Catching up over a cuppa

Alright, so I have been horribly slack with this blog. Last time I wrote it was July the 29^th, and we were in Narrandera. Now it is September the 18^th, and we are in Nambucca Heads, where we started from, 18 months and 3 days after we left (I didn't count, Mum worked it out). True we have been back for a couple of weeks now, and half the people who read this blog probably already know, but I've gotta celebrate somewhere hadn't I?

Soo, I had better catch you up on where we have been. We stayed in Narrandera for 2 weeks, while dad taught at the school. We stayed at the showground for a measly $15/night, which was excellent for us. We also started to get the really cold weather, grateful for beanies gloves and thick jackets.

After staying in Narrandera for 2 weeks, we set off for the snow!! Oh, this was going to be fun (and don't forget freezing cold). To get there we drove through Kosciusko national park, and it was brilliant seeing snow everywhere. We even saw two herds of brumbies, which was extremely exciting for the girls. But to get over those hills, oh boy what an effort. Straining and grunting at 40km/hr, we managed to get over those hills, with the heater going full blast. We were all glad that we had a lighter caravan to tow, instead the old Millard (oh, and by the way, poem writing isn't my forte, just in case you didn't guess).

The scenery was astounding, but we all agreed that we would try not to take such mountainous routes next time, because of the strain on the car. The boys knew to turn the heaters on, because of all their 4WD magazines they had read. It worked too, something useful from all those mags!!

Oh, and something else, our heater wasn't working (except when the engine was overheating). We were all in the car, rugged up fully, and we were going to hit colder temperatures too. The thing was, it was working fine last year in the snow, we were grateful for that, but now its not. Just great.

Anyway, instead of freezing this year, we are going to stay in a caravan park with power (yay!!). The caravan park (Rainbow Pines Tourist Park) was $300/wk plus power, definitely our most expensive place to stay so far. It didn't have very good facilities either!!

But, we were all super excited to be able to get up to the snow. We were all doing the same as last year, but we were all a little better. It took a couple of days to get back into it, but we were all zooming again by the end. We had again bought season passes with our own money, and we only had to hire some skis for the little girls, which was good.

We also had a go at tobogganing for a couple of hours. The girls definitely enjoyed skiing more though.

Right, I will leave you with photos of all our awesome snow experiences:

The boys slept in the car, though Joel certainly didn't mind
having a sleep by the fire

Lots, and lots of coals

By the end, we had the snow start to melt.

Joel, the skier and snowboarder. Me and Joel switched
quite a bit (snowboarding's harder, I know).

Tobogganing down the slopes

Cool girl, this is really how she skied!!

3 skiers, 2 snowboarders, and heaps of fun
(thanks mum and dad).

Oh, and 1 more thing on the weather. The weather up in Darwin was 33 degrees, while down in Adaminaby we were shivering in 5 degrees. We always catch places in the wrong season don't we?

Cheap Family-Friendly Priced Caravan Parks

Swifts Creek

So these are caravan parks that charge a family rate, one from each state we have visited. We don't have any from ACT or Tasmania, but for each of the other states there is the best value parks we have found.


NSW- Swifts Creek ($14/pn June 2013) Boy, this was a great one. With lovely views and a big shelter with 4 fireplaces, we loved this caravan park. It was right on a lovely river which wound its way around the town, appearing from the mountains and disappearing back into them. The big undercover shelter with 4 fireplaces was perfect for drying our washing and cooking dinner.

Vic- Walpeup ($ 15/pn April 2013) This was one of the best value camps we have seen, with clean toilets and showers, cheap washing machines (really eats up your money when you have to pay $3-4/load and do 3-4 loads), a playground, plus it is the local stopping point for the mobile library. We all enjoyed it. The playground was also great, with the girls having a lot of fun while the kids slaved at our school-work in the caravan.

The view over Lake Kununurra from the caravan park.

