On the busses

Getting up early to watch the splendour of the sunrise over the Mediterranean from our balcony window was – well somewhat disappointing due to the amount of cloud and sea mist around. It was nice though to be able to jump back into bed and grab a few more hours sleep. The ringing of the church bells was more of a lullaby than an alarm clock. After a slow start we had a big brunch of eggs & bacon etc. on our way to the local bus stop. This time we headed to Perissa. A very scenic drive through the various towns on the island revealed spectacular views of the caldera, old windmills and the boundless vineyards. White concrete buildings with dome roofs go without saying...

The beach was on the other side of the cliff from yesterday, so more black sand and clear, warm water and beautiful people lolling around on deck chairs, soaking up the warm sun – they have an ozone layer here- so it’s quite pleasant. We didn’t hang around the town this time – it was back on the buses (2 of) to get to the other end of the island and the town of Ia.
This is where all the postcard photos of Santorini are taken. Not wanting to be different we made sure we took lots as well. The towns we went to today are far nicer than the main drag of Thira – quieter and cheaper, however we are somewhat worried when we see the thousands of scooters and ATV’s that are sitting idle all over the island, awaiting the peak of the tourist season. They’d need a really good, big and effective hospital to cater for all the injuries that will occur when all these are out on the dangerous, narrow, twisting, crowded roads.

Curiously, the streets are lined with gum trees. Whilst we don’t paint the bottom of them white in Aus – it is a bit surreal to see them here. Perhaps there is some sort of exchange program going on that were not informed about. Send us a person – we’ll send a tree in return...

Yet more local fare was consumed in the private spaces of our balcony - we then headed out to a local restaurant to for dinner and afterwards back to the rooms where there was a surprise birthday cake (backpacking Santorini style) before we all collapsed, apart from the Blogger of course). Tomorrow we have the next big foray (incl. another trip into the Pit).

To the beach

Slept in missing the sunrise over the Mediterranean whilst listening to the ringing of the church bells– still, we had breakfast overlooking the sea with those mystical islands in clear view. A beautiful start to the day. We then trudged up the road to catch our bus to Kamari, which is nestled at the base of large mountains (not in the caldera) has black sand and pebbles, heaps of tourists, the inevitable tourists shops, selling exactly the same stuff as everywhere else.

The water was warm and clear, so we all had a swim and then a wander around the shops and town trying to find the best place to have lunch (Gyros of course) whilst fighting off the spruikers trying to lure us into their “fabulous” establishments. Fabulous means expensive – The word from the locals is that the introduction of the Euro has made prices go up enormously, much to the dislike of the people not making more money from it. Tourism is booming although the GFC has apparently had an impact.
Our pension in Karterados is decent hike from the bus routes. On the way we get to walk past the police station. It’s comforting to see they have a guard out the front wielding a machine gun. Nice to know that someone is likely to attack the police and the best way of stopping them is hail of bullets. Victoria Police should get these instead of Tasers – it would make them far more effective. The flat price on the buses has Dad annoyed in that it costs 5.60 euro to get the family to the other side of the island the same as it costs to get them up to Thira which is 2 minutes away.
After our short bus trip to Thira, we walked around the narrow streets lined with (yep you guessed it) more shops selling tourist stuff. Admittedly some of these were pretty upmarket. We hung around and took the mandatory snaps of the town on top of the cliffs and had a drink watching the fading sun slowly change the colours of the buildings. The Caldera is huge – the explosion must’ve been awesome (somewhat bigger that the 5.1 earthquake we experienced last night).
On the long walk back to our village we got to see some traditional Greek folk dancing in the main square of Thira (no grap this time) and some not so traditional (for Santorini at least) traffic dodging. It really is chaotic and dangerous – much better when they just had donkeys - and drachmas’ to pay for them.

Another day - Another paradise

We felt a bit sad leaving our comfy studios and friendly staff at the Paros accommodation. We were happy to leave the mosquitoes there though. The trip to Santorini was long, yet interesting – we just wouldn’t want to do it every day... The queues waiting to get on the ferry were tiresome, hot and stuffy. The ferry itself was the same ship as last time – we ended up in the same area which was hot and yet again full of smoke from our health conscious locals. Ro spent pretty much the entire time on the wind blown, yet sun drenched deck. In actual fact the wind of 2 days ago has dropped off significantly, the sea this afternoon had mirror like sheen to it. And yet there is still some freshening gusts to cool the sweat off our brows as we walk around (it’s almost perfect weather – gloat, gloat etc...)..

Our new residence is not central to the “action” of the major towns of Thira or Ia, it does however, have a very local atmosphere, this time we have kids running around, playing down ball and screaming and yelling as they have fun after a long week at school. Everyone seems to know everyone else. The young waitress at our cafe was running late as she’d obviously been hangin’, out with her friends a bit longer than she should’ve been and was quite happy to share words with the locals as they wandered by. Our room is amazing – one room with a loft level (containing the girls’ beds) which has a low domed roof. The balcony downstairs overlooks the sea towards Ios, Paros and Naxos, whilst the one upstairs has a 360 degree view of the entire north side of the main island. The most significant noise here is the sound of scooters, motorbikes and ATV’s as they zoom around the place (or struggle up the hills under the pressure of overweight tourists).
As I type this I reckon we just had an earthquake. Maybe the sleeping giant is not so sleepy tonight...
It’s impossible to ignore that we are sitting on a volcano. The cliffs plunge into the water with a blaze of recently formed geographical colours from incredible heights. And the locals just seem to delight in building their residencies in most precarious positions. As they are all painted white – from a distance it looks like the mountains are snow capped.

