northern territory : kakadu, arnhem land

We wanted to see Kakadu and Arnhem Land. It's a part of Australia we've seen on doco's and featured in films but we came with fresh eyes, not really knowing what to expect. Once again a part of this country has been forged in our hearts as a treasured place. 

We pulled in to Merl campground at Ubirr late in the day which is never a good sign of things to come. It was too hot to cook in the van (high thirties) and mozzies were already starting to take their place against the fly screens so we bunkered in for a mezze platter. 

The kids are still adjusting to the 1.5hr time difference with Western Australia and getting them to bed early is proving difficult. The heat coupled with hundreds of mozzies getting in somewhere wasn't a good combination for getting to bed early or having a good night. And we didn't. I think we had four hours sleep that first night between smashing the little blood-filled blighters and tending to hot thirsty kids. 

We were easily distracted from our mozzie bites and the elements once we looked out of the van at Merl. It is a stunning place to wake up set amongst the pandanus palms. We pre-booked our permit in to Arnhem Land and tour to Injalak Hill and it was an early, hazy start to cross the East Alligator River by 8:30 in the morning. 

Roland was our guide up Injalak Hill. It was a privilege to see artworks on the walls of the rocks dating back 20,000 years. Here lies evidence of the longest continuous culture on the planet. Our short time on Earth and contribution to the world pales in to insignificance. 

The artworks here depict foods and other plants and animals endemic to the area including long-necked turtle, barramundi, mullet. Legends told and retold over thousands of years are also painted here. 

Here you can see the palette and the canvas. These grind holes, used to grind rock in to ocre paints (from about 50km from this site) are literally thousands of years old. 

There are three brothers - making up Injalak (Long Tom Fish) Hill, Leech Hill and Magpie Goose Hill. These places are sacred sites for the locals. 

Our tour finished at the Arts Centre which houses a large number of artworks by local artists and sales are used to fund the running of the centre and community workshops for tourists. We bought a beautiful painting of a barramundi by

?? Glen 

who uses only ocres in his paintings. It has its place in our caravan now. 

western australia : purnululu

Purnululu (commonly known as the Bungle Bungles) has a number of great walks some of which are suitable for walking with children. 

Access to the walks is a 1.5-2 hour drive from the highway on a rough dirt road. I decided to take the older kids (4yo and 6yo) while Mummy and Little A stayed behind at the Bungle Bungle Caravan Park.

The big kids were really keen to go bush walking and were very excited to be camping in a tent. Our daughter was up and ready to go first thing!

The kids and I drove in early in the day to allow enough time to walk to the impressive Cathedral Gorge and The Domes. 

The walk was quite achievable for the kids although the heat of the day got to them as we walked in the creek bed towards Cathedral Gorge. A lovely couple from The Channon (Northern NSW) encouraged and distracted the kids for the final stretch! The cavernous gorge was impressive and the coolness offered by its shade and still pool most welcome. I marvelled at its grandeur while the kids settled into building a dam in the sand by the pool.

On the return walk along the rocky creek bed the kids played in a deep rock hole full of stones (& two dried cane toad carcasses). 

The rock hole became the main scene of the evening bedtime story where the kids met a new character, 'Knotty' the Numbat, who led them to a secret door in Cathedral Gorge and a mysterious world underground!

We had erected our tent at the Kurrajong Campground adjacent to some other families. Alas being school holidays they were on a short trip and we wouldn't cross paths again unfortunately!

A few minutes star gazing through the tent ceiling was all the kids could manage before dozing off into a slumber that only a bush walk and a tent can provide.

The morning light streamed through the tent walls and soon I had two very energetic kids jumping on me! After a breakfast of muesli with warm milk and banana, school journal writing for B, and a play with several kids who gathered at our camp, we set course for Echidna Chasm.

The walk through the stony creek bed up towards Echidna Chasm was a little challenging for little feet although they've conquered far worse of course. A couple of hundred metres into this first walk of the day P was convinced that she was teetering on the edge of exhaustion but they soon thought up some games and before we entered the cool, dark labyrinth P had collected four long sticks to carry on her merry way! We weaved our way through the mighty fracture, two sheer rock walls towering either side above us and although P's sticks frequently jammed between the narrow sides of the gorge and despite my gentle persuasions that we could always pick them up on our way back out she insisted that she really must continue to persevere to the very end, around boulders, past other walkers, up the ladders. Upon reaching the final cavern and while B attempted to scale the sheer rock walls, P dropped her bundle of sticks as though it were common house dirt and began inventing another game. 