Old- Blackall ($20/pn July 2013) This was a really good little caravan park, just behind the Barcoo hotel. The facilities were beautifully clean, with even a bathtub in there. The gardens out the back of the hotel were nice
and shady, with big palm trees providing a cool retreat.

WA- Kimberlyland ($230/wk Nov/Dec) Kimberlyland was a great park, especially when we got a site in prime location right next to the pool, playground, and amenities. We basically had a swim everyday in the pool, even though the pool was not that cool. The park was mostly full of permanents, who were nice and friendly. The park backed right onto the lagoon, and had a boat ramp which we frequently used to launch our kayaks. It was quite weedy, and disgusting to tip into too, but after about 50m, it cleared right up. We got a weekly rate, and it was cheaper that way.

Berry Springs

NT-Berry Springs ($220/wk Sep/ Oct/ Nov 2013 ) This was a great park, with a pool, crocodile billabong, a river to fish in, and good amenities. We stayed there for a while while in Darwin, mainly because it was the cheapest (with a family rate). They also had a cafe at the reception, which we had their Sunday roast at (yummy and good value).

SA- Cadell ($20/pn July 2014) Now, this was a beaut. The showers were really new, the sites were nice and large, and there was lots of space to run around. The washing machines were also really cheap, being only $2/load. Beats paying $4/load elsewhere (or hand washing everything, one of my most detested jobs at the moment.

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Thankyou, Old Friend

So here is the poem I wrote in tribute to our Millard, which nearly completed a lap of Australia with us.

Even though we needed a ute full of tyres across the Nullabor,

And another across the Top End,

We all still love you

Ooh our faithful Millard,

with the bits flying off

and the tyres going bang,

and the non-existent suspension

For you travelled around the country with us, all around,

You saw us through the snow

and through the wet,

you went bouncing over corrugations,

and flying over speed bumps.

You saw us through a flood,

where the raging torrents nearly took you away,

but our old faithful Millard stood strong and true.

And now as our adventure draws to a close,

and the time for retirement draws near,

we write this ode with grateful hearts,

for you saw us through the adventure of a lifetime.

Even though our Transit blew an engine,

you followed along faithfully behind,

all we needed to fix you is some cable ties, prayer, and duct tape,

for they built old things to last

We looked after you,

with a few loving bangs of a hammer,

and the screws of a drill,

and then a few loving kicks when the tin started to peel

Built in the 1980's,

and still going strong,

with it's tiny wheels and vinyl floors,

Our millard is truly dear to us all.

You've seen the Ningaloo,

travelled Kakadu and Darwin,

you were dragged up the hills of the high country,

You've visited Perth and Bourke,

You've been gawked at all around the country

Many people think we're crazy,

as they sit on their chairs being lazy,

Their eyes go up and then go down,

their mouth falls open, swallowing a few flies,

their heads whir with wonder as we slowly chug on by,

never knowing what they are missing,

in the rat race

You saw kangaroos,

emus and galahs,

termite nests reaching for the sky,

cows grazing along the side of the road,

the sun rise and set, and the scenery fly by.

For you camped next to the Mighty Murray,

and overlooking an estuary,

you heard the whispered secrets of a high-country stream,

and camped as the dust danced around you at Cubbaroo.

You camped in blazing sun at Exmouth, '

and pouring rain at Kununurra,

the freezing cold at Tumburrumba,

and howling winds at Nundroo

You saw the highs and lows of our travelling,

laughter, tears, shouts and silence

You were always there for us,

we relied on you and you were there

Stuck by the side of the road,
the end was drawing nigh,
a man came by,
a trailer was traded,
we sold you off,
and picked up a new 'van

We are sorry Millard,

that we have to get rid of you.

We part from you with grateful hearts,
and wish you the best of luck.

Welcome to our new Caravan!!

