Trip Planning........ and other things

Pretty Pool in Port Hedland, a fitting name for a pretty
place

We did our first advent into hand washing today. You may think it is weird as we are in the middle of a town, but Port Hedland doesn't have a single laundromat and we are not staying in a caravan park, thus no washing machine. We all sat down, with three buckets, and the girls enjoyed agitating the water where the clothes were. They were then passed to the next person (me) and I rinsed it out and put it in a tub to be hung up. Pretty good system. If you want to learn how we normally do our washing, click here: Washing, Washing on the line, Mrs Wishy-Washy

Playing on the play equipment after a good dinner
at pretty pool.

Joel tried to find an old tin can, as Bush Tucker man had a really good way of washing, but tin cans were also very scarce. We also spent the whole day ringing around to find the cheapest place to get wheel bearings greased, and new tyres ordered in. The cheapest is about $170/h at about 4 hrs, just to get wheel bearings done!!

Then we had dinner at Pretty Pool. The name fits the place!! It is like Urunga, back home.

One another note, we have been planning our trip down the coast. It reminds us of when we started to travel, we made a big plan about where we would like to go. Our list of places that we wanted to see included:

1. Uluru, and the Red Centre

2.South West WA

3. Jindabyne and the high country (in summer)

We highlighted our intended route in highlighter in our Camps Australia Wide book. We did follow the plan to a little extent, but then we went off on our own, and the plan flew out the window. To give a quick example, the planned trip was: down to about Dubbo, through Coonabarabran and Tamworth, then Forbes, Grenfell and Young. We then were going to go to Jindabyne and then the plan stopped. We actually went to Dubbo, then to Condobolin and to Mildura through Hay and Robinvale. We headed down to Ouyen and up to Renmark. We then went to Adelaide, and went back to the snow via the Great Ocean Road. To see a full map of our travels see here: Where we have been

So, the best laid plans always go astray. We used to laugh at our first plan (and still do), considering we even wrote down all the place we were going to stop. A big waste of time!! We have a plan at the moment, …............but we will see if we follow it.

We're there!!

The road that keeps on going.....

So..... we made it to Port Hedland.
No more punctures (just as well) and the tyre seemed to go fine (the one with the slow leak).
We stopped at Pardoo Roadhouse for breakfast,. Having left Sandfire at about 4:30am, we managed to travel in the cool of the day and save tyres. We are staying at the Anglican church in South Hedland, and we arrived there about 10:00am. We managed to navigate the streets pretty well. We haven't seen traffic lights for a while, and it was weird to see them. Darwin was the very last place where we saw traffic lights.

Sunset over Port Hedland

Port Hedland is a big mining town. There is a big salt pile which you drive past on the way from Port Hedland to South Hedland, and the girls were very interested in how the salt farm works. The trains are some of the longest, and if you get stuck at a railway crossing and two trains cross, one after the other, you can be stuck there for 10 minutes. We saw a train coming, and got across pretty quick!!

When we parked in the car park to go shopping, it was a sea of fluro ( due to the flouro stripes on the mining utes.

The big salt pile at Port Hedland

Sunset over the port.

We also went on a shopping spree. When you haven’t been to a big town for a while, with lots of shops, you are apt to snap up bargains, especially when Kmart decides to sell off summer stuff, before summer has ended. We also got some more shirts for the boys and Dad (yes they are in the same size now!).

 We have a  1-2 weeks of work at the school, and that will bring us to the school holidays. We then will start heading down to Margaret River, ready for our Permaculture course in May.

1 jack, 2 tyres, 1 USB, 13hrs of driving, and 7 unhappy people... and were still not there.

Stopped and waiting No.2 time

So the plan was simple. Get from Derby to Sandfire. Simple, and then everything went wrong.

Our original plan was to leave at 5 o'clock, and reach Sandfire Roadhouse before the road got extremely hot, thus saving tyres. It all went well until just before we left, when we realized our door no longer closed, and stayed closed. Something to do with the catch had broken, and we had to rely on a latch to hold it closed. We then headed off without any more dramas.

