After spending a couple of days in Melbourne and then catching the Spirit Of Tasmania to cross Bass Straight to Tassie, we are home!! . It has been a great trip but as usual always good to get home !!! We enjoyed catching up with Liz and Gary (Melbourne friends) at their place for dinner, and also Guy who spent a day driving us around many of the sights of Melbourne. A real travel guide !!! Wayne and Bonnie, our “shed” and house sitters have done a wonderful job of looking after our home and animals. As I write this, Mal is actually back on the mainland delivering our much loved and used caravan…. we have traded it in on a bigger one with more comfort which we fly over to pick up on about the 24th October. If the new van gives us as much pleasure as the old one, we are in for a few more years of fun !!!!

We have just completed our 3rd trip across the Nullarbor. We certainly live in a beautiful, ever changing country which is accentuated while crossing the Nullarbor. To say we love it is an understatement !!! Less than 3 weeks before we are home. We miss our little piece of Australian paradise in Tassie, our unique dry bushland, absolute peace, private beach and stunning views. We are very lucky. We are looking forward to seeing Molly, Salem, Booth and the Girls (the chooks and rooster) again.

We have had a safe trip so far with no major problems….. except a $600 bill for new car keys. (not lost by me thank goodness…. lost by “him that must be obeyed” ).

After about 8 days of bush camping, which we prefer, we have booked into the Clare Valley Park for a couple of days to stock up on water and do some much needed washing before heading along the southern beaches of South Australia and Victoria. Even though we will be home soon, there is still much to see and explore. We see so much while caravaning and bush camping. More than staying in motels John and Rhonda. You guys need a caravan. They come in 5 Star Rhonda !!!

If anyone gets the chance you must read Tim Winton’s book Dirt Music… His descriptions of driving from Perth through to the top describing the landscape, where we have visited this trip, are so perfect. I read it at night while crossing the Nullarbor and loved it.

We have been camping at Burns Beach, about 15 minutes north of Bec and Steve’s home in Perth. It has been great catching up with Bec, Steve, Rosie and Creed and doing a bit of grandparent stuff… picking the kids up from school, watching sport and even school presentations. We love the campsite at Burns Beach, right on the beach with bike track nearby. With only about 12 powered caravan sites it is a small park and was lovely when I phoned in advance and Wade the owner remembered us from our last stay. We will be here for a week before starting our trek across the Nullarbor on our way home.

Kalbarri is a tiny little place located at the mouth of the Murchison River. I was amazed to read in one of the tourist brochures that the population here is 2,000 – most of those people must be living in far-flung farming properties in the region – certainly there doesn’t seem to be any thing like that number of people in town.The weather here is less extreme than further north. We are officially south of the North West of WA and I guess this would be accurately described as being the northern most reaches of the mid-west coast. A good number of Perth folk spend their winters here, even though it doesn’t get anywhere as warm and toasty as ‘further up’. The winter temps here range from the low to mid 20s. My idea of paradise I think! I have never been one for the extreme hot and this trip has confirmed my love of slightly cooler climates. Rain-fall here is quite poor, as displayed by the fairly barren sandy coastal flats that surround the town. The Rainbow Jungle is out along the road heading out of Kalbarri town. This scenic drive takes you down to all the coastal gorges and some outstanding coastline. Massive multicoloured and layered sandstone and limestone cliffs tower over the sparkling turquoise ocean and enormous waves hurl themselves against the forbidding cliffs and rocks. Amongst all the gorges are some wonderful surfing beaches. Yesterday, there were whales breaching wherever we looked. A ‘must-do’ is to sit and watch the boats attempt the break from the river into the ocean. Worse bar than Ballina.

I know I will never do justice to the beauty here, but I will try with some of my pictures.

Kalbarri reminds us so much of Lennox Head 20 to 25 years ago. Although Lennox is still beautiful, we think it has been spoilt by far too many people in a small town. Kalbarri has a beautiful peaceful charm about it.

Fresh snapper for our BBQ tonight and tomorrow we are splurging on a couple of local lobsters….think lobster mornay !!!! Yumm….

After leaving Broome and Derby about a week ago, we have been traveling down the coast stopping at places such as Port Hedland, Karratha, Exmouth, Dampier and Carnarvon before arriving at Kalbarri this afternoon. We will enjoy staying here for a few days before making our way down to Perth. We have seen so much along the way and are certainly enjoying our travels. It is snowing today at our home in Tassie, so the warmer weather is certainly a change. I am sad we missed the snow though !!! We have loved the wildflowers that are just starting to bloom down the coast. I will show you my pictures of some of the flowers on another post.

