northern territory: bitter springs to elliot, devil's pebbles

It was a very long day in the car, one of our longest from Bitter Springs to Elliot, a small town halfway between Darwin and Alice Springs. The Longreach Waterhole free camp, on a dirt road out of town, had the red tick in Camps 8 so we were eager to see how it measured up. Our friends, Fifty Toes Walkabout, had planned to stay overnight there too and we were pleased that there was space to pull up near them. This family are virtually our neighbours in Sydney and there we were by a remote billabong in NT, catching up.

There were loads of sites along the water. A grassy outlook (not dusty) is always a preferable floor at the entrance to a van too. 

Longreach Waterhole was home to many bird species including terns, pelicans, kites. It was teaming with wildlife! 

We got dinner together as the kids played and the two families sat down together to share experiences we'd had since leaving Sydney. We slept well that night after a fire and chat once the kids were in bed. The stars were endless and the quiet such a comfort. It reminded us of nights on the family farm near Bega. 

Elliot to Kunjarra (Devil's Pebbles)

Devil's Pebbles or Kunjarra is a beautiful free camp just south of Three Ways off the Stuart Highway. While we aren't snobby about free camps it is so wonderful to stay in an impressive one. 

Devil's Pebbles, I imagine, are the smaller version of the Marbles. There's a short loop walk through the pebbles and visitors are asked to remain on the path so as to avoid trampling this sacred site.

northern territory: katherine to bitter springs

We popped in to the wonderful Finch Cafe before leaving the town of Katherine. Locals must be pleased to have a place that serves great coffee, decent food and a well-equipped kids playroom!

Mataranka is a popular place and it's easy to see why. It's accessible and not a bad dip - lolling about on a noodle. The kids loved diving for rocks in the bottom of the pool (much to the dismay of a grumpy grey). 

Bitter Springs is definitely our preferred swimming option though. We camped at the campground nearby which meant we could get down to the warm water nice and early before it had been stirred up. I was so pleased that J suggested that I throw on the snorkel. The visibility was incredible and while there wasn't much to see (turtles, weed, plants) seeing the underwater world just adds to the experience. 

Little A had his first real swim in warm water. He wore every flotation device invented as he floated with us down the springs which stretch about a hundred metres. He loved it and it was great to have him come along for the ride. 

The big kids threw on their goggles and snorkels and spent most of the swim duck diving and exploring in the clear water.  

northern territory: kayaking katherine gorge

I've never been that enthused about flat water kayaking. I love the dynamic nature of the ocean - the swell, waves and surge around the rocks. That intoxicating smell of salt spray. However, one hears so much praise about Katherine Gorge and years ago when I was there with my younger brother we weren't able to get up the river so I decided to ask my wife for some time off to paddle up the gorge this time!

I left early in the morning before the kids got up for breakfast. I thought I'd be up at sunrise every morning of this year long trip but soon realised that despite my expectations of a year long 'holiday' the full-time work of 'growing up' a young family rapidly brought me back to reality. My wife and I stay up late, grasping onto the limited time alone together, only to be left tired the next morning. Just like home!

Once I slid into the mirror smooth green/brown water of Nitmiluk and began stroking upstream I began drifting into the world of quiet, solitude, reflection and solace. It was easy to get into a rhythm and as usual found my mind skipping from topic to topic, family-work-that was a freshwater croc-holidays-family-white breasted sea eagle-work-holidays-getting hot now-family...

The gorge is large and there are some beautiful sandy spits and banks with signs warning to keep clear of these fragile freshwater crocodile nesting sites. The first gorge seems to be the widest and as one gets further upstream the narrower it becomes. The towering orange brick-like cliffs looming in over me reminded me of the narrow canals in Amsterdam lined by leaning Dutch terrace houses!

Where I could I kept to the shady side seeking relief from the tropical sun. The first gorge ends at a rocky barrier that would produce some fun rapids when the water level was higher. There was very little flow when we were there so I dragged my kayak (the beauty of plastic!) up the middle and took advantage of a couple of pools that I could paddle across.

I paddled up to the third gorge which is as far as one is allowed to go on a day permit. It wasn't until I was there that I thought that I'd missed a good opportunity to do another solo overnighter (Steep Point being the last) by camping further up the gorge for a night.

