Week 72- Monday 16th - Sunday 22nd October

Alice Springs, NT

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

Whilst at Alice Springs we:

• Had heaps of fun in the pool, it had a waterslide that was awesome to throw yourself down on your belly-but I got a massive bruise from smashing my hip just a little bit too hard!

• Broke down twice!! The first time was in the Coles car park when the alternator broke, and the car had to be taken to the mechanics on a tilt tray. The second was when we were trying to turn the car on to back onto the van-it would not start so Dad had to go get someone to jump start us. Dad drove to the mechanics who gave him some new batteries for the car.
  
  
• Went out to have a look at Jessie's Gap, Emily's Gap and Simpsons Gap. They were all beautiful!

• Walked up the hill in the caravan park and listened to a stargazing talk, it was really interesting and when the talk had finished we got to look in a massive telescope and see Saturn!!

Going down the slide at the caravan park.👇

The MEGA bruise that I got from going down the slide so many times.

Emily's Gap.

There was two gorgeous rock wallabies at Simpsons Gap-can you spot them?

Simpsons Gap.👇

Ellery Creek Big Hole, NT

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

Ellery Creek Big Hole was beautiful-but cold! Luckily there was a lovely sand bank that we could warm up on after swimming. Other than lazing around on the sand banks and swimming we also got up early one morning and did a small walk in the mountains, we got to watch the sunrise from a high point on the walk. On our last night there we made a beautiful platter for dinner and ate it down at the water, when we had finished we went for a late swim-it was freezing!!

 On the way to Ellery Creek Big Hole we stopped at Standley Chasm, we got it to ourselves for a couple of minutes-it was awesome!👇

Ellery Creek Big Hole.

One of the beautiful sunrises we saw whilst at Ellery Creek.

👇

On the walk we did there were heaps of interesting rock formations-one was a triangular 'nature's window'.

Eating our delicious platter down by the water! 

The beautiful gorge at sunset.

Week 71- Wednesday 11th - Monday 16th October

Tanami Track-WA, NT

The Tanami Track is a remote (and I mean very remote) track that runs from Halls Creek to Alice Springs (the track is pictured below, in red).

Day One

Willare Roadhouse

Star Rating:★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

Day 1 started off well but after being awake for just over an hour a disaster happened……

This is how our eventful day went:

5:00-6:00am:
Mum and Dad dragged us out of bed to get an early start on the road.

6:00-7:00am:
We were driving along happily when all of a sudden there was a massive bump…one of the caravan tyres had fallen off!!! For the rest of the hour Mum and Dad made lots of phone calls and arranged for a tow truck to come and pick the van up.

7:00-8:00am:
We waited for the tow truck to arrive and take us back to Broome

8:00-9:00am:
We were still waiting!

9:00-10:00am:
Finally the tow truck arrived, and Dad help the man get the van on the truck.

11:00am-12:00pm:

We drove back into Broome (in our car-it wasn’t damaged) and Dad dropped us off at the public library.

12:00-1:00pm:
Mum, Jackson and I chilled out in the air-conditioned library.

1:00-2:00pm:
We were still chilling out in the library when we all started to get quite hungry-we had only had a small breakfast as we thought we were going to be with the van the whole day. After a lot of back and forth we decided to walk up to Coles (about 1 km away) to get some food.

2:00-3:00pm:
We got some food and were about to dig into our mismatched picnic (Bbacon & cheese rolls, ham, mini cucumbers, olives and chocolate) when Dad called to say that the van was fixed, and he was coming to pick us up. On the way out we bumped into our friends from the caravan park and told them about our crazy morning! When Dad had picked us up, we went down to Town Beach where we finished our picnic, before hitting the road.

3:00-4:00pm:
We drove.

4:00-5:00pm:
We drove for another half an hour or so before arriving at Willare Roadhouse-we had meant for it to be our breakfast stop in the morning!!

5:00-6:00pm:
After arriving at Willare Roadhouse we set up and went to have a dip in the pool

6:00-7:00:
We had dinner before having wild mango (collected on the Dampier Peninsula and finally ripe) for dessert.

7:00-8:00:
We all had showers, washing all the day's sweat off us before we all collapsed into bed!!

