ways …the two you see to the left and another mild one to the right of these two called the chicken track…. There is also a bypass road, which takes you right out and around.

We had a headshaking laugh at the two suicide drops and then quite unashamedly took the chicken track to the right.

We stopped for lunch at Fruit Bat Falls…and we all took a dip…it was so refreshing and just what the doctor ordered after a day on the OTL…We took the kids out and took them under the waterfall to the opposite side (there was a little shelf that we could just fit our head under) so they could see the water falling over their heads and hit the water in front of them…a magic moment.

The beautiful Fruit Bat falls !!!!

We had a great day that day and to top it off we ended the day at two of the most beautiful spots in Australia they`re called Eliott and Twin Falls they are within walking distance of each other and we decided to stay the night at the camp ground here and spend the afternoon swimming in the beautiful blue/green crystal clear water……

Oh it`s a hard life I know !!!!

The next day we made our way toward Punsand Bay(most northern camping area) and once we got our camp set up Anthony suggested that we make our trip to the “the tip” This is about a 25min drive followed by a 15 min walk out.

Anthony has always said that he would hit a golf ball of the tip in honour of his dad who died in 2004. John was a very keen golfer and so he decided to take one of his dads golf clubs and golf balls and launch one off the tip  ” for Dad”.

We arrived at thecar park….and we were getting our gear together before walking out to have “our moment” when a  tour group leader who was walking through the car park stopped when he saw A.C packing his golf club ect into a bag ..and all excitedly asked if he was going to hit it into the water, When A.C told him that yes he was he said “Oh fantastic,I`ve always heard of people doing that but I`ve never seen it”.

We walked out to the tip via the beach as it was low tide …and once on the rocky hill spent some time looking at the piles of rocks that get stacked out there……secretly trying to bide time till the large tour group had their photo`s ect at the famous spot and hopefully would then leave…when a large voice yelled out…”hey mate bring yer golf club down…come on”….well we knew they were not going to leave until A.C smacked this ball.

I was a little frustrated that A.C`s special moment was being ruined.

Once he had launched his golf ball one of the tourist asked “So how many balls ya got”?? …Lying through my teeth I abruptly shouted “JUST ONE  that`s all”,knowing quite well he had enough for us all to hit one for Poppy John and one spare…the last thing I wanted was them hanging around and using A.C`s special moment as their afternoon entertainment.

So once they all took their photo`s and had had their fun….. they left.

Phew !!!

Now it was our turn….and we were so lucky…as that from that moment on we had that special place all to ourselves.

We sent off the golf balls in honour of John…we had a beer to celebrate making it to the tip of Oz and took about a million photos of ourselves under the sign.

Kids had some fun of their own floating their thongs in a water hole right under the sign.

I also had them in awe when I told them that at that very moment they we the most northerly people in the whole of the Australian mainland….they thought that was really cool !!!

“And our big kid……well he was just very excited to finally be somewhere he has always wanted to be”.

So that`s it for now…..I`ll add some more pic`s tell you about the rest of our Cape journey next time !!