This is the caravan in it's un modified state, we have
since added a bike rack on the a-frame

So, our new caravan is a Statesman Streamline 1982 pop-top. Inside it contains 3 bunks, a double bed that folds up to become a lounge, a full kitchen including a four burner stove and an oven. It also has an 90L fridge, which is a downgrade from our previous one, and we will have to learn to pack even better. It also has cupboards all around the caravan, just below where the roof comes down.

When we first got it, we immediately started to tweak it a bit to better suit us. We added a two bike carrier on the front. We also put some hooks up for towels, and made new curtains for the windows. We also made a big curtain to separate the back part of the caravan, and give the girls some quiet to get to sleep. Joel also made some wooden boxes to put the girls clothes in, as the shelves were too deep for easy access. We also picked up a new mattress for the double bed.

We all really like our new caravan, some of the main highlights being:

Our Amazing Kitchen

-Independent Suspension

The three girls bed, in an L-shaped formation. My bed does
not have a mattress as it had been removed, but I now have
one.

-Lighting is way, way brighter (double the number of lights compared to our Millard)

-Kitchen much better

-Comfortable Bed

-Lots of windows for sunlight

-Cupboards up high

-Bigger wheels

-Easier packing up (not a lot of ocky straps needed to secure things)

-A big oven, already cooked 2 cakes, cookies, muffins, bread, and a roast complete with crackling

- The design of bunks, being L shaped.

-Bit more insulated (perfect for the cold weather we are going to stay in)

-Lots of power points scattered around.

Mum and Dad's Bed, now permanently kept as a bed
(new mattress not yet on)

All in all, I hope you like our new caravan 'cause we certainly do!

A Good end to a Sticky Situation

The 'treeless' part of the Nullabor

So, we are currently stuck at Nundroo Roadhouse, with no spares and a broken rim. After making plenty of phone calls, and asking a lot of questions, we were finally able to get two tyres overnight to Ceduna. We spent the day waiting for Ceduna sequestered in our caravan, as the wind howled. We had found a new sleeping arrangement, to sleep the two boy in the car, and Chloe and I spent the day relaxing on the boys beds in the car. That night some of those gusts really got us a 'rocking!!

After picking up our two tyres, we fitted them and drove out of Nundroo headed for our next stop. We were all sort of on the edges of our seats, our ears straining for the unmistakable sound that let us know we had popped a tyre. When we did blow one, it was a bit of an oh-no situation as we changed it. We hopped back in the car and played the waiting game.

It had gotten dark by the last time we had our last tyre pop. Yes, we were once again a tyre down with no way to tow the caravan. Luckily, there was a very convenient shoulder right there, where we pulled up and faced the enormity of the situation:

2 tyres in 200km.

Total cost: $300 to travel 200km in tyres alone.

Reversing the caravan into a bit of cleared ground to give us some privacy, we went to bed exhausted and not knowing what to do.

When we woke up in the morning, Mum and Dad drove into Ceduna to see what they could do. We now knew that we couldn't keep the caravan. If it kept on going like this the dollars and time would add up, and we still needed to get it registered. Our first thought was that maybe we could get a car trailer, load the caravan on that, and tow home the caravan on the car trailer.

We did actually find a car trailer down at Whyalla, yet is was only 2 metres wide and our caravan was 2.3m. With that plan down the drain, Mum and Dad drove back to Ceduna to see if we could get anything like a trailer and caravan for not that much.

We went to a cheap caravan park (literally $10/n) and used the power there to look on the computers.

 While we were there, we went to the Ag shop to see if they knew anybody that was selling a trailer or anything.

Amazingly, the owner of the shop was thinking of selling a trailer, and would sell it to us for $100 and the caravan. We could then load all our stuff into the trailer and they would take the caravan off our hands. Dad said yes, and they went into the library to research more options.

After searching for hours, Mum and Dad did find a 1982 Statesman Streamline pop-top. It was down in Adelaide, and if we loaded everything into the trailer and drove down there we could get it for $5500

With that all sorted out, we arranged with the buyer of our Millard to drop off the trailer, which we would then load up, and they would then drive off our caravan.