Whilst Dad stayed up to watch the moonset over the town (and test the capabilities of the camera to its limits) – more earthquakes – maybe this is why they build everything with arches and domes and don’t go too high up ?

A quiet day in Paradise

After sleeping in, we continued to deal with the continuing lost property issues - thanks to Brian and Gabby – hopefully their efforts will get us on the road (so to speak).
After lunch from the local bakery, we went for another stroll through the old town to the Church of 100 doors. Apparently they can find 99 – legend has it that when the 100th is found something dramatic is going to happen. Louisa reckons she found it in one of the ancient archaeological excavations which are covered by glass on the floor of the altar, but as the apocalypse has not happened or Istanbul has not been returned to the Greeks we think she may have found door 101 – no. 100 still remains hidden. It was a very reverent place to visit – it’s nice that the locals allows us (seemly disrespectful – mostly through ignorance) tourists to wander around.
The girls swam in the pool for hours. We had pre- dinner snacks on our elevated balcony again improving on last night’s ingredients with fabulous olives, tomatoes with real flavour, less wind and the same provincial view. Tonight we spotted the locals tending their backyard vineyards, the rooster is still on Melbourne time (yay!) and the bird life tweeting in the background made the scene very pleasant and somewhat surreal..

Dinner to follow started off as a walk down to the waterfront, we sat down to have drinks to watch the sunset behind the old fort guarding the harbour. We caught up with Sneezy the dog - named as such because yesterday she sneezed on Dads leg as she decided to walk with us. She took (an obviously well founded) liking to Dad and together they watched the sun slowly head towards the horizon
We had to leave her there as we were on a mission to find the best position the watch the final vestiges of the sun disappear, whilst consuming the best Paros had to offer. And we did, the wine was crisp and clean the beer was cold the juice was, well.... a bit ordinary actually. However, the Gyros was great. The ambience with the new moon chasing the sun was fabulous.
So we didn’t really do much today, but it was very relaxing – stated a few times was that this place is so peaceful and relaxing we should have been here at the end of the adventure – never mind – tomorrow we jump on another boat and journey to another island in the Cyclades – hopefully it will remain dormant whilst we are there.

Another day – another form of transport.

Today started bright and early (luckily the rooster is either on Melbourne time or is already being served). A basic breakfast in the lobby whilst we continue the arduous task of dealing with stolen items. We then strolled in the increasing heat to the waterfront where we booked our remaining ferry rides. Across the road we purchased bus tickets to have a look around the island. First stop was the picturesque town of Nauossa which is built around an historic (and very small) port.

Here we strolled some more looking at yet more dresses and other items. It seems that the European union has had a few interesting impacts on the country, one of them is that all the shops selling to tourists are all selling the same stuff, and all at the same cost, and they look like they have been recently refurbished to the same standards. Even all the cobblestone streets and white walls look like they have been repainted over winter in preparation for the swarm of tourists who will invest the place in a months’ time. It does all look very picturesque though.
After lunch of Gyros, we hopped on another bus to get to the other side of the island with the aim of finding a suitable spot to swim in the sea. This time we rode in the front seats, much to the discomfort of Ro who thought the whole ride was a bit nerve racking and hair-raising, due to the huge bus, narrow roads, tight corners and wild driving. Needless to say her fears were well and truly founded when 10 minutes later we crashed into the back of a tray truck, shattering the windscreen, jamming the door shut and putting our overzealous driver well and truly in his place.
So there we were, big bus ½ full of tourists and locals sitting in the middle of nowhere wondering if we were ever going to get to our destination. Basically – we needed a new bus (and preferably another driver). Then the weirdest thing happened. We started off down the road again (windscreen creaking in the wind pressure) – about 1km further down the road – in the middle of paddocks – a bus depot. 5 minutes later a car came screaming in, out jumped our new driver, he started up a coach hidden in a garage and away we went. Time lost – who cares. Memories – priceless. Laughs – plenty (once we were away from our original driver of course).
Due to the strong winds we gave up on trying to swim in the sea and instead caught another bus back to Parika (though the middle of the island this time - so we had a very scenic drive).

After a spot of post theft logistics we finally got that dress purchased and headed home to snacks of crispy bread, olives, feta cheese and local wine on our balcony(after a swim in the pool). The girls have also had an after dark swim. Tomorrow is going to be minimalistic in terms of adventures (well that’s the plan at least...)

To an island

The day draws to a close and we are confronted by a fresh, yet warm sea breeze washing through the elevated apartments open shutters. The background sounds of the crickets in the still evening are broken by the twilight barking of the local dogs and the occasional car or scooter drifting along the road leading to the town centre. Looking out of the porch we can see the imposing hills of Paros dominating the view, speckled by white house’s which now appear as twinkling lights in the darkness. This is now home for the next 3 days. Mission 1st thing in early morning is to locate that rooster to 1. Get a good night’s sleep 2. Chicken kebabs.
We started out the day early (5:15 am alarm) in order to get here on time. Breaking the early morning Athens calm with the sound of 8 suitcase wheels rattling over cobblestones, we filed our way down the deserted streets towards the train station. This time the wallet (now a decoy) stayed where it should as we caught the train to Pireaus. The bustling port was a stark contrast to the quiet city streets, we managed to negotiate our way onto the ferry and then off we sailed across the sapphire blue waters of the Mediterranean. Most likely following in the steps of many historical figures, minus the slaves with long oars (although as we were not privy to the engine room – you never know what they use for power these things...).
The jaunt across the sea was uneventful, eventually somewhat painful, due to the incessant smoking of the locals - sure is a different world here in that respect. We were collected at the port and duly deposited in our fabulous rooms and the girls finally got to jump into some water (yay!). Paros is a contradiction, it looks old on the outside (architecture wise), but every shop looks new inside. All the buildings are white, as are the pointers on the beach.
We spent a couple of hours walking along the shoreline and through the labyrinth of the old town – everywhere you look is a postcard photo opportunity. We had yet another fabulous dinner at a taverna around the corner, the weather is perfect, the rooms are amazing, and the mystic charm of the place will be duly explored tomorrow. ...