Changing No.1

We drove for several hours, while listening to talks and napping alternately. Soon however, the road began to heat up, and our tyres began to heat up badly too. Then the fatal pop came, and we had one tyre down. This tyre was the same one that we had popped before, and it was a new one. We started to change the tyre, but we had a stubborn nut and a lot of grunting and heaving went on to loosen it. One of the worst things is that the tyre gets so hot you cant touch it and hold the tyre still. We finally got it free, and we had one tyre changed.

Mucking around while waiting

We headed off (again) only to get ten minutes down the road and pop another one. We were only carrying 2 spares, and we were all praying that we could get away without any more spares. When we came to put the second spare one, the on just yesterday received, was flat and we couldn't drive on it. Still 100km from a roadhouse, with no spares. We made the decision to leave the caravan and the two boys and go to Sandfire and pump up the tyre. Leaving the boys with some water and the caravan, we headed off to Sandfire.

Our broken Jack
(sitting on a flat surface)

While at sandfire we grabbed some lunch and pumped up the tire. Dad also called NRMA, to check that the caravan was covered for towing and what they should do if something was wrong with the tire. Luckily we have premium (covers all Australia) and the caravan was covered as well as accommodation and towing costs. The drive back was uneventful.

Our first flat tyre

We got back to the boys, fine and dandy, and the boys were all living, so we counted it successful in picking up a spare. Then the trouble started again. The caravan rolled as the handbrake wasn't holding properly and our jack broke. Luckily (saved us more than once) we have two jacks, and the tire was successfully put on. We then realized we had lost a USB with movies on it, and we had to go back to try and find it. The USB had vanished into thin air.

The cattle at Sandfire Roadhouse

So, 1 jack, 2 tyres, 1 USB, 13hrs of driving, and 7 unhappy people was the total of all our misadventures!!

Sunset, just after arriving

So, halfway there! How's our next half going to be? We have no spares, and a slow leaking tyre that we have to drive on to Port Headland. Come again for a trip report.

The road awaits............

Our favourite again!!

We had our favourite for dinner again today (well at least pretty high-ranking). Jumbuck Stew is one of the nicest stews we've had, especially as most (never, never all) like it. Tahlia's the only exception in the Jumbuck Stew fan club, and that is caused by the pumpkin. Tahlia had the veggie pains come again at the sight of the dreaded vegetable- pumpkin. They apparently appear at the sight of pumpkin, Brussels sprouts, and basically every other vegetable. We have now christened them the Veggie pains. They seem to pass round quite badly, many things triggering them off, including washing up, school-work, and getting out of bed time as a brief list, They're really contagious.

But anyway, here is the recipe for our favourite stew:

Ingredients (Feeds 7):

1.5kg Lamb chops

2 tablespoons flour

Salt and Pepper

1 Teaspoon curry powder

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 large onions (sliced)

2 tablespoons brown vinegar

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

½ cup stock

Pumpkin pieces

Cooking:

1. Mix flour with salt, pepper, curry powder and ginger. Coat chops with mixture

2. Heat butter in frypan and heat chops. Remove to plate once browned

3. Add onions and butter to pan and cook until soft. Add lamb back to frypan

4. Mix vinegar, sauces and stock and pour over lamb and onion.

5. Add pumpkin pieces(and any other vegetables you want).

6. Cover and bring to a simmer, then cook for 1 hour (or as long as you like down really low), stirring occasionally

We use an electric frypan for cooking the stew, and it comes out nice. This can also be cooked in your camp oven, which we did try at first. We cant really have a camp-fire at the moment, so we have to rely on our electric frypan to do all the work.

Another favourite recipe of ours is Tuna or Salmon rissoles. This is really easy to whip up, and tastes great too.

Ingredients (feeds 2):

½ cup surprise peas

1 cup Deb potato

1 cup boling water

2 tablespoons flour

½ onion, finely chopped

425g tin of tuna or salmon, drained

Cooking:

1. Cook peas and drain well

2. Add boiling water to potato and stir, add peas.

3. Stir in the flour

4. Add the chopped onion and the tuna/salmon. Add more water if mix seems dry.

5. Heat a frying pan and spray well with oil spray. Form into rissoles and put into pan. When ready to turn, spray the top of the rissoles before carefully turning them over. They burn easily, so watch carefully.


All these recipes are from The Ultimate Camp Oven Companion, compiled by Yvonne Kadwell and Anita Knight. Recipes from members of Dubbo 4WD club.