WE then began the MOMENTOUS task of unloading our caravan. If any one of you happened to drive past at that time, I am surprised you didn't have a crash as your jaws dropped at the serious amount of stuff everywhere!! I didn't get any photos, but boy was it a task.

the doorway of the car, Joel and I sat in the
front two seats you can see. 

WE even had the police drop by to ask us if we were alright. We reassured them that we were fine, and they drove off (probably laughing). After we had unloaded, we then loaded the car. Even though we had purged  a whole trailers worth of stuff, there was still an impressive amount. And we thought we didn't have that much stuff!!

By the time we had finished packing, the whole back of the car had disappeared. We couldn't even see the little girls in their seats. Their voices just sort of floated forwards to the front.

Looking back from the second row of seats.

We spent the next two nights at Wirrulla in our now sold caravan, very kindly offered to us by the new owner. The next day we did another 'sort', fixing up what we had just thrown in previously. Just to prove that it wasn't the weight of the caravan popping the tyres, one tyre blew ( for the new owner) on the way in to Wirrulla, an odd 60km drive. Luckily the new owner had picked up one spare, which took him to Wirrulla.

When we got the  new (for us) caravan, we planned to trade in our trailer for some money to be discounted from the caravan. However, due to some problem with the rego, we agreed that we would take the trailer to Adelaide for the owner of our Millard, and they would give us our $100 back. It saved us a great lot of problems with the rego.

The 4 bunks of the Millard, down the back.

We drove off from Wirrulla leaving our faithful Millard caravan behind. On a spur of the moment decision, I had written a poem across the Nullarbor to the Millard, and it will soon appear on this blog as a tribute to our faithful Millard which nearly made a complete lap of Australia (okay, so maybe the Nullarbor was a bit boring if I found writing a poem fun).

The Parents bed in the Millard

We drove that day to Port Pirie where we stayed in a motel! What absolute luxury, especially when we had 3 separate rooms between us. What utter luxury...........

The next day we arrived in Adelaide and inspected our new caravan. It was just perfect for us, as it had 3 bunks and a double bed. It was an 18 footer, so we were downsizing, but it was perfect for us. It weighed in at 980kg, unloaded, which was a good weight. It also had normal size tyres, which was the Achilles heel of the millard.

Our Millard's Lounge

Also, it had a full 4 burner stove and oven. What a luxury. See link for more photos on the selling agent.

We did manage to bargain down a bit, and at the end we got our caravan for $5250. All in all, it was a bargain buy for it's condition and age. (The caravan was a 1982, older than our Millard which was 1984).

We then had the lengthy process of sorting out our caravan and packing it. We got to bed at 10 that night, and slept pretty well. Mum said we were never buying a different caravan again, as it was too exhausting, and we all agreed with her, but for a different reason. Our reasoning went like this:

A taster of our new caravan.

If we never have to change caravans again, that means that our caravan wouldn't have broken down.

So tommorrow, I will give you a tour of our new statesman. I hope you enjoy it!

Albany and Beyond

Here we go, the first part of our dramas.

So I did forgot a very important detail about our stay at Albany. We had tried to get our caravan registered there, as it was coming close to when the registration was going to expire. We got to the registration inspection station, expecting a ten minute check, and waited for the inspector to come out. He walked out, and Joel's sharp eyes immediately spotted the clipboard in his hands. Immediately the thought popped into his head “we're done for. He'll never pass us” He slowly walked around and inspected it, frowned a few times, stood up and dropped the bombshell. “Sorry, I can't pass this, you need to fix your lights (Which we knew were temperamental), your brakes, your bearings need changing (we only changed them in Port headland), and you need reflectors. Excuse me? The cost of those repairs alone would probably cost more than the caravan.