An eventful day in Athens

The day started out with a stroll up to the travel agent to book our ferry trip for tomorrow-no problem. We used our TravelCard to withdraw 450 eruo from the ATM. No problem. We caught the metro one stop to find on emerging we had lost our sense of direction – took a while to sort that out (no problem) but eventually we made our way up the highest of Athens hills to catch a cable car up the last 10%. Expensive tickets, a long wait, a crowded, cramped, stuffy wait for another 15 minutes when eventually it took off. 2 minutes later we’d travelled the 100 meters and we were at the top (yay!). The views were spectacular. The sun was hot, the wind was warm - yet refreshing as it was straight off the Mediterranean Sea. After waiting another ½ hour to catch the cable car back down we were thwarted by a large crowd and a faulty gate - and gave up and walked down the hill – ie. Problem with the cable car.
We then headed into Satan’s Pit (aka the Metro) in an attempt to get near some decent shops (the never ending search for the perfect summer dress continues). “The pit” is named as such by Dad – who upon exiting he realised his wallet had been stolen by demons, who are now in possession of a series of useless (quickly cancelled) credit cards, a drivers licence from Aus and the aforementioned Euros. Needless to say this cast a sense of gloom over the afternoon’s proceedings.
On the walk back we came across a new phenomenon. Greek Rappers – they had a huge stage, lot’s of equipment, a big sound, a big square – with surprisingly - no one in it watching – or seemingly interested. From now on this type of music shall be known as ”Grap”.
We now realise that even though the Plaka is full of locals ripping off tourists with extraordinarily prices, they are not at all like the criminals who frequent the subways . We will be having some fun over the next few weeks learning how to cope with our new found vulnerabilities. Targets we are – how to avoid being targeted is going to be challenging.



Disjointed, but determined to push on, we headed back into the Plaka and sat on a rooftop watching the setting sunlight slowly change the colours of the Acropolis whilst we drank wine and nibbled on Taziki and bread. This went some way towards healing the stress of the afternoon. It also helps being in the company of two bubbly personalities. We also discovered the wonderful financial healing powers of take away Gyros – great food – really cheap.
We now head off to the Islands – hopefully the trip to the port (via the Pit) is uneventful.....

A long walk around Athens

After an early start by Ro (6:00am) and a late one by Neil (7:30) and a yummy continental brekkie, we headed off for a day’s trekking around sunny Athens. Starting with the changing of the guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we had a quick lesson from graduates of the school of Silly Walks before heading off to see the results of how to achieve grand building ambitions without steel re-enforced concrete and big cranes. Very impressive. It’s amazing what can be achieved with a hands-on, non-unionised workforce when you have the “appropriate” incentives. Definitely something there for the BLF to consider....
After reaching the top of the dominating Acropolis we were suitable awed by the majesty of the place. It’s great to see that nothing has changed in 18 years. Still lots of broken rocks, thousands of tourists and scaffolding covering most of the site. Makes you think though, that after 1500 years they would have actually got around to finishing the thing. Louisa was blessed with a butterfly landing on her head – which stayed for quite a while, bringing much joy to the other tourists who took photos and dismay to the vendors who were trying to sell butterfly hat clips.
Dad dragged everyone up a nearby hill (in the oppressive heat) to get more Griswald’s type photos before we lugged our weary, exhausted bodies back through the Plaka for a spot of R&R at the hotel.
Dad collapsed for 2 hours, everyone else went to the bar. Later on we went for a shop trying to locate the perfect summer dress for Isabel. This involves Dad standing guard outside whilst the women folk venture inside to annoy staff by be being interested but not actually buying anything. Dinner was traditional Greek food in the Plaka - including fries!! So whilst it was interesting having “traditional” Greek cuisine surrounded by T-shirt stalls - we reckon it’s better to get away from the crowds.
A free night time concert in Syntagma square lured us out of the hotel where we got to experience some modern Greek culture - Beatles music backed by a string orchestra, whilst the local youths practiced their break dancing on the nearby steps. And all the time in the background -the guards continue to practice their silly walk. We suspect they keep doing it all night long.....