Instead I sat on some rocks under a battered, almost horizontal paperbark tree between the second and third gorges and listened to the gurgling of Nitmiluk as it passed by me on its long course to the ocean. It was a wonderful moment and thoughts came to me of my late father who would have so enjoyed following our journey. I deliberately hadn't brought a camera with me this time and took in the scene before me intending to sketch it from memory when the kids were next drawing.

The thought of freshly ground coffee urged me back to our roaming home and we were also heading into Katherine town to catch up with some friends, another travelling family, who were overtaking us on their way east too. 

As I paddled back downstream it was the vibrant and varied colours of the gorge walls that stuck in my mind. Colour has been a recurring feature in my memories of this trip. The colours of northern Australia in particular really gets to me. Some of the most pleasurable moments have been driving the vast distances in this wondrous country of ours. Through the deep reds and oranges of the many Pilbara & Kimberley ranges spotted with light green and brown spinifex hummocks, through open savannah and Gulf country with miles of dry native grasses, oranges, purples, browns, yellows, the thin white trunks of the eucalypts with their dark green foliage stamped against the deep blue sky. We've had hours and hours of this and I love it.

northern territory: katherine gorge

We were at Katherine Gorge for two nights but arriving late in the afternoon we only had the time to cool off in the pool before dinner and bed. 

The lovely Matt and Georgia adopted B & P as regulars to their camper. The couple are just finishing their university degrees and are travelling the country for eight months. What a brilliant thing to be doing at their age. They made our stay a lot simpler by reading and playing with the kids while we packed and cleaned up. Thanks guys! I hope one day, when you travel again with your family some young'ns will help you out! 

J was up early and in his kayak on the water (after buying his permit). He paddled up through to Gorge Number Three and while he did forget his camera he did make this sketch on his return. These special moments in the quiet in the kayak are relished! (see the following post - J's blog post about his kayak up the gorge.)

The kids and I were slow going in the morning. Little A had his brekky and then explored every inch of dirt in the campground until he was coated in it. He had a ball! We had a swim in the pool then headed back in to Katherine to meet friends at Katherine Springs. We'd met this family at Sandy Cape, WA and travelled with them to Geraldton and Kalbarri and it was nice to see familiar faces although they're looking somewhat tanned after five weeks in Bali! 

northern territory: anbangbang, yellow waters

There's no better way to experience the wetlands of Yellow Waters than on a crocodile-proof cruise which we did with Ma and Grug. The kids were just as excited for the five-minute bus ride to the jetty as the boat ride. 

An egret, a shag and a whitebreasted sea eagle on the banks of Yellow Waters. 

There was so much wildlife to see on the cruise - dozens of huge (and smaller) saltwater crocodiles and beautiful water birds including eagles, kites, egrets, brolgas and rainbow bee-eaters. The billabong was lined with the beautiful lotus and pandanus plants. It must be magic to see this place teaming with wildlife during the wet and at the beginning of the dry season. 

Anbangbang (wrongly but more commonly known as Nourlangie) is about half an hour by car from Cooinda and the site of more incredible rock art. Sheltered by huge overhangs much of the paint has remained intact over thousands of years. If you're in the area be sure to tack on to a free ranger guided talk. The national park rangers present informative and engaging talks about the sites. 

Thanks to my mum for these two photographs. 

On our tour with Animal Tracks Patsy taught us how to identify a green ant's nest. Green ants are a bush medicine used to relieve a headache and quell a sore tummy. We showed the children how, with a quick movement, Patsy quickly removed a nest and squished the ants before producing the medicine. Strangely the ants do taste like salt and vinegar chips. 

northern territory : kakadu, gagadju, maguk

Maguk Falls was a short drive in (on dirt) from the Gungurul free camp ($6.60/n) on the Kakadu Highway. It's about a kilometre up to the falls on a raised boardwalk and then along a rocky path. The waterhole is huge and beautiful.

Thanks to my mum for these three photos. 

We needed a swim after a hot walk in to the falls and it wasn't long before the kids and J were jumping off the rocks in to the cool water. Soon after B was scaling the five metre high cliffs and jumping in to the water hole and coming up beaming. Our boy has certainly gained a mountain of confidence since we left Sydney eight months ago. 

You can just see the colours of Bs rash vest as he's plunging in to the water hole!

Nothing can compare to the black kites which soar the Kimberley and top end skies. You'll be outside only to have a shadow fly overhead and look up to see the unmistakable outline of the scalloped tail and distal wings of the black kite.  

Slowly the black kites have been replaced by the whistling kite with their distinctive cries. These birds both hone in on the fire fronts when traditional burning takes place in the Kimberley and Kakadu, searching for small prey who scuttle out from the bush in search of safety from the fire. 