Our poor caravan!👇

Day Two

Roadside Stop near the start of the Tanami Track

Star Rating:★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

Because of our disaster day the day before we had to try and make up some ground-therefore we drove for around eleven hours, only stopping four times! Our first stop was Fitzroy Crossing where we all had brekkie, our second one was Mary's Pool where we stopped for around an hour, stretched our legs and had lunch. The third stop was Halls Creek where we only stopped to get fuel and our last stop was where we pulled up for the night.

Our campsite just off the Tanami Track

Day Three

Lake Gregory

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

Forty-three degrees and no breeze-perfect conditions to try and tow a 23 foot van through a four wheel drive track…..NOT!!!!

We started off the day by playing around at camp, as it was still cool. Before long though the air started to heat up and we were glad to get in the air-conditioned car! We drove for around a hundred kilometres before stopping at a small Community to top up with fuel. About half and hour out of the Community we stopped to have a look at Stretch Lagoon, but we did not have lunch as we knew Lake Gregory was only 80 kilometres away. What we didn’t know was that it was going to take us three whole hours to get there! Halfway through the track we were all starving so we jumped in the van and made lunch. When we finally got to Lake Gregory, we realised that the campground was 3 km from the water so we decided to wait till later before setting up (so we could drive down to the lake and set up on the track). In the meantime, we waited up the campground and did some schoolwork.

That afternoon Mum and I walked down to the lake whilst the boys drove down, we set up then watched a beautiful sunset over the lake.

The beautiful sunset (and an interesting, but potentially painful, bindi bush)!👇

When we were leaving we saw heaps of brolgas in the trees and on the ground. They were beautiful! 

Day Four

Quartz Ridge

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

After a beautiful morning at Lake Gregory, we hit the road. After around two hours we crossed the border to NT-we almost missed it as it was a sign on the side of the road made with bottles! We stopped for lunch at a nice roadside stop there was lots of shade, so we stayed there for an hour or so. That night we stopped on top of a rocky ridge, it was beautiful.

At the Western Australia and Northern Territory border.👇

Instead of welcome, we were saying goodbye to WA

Watching the sunset on the ridge.

Day Five

Roadside Stop

Star Rating:★★★☆

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

Our morning at Quartz Ridge was beautiful, but once it got windy we packed up pretty quick. The day was mostly spent driving but we stopped at some ruins for lunch. That afternoon we stopped at a roadside stop (where we were camping) and there was lots of paddy melons. Jackson and I collected some and played a game of bocce with them!!!

Playing our game of bocce.

The stars were beautiful!

Week 70- Sunday 1st - Tuesday 10th October

Cygnet Bay, WA

Star Rating:★★★★☆

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

At Cygnet Bay we enjoyed lots of time in the infinity pool. We also went up to One Arm Point, our first stop was the hatchery (where they used to breed trochus shells but now they provide homes for multiple sea animals, including fish, turtles, corals and even a Wobbegong!) where we got a tour of all the sea life and corals. Next we went to Round Rock where the boys fished-they caught squid, mackerel and, when they when back to the same spot a few days later, a big Queenie and a big Spanish mackerel. 

Whilst at Cygnet Bay we also went on the Brian Lee Tagalong Tour (more about it in Week 70-Brian Lee Tour.)

Swimming in the picturesque infinity pool. 

The view from Round Rock, One Arm Point.

Barred Creek, WA

Star Rating:★★★☆

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

At Barred Creek we:

• Explored the beach and found lots of shells. I made long nails from a sort of shell and stuck them on with blue tack.

• Went up to Willie Creek Pearl Farm where we got a free tour out on their boat, afternoon tea, and the chance to see a real pearl come out of an oyster-it was incredible!

• Watched many beautiful sunsets and sunrises.

One of the beautiful sunsets.

My beautiful nails!!!

Swimming after the sun set.

The oyster that we opened at the pearl farm-it had a beautiful pearl inside it.

Broome, WA

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

At Broome we:

• Spent most of our time in the pool with our friends.

• Watched the sunset down on Cable Beach twice-once we drove the car down but the second time we walked. Both times were beautiful.

• Had dinner at Divers Tavern with our friends, I got a Three Little Piggies pizza-it was yum!

