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: cape range national park

Osprey Bay at Cape Range National Park was a welcome relief after three nights in town. We love free camping - free of power and the pressures of a small plot in a caravan park. Osprey Bay free camp was only opened earlier in the year. There's a bush loo, the cost is $15/night and you can book online. Bore water is available near the visitors centre at entrance to the park. The kids would have played all day on the beach making huge castles.

The sunsets were beautiful. 

Yardie Creek Gorge was an interesting walk with the kids although it was the hottest part of the day so it was very warm. The gorge was amazing - with ospreys, goats and cockatoos. 

There are half a dozen great snorkelling sites a short drive from Osprey Bay. We spent our first day snorkelling at Turquoise Bay after two friends recommended it. We had the perfect day - little wind, clear sky, no swell and incredible visibility. Over the course of the day the older two kids mastered snorkelling - using a noodle to keep bouyant. We swam with sea turtles, black and white-tipped reef sharks, blue spotted fantail sting-Rays, anenome fish, trumpet fish, a huge groper, octopi, a huge rock cod and hundreds of beautiful tropical fish. There was so much to see which made learning to snorkel easy for the kids. 

The following day we attempted Oyster Stacks at high tide but it was a struggle with the strong current and big swell. I can imagine that with the right conditions the site would be interesting. After Oyster Stacks in the morning we drove back to Turqoise Bay with our travelling friends, the Belson-Hauers, and spent the rest of the day jumping in and out of the water. 

The boys headed out early one morning and ran (when the gravel wasn't too slippery) Mandu Mandu Gorge. 

J decided it was time to separate with his decade-long facial hair. Our poor girl cried for a day and asked him when the old Daddy was coming back. This was actually half way through his shave. J is not particularly fond of having a mo'. 

These beautiful flowers are native to Cape Range National Park. Each petal looks like a little bird and our bird loving boy was fascinated. 

tasmania: bakers beach

We arrived at Narawntapu NP in the afternoon during the week and it was deathly quiet. There were three or four campervans and caravans spread throughout Bakers Beach where we decided to pull up for two nights before our trip back across the Strait. 

The brochures suggest that you can spend twilight with the wombats, pademelons and wallabies. You probably can if you don't bring your own heard to little (loud, enthusiastically loud) people along. Needless to say, we enjoyed searching for the elusive wombats! 

Remember that rainbow trout J (literally) caught at the caravan park at Launceston? It went on our smoker tonight on the Weber on she-oak (Casurina) chips. As it took a while for the smoker to start the flavour was subtle & perfect for the moist morsels. Thank you fishy. And thank you husband for catching & cooking it. 

These were those Fresh Water Oysters cooked with locally made Worchestire Sauce and Bok's Bacon from Tassie. So good but so different from natural. 

Bakers Beach is a great getaway. We find that in the freecamps there's little pressure to do anything. A walk is usually on the itinerary and then there's the obligatory tinkering of the truck or the van  while I prepare meals but we are forced to relax so much more than in CPs. I haven't yet worked out why that is.