Last Thursday and Friday we took a flight from Derby on a turboprop Jet Seaplane flying over the Buccaneer Archipelago landing onto Talbot Bay. After dropping our backpack into our cute little cabin with an amazing view on the house boat we were sleeping on that night, we boarded the fast boat “Jet Stream” for an exhilarating thrill ride though the Horizontal Falls. We had all the toys attached to the house boat including a helicopter for our enjoyment. That night we enjoyed a yummy barramundi BBQ and a few wines with our fellow travellers. Only 24 of us. After brekkie the next day we were back out on the fast boat for another trip over the falls before boarding our plane back to Derby. It was certainly a highlight of our trip !!!!

We are back in Broome for our second trip here. It is such a unique spot. We have already “pigged” out on delicious food at the markets and also at Wharf Restaurant….think Chilli Crab (very messy but delicious) and hot chilli prawns for Mal washed down with an ice-cold Rose wine. We have even been to Matso’s Brewery…. one of our past favourites http://www.matsos.com.au/

We have arrived into Lake Argyle. It is like an oasis. Lake Argyle has a surface area of 1000sq km and a shoreline stretching 900km and is home to an estimated 30,000 freshwater crocodiles. It has over 70 islands. We took a cruise out onto Lake Argyle enjoying the opportunity for a swim and lunch. We saw so much wildlife. It was incredible.

We love Darwin.

Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory, and enjoys a relaxed, tropical lifestyle. Darwin is an ideal base for visits to spectacular World Heritage listed areas, surrounding National Parks and attractions including Kakadu National Park. Darwin has grown from an early and remote outpost to a thriving modern capital city. It is Australia’s only tropical capital city and has a population of 72,000 with about 26,000 more in the combined satellite city of Palmerston and the surrounding rural area. Approximately half the Northern Territory population of 198,000 live within a 50km radius of Darwin. The city itself and the population on average are younger than the rest of Australia. Darwin has a relaxed lifestyle, with a tropical feel and smell. A good spot.

Crocodylus Park is a great spot to come face to face with the largest reptiles on the planet! Built upon 30 years of experience in crocodile research and conservation, Crocodylus Park plays host to over a thousand crocodiles from 30 cm long hatchlings to massive adults measuring over 4.8 m and weighing more than half a ton! Their diverse array of other wildlife, including big cats, primates, birds and other reptiles, ensured the crocodiles didn’t steal all the limelight.

There is so much to see out here. Daly Waters was another interesting spot. The pub is a welcome destination. The pub offered great service, hospitality, good food and cold,cold beer. Memorabilia adorns the walls from Irish football jerseys to bras. Wherever you look there is something interesting to read or ponder its origin.

Unfortunately thanks to Telstra I will be sending the last couple of weeks posts all off today. Hope you enjoy them.

It has been a while since my last post……Bloody Telstra. It is too long a story to tell.

Have continued to have a wonderful trip. There is so much to see. We enjoyed Territory Day on our last day in Alice before heading further north.

Alice Springs lies in the physical and spiritual heart of Australia’s Red Centre. It is surrounded on all sides by the jagged McDonnell Ranges … there is so much of Australia that is amazing. This is another of those. I like Alice Springs. It has a feeling of its own. A strong mix of both Aboriginals and whites.

We won’t have internet for a while now….so next post Darwin sometime????

It has been about 10 days since my last post and we have certainly seen so much in that time. Since leaving the Barossa, we headed through and enjoyed staying a while at the Flinders Ranges and Wilpena Pound, then Coober Pedy, and Woomera, before arriving at Uluru. Spectacular rugged peaks towering above outback plains, including waterholes and jagged gorges, huge eagles, kangaroos and wallabies, emus and camels.

We have been having a great and so far, safe time.Have enjoyed BBQs with fellow campers. Have stayed at a mixture of places including caravan parks when washing is needed, but particularly love camping in the national parks, rest areas or road houses.

Hope you enjoy our photos.

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We have ended up staying extra time here at Daylesford as there is so much to see and do. Have visited the Sunday Daylesford Markets. Good, but not as good as Salamanca Markets !!!! Today, Mal has had to spend a few hours working on a job up north. He will hopefully not need to work too much, and will finish up all together soon. Yahoo!!! While Mal worked, I have spent time wondering Daylesford taking photos, having coffee and also enjoying some retail therapy. This afternoon we will head out for a late lunch, before joining a couple for happy hour here at the camp site who are moving to Tassie in July to open a cafe at Four Mile Creek.

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