Arriving in Athens

And so to Greece, land of ruins of temples built to worship the ancient gods and shoe stores built to tempt current goddesses. Our 6 hour flight was a doddle compared to the last one (either that or we'd passed a pain barrier).
Our taxi driver delivered us promptly to our hotel whilst informing us that they have really bad fires in Greece during summer. Apparently they are on a par with what happens in California! Hmmmm.. Their fires are lit in bushland by malicious property developers who then turn the burnt bush into housing estates (no one dies). I'm not quite sure he understood the difference between home and here in that respect. I guess when you consider the amount of noise made over the years around here about a single burning bush it's not that surprising.
Our hotel is a souvlaki throw from Syntagma Square, so once we'd showered away the stress of the 26 hours travel, we hit the streets with a sense of adventure (aka shopping, dinner and eventually bed). The temperature is a stifling 29 c, the people here are so stressed, they wander around in comfortable shorts and singlets, smiles on their faces, sitting cafe's, drinking and eating and talking as they didn't have a care in the world. They’re obviously up to something.....
And so after poking our noses into countless touristy trinkets booths we made our way up to the base of the Acropolis to have an authentic Greek cuisine dinner. No need to into details, except to say the dishes would have been superb without the ambience. Put 'em together and Woo Hoo !. A stroll home through the Plaka - to be attacked by a barrage of Spruikers trying to convince us that their tables are good enough for Alexander (TG) himself. We gave up trying to point out that ancient dead people don't actually care what their tables are like and just used the excuse that we'd already eaten to fend them off.
Curiously after all of that excitement all the females have gone to bed - and it's only 8:00 pm!

The First Step

They say every jounrney starts with the fisrt step, well in this case ours almost failed at the first step ! Apon arriving at the check-in counter at Tullamarine Dad realised he did not have his passport....Luckily a quick call to Gabby (you'll be hearing more about her later) resluted in a U-turn on the freeway and a scamper back to the airport to deliver the offending artical.Which had managed to fall out of the bag on the way there. (woops and phew !). So we got on the plane in time and 16 flying hours later we are in Dubai.Well the airport only - seeing the dry landscapes and fabulous arhitecture we have decided that this place deserves more investigation than hiding from the 35 degree heat in the airport.Another day, another trip perhaps...So with 5 hours to spend in the airport - we blogged, wrote journals and paid exhorbitant prices for a cup of coffee..

test from pda

this is a test to see if we can create blogs from the pda

Trying free wifi in balwyn

so in order to see if we can access the service from a free Wii Fii area we went to Macca's. After spending $10 on chips and drinks it does make one wonder - is it really free ?

Europe 2009

Standyby Bloggers - The next adventure is on the horizon !

The Final Word

Isabel :-

Wow, three months! It only seemed three weeks. It's hard to believe that we did all those things in three months. The first thing I did when we got back was I ran in the house ('cos I couldn't run in the caravan) . Then we went to school. Everyone was so excited.

Louisa :-

It is nice being home so I can catch up with my friends and family. I also love the space. It is absolutely fantastic being home! I loved traveling with my family! I HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE!!

The Final word.

After 2 days of unpacking, restoring the house, cleaning the caravan and the car – it was a strange experience to have everyone hop back in and take the rig back to Kalorama. There is an old adage which says something like “the hardest part of the journey is to take the first step”. There needs to be a new one “the most difficult part of an eighteen million meter journey is the last 10”.
This was proven by ripping the van awning on the edge of the carport roof as we came down the driveway…….

A quick trip cost summary :-
Total KM’s ----------------– 18,075
Fuel ----------------------- $4226.85
Camping ------------------- $3446.10
Car (tyres, servicing etc) --- $2,000 (approx)
Days on road --------------- 86

Benefit to family------------ Priceless (The girls even learnt to wash dishes without being asked).

This is it – the end of the blog. For the actors it has been a wonderful experience, for the chief writer it has been a tiring one at times - but mostly fun. The whole blog experience was made worthwhile by all you Dear Bloggers out there. Knowing you were watching was inspiration to keep composing for all of us. A big THANK YOU to everyone who made the effort to comment – we had a lot of fun every day seeing what comments we would get, so whilst we didn’t always answer your questions (this isn’t the medium for that) it was always great to know people were watching.
Comments or not, we hope you enjoyed following our journey and gleaned a taste of what we experienced – it will certainly live with us forever.

All successful journeys come to an end….

And so Dear Blogger – does this one.
It was a mild warm day to glide down the hills from Ballarat into sunny Melbourne, where in three months the only things that have changed are some advertising billboards, the days are warmer and the garden flowers are starting to bloom. Life on the roads seems more frantic - but that’s probably a perspective thing.
Arriving to a pristine house and garden was a wonderful welcome as were the pre cooked dinners supplied by the Inlaws.
The girls headed off to experience the last hour of the school term (and why wouldn’t they – it is the best) and Mum and Dad started the long task of unpacking and cleaning. Whilst Mum is glad to have unrestricted access rights to the laundry (elbows now only for Dad if he gets in the way) the amount to get through is daunting.
Stay tuned all you Bloggers out there – we still have some unfinished business to attend to….

Into Sunny Victoria

A warm sunny morning greeted us as we packed up and left South Australia and headed into our homeland – where the speed limit drops, the roads are bumpy, oncoming drivers don’t acknowledge you and those behind you are really impatient (even though they have to drive slower!). At least there is the smell of spring in the air and the sun is shining.
Stopping along the way to scratch a big Koala, we arrived at a luxurious Caravan park in Ballarat, where the kids rediscovered jumping pillows, decent playgrounds and home delivery Pizza for dinner. A very pleasant and relaxing last afternoon.