Intricate Bible Details

Recently, we have started watching Bible in 24 Hours. This DVD set by Chuck Missler, is absolutely fascinating, and the things that he picks out that we wouldn't even think about are amazing. We are up to Hour 7, are are learning about the monarchy. As he says: The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, and The Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed. After all I have been learning, my head is bursting with little things and I thought I would share them with you.

Did you know?

• The genealogy of David is written in Genesis (albeit hidden)
• Have you ever wondered why David picked up 5 river stones, when he only required one to bring down Goliath. David was simply being prepared, as Goliath had 4 other brothers. He was ready to take them all on. The 4 brothers of Goliath were later killed by David's mighty men
• Did you ever wonder what would have happened if Saul had completely destroyed the agagites? There would have been no Haman
• What about if David had killed Shimei, the man that curse him and his troops? There would have been no Mordecai
• What about this: Adam         Man is
  Seth                                    appointed
  Enosh                                 mortal
  Renan                                 sorrow but
  Mahalalel                            The Blessed God
  Jared                                  Shall come down
  Enoch                                 Teaching (that)
  Methusalah                         his death shall bring
  Lamech                              The despairing
  Noah                               Comfort Rest
  That is a prophecy about Jesus, hidden in names of people, all the way back in Genesis
• 40 hours to get out of Egypt, 40yrs to get Egypt out of Israel
• Joshua vs Ephesian:
  Entering and Possessing                  Entering and Possessing
  Earthly Inheritance                            Heavenly Inheritance
  Given In Abraham                             Given in Christ

• That Ruth actually goes against what the laws require show a parallel to Jesus. The law requires Ruth to go to the kinsman redeemer, but Boaz goes instead is one such example.
• Saul’s early promise vs. later decline:
  Striking Physically     Impatient
  Modest                    Violating priests prerogative
  Direct
  Generous

What do you think?

Get up and Go!

Have you ever noticed in the Bible, that Jesus requires the person to act before they can be healed? What about the cripple at the Pool of Beersheba, the beggar who had been a cripple for 38 years was told to pick his mat up and walk. And he did it. He had been a cripple for 38 yrs, and he simply obeyed an order to get up and start walking, after not being able to walk for 38 yrs! It requires real simple like faith to just trust in God like that. (Read the full story in John 5)

Mark 10: 13-16 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.


Sometimes, we don't need answers, we just need to trust in the Lord our God. Its hard, yes, but if the kingdom of heaven belongs to little children, why shouldn't we become like little children in our faith?

Luke 18: 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

Mathew 11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

Just want to share a funny story with you. I was lying on mums bed yesterday, and Tahlia was starting to clean up all the mess she had made while playing. Deciding that she needed her big sisters help, she marched up to me with her hands on her hips. All of a sudden comes out “If you love God, you have got to help me pack up”. That puts a new twist on things doesn't it.

Windjana Gorge

We just had  our last week in Derby, and we greatly enjoyed the opportunity to see Windjana Gorge. The road in was pretty rough, and I did hit my head a few times when we bounced real hard, but altogether we managed it fine. We were going with a friend from church and, they were driving a Navara. It was a huge difference in comfort, compared to the Trusty Transit but I enjoyed the drive back in comfort!!.

We brought lunch out with us, as it was cooking before we had planned the excursion, and we had lovely lamb shanks while being bitten by ants (greatly improved the flavour!). After packing up from our lunch, we set off for the gorge. The walk to the gorge (although short) was very scenic, with the towering ranges just ahead of us. We passed through the rock tunnel, and they emerged onto a wide sandy beach. It was lovely and cool, with the trees and ranges providing plenty of shade. The sand was nice and soft between out toes, and it was altogether a thrilling place to relax in.

Where we had picked to go for a swim, was really muddy and the entrance into it was really steep. Intending to check out the water, just a teency little bit, I plopped straight in and just manage to stop myself from falling in completely. I was intending to see if it was worth it before I got changed into swimmers, but it totally was. I got my dress wet, so I didn't really have a choice now.

The main attraction of Windjara gorge was the freshwater crocodiles, with one of the highest density of freshwater crocodiles in WA.Sadly, all the crocodiles had gone, but it was sort of a relief as we were all to hot not to have a swim. The big cave up the top is apparently where Pigeon (Jandamurra) used to hide out.