We shared a couple of oranges before evacuating ourselves from the tortuous intestines of the Echidna. It was a magnificent finale to our Purnululu adventures and although I had no idea what to expect and didn't plan it that way I feel it was a wise decision to do the southern end of the park first and leaving the impressive Echidna as our last stop.

We didn't muck around getting on our way back to 'our roaming home'. We know very well where the best cook, cooking and catering is in this vast brown land and we were famished!!

Although it didn't stop us taking a break from the rough 50km road about half way for a cup of tea and a spot of cow shit cricket! Oh and two separate trips off piste to dig a hole for number twos that didn't exist five minutes before when I had asked!!!!

victoria: port fairy

We've fallen in love with the quaint town of Port Fairy. As her name suggests she's perched on the water. Sailing boats line her shores and cows graze in paddocks a few blocks away. 

We spent a while deciding where we'd stay. There's a caravan park positioned nicely behind the dunes on the southern side of town (which has some sites that would be protected from southerlies) but we finally decided to stay at the Big 4. We think that it's important that the kids get time in these places socialising with other kids too. Plus there's a jumping pillow, mini golf, three playgrounds, a movie room, a games room and an indoor heated pool. The kids can ride their bikes within the park too. 

J treated me with some "me time" so i rode in to town - just as hundreds of road cyclists finished the final leg of a tour of Victoria. I felt like a bit of a fraud because it took me all of six minutes to cycle from the caravan park. 

A local gave me a tip for where to find coffee. As with some places it can depend on who is behind the machine but Slitti is known for producing consistently good coffee, not to mention homemade chocolates & raw/pales treats and tasty sandwiches. I treated myself to a particular good slice of chai cheesecake. 

The kids spent the morning making their way through the various activities at the CP but we jumped on the bikes to the little lighthouse on the point past the mutton bird colony. This is a pretty flat ride but a picturesque one. You can ride down the path by the water for a lot of the way.

It was magic weather for it. 

These two spotted some seagulls and they're signing "bird."

tasmania: bay of fires

We created some great memories at the Bay of Fires. Many times since we arrived in Tassie people recommended free camping at Cosy Corner. We arrived after lunch and we're really lucky to find a site. If you intend to stay at either Cosy Corner North or South it would be best to arrive at about 11 - giving people enough time to pack up & vacate their site. It's a popular spot but you can still find yourself a nice private site. 

We chose to stay at Cosy Corner North so we had toilet facilities close by. It's good to give the van a work-out and find out the limitations.

We can comfortably free camp for three nights as long as we have enough sunshine to power the batteries (though in some places we can crank up the gennie). It's pretty good that, as a family of five, the solar panels, water tanks & toilet in the van give us that independence. I must say we were grateful for the shower yesterday (after 4 days) though! 

We've only had a few instances when we could have been more prepared for meals. If you're planning a stay at Bay of Fires you don't have to worry too much. St Helens is only a quarter of an hour from the campsites. There's a large IGA but the smaller Hilly's IGA is a fabulous supplier of local cheese (Payengana) & the best bacon I've ever eaten - Bok's - from Glenorchy in Tassie. 

And if you need your coffee fix Marika at Coffee Away - a hole-in-the-wall - can make you caffeine in whatever form you desire! You can grab a takeaway or just sit on the benches in the sun out front and watch the holiday makers wander by. 

We'd been told about Lease 65 Oysters but I took a wrong turn and found myself at Clean Water Oysters (200 Binalong rd) where i grabbed three dozen unshucked for $24! We ate some natural (with lemon) and turned some in to Kilpatrick with the Bok's bacon and homemade Worschestire sauce from the providore in St Helens. Oh man. They were good. The kids guzzled them down too.

B had his eye on the sweet tiny wrens at the campsite. He was desperate to cuddle one so he spent about 3.5 hours one day designing and re-jigging a trap. He used various lengths of string, sticks, bread crumbs and cheese crumbs when he heard they love those best. Unfortunately B didn't have any luck. 

Unlike J in his kayak! Early one morning he managed to catch a mackerel (not the nicest but we do have a good recipe) and a squid.