To the Border

Another long day on the road saw us leave the dry desert landscape of the top of the Spencer Gulf and into the fertile areas around Adelaide. Helped along significantly by a strong NW tail wind we ended up at a remote caravan park in Coonalpyn. This seemed a bit too remote and eerie so we pushed onto Bordertown.
Possibly not the best choice as we now have the constant roar of passing trucks as they whiz over the overpass the park is set against. There must be a least 100 an hour – makes one wonder what sort of money, fuel and resources society could save if they put them all on a couple of trains.

Question of the day:- What do you do when the park doesn’t have a playground to entertain the kids ?
Answer:- Let them total the sandpit ! – (especially if they put a tap right next to it!)

Closing of the loop.

6 hours on the road saw us back to the starting point of the circuit around the Northwest of Aus.
Port Augusta is at the cross roads of every destination in the continent and so we finally leave roads that have not been previously traveled by ourselves and start the journey towards our homeland.
It’s nice and warm up here at the top of Spencer Gulf and we have had a quiet couple of hours relishing the warmth before we head back down south again. The Girls had fun on the playground and a fabulous stir fry cooked up by Mum finished off the day superbly.

Quote of the Day:- (at the lunch roadside stop) Dad can we stay here ? – it’s much more comfortable than the car !

An extra day in Coffin Bay

A family vote and a very thorough “Decision based on fact analysis” was performed to see where we should spend our last free day of the trip. Based on the weather forecast we decided that Coffin Bay on a warm day was the winner.
Subsequently we slept in late and with sun streaming in through the red dust stained curtains we moved slowly out of bed and headed off to the local national park to enjoy the day.
Needless to say we had a delightful trip into a wonderful part of the world. Lunch on the dunes overlooking a completely isolated expansive beach with entirely surfable waves and warm winds washed away the cold of the last week or so.
Dad and the girls went exploring for sand dunes (photo’s for Dad – rolling down the slopes for the kids – was a very successful expedition).
Back to the warmth of the Caravan Park to start packing up and a movie for the kids to watch was a great way to wind up the day.

Crabbing in Coffin Bay

Well the sun must’ve taken the hint and came out in fine fashion. To celebrate Dad and the kids went fishing off the Town Pier. With the tide low there were not too many fish swimming around. We spotted some large Spider Crabs combing the floor of the jetty waters and promptly started to try and catch them. After some time Dad and Louisa gave up and stated trying for fish instead, both catching small Tommy Rough which we threw back as we had our sights set on bigger targets.
In the meantime Isabel persisted and actually manged to hook 2 crabs. The first one escaped but the second – Dad scaled down the jetty and scooped it up in the bucket.
After much deliberation and photos’s we let it go (not that good eating apparently).
In the afternoon, the Girls played mini golf and Dad went for a photo shoot into the Park – spectacular stuff.
A late afternoon walk to the golf course to spot Emu’s was successful yet uneventful.

2 more flats to contend with.

For those Bloggers out there wondering why we have had no more flats – well you can rest easy – today we had two…
We’ll O.K. they were batteries this time but the impact is the same (not moving). So after a jump start we headed off to Port Lincoln to resolve the issue and do some other shopping.
Upon returning to Coffin Bay we sat around in the caravan doing more school work (yes on a Saturday – weekends don’t mean much on the road). Dad took the kids for a late afternoon drive to look around and ended up in the National Park, dodging families of emus and lazy Kangaroo’s on the road. We ended up at the top of a cliff throwing rocks at the setting sun (that’ll teach it to hide behind clouds all day!)

From one bay to another

From Streaky Bay to Coffin Bay down the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula was a pleasant and easy drive (after what we’ve been through). The skies are still grey and the wind cold but the scenery is wonderful.
As we headed southwards the grass got greener, the trees taller and mountains started to appear. Canola fields began to glow in the greyness and as we approached the southern reaches we saw yellow fields running into sand dunes.
We hope to be here for a few days and the forecast is for the days ahead is to get warmer so hopefully we will get to enjoy this fantastic place in which we have arrived in a pleasant atmosphere.
We went to dinner the local yacht club which was really cheap and yummy and the girls got to watch Home an Away (although apparently they don’t know what happened as they couldn’t hear it – what a shame!).

Fishing in Streaky Bay

This place is a fisherman’s paradise ie. Our intrepid neighbor launches his boat from his annex. There is an under cover fish cleaning table (with running water and a high pressure hose to shoo away pelicans and seagulls) between our annex and the water line.
The girls had fun enticing the pelicans in even when they didn’t have fish scraps to give away.
Everyone fishes – even the fish fish (think about it….).
Louisa has caught the fishing the bug and had us up early to hit the jetty before breakfast. Unfortunately a non-starting car put those plans on hold for a while. After some time Mum took the kids fishing and Dad took over once he’d had an ineffective time with the car.
After lunch, we went for drive to check out the beaches on the coast (very rugged and spectacular) and then Dad and the Kids went fishing off the pier again.
Isabel caught the biggest eater and we all had fun (especially once we started using Uncle Garry’s techniques)!.
Dinner was (yes you guessed it…) fish.
We also had the biggest dish wash episode of the trip so far (mostly due to the fishing and subsequent cooking).

A day in Streaky Bay (words by Ro)

I guess it is time for me to pen a few lines on our blog!
What can I say??
Life on the road, in a small caravan has been an incredible experience for all of us. It certainly makes one reassess what is important. Apart from the daily challenges, and a number of unexpected ones from bossy territorial grey nomads in laundries of various caravan parks!! It has been a wonderful time together.
Exploring…..learning an enormous amount about this “beautiful country” and people along the way. The girls are amazingly adaptive, they have gained so much and become very independent. Neil and I could do this for another three months however, we have to work!! The girls will be ready to see family and friends.
I will now handover to one of the three experts I am traveling with to add a few words about Streaky Bay other than it is COLD AND WINDY!!! The gorgeous shade of brown that was acquired up North has GONE!!!!