Travelling- All your Questions Answered

What’s your caravan like? Our caravan is a 1980 Millard Caravan. We originally purchased this for family holidays, but it is now the caravan for our biggest family holiday yet!! Where do we sleep everybody? I did a detailed post on it here Sleeping everybody in a caravan. What about storage? Another 2 posts here Storing everything-Part 1 and Storing Everything- Part 2 .

How do you cope with five kids in a caravan? It has actually been a great lesson in learning to live together. Stronger relationships have been developed and it seems more bearable now that it originally did. True, we have found it harder up where it is hotter and the kids are less likely to disappear for hours on end exploring, but we have survived. Occasionally when it gets really unbearable, we are all sent off and the parents steal a few hours alone.

What do you tow the caravan with? We tow our caravan with a 2005 Transit Van, the main reason we selected this was due to its space, having 12 seats, and the fact that it can tow our caravan.

What do you do for work? Dad is a teacher, and while travelling he has been doing casual teaching. He will put his name in at a school and if he gets a call, he has work. Joel has had work at Home Timber and Hardware in both Kununurra and Derby, and has greatly enjoyed working. Josh and Dad also worked cleaning during school holidays in Kununurra, and Josh was glad to find a job in Woolworths. He doesn't like cleaning (but he did like the money better)!!

Where have you been so far? I have created a map of our travels so far: Our Travels

How long are you going to be travelling for? We are in our second year of travelling so far, and we would like to settle before the end of the year. But you never know what God has in store for you.

How do you live without a TV? Easily!! I did a post on it: Surviving (oh horrors) without a TV

Do you find it hard to find work? In both the NT and WA so far, we have had quite a bit of luck with casual teaching. In Victoria, we only had one day of teaching, but we survived.

What are the kids doing for school? We all do home schooling. We have actually done home schooling before the trip, so it was basically the same routine. Joel and Joshua (yrs 10 and 11) are doing distance education through OTEN, and I am doing Yr 9. Chloe is doing schoolwork, and is enjoying it gobbling up all the information she can get. Tahlia is still our little baby, and she is petted enough not to be in school.
Got questions about my homeschooling. Look All your homeschooling questions answered.

here

Feel free to ask any more questions. I'm happy to answer them.

The far Horizons

The horizon can see so far away cant it? Yet, when travelling through mountains, the horizon doesn't see so far away. Sometimes, we're driving along and we just see the mountains driving along, but they seem to just grow closer and closer. Some times, the horizon seems so far away. While we have been travelling it seems that the horizon of our life is full of mountains, and we have to climb the mountain before we can see the next chapter of this wonderful life that God has planned for our family.

We are in our second year of travelling at the moment, and despite all the happy memories it brings we would like to settle down again, hopefully by the end of this year. Yet we do not know where or when we will settle down, and sometimes find it hard to enjoy where we are at the moment instead looking ahead to an uncertain future. Questions about our future fill all our minds, and it can seem a very distracting train of thought. We know that God sees all, but it seems so frustrating not to be able to see over those mountains.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope for a future. This verse is really encouraging when we are all just looking up and up and seeing the towering mountains we seem to need to climb. The peace of God just comes on you, and you know that God can tear down mountains for you, and create a pass through the mountains.

Proverbs 23:18 there is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Sometimes it feels our hope has been cut off, like when another of our plans gets dashed, but God has a future for us, and he will make us rise with wings like eagles Isaiah 40:30-31 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

Sometimes we just need to trust in the Lord and rest on his peace. Maybe when you fell hopeless, you just need to remember bible verses, and pray them out loud to God. He will surely hear your prayer. Maybe you need to ask for wisdom that passes understanding

Phillipians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and thanksgiving,. Present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Family Photos: Those Memories Preserved and Saved

Family photos. They’re the thing you look back on and remember some great memories, especially when you remember all the places you've taken them. Is it just us, or do you have troubles coaxing everyone to smile, stand up straight, and just get them altogether when trying to take a photo? Probably not. When you look through our photo albums and USB with photos on them, the girls are having photos taken everywhere. Then comes me, and after that Joel. Josh is one of the rarest people to have a photo taken, and I count it rare when I find a good photo of Josh actually smiling and not hiding his head. He is on the lookout for a fast get away when the camera is around.