As we climbed into our car, our brains started to whirl with the ramifications of us failing the rego check. We can't drive the caravan without it being registered, and they won't register us. What to do??

Lucky Bay

Now, we knew our caravan wasn't in the best shape, but considering last years's inspection (seriously it was a 10 minute check), we didn't really have a worry. But, apparently NSW is a bit more relaxed on the regulations of registering. Thus a plan formed in our mind.

Our Game Plan:

Cross the country in 8 days, getting our caravan registered in NSW, where it appears to be slacker.

Get to the snow and ski for 2 weeks

Pretty Simple? I wish!!

So we left Albany and headed out to Esperance, another 500km down the road. Just 10km out of Esperance we popped a tyre, first since Exmouth (I think). We made it the rest of the way unharmed and went to bed with plans whirling through our brain. Luckily, we had already done the momentous job of planning all the accommodation across the Nullabor (it is quite a big task, finding places, ringing them, getting prices, writing it down, choosing the cheapest.. Now we just had the rest of our across country trip to plan.

After planning, we headed out to Cape Le Grand. Bay, was it beautiful! It has apparently the whitest sand in Australia, and it was definetly the whitest we've seen. The water was also this lovely green colour, contrasting perfectly with the white water. Definitley a winner on our list!

We also picked up two spare tyres in Esperance, replacing our spare and another really old one.

We left Esperance after spending 3 nights there and headed up to Norseman . We were only staying in Norseman for a stopover, planning to head up to  in the afternoon. Just a bit out of Esperance, we popped a tyre leaving us with one spare. Our first stop in Kalgoorlie was the Western Australia Musuem. We learnt about the early history of Kalgoorlie, including the gold discoveries and life on the goldfields. We also went up on the headframe, getting some stunning views over the city.

After the WA musuem, we went to the Super Pit. We had heard all about it, and were quite interested in seeing it. It was simply amazing in it's size!! The super pit is the largest open-cut mine in Australia. Seeing some of the tyres for the trucks, double the size of Chloe, was amazing.

The Super Pit

The next day we set off across the Nullabor. Now, we had heard all sorts of bad stories about the Nullabor, but the whole experience for us was altogether not too bad (well, the scenery anyway). We popped one more tyre over the Nullabor, leaving us with no spares, but it was  our last stop before hitting civilisation again and we were all frantically praying. We hooked up and headed off, but just as we headed out of the caravan site, there was an onimous bang, and we pulled up. WE got out of the car,and immediately saw that we had popped a tyre. When we had jacked it up, we were shocked to find our actual rim had broken. A bit had snapped off the rim, popping the tube. 150Kms out of Ceduna!!

Now, i'll leave you on a cliffhanger, and you will have to come back to read all about the dramas.

A storm is approaching (taking through our front windscreen,
not too clean sorry)

We did it everybody (well the 90 mile part of it)!!

Sunrise at Nundroo, The last stop before Ceduna

Catching Up

So the last time I wrote we were in Perth. And the last time I had such a long break from the blog was back in Exmouth, when we had all the dramas. Trust me, we have had plenty of drama this time around too!!

But, before we dive into the dramas, we will have a quick chat about where we have been. After leaving Perth we moved down to Rockingham, staying there for a week to pick up some work. On the way out from Rockingham we stopped off at Cape Peron. It had crystal clear waters and great views, definitely worth a stop off!!

After leaving Rockingham we moved down to Bunbury. For 3 days we stayed with a couple at Australind, which is just out of Bunbury. The boys got to help out on their farm, gaining some more experience along the way. We then moved into Bunbury, house sitting for a person that was going away for a week. We also took care of their greyhound, and the girls enjoyed taking him for a walk. We couldn't beat him running though!

Wellington Dam

The next day we went out to Cape Naturaliste. It sure was a beautiful place, and the surf was going alright. We didn't surf, as it was crowded out pretty badly. The sky was threatening all day, and it did sprinkle on us several times. We went out to the lighthouse, and had a look around. We did a circuit through the National Park and then retired to our beds.