(Wessa’s words)
We went fishing with hand lines off the pier this afternoon. We caught nine things in total;
Five Trevalleys (one we did not keep ‘cos it was too small) (caught by dad)
One poisonous fish (we think) (caught by dad)
One Collingwood fish (well the Collingwood colours) (caught by me but we did not keep it)
One old fishing net.
Our fishing rag which was blown in by the wind.
We had a good day fishing!

More time on the road to Streaky Bay

Waking to what sounded like rain drop drops on the roof, we looked out at our wonderful view to sight grey skies and approaching storm fronts. Luckily we were getting up early anyway in preparation for a long day on the road (combined with loosing 1.5 hours at the State border).
South Australians are so thoughtful they provide roadside pictures of the scenery with the sun shinning, so if it’s not – you still know what it looks like – just in case that when you do see it it’s really cold and windy.
With dark skies to south and bright skies to the north – it was as if we were driving between the warm and the cold climates which separate the country.
After viewing the steep cliffs at the top of the Bight we found true Nullarbor country (Null meaning “no” Arbor meaning “trees” – see, we did learn something whilst we were here) .Then we headed south into trees and the gloomy weather.
We ended up with a beachfront site which means if this wind keeps up and there is a high tide, we may wake up in Tasmania.
Now that will be a view worth contemplating….

And so to Eucla

The many hours spent on the road today was broken by 2 events :-
1. We left the Nullarbor to drive down an escarpment to another plain (with slightly more vegetation – hard to tell though).
2. When we go to Eucla we had to drive back up the escarpment to get to the town.

This may sound boring – but the very sparseness of this country is it’s beauty – at least Dad did not get tired from having to steer around bends all day!

We were first into the Caravan Park and as such managed to get our first site on the whole trip with a view – which we protected with our wit and cunning. And now we get to wake up in the morning to look out of bed at the Southern Ocean in the distance (tough life ain’t it?).

Speaking of wit and cunning - Rosemary can now write a book on how to gain and then protect ones territory in Caravan Park Laundries. We’re open to suggestions but we think the title should be “An elbow is far more effective than a sharp tongue”

On sunset Dad and the Girls went down to the old Telegraph station which is now being taken over by sand dunes (had to get a photo for the Blog….)

Blogging in the Desert

As this is written I am sitting next to the crackling fire which warms my back - I contemplate the surroundings in which we find ourselves.
Here we are in the middle of the Nullarbor Plain – set up in a roadside 24 hour rest area which could cater for 50 vehicles but only has 5. The sky is cloudless and the air is just starting to get chilly. The half moon lights the area up effectively enough to see by and the stars are faded somewhat by it’s brilliance.
It is totally quiet (except for the giggles of happy kids coming from within the caravan).
Occasionally the noise of a passing road train dominates the evening and then fades away into the distance.
Totally quiet – no noise at all.
Ultimately serene.

We spent all day on the road to get here (stopping at Norseman for Lunch – where the kids found a horse to annoy) doing school work whilst we traveled (Isabel is now looking at the changing environments as we pass through them). We got held up by miles and miles of road works and started along the longest straight stretch of road in the country (146km!!) and will spend the 2 days or so crossing the “Paddock”.

Another day – another new ocean

We all got to experience a brand new ocean today. The Southern Ocean looks cold and forbidding in the distance. Closer in it interacts with the continent in ways which delight the senses. They reckon they have the best beaches in the world here. It’s hard to argue with when you look at the photo’s. We couldn’t swim (too cold) and it’s always windy (apparently) so beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder in this case.
After a spell of shopping in the morning we did a short tour of the local coastal route and were very impressed with the whole place.
Vowing to return when the weather is warmer we went back to our caravan and prepared for the journey across the “paddock” ( a co-travelers colloquialism for the Nullarbor plain).
We hope to experience a few outback adventures (not the Russell Quoit type) and as such may miss a day or two of blog updates due to the blogless land we are about to enter…….

A Birthday on the road

We started today by celebrating Isabel’s Birthday with Apple Pie for breakfast and a surf down Wave Rock. It seemed appropriate that we got wet whilst doing this.
Pack up and then 4 hours to Esperance where it is cold but the rain is slowing somewhat. It’s early spring here, the roads are lined with golden wattle, blooming white heath and the occasional other wildflower to brighten our day. Endless miles of bright green young wheat and brilliant yellow canola fields reminded us of driving through country Victoria - as do the grey clouds and spots of water on the windscreen.
Upon our arrival we set up camp (getting pretty good at this by now) and Mum did the inevitable load of washing (which seems to always entail some sort of territorial conflict with other users of the facilities) and then we headed out to a local Chinese restaurant to celebrate the Birthday Girls 9th successful circuit of the sun. The restaurant we chose was so popular locals don’t bother going there because they know they’ll never get a seat.
We figured this could be the only possible explanation for us being the only people in the place.
We will stay here for a whole day before heading further east – If you (Dear Blogger) whish to call us on the phone – now is your chance, as we may not have phone reception for quite a few days once we get into the heart of the Nullarbor.

Welcome rain to the west

We had a sleepless night as the WA folk finally got a decent downpour. The caravan stood up to the test and who are we to comment on the locals needs?
So, we packed up in the rain – drove in the rain – stopped to have lunch at a Corrigan café’ in the rain – set up at Wave Rock in the rain – and watched videos all afternoon because we could not go outside - due to the rain.
Dad went and had a look at the rock but had to cut his walk short due to the rain.
It’s still raining as we update this blog.
We have decided that we’ll leave the dishes outside (in the rain) and they can wash themselves (in the rain)
This is what happens when you get south of the Tropics in winter (it’s still 31 degrees in Broome we noticed).
Tomorrow we will look around, go surfing (in the rain if we have to) and head off the Esperance where we will celebrate Isabels birthday.

A trip to Rottnest Island

Up early and a drive through the south of Perth to Fremantle (“Docker” territory) where by intuition we found the ferry terminal just in time to catch the next boat to the island. It was a rollercoaster ride of a trip (kids & Dad loved the belly-wackers, Mum not so impressed). Upon arrival we booked the bus tour, grabbed a coffee and jumped on. It was a really interesting tour and we all gleaned a very interesting insight into what the “Peoples Island” is all about. It was a tad cold in the wind (compared to what we are used to!) and a lot quieter than it would be in the height of summer.
The trip back was on a fantastically designed wave cutter boat (spectacular). A drive back through the city and then a visit for a quick hello to Uncle Don (who seems to be doing very well).

And so to Perth

A very hectic day started out by shopping in Geraldton followed by a long drive though the green hills of the Western Australian Coastal region. We zipped by so quickly we really got the impression we were passing by (and thus missing) some amazing places – however we do have a schedule to move to - so onwards we pressed.
We did take one detour however (which cost us about 2 hours) to the Pinnacles –only there for about 20 minutes but it did seem worthwhile as it is such a contrast to the surrounding landscape.
Playing “The Real Thing “ to get us in the mood we continued for another long stint in the car.
We lobbed into a fabulous 5 star caravan park – had a fabulous marinara (thanks Mum) and look forward to sampling the delights of Fremantle tomorrow.

Out of the desert

We started the day by bidding Monkey Mia a sad farewell although we still had unfinished business to attend to in the area. Heading south we stopped at Shell Beach which is aptly named as it is all shells, shells and more shells. All the same small size and the same colour and mostly compacted together. Some of the loose ones became airborne (a curious phenomenon that apparently only happens when kids walk on the beach).
We then stopped to see the Stromatolites at Hemelin Pool – which look like rocks but are actually samples of the first living creatures on earth and paved the way for the rest by producing oxygen. They also make interesting photo’s.
It was then another 4 hours on the road to Geraldton where we have a fabulous site with it’s own on-suite (whoo hoo !) On the way the countryside turned from desert like dryness into fresh green pastures of arable land. An amazing contrast in one day.

A day of quiet recuperation

Today we caught up on the lost day yesterday… (if it was really lost). We had to move to a non powered site as the place is fully booked. This has the annoyance factor of (say) 1 out of 10. It also has the bonus of being mostly packed for leaving the next day and we had a wonderful day extending our time at Monkey Mia.
In the morning we headed off to Denham – stopping at an estuary fed lagoon along the way and then a long, fascinating time at the local Interperative centre, where we all learnt a lot more about the local area.-from geology to history with everything else in between. Back to MM for lunch and then Mum and Dad went for walks in different directions. Mum had a highlight when she met a Manta ray in the shallows.
Drinks in the afternoon at the Monkey bar with Dave, Lisa and Kids led into dinner on the same table – watching the sunset whilst the kids chased Dolphins in the shadows and then gathered and opened oysters – looking for pearls – but only finding lots of Mother of Pearl shells (you get that).
Pressure to stay on is being applied but we have to face the inevitable at some stage.
Yes – Perth does loom over the southern horizon and forwards on we must trek….

A wasted day?

How today went depends on ones perspective. The 1st challenge of the day was to stand on the western most point of the continent the 2nd was to survive the 1st with the family unit intact.
Well the 1st was not easy and the 2nd was more difficult as a consequence – however both were achieved and we all feel a particular sense of accomplishment in surviving the day. It was meant to take 3 hours to get there – but instead it took 4.5 which meant 9 hours in the car without anything exciting happening. The coastline and scenery were fantastic and the car held up beautifully. As a consequence of the long day were are going to stay an extra night at Monkey Mia to recover before we start to head further south.
B.T.W. – we are wearing jumpers tonight – it is starting to get colder.

From Dolphins to Pearls to Stars

It would be hard to fit much more into a day! Up early to watch the dolphin feeding (which is very tightly regulated due to historical overfeeding wiping out the prime tourist attraction). The girls went to the second one as well and actually got to feed one! To keep the event clear of pestering Pelicans they feed them at the same time on the beach behind.
Then we went on a tour aboard a large catamaran to spot some Dugong feasting on the grass sea floors of the bay, which also included a stop at the local pearl farm which was very enlightening for all of us. Louisa scored a natural pearl for being so attentive. On the homeward leg the girls jumped into the net on the back of the cat for drag through the cold (21c) sea.
Pool and hot tub was the order for the afternoon followed by a late night stroll on the beach under a perfect starry sky (no Moon, no unnatural light, no clouds, no pollution and an uninterrupted 360 degrees horizon). We could easily see by the star light and there were stars around our feat as we splashed through the calm shallows (suspect some sort of phosphorous glow worms).
Magical !

From one paradise to another

Many hours on the road saw us leave the Tropics (“sniff”) and head down south. Crossing back over the tropic of Capricorn was expected however we were disheartened when we later passed the sign saying “26th parallel - you are now leaving the North West” but it was jubilation again when we passed a similar sign heading back up the Peron Peninsula greeting us to the North West.
The landscape changed from red soil to whiteish and now back to red sand dunes covered with stumpy tea tree and pampas grass.
We arrived in Monkey Mia just before sunset and will stay for 3 nights – our last rest before the long trek home.
This is a very special place – updates to follow.
Very scratchy internet connection – not sure when you will be seeing this Dear Blogger.

A great last day.

Well for Coral Bay at least….
After an intensive project based school work morning, we (well - Mum actually) packed our lunches, snorkeling gear and beach items and of we went 4wd-ing though sandy tracks in order to find …. well something, well … actually anything would be good…
And find them we did! We ended up on a virtually isolated beach which the swell meant we couldn’t really get a good snorkeling session in. However the beaches and the scenery and the whether were all just superb. The driving was fun too!
Upon return to civilization (population 130 residents!) saw the girls hit the beach and Dad hit the tire pump (hopefully they’ll stay up).
Dad then went for a significant snorkel by himself out towards the reef edge (only got halfway there) and had the time of his life – it was fantastic. He returned to find the girls had spent their time on the beach creating a series of games with balls and sand challenges.
After dinner out and pack up we head off to Monkey Mia tomorrow and thus south of the tropics.May need to pull out the extra blankets (hopefully not the jumpers yet).

Another day at Coral Bay, yay! (Wessa’s words)

Today we spent the morning mucking around with numerous things. Dad read his book and stuff. Mum did the washing and read and slept. Isabel and I mucked around with the lap top and the settings. After lunch we felt like we wanted to do something different, so we went and booked the tennis courts for an hour. We got really hot! So when the hour was up we went for a swim at the beach. Mum left after a while and went back to the caravan. Eventually the people in the beach shelter next to us left so we got it before any one else did. Isabel played superwoman, with her beach towel for a cape. We made the most of the beach shelter, by relaxing back and enjoying every second of what we have left of the trip (24 days!). We decided to ask Dave, Lisa, Billy and Bronty to come and have happy hour drink with us.
It was another fun day at Coral Bay!

A day in the “divine” waters

Every time Mum sees the turquoise waters she says “oh that’s divine”
Glass bottom canoes were a fabulous adventure as was our trip 4wd-ing through the soft sand to our own private beach where the snorkeling in the shallow waters was fantastic watching the schools of fish feeding on the coral. Dad went for a walk and took a heap of photo’s (again!)
Back to the main beach for a horse around in the water followed by throw of the Frisbee. Drinks and dips then a wonderful Tuna casserole for dinner.

WOW, what a day!! (Wessa’s words)

Today, where do I start?! Ummm… oh yeah we woke up! We did school work (maths) until we were allowed to go swimming (in the caravan parks heated pool!). We got bored of that pretty quickly! So we moved on to the days next activity (we looked behind us just in case we had forgotten something like Dad is always telling us to, and found we had left nothing!). The shops awaited next. In the supermarket there are these shoes I want to get (Crocks) but mum says that $47.50 is too expensive. So I will just get some in Perth (cheaply we hope)! When we got back we found that Dad had gone for a long walk. We started lunch without him. After lunch Mum and I read our books. Isabel played a very unsuccessful time on Neopets (the games were to slow to play). Dad finally returned back and then mum enthusiastically got us up and ready for the beach. Mum and Isabel left before us (so we could get a shady spot on the beach). Dad and I followed on 5 minutes later. Dad, Isabel and I went for a snorkel whilst Mum read her book. We saw lots of fish and coral and a dead giant clam (it was not that big). After a sun bake and a swim we left the beach. Isabel and I went for another swim. Eventually we were joined by Mum. For a while we got the pool to ourselves.
WOW, what a day!!

And so to Coral Bay

Which is located down the south end of Ningaloo Reef. It was an easy 2 hr drive to get here. Rosemary has freedom at last as she can walk to everywhere (no driving dependencies on Dad) - the shops are right across the road from us. We intend to stay here for 4 full days and so do some more serious relaxing (after all, isn’t that what holidays are all about ?).
Dad and the girls went snorkeling in the afternoon – it was good, but not quite as clear as up north, but we’ll continue to look at different locations and thus for new experiences.
Afterwards they amused themselves by rolling down the sand dunes in different fashions, followed by a swim in the pool.
The Caravan park pipes hot artesian water to every site – can’t drink it and it’s too hot to wash down skin and it’s no good for cooking. Not too sure why they do it – maybe after 4 days we’ll find out!!
The sea water seems a little warmer and the days just a little cooler (it only got to 27 in the van today) the nights have turned a bit strange being foggy and down to 14. This makes everything a bit damp but it dries off very quickly.
Everyone is happy and we are having a ball.

A pretty cool day (words by Isabel)

Today we went the national park. We climbed a big sand dune. It was like a mini Uluru. Louisa and I took a great big jump of the dune. After a big jump we went to the visitors centre. I found out what sea snakes look like. After we went to the beach. We went snorkeling. We saw a reef SHARK. It was 2 meters long. Then we saw 1 little sting ray and then we saw a huge one. We went out for dinner. It was scrumdiddleyumptious. Today was pretty cool.