Guess whose missing? Even had our Grandma and Grandpa
in this lovely shot.

Dad's trick is to get us holed up somewhere, and then say we can't leave until we have a photo taken, What about at Gun-warddehwardde Lookout? We took the walk up there, and Dad reckoned the only other way down was jumping. We all opted for the photo. If you’re around Nourlangie (Kakadu) take the walk and have a photo. The scenery is breathtaking as a backdrop.

Also, whenever we have a birthday it's a tradition that we usually go out for dinner. This is the perfect time for family photos, especially when some kind person takes a full family photo. It is even better if the little girls birthday, as even the big boys can’t resist the little girls when they ask for a smiling photo.

Perfect Background, at a lookout on the Arhnem Land
Plateu

You can never get a perfect family shot

We’ve taken photos at a lot of beautiful places. One of our favourite places to have a photo was at Nadab Lookout, at Ubirr in Kakadu. We caught it just as the sun was setting, and it was spectacular. We had a photo at the top of a roaring waterfall, and the lookout was beautiful in the new England area. We had another one in Litchfield, and the background was beautiful, with lush green plants on the bank of a stream. We also took one at Wentworth, at the junction of Darling and the Murray.

Family photos are so important. When we get into a house again, we would love to have several photos hanging up of all of us at some of the amazing places we've been. We have a Cannon, and have found it a great improvement to our last camera. We'll defiantly look after it better, as the camera was stepped on at the snow. We also had a video camera but the photo quality was not exceptionally good.

9 Things we love about Travelling

1. New experiences

We have had so many new experiences while travelling around Australia. Staying on a cattle station for 10 weeks, skiing at the snow for 3 weeks, travelling the Great Ocean Road, staying in Kununurra for 2.5 months, and visiting Kakadu and Litchfield. These are just some of the few experiences that we have had, and we all have some great memories. (see this post for a list of our top 15 experiences.)

2. Seeing Australia

Australia is a vast country, a land of sweeping plains, or ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains. It is full of beauty and ruggedness, and even if you travel Australia all your life, there is still one more place of utter beauty to be found. Australia deserves exploring, and you will definitely enjoy all the beauty and vastness of it.

3. Learning more about Terra Australis

Australia is a country with a great history. You learn so much history when you travel plus you learn about the geography of Australia. A lot of people go overseas, but what about our own country? Quite a few people cant place some of the bigger towns that we have been to, even places like Broome. We need to learn more about our own country, before we learn about other countries

4. Camping in the bush

Free camping in the bush is such fun. No tiny little sites in caravan parks. What about camping right on the edge of Murray? Free-camping at Paddy's River flats, (in the freezing cold) near a sparkling clear mountain stream.

5. Learning about different cultures around Australia

While travelling around Australia, we have learnt a little bit about the different cultures of Australia. Aboriginals are an amazing people, with an even more amazing culture. They deserve to be respected, and we cannot do that if we do not have a respect of their history and culture.

6. Meeting new people/ making new friends

We have met heaps of people while travelling. In Derby and Kununurra we have made some great friends, and will miss, and do miss them. We have also met some people that are also travelling, and have enjoyed swapping stories about places and towns to visit. It is great to talk with other people, especially when we meet other families that are travelling.

7. Swimming around Australia

No, we don’t intend to swim a lap of Australia. We have all enjoyed swimming in different waterholes around Australia. Mataranka, Kununurra, Litchfield, and the Victorian coast have all been memorable spots to swim, surf, and boogyboard at. Litchfield and Mataranka, and Kununurra are definarelty our favourite places to swim at, especially when it is hot and you need a good refreshing.

8. Being with family

Family is such a great thing to have. Travelling around, you get to spend lots of time with the most important thing, your family. We have all drawn closer together, and we have strengthened our family ties.

9. Seeing God's provision

God has truly provided for us. Going to the snow, was only possible as God placed it on a friends heart to give us a donation. Also, the humorously expensive car repair was just able to be paid, and we were truly grateful.

Permaculture: All that I have Learned

While travelling, we have become interested in Permaculture. We would like to settle down, and have some land to work our way to supporting ourselves off the farm. In May, we plan to go to a Permaculture Design Certificate course. We think that Permaculture fits well with the bible, especially the ethics of care of earth, care of people, and fair share, sharing resources with others.