Swimming in the pool at Broome.

Watching the sunset with our friends.

Eating our delicious dinner-three of us got the Three Little Piggies pizza!

Week 70-Brian Lee Tour.

Brian Lee Tour

Cape Leveque,WA

Star Rating:★★★★☆

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

After waiting at the roadhouse in the dust for a while we were wondering if Brian was ever going to come, when all of a sudden a dusty old Nissan turned up with fishing rods and spears on the back-Brian was here!!  He'd had troubles with his car and had to move all of his gear into another car, though in the haste, he had forgotten his keys to the gate into Cape Leveque!

On the way we stopped on the side of the road and Brian took us for a trek in the bush to look at some plants. On the way he explained what each one is used for, two of the ones I tried were:

• Kakadu Plum bark- the bark is cut off the tree and rubbed on skin as an antiseptic. It can also be steamed and sprayed on your body as an insect repellent.

• Red Gum sap-you chew the little red crystals and they  numb your mouth, perfect for when you have a toothache. When you grind it up into a powder it is used to fight cancer.

Afterwards we got back in our cars and drove up to Cape Leveque where we sat on the steps of the old Kooljaman Camp and Brian explained why it closed.

When we had finished looking around the old Kooljaman Camp we drove down onto the beach and stopped to have a swim. Brian also showed us how to blow into a whistle shell and make it whistle! Whilst everyone else was having another swim I walked along the beach and collected shells-I found some beautiful ones!

After everyone had finished swimming we all headed off to Hunter's Creek (named after Brian's great grandfather) where we were to spent the rest of the afternoon.

Whilst there we:

• Went hunting for mud crabs, at both low tide and high tide. I didn't find any but dad caught two and Jackson caught a massive one!
• Did a lot of swimming in the crystal clear water-you could see everything!
• Went out on the boat with Brian, he took us through many little inlets. We saw a stingray and fish jumping.
• Snorkeled with the spear, we saw lots of fish and Dad caught a sweetlip.
• Ate fresh fish and mud crab for afternoon tea!

By the time we left Hunters Creek it was nearly sunset so we drove along to the beach where we stopped to watch the sun set, it was lovely and I collected some more shells. Soon after we left, but not before saying bye to Brian and all the other amazing people we met on the tour!

Brian showing us some native plants. 

Eating red gum sap, meant for toothaches-it tasted yuck!!

Hunters Creek.

Hunting for crabs.👇

Swimming in the crystal clear water at Hunters Creek.

Collecting shells on the beach at sunset.

Playing with all the other kids on the tour.

Week 69- Monday 25th September - Sunday 1st October

Pender Bay, WA

Star Rating:★★★★☆

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

At Pender Bay we:

• Mainly did stuff in the morning, chilled at camp in the heat of the day and did stuff in the afternoon.
• Went on a walk around the cliffs, we saw heaps of rock pools and cool rock formations.
• Went for multiple walks on the beach.
• Relaxed on the beach, swam and fished.
• Went up to Middle Lagoon for a day trip, it was beautiful and on the way back we went and had a look at Smithy's Beach which was also beautiful.
• Drove up to the lookout once in the day and once to watch the sunset.
• Watched what looked like a MASSIVE storm roll in. It was blowing a gale, so much that you could barely stand!!
• Went and explored the rock-pools at low tide, I spotted an octopus walking back into the the water!
• Found a rock that looked very much like a lioness!!

Some of the beautiful frangipanis that were scattered around camp.

There was a massive rock pool hidden away behind some big rocks-it was beautiful!!

Waiting for the storm to roll in.

The view from our camp.

The sea looked so clear from up on the lookout.

The beautiful cliffs!👇

Lioness rock!!

There was also a cool rock that looked like a heart.

Swimming in the crystal clear water.

The beautiful sunset we saw from on top of the lookout.

The octopus that I found crawling back to sea.👇

Beagle Bay, WA

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

We went back to Beagle Bay to stay with our friends for Grand Final Day. We all did a sweep and Dad won $20! All us kids enjoyed KISS so much that Em (Ned and Harry's mum) did KISS makeup on us -it looked awesome!!

Jackson, Harry and I with our KISS makeup!!