Traditional Burning takes place in the dry season and continues to be a practice used by National Parks to maintain biodiversity in this region. Fires are critical for the reproduction of some plants while others suffer under the conditions so a balance is necessary in considering the needs of a range of species in the parks. 

northern territory: kakadu, gagadju, ubirr

The lookout provides an insanely awesome vantage point across the wetlands at Ubirr and in to Arnhem Land. We took our picnic dinner up the hill to watch the sun set on another day. 

B said that he always does the "thumbs up" so people know it's a good place to visit. 

After our very disrupted sleep the night before we bunkered down with sticky tape across the window seals. We bombed the inside of the van with a generous spray of mortein in the afternoon which we usually avoid but bought especially. It was a huge relief when we all woke up after sunrise the next morning. 

The free ranger-lead talks throughout Kakadu provide insight in to this sacred place. There's also weaving workshops run by local women. We caught up with Ranger Glen at Ubirr and joined him on a 2.5 hour long visit to the art sites. 

In addition to the history of the ancient artworks we heard a lot about the hard work that the community put in to have Gagadju recognised as a national park and eventually as a World Heritage Area. 

A figure with swollen limbs is depicted in the image below. It is said that swollen joints are a common side affect on the body after exposure to radioactive material. You may or may not remember that the Jabiru Uranium Mine is located in Jabiru. This image is thousands of years old. 

This is the place where locals say the Rainbow Serpent left its imprint in the rock after creating the surrounding parts of Kakadu. It may not be convincing to everyone but right across the world people have creation stories. 

western australia: windjana gorge

We "did the Gibb" about seven years ago when I was pregnant with our first born. I remember the corrugated road up to Mitchell Plateau and having difficulty having a conversation in the car. The road conditions vary depending on when the grader has gone through and how much traffic the road has endured. We decided that, despite the caravan being an off-roader, we'd leave it in Derby if we were to do the Gibb and that its just too special to miss Mitchell if we were to start the journey. It became evident, as we headed up the coast towards Derby, that we wouldn't do the trip this time and we'd wait until the kids are older. Two to three hours driving a day is best for our family with a break around the two hour mark. There are usually toilet stops in that first two hours too so it's slow going. 

We returned to Windjana Gorge though. The few kilometres from the turn off to Windjana was the toughest but it's so worth it. The tracks are well trodden by the thousands of visitors who, either privately or on tour, enter the National Park each year and whilst more people are visiting, the area has not lost its intrgue.The gorge is impressive and it's an equally beautiful place to go to sleep as it is to wake up in! 

The campground has had the addition of showers and toilets since we first visited and it cost us $24 per night.

Windjana Gorge is the setting of a three year campaign of Indigenous resistance to white settlement by the Banuba people, lead by Jandamarra. The establishment of this area for pastoral purposes came at a great cost to the local Aboriginal people whose sophisticated societal structure was decimated by those who were forging economic growth in Western Australia and the nation. Ironically that economic growth was dependent on free Aboriginal labour on those pastoral stations. 

Jandamarra's journey from being rejected by his family after an internal dispute to working for the constabulary and then fighting for his people is detailed in two books, Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance by Pedersen and Woorunmurra. A children's book, Jandamarra, has been written by Mark Greenwood. Our children engaged with this history and staying at Windjana Gorge took on a deeper meaning for them. Of course there were many questions asked and the discussions were sophisticated as they processed what had occurred here and across Australia. We could have told our kids stories like this one (and we will continue to) but it's experiences like this which will etch their understanding in to their beings. I am grateful to be able to both experience this (as a person, a mum as a teacher) and give my kids these experiences too. 

western australia : kalbarri, natures window

It's hard to get the balance right when you're on the road with the three kids. We need to factor in the needs of everyone and sleep for the baby is generally a priority. Baby A does so well transitioning from his car seat and the pram but on days when we don't have to go anywhere I like for him to have his sleeps in the caravan. What this means, too, is that B gets a good solid morning of schoolwork completed.

On one such morning (while A slept and B did schoolwork) I took P to the camp kitchen at Murchison House Station and we made fresh rice paper rolls with carrot, cucumber, lettuce, mint, spring onions and a soya chilli dressing. 

This meant that we couldn't leave until lunch time for the the second walk we wanted to do near Kalbarrii - Natures Window. We ate our rice paper rolls under a shelter in the car park with an incredible view across the gorge and along with the gazillions of flies. They were dive bombing the dressing and it was so bad that even Baby A didn't bother pulling his fly net off because he was happier with it on!

Natures Window is a very short but picturesque walk but it was so hot on the day we did it. 

And when we arrived a Malaysian couple, who live in Perth, were having their pre-wedding shots. They looked amazing. The juxtaposition of the glamorous wedding shots against the back drop of the dusty and somewhat isolated outback with the swarms of flies wasn't lost on us. 

western australia: stockman gully cave, three springs, sandy cape

We sometimes lament about the places we've passed, the experiences we've missed that we don't even know of. Often we lament about the places and experiences we have had to miss because we just don't seem to have long enough to travel around this great continent. 

Most of us would think that a year is enough time to travel around Australia and it is but its not enough to see and do everything that this country has to offer. 

Nevertheless we've been given this opportunity and we're determined to make the most of it which doesn't always mean visiting every spot on the map. It does mean that some days we need to just stop and enjoy doing not much. 

Yesterday we had one of those relaxing days exploring Sandy Cape - the dunes, the beach, the limestone rocks. And we also just sat in the sun by the caravan playing lego, drawing, reading and getting school work done too. It was a welcome day of relaxation. 

Today was a very different day. B needed to get his head down and knock off a lot of school work for the morning. A woke up and at midday we drove to Green Head to grab a few groceries.

No sooner had we arrived than we realised we'd both forgotten our wallets (that's the second time I've done that) so we scrounged around for coins in the car and the gentleman at the servo/ liquor store/ grocery store was very helpful. 

From Green Head we drove east to Stockman Gully Cave. J happened upon a brochure for the cave while he was browsing through a bunch of papers at the caretakers caravan at Sandy Cape. It was a bit of luck really and we are so pleased we found out about this place. 

The Stockman Gully is a dry (when we were there) riverbed used by stockman to muster their cattle overnight. The cave itself is a limestone cave of about 250-300 metres long. 

We took our head torches and it's lucky we did because you walk a lot of the cave is in darkness. The kids and J loved it. Me, not so much. J remarked "how amazing would it be, diving through here?" Um yeah. I think he would find that amazing. You wouldn't get me down there at all. Ever. 

Another interesting thing about the surrounds were the half dozen bee hives at both of the entrances to the cave. The long sheets of honeycomb were visible. 

We met a family at the picnic ground by the cave and the uncle, a local, recommended a spot just off the track back to the highway. Three Springs is only accessible by 4WD - along a sandy track scattered with solid limestone rocks. 

Three Springs is literally an oasis. The gums are and beautiful banksias are fed by the springs. Apparently the palms were planted by Afghan cameleers. There was recent activity by camels, wild horses and foxes and no doubt this spot is a frequented water hole by plenty of wildlife. 

It was a great day out but even a few hours away from the caravan can seem like a huge day for the kids. If we can get back well before dinner then that's ideal. Today we weren't back until after 4 and that rush to get dinner and the kids in bed before 7 can be a little frantic. 

It's all about balance though. If we don't go out we miss things. We had a great adventure today. Tomorrow we'll charge our batteries - the caravan and the family's -  another day of relaxing at this beautiful beach. 

western australia : pallinup river

Just as we hit the Nullabor that we received an email to say that my great, great uncle, Cyril, was being recognised in a sunset ceremony in Kings Park in Perth on the eve of ANZAC Day. 

Having the deadline meant we'd have to either miss the south west of Western Australia or do the whirlwind tour. We opted for the latter and after Northam we headed south to Esperance. 

There's a great free camp ($5/n) at an olive grove a few minutes out of Esperance. We stayed the night before making our way to one of the most beautiful free camps we've come across in the four months we've been on the road. The riverside free camp at Pallinup, where we nestled the van in a site on the southern side of the road was a magic place in the afternoon and a magic spot to wake up. 

south australia: the great australian bight

The guide books will tell you that you must stop at the Head of the Bight. I have two pieces of advice:

1. If you do, take a fly net with you, and

2. You get amazing views from the following three look-outs and they are free. 

The Head of Bight is a stunning and accessible spot with a boardwalk to the cliffs edge. 

The three look-outs give you expansive views along the sheer coastline. It would be amazing watching whales from these vantage spots where people have bragged at having seen them frolick in the waters below. 

You can see we had clear skies! 

Look out at Great Australian Bight

Look out number ?