What is permaculture? Here is a description from www.permacultureprinciples.com:
Permaculture is a creative design process that is based on ethics and design principles. It guides us to mimic the patterns and relationships we can find in nature and can be applied to all aspects of human habitation, from agriculture to ecological building, from appropriate technology to education and even economics

There are twelve principles of permaculture. I will share also what I have learned about what the 12 principles mean. They are:

1. Observe and Interact- Nature is the perfect garden. God designed it with precision, and they can support themselves without intervention from man.

2. Catch and Store Energy- Water, Food, Solar energy, are all things that we need to catch and store. Water is becoming an increasingly important resource, and if we do not store it we will lose it.

3. Obtain a Yield- We do not want to not get anything if we work the land. We just want to not destroy the land while obtaining a yield. We want to look after the land, and feed ourselves at the same time.

4. Apply Self Regulation and accept Feedback- If we do not accept feedback, how will we know what we are doing wrong, and what do we know to improve? Maybe a system would work better, why do we get defensive when someone suggests something? Feedback is important to improve and fix things that could be improved/ fixed

5. Use and value Renewable Resources and services- If we are simply usiong non-renewable sources (coal, petrol etc.) what do we do if it runs out. Using renewable resources allows us to actually keep something for our children to use. Already petrol and diesel are getting more and more expensive, and if we can find something renewable, why dont we value it?

6. Produce no waste- We value what we have, and conserve it 'Waste not, Want not'.

7. Design From Patterns to Details- If we design from the big things to the little things, details will fill themselves in as you start to plan.

8. Integrate rather than segregate- Plant plenty of crops rather than just one (like corn). Just think of symbiosis (i've been learning about it in Biology). By putting the right things in the right place, relationships develop between those things and they work together to support each other.

9. Use small and slow solutions- Small and slow solutions are easier to maintain than bigger ones, and also 'slow and steady win the race'.

10. Use and Value Diversity- Diversity reduces vulnerability to things like pests and diseases. It also takes better use of the environment in which it lives.

11. Use Edges and value the marginal- The interface between things is where the most interesting events take place. These are often the most valuable, diverse and productive elements in the system.

12. Creatively Use and respond to change- We can observe and then intervene, using creative methods that we have observed to intervene.

I’m not an expert, that is just all I have learned. We all have discovered some great websites. Here they are if you want some more information:

Geoff Lawton- Here are some great videos, that are free

Redeeming the Dirt- We greatly enjoyed the book, Born Again Dirt. It provides a biblical perspective to farming, and it is extremely interesting.

Permaculture Voices- This website is great. There is heaps of great stuff, and it is really imformative and covers a whole range of topics.

Jack Spirko has also done a lot videos that are really informative. They are all available on Youtube. Here are the links to the first 3.

Permaculture with Jack Spirko Part 1- Introduction

Permaculture with Jack Spirko Part 2- Ethics

Permaculture with Jack Spirko Part 3 - The Third Ethic

Celebrating Birthdays- While on the Road!!

 Just today marked our 8^th birthday celebrated while on the trip. We also have had a Christmas on the road. We have been lucky, and have actually only had 2 (now 3) birthdays in the actual caravan. I had my birthday in Cloncurry (see post here: Experience of a Lifetime), while Mum, Dad’s, Josh’s and Joel’s were in Kununurra, and these were all celebrated while we were staying in a house. Tahlia had hers also in Kununurra, but in the caravan. Chloe has had hers in Dubbo and Derby (two D’s!!). So how did we celebrate and pull off Chloe’s birthday?

Last night, Chloe's head kept on popping up and over the curtain. You would hear a “Lie Down” and Chloe would dive down onto her bed again. We were trying to wrap presents, and it doesn’t help when the most secret place on the caravan is sitting on the double bed. When we had finally finished (without Chloe getting a peek) Chloe had finally fallen asleep and all the presents were stacked on the lounge.

Chloe was very happy when she woke up. We chased people out of bed (cold water in the fridge) and we all lined up with big yawns. Chloe eagerly ripped in and was (in Joel's language), quite a haul. She got cds, Dvds, a barbie, twin baby dolls, rapunzel colouring book and a fishing rod (Joel and Josh's present).

This isn't the birthday girl, but as there
was twin babies, Chloe kindly gave
 Tahlia one so the girls could
enjoy playing together. 

For a cake, we made our famous ice-cream cake. We simply soften some ice-cream, and then add lollies, chocolate, and lots of other yummy things. We once put meringues in there, on the top of the ice-cream. We then add whipped cream (actually whipped, this cake we just made had un-whipped cream and it didn't set properly) and refreeze it. To correspond with the boy's jobs, we had it in the afternoon. We managed to catch everyone but Joel, who came out for dinner later anyway.

We had a lovely dinner out, and everyone but Josh managed to catch the dinner. We had photos, and as always we had the big family photo. As it was Chloe's birthday, she got to pick her favourite pizzas, and (yay!!) we got hers and my favourite- Hawaiian. When we got home, Chloe loved to watch Barbie as Rapunzel, and then it was bed time for our big 7 year old.

Here is some practical tips for celebrating birthdays on the road:

Keep the presents simple, travelling around is probably one of the best presents you can give your children. DVD's and books are great, and they both can always be left at a caravan park, or an op shop. Also ebooks (we have all kindles) if you can, as they don't take up a lot of space. Also, you can download movies off the internet, and give them a USB with the movies on them. The girls like The Magic School Bus, and you could get as many as you can, and put them on a USB for watching them.
Here is a quick way to download youtube:
In the address bar, simply put ss before the www. Here is an example: This is the URL- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4w-U9lGGS4
Simply put ss in before the www. and it will redirect you to a free download centre. (ss in bold).
http://sswww.youtube.com/watch?v=l4w-U9lGGS4
You don't always need heaps of presents, sometimes a few well thought about gifts are good.
What about experiences? Like rock climbing, horse riding, water-skiing e.t.c. What does your child like? What are the experiences around where you are? For Chloe's 6^th birthday, we went to the Western Plain Zoo in Dubbo and we all greatly enjoyed it.You can always buy a cake if making one is too hard. As it requires nothing more than a freezer, we like making an ice-cream cake ourselves.   

Large Family Travel: Sleeping in a Caravan

Where do we sleep everybody?? Once when we had somebody knock on our door to introduce themselves, they almost fell over as the whole 7 of us piled out, one after the other (some more gracefully than others). In fact, the same effect happens to people when we all pile out of the Transit after a day of driving, half of us falling over each other in our haste to get out. How on earth do you fit in a 6 by 2 m caravan, let alone travel around in it. One of the most common questions is where do you all sleep?

In the caravan, at the back, we have 2 sets of double bunks. Chloe and I sleep on the two top beds, while Tahlia sleeps on the bottom bunk. That leaves one spare bunk, and we use it to store the printer, toys, and the winter hanging clothes. We installed a hanging rail hanging from the top bunk. It is quite useful, and we put the printer in between the clothes, stopping it from being damaged while traveling.

One of the bad things about the double bunks is the vinyl that covers the mattress. When we sweat, (like leather lounges) we all stick to it and it is quite painful to peel ourselves off. To stop us all waking up and having to peel ourselves off, we put blankets and slepingbags on the beds to stop us from having to go through the painful (I am completely serious) experience of peeling ourselves off the sweaty mattresses.

Mum and Dad have a double bed up the front of the caravan. While in Cloncurry, we rotated the bed, and we freed up more space. The bed serves as a couch as well as a bed, and mum and dad are always brushing out dirt from the bed, as naughty kids (not me) are jumping on the bed. The bed is definitely the comfiest of all, and everyone is stealing nanny naps on the bed when we can.

The boys sleep in stretcher tents. Stretcher tents are basically a swag on a stretcher, and they have been really good for traveling around. The boys got these stretcher tents for their birthdays before we left, and they camped out in them at home just to test them out. 

Storing the (Slightly Large) mess of a Family of 7- Part 2

For storing all our food, we were very glad to have our kitchen renovated. I don’t have a previous picture of our kitchen, but it was simply a cupboard, that looked like it was about to collapse. The original wood had rotted, and plain and simply, it stank. This new kitchen we got, installed in Darwin, had plenty more storage, and it is nice and new (quite a contrast to the rest of the caravan). The new bench also provides a lot of space for preparing food and cleaning up afterwards. Our fridge, which was also a new one, is a 100L bar fridge, and we do find it hard to store all our cold groceries, but we manage.

Under the lounges in the caravan, we have everything conceivable. Nerf Guns, Josh's bow, en-suite tent, blankets, camp ovens, our iron, and lots of other things. We tuck all the things we don’t regularly use under there, and it collects dust pretty well!! Sometimes, we find it hard to fit the lid properly, and then we have to do an overhaul and sort it out properly (sadly).

We store the generator, gas bottles, our petrol jerry-can, our water hose and waste hose, and our tarps. This is a really good place for storing stuff that isn’t supposed to go into the caravan, though they all get really dusty. When we have stopped, we chain them to prevent against theft, and then set off again with the chain off and at least 20 (no joke, we've had the tarp off before and things just about to fall) ocky straps holding them down.

While we have been up in the Kimberly, we all manage to sweat profusely and the dirty clothes have to go into the wash after 1 wear. Before, we could get at least 2 wears out of each set of clothes, but nobody wants someone stinky sitting next to them in the caravan. To store all our clothes, we use a garbage bin, that was originally intended for water carrying. We have had some people mistake it for an actual bin, and once someone even put a bin bag in it when we left it in laundry. Another time, someone when having dinner with us, put their food scraps in it.

The back bar that we have on the caravan holds all our bikes (only 2 at the moment, the rest all have broken and been chucked out) our helmets (if we don't lose them) and 2 jerry cans. We also have 2 spare tyres on the back (and we've used them frequently). We have had quite a lot problems with the metal splitting on it, and we can't have too many bike on it, but is is still quite a good upgrade.

To entertain ourselves, we have a cupboard full of DVD's, boardgames, and cards. We picked up most of our DVD's for Christmas, as we like watching a series every night, to put us all to sleep. The boardgames are quite varied, and every now and then we have a board game craze, and the cupboard is tidied, and then the boardgames come trooping out one by one.

Storing the (Slightly Large) mess of a Family of 7- Part 1

The back of our transit

When you have a large family and you're travelling, you will find it hard to store everything (at least we did). One of the main reasons why we purchased our Transit was the expanse of room. In the caravan, we are carrying clothes for 7 people, kayaks, ski gear (clothes and skis), food to feed 7 (a lot trust me!), toys, school work, and heaps of other stuff. Try and squeeze that all in your caravan, and you realize how creative we've been!! The best storage benefits of the caravan are the under the lounge storage and under the double bed, as well as under the two double bunks.

In the transit, we have a lot of space (12 seats) and we store things like the boogy boards, the boys clothes, water-sport gear, and camp chairs e.t.c. On the roof racks we have 2 kayaks and 5 surfboards. Our Transit is never the neatest place, but we fit lots (and lots) in there.

Our beach tub, skateboards,
umbrellas, and boogyboards. The
gazebo is stored in between the front
seats and this one.

Bedding and schoolwork on top of the
wadrobe

As we went to the snow, we had snow gear and also snowboards and skis to store. We managed to fit all the ski gear under Tahlia's bed. Ski clothes can be quite bulky, and when we started, we had it in a big bag in the beach tub that stores all the beach gear. After the snow, we tightly rolled up all the clothes and tucked them under Tahlia's bed. To store our snowboards, we simply removed the foot bindings (all you need is an allen key) and placed the snowboards in with each of our surfboards. They are storing fine, and they are protected from breakages. The skis we simply slotted in behind the boys clothes drawers (we only had Joel's skis, the rest were hired).

Clothes and more schoolwork!!

Our lovely hanging robe. Clothes and
wet clothes hang here.

Our clothes are stored in various places. Dad and Mum have a large hanging rail, that was installed by our Grandpa before we left. Mum clothes all hang up, and Dad has a clothes basket to store his extra clothes that don't hang up. The rest of our hanging clothes are also here for the rest of the family. The girls and Bethany's clothes are stored in a wardrobe, along with the school work. As we have been travelling for two years, we have last years school work, as well as this years. Joel and Josh (both doing distance Ed) have school work arriving, so they get a whole tub. The boys clothes, as before mentioned, are stored in the back of the transit in drawers. Joel has been lucky with the sturdiness of his drawers so far, but Josh's drawers are old one of ours and are starting to break.