We headed inland out to Donnybrook and the Ferguson Valley the next day. We had a look at the big dam that was out there, and visited honeymoon pool. Honeymoon Pool was a lovely spot, with a crystal clear river winding through big shady trees. The tranquillity of the place was very relaxing.

Gnomesville

After honeymoon Pool we set off to Gnomesville. It really is a fun place to go, and all ages will enjoy it. The amount of gnomes is absolutely amazing!! One of my favourite gnome scenes was a group of gnomes watching a pretend TV. On the TV it said “Please don't turn me off, we are busy watching Gnome and away".

The Apple Fun Park, it's not even all of it.

After visiting Gnomesville, we had a stop for a late lunch at Donnybrook, visiting the Apple fun park. The park is definitely worth a visit, with the girls especially enjoying the slides. I tried to squeeze myself up the slides, but learnt that I would have to shrink if I wanted an easy ascent. I made it up, but not without bashing myself around a bit. Chloe kept on complaining about how long I took to come back. She'll learn someday that it is not as easy to crawl around on kids equipment when you're double the size of the kids supposed to be using them!! Ater vising the fun park we headed home with only a few bruises.

In Bunbury, Dad again picked up work, and us kids started catching up on our school-work.

Just to get out of that spot (where we stayed)  in Bunbury, boy, it took some work. It had rained the day before, which didn't help, and the caravan was on quite an awkward angle. The wheels skidded, there was a burning smell in the air, and altogether it was not that fun. Finally, after about 1 ½ hours, we got the caravan off and set off down to Margaret River.

A beautiful sunrise

It was pouring rain (bucketing cats and dogs) when we first arrived in Margaret river but it cleared up quite a bit in gladness for us coming. We checked the surf down the coast, but it was just all closing out so we set off back into Margaret River. On the way, we dropped a snowboard off the roof, as the bag had perished a long time ago. The snowboard was luckily undamaged, as we are going to use them again this year!

Two cute little black lambs.

The next day we headed down to Port Augusta. We had a look at the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, which was interesting because of the meeting of the Southern and Indian oceans. We didn't do the actual tour of the lighthouse, mainly due to the cost. We did have a look at the old waterwheel, and it is well worth a look. Chloe enjoyed learning about how it worked, and asked lots of questions, not all of which I could answer.

The girls loooove chickens

We were staying on a farm out of Margaret River, and when Dad and I went for a walk we got some great photos of some cows, and then some really cute little lambs. The sunrise was also pretty amazing.

After Margaret River we moved onto Albany. Albany has quite a few hills around, and to get to where we were staying we had to go up a hill. Now our Transit goes alright while towing but it doesn’t have oodles of grunt when towing, lets just say I could have ran faster up that hill than the transit!! We were all praying when we saw a Stop sign at the top of the hill, “Please let there be not any cars, please let there not be any cars”. Luckily there wasn't and with one last final strain we managed to get up and over. Phew!

This is Chloe after running the whole blowholes track back
 to the carpark. If you have been there, you will know
what I am talking about.

While in Albany we visited Torrindup National Park. It is a great NP, with some amazing veiws over Albany and crystal clear water. We dropped by the whaling station thinking of going there, but again the price ruled visiting it out. We did visit most of the places through the park though, especially enjoying the blowholes. We didn't think the blowholes were blowing at first, but we were rewarded for our patience as we felt the air whoosh through the tunnel. Some people stood right on the blowholes, but we didn't (not recommended). We also visited the Gap and Natural bridge, which I remember hearing about quite a bit.

We were hoping to get out to Porungutup National Park, especially to visit the castle rock lookout, but we sadly never made it there. It's supposed to be excellent though!!

After staying for three days in Albany, we headed off to Esperance. However, that is another blog post, so you must have patience, and it will be rewarded.

The Gap